Panjwayi District

Panjwayi(Pashto: پنجوايي‎) (also spelled Panjwaye, Panjwaii, Panjway, Panjwa'i, or Panjwai) is a district in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. It is widely considered the spiritual home of the Taliban and is located about 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of Kandahar. The district borders Helmand Province to the southwest, Maywand District to the west, Zharay District to the north, Arghandab, Kandahar and Daman districts to the east and Reg District to the south. The population was around 77,200 in 2006, most of which are peasants and poorly educated due to non-availability of schools. The district center is Bazar-e Panjwayi, located in the northern part of the district. The area is irrigated by the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority.[1]

Districts of Kandahar. Panjwai is shown in dark green

Headquarters of the Afghan National Police (ANP) in Panjwayi, Kandahar Province.

Panjwayi is continually the site of fighting and emplacements of improvised explosive devices (IED), with the bulk of Canadian Forces' casualties taken from this district. The 2009 increase in ISAF forces, brought on about by the U.S. surge, increased troop densities in Panjwayi, resulting in a greater ability on behalf of Afghan government and international forces to conduct operations and penetrate into former Taliban strongholds, especially villages in the "Horn of Panjwayi" such as Mushan, Talokan, Sperwan Ghar and Zangabad. These villages are considered the "Birthplace of the Taliban" and were seen as one of the most dangerous regions of Afghanistan for NATO forces. Still, the Taliban maintain a significant psychological and physical presence in the district.