Bala Murghab

Murghab
مرغاب
Bala Murghab
Murghab
Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 35°34′49″N 63°19′40″E / 35.58028°N 63.32778°E / 35.58028; 63.32778Coordinates: 35°34′49″N 63°19′40″E / 35.58028°N 63.32778°E / 35.58028; 63.32778
Country  Afghanistan
Province Badghis Province
District Murghab District
Government
 • Type Tribal
 • Chief Muhammad Lewal
Elevation 1,555 ft (474 m)
Time zone + 4.30

Bala Murghab (Persian/Pashto: بالا مرغاب‎), or simply Murghab (مرغاب), is a city in the Badghis Province of northwestern Afghanistan, located on the Murghab River. It is the district center for the Murghab District. Murghab is the largest city of Badghis, while Murghab District, with a population of 109,381, is also the most populous district of the province. Close to Murghab lie the ruins of the medieval city Marw al-Rudh.

History

Marw al-Rudh was a major medieval city in the Gharjistan region at the location of the modern city of Murghab. The Abbasid-era geographers report that Marw al-Rudh was the center of a flourishing agricultural region in Khorasan, at the site where the Murghab River leaves the mountains and enters the steppe of the Karakum Desert. A section of the Harbiyya district of the Round city of Baghdad was named Marwrūdiyya (مرورودية) after the city of Marw al-Rudh.[1] Although the town appears to have escaped the destruction of Marw al-Shahijan (modern Mary, Turkmenistan) by the Mongols, it fell into ruins under the Timurids and was largely abandoned.[2]

Climate

With a warm and temperate climate, Murghab features a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa) under the Köppen climate classification. The average temperature in Murghab is 16.1 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 326 mm.

July is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 28.6 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 3.6 °C.

Climate data for Murghab
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 8.7
(47.7)		 9.7
(49.5)		 16.2
(61.2)		 22.7
(72.9)		 29.5
(85.1)		 35.3
(95.5)		 37.2
(99)		 35.4
(95.7)		 30.8
(87.4)		 24.4
(75.9)		 17.5
(63.5)		 11.5
(52.7)		 23.2
(73.8)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.6
(38.5)		 5.0
(41)		 10.6
(51.1)		 16.3
(61.3)		 21.4
(70.5)		 26.4
(79.5)		 28.6
(83.5)		 26.8
(80.2)		 21.8
(71.2)		 16.0
(60.8)		 10.5
(50.9)		 6.0
(42.8)		 16.1
(60.9)
Average low °C (°F) −1.4
(29.5)		 0.3
(32.5)		 5.0
(41)		 9.9
(49.8)		 13.3
(55.9)		 17.5
(63.5)		 20.1
(68.2)		 18.3
(64.9)		 12.8
(55)		 7.7
(45.9)		 3.6
(38.5)		 0.6
(33.1)		 9
(48.2)
Source: Climate-Data.org[3]

Key Personalities

Colonel Amir Shah Naibzada, Afghan Border Patrol

One of the most controversial political figures in the province, Amir Shah Naibzada, is the commander of the Afghan Border Police Kandak responsible for northern Herat and Badghis. He is allegedly involved in narcotics trafficking. Many eyewitnesses have observed that he used police vehicles for narcotics and drug trafficking. Amir Shah controls Tajik militias in Qades and has close relatives spread across the provincial government and in particular the security forces. His brother is the police chief of Moqur District. Another brother, Wali Shah Naibzada is a senator, and an uncle is the chief of the Criminal Information Department (CID) police unit, with another uncle heading the Ministry of Finance.

There are accounts of Naibzada committing atrocities in Pashtun communities throughout Badghis including the rape and murder of 20-40 Pashtun women in Akazai in 2002 when he was police chief. Amir Shah is the commander of the Bala Murghab mafia. He is half-Pashtun on his mother’s side. Recently, he sponsored a benefit for the father of Mohammad Amin, the former district governor, connecting himself with the Pashtuns in Murghab District.

Murder and corruption charges were brought against Amir Shah, the biggest case was that of MSF staff, which claimed that the attack was organized and instructed by him while he was acting as Chief of police in Badghis. He was also alleged of murder, rape and assault of Bala Marghab people during the early period of Afghanistan's Transitional Government. However, once the word of the charges reached Kabul, Amir Shah used his power and personal connections in the Parliament to nullify the allegations in Badghis. Around 50 elders from Bala Murghab waited months to speak with Hamid Karzai about Amir Shah’s severe corruption. Karzai has taken steps to suspend him from his position and also directed the subordinate authorities to surrender him to justice.

Haji Mulawi Ramazan

From the Buzi tribe, the very influential Mulawi Ramazan does not openly support the Taliban. He is considered a spiritual leader in the Bala Murghab region. His village is Nowabad, of which he is the elder. He was said to have been the driving force behind the temporary peace treaty in early 2009.

Haji Mullah Ramatullah (Mullah Rahmat)

The district governor before Mohammad Amin, Mullah Ramatullah, is the spiritual leader in the Murghab River Valley and a very influential person. Mullah Ramatullah is such a powerful person, it is said that the youth will kiss his hand. Further, he has the ability to act as a facilitator between disparate groups. He is from Pa’in Panerak Village.

Zaqari Waliz

An influential spiritual and political figure in the Morghab river valley between the years 2008 and 2009. Little is known about his ethnic background or region of origin. Waliz is such a powerful person, it is said that Mullah Rahmat kisses his hand. This may be in part due to the popular idea that he lived in the wild with the Kuchi tribes of the region. It is said the Kuchi believed he was born of a great rock that fell from the sky into the Sigma Mountain, and that they revered him as a holy man and miracle worker.

Rumored to have been a coalition operative, some have speculated that his presence in the valley was a ruse on the part of Coalition Forces to infiltrate the Taliban infrastructure. The primary purpose behind this was allegedly to get closer to and assassinate Ghulam Dastagir (a Taliban instigator who had been released from prison and escaped to the remote Morghab region). After Dastagir was killed in spring 2009 (on official record as by a coalition air strike), Waliz was not seen again. It is said that he lived within Forward Operating Base Todd. Most believe he has since left the valley. He is said to have fathered many children during his time there.

Sharifullah Sharif

Sharif is an interpreter working in Bala Murghab. He is from an ambiguous mountain tribe of goat herders. Unable to pronounce western names, he is known to call all coalition service members in the valley "Jacques".[4][5][6][7][8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Kennedy, H. "BAGHDAD i. Before the Mongol Invasion – Encyclopaedia Iranica". Encyclopaedia Iranica Online. Retrieved 24 January 2018.
  2. ↑ Bosworth 1991, pp. 617–618.
  3. ↑ "Climate: Murghab - Climate-Data.org". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
  4. ↑ http://www.stripes.com/news/afghan-coalition-forces-bridge-doubts-to-make-gains-in-bala-murghab-1.99806
  5. ↑ "U.S. Soldier Killed in Western Afghanistan Shooting". Fox News. 2009-12-29.
  6. ↑ http://www.isaf.nato.int/article/isaf-releases/jan.-03-cooperation-clears-bala-murghab.html%5Bdead+link%5D
  7. ↑ http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/politics/taliban-in-western-afghanistan-to-cease-fire-ahead-of-election_100223526.html
  8. ↑ http://www.alternet.org/world/144159/did_american_commandos_slaughter_afghan_civilians_in_bala_murghab_residents_say_yes./?page=entire
  • Wallace, Kevin (2013). "To hell and back: The Bala Murghab saga" (First ed.). Idaho: U.S. Air Force.
  • Golembesky, Michael (2014). Level zero heroes: the story of U.S. Marine Special Operations in Bala Murghab, Afghanistan (First ed.). New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 9781250030405.
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