NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN

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• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 17, 2000
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: March 1, 1958
• Content Type: IR

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NOFORN
GEOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE REPORT
NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN
CIA/RR?G-21
March 1958
N? 168
DOCUMENT NO I
NO CHANGE IN CLASS. 0
0 DECLASSIFIED
CLASS. CHANGED TO,
NEX/ REVIEW DATE f
"
AU 54
DATE -02,0 4
fifIEV;EWER, 006514
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
GC)47--
NOFORN
NOM
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WARNING
This material contains information affecting
the National Defense of the United States
within the meaning of the espionage laws,
Title 18, USC, Secs. 793 and 794, the trans-
mission or revelation of which in any manner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
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IDENTIAL
GEOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE REPORT
NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN
CIA/RR-G-21
March 1958
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
Office of Research and Reports
CM!rt:DEN7112-IL
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CONTENTS
Summary
Page
1
I.
Introduction
3
II.
Physical Background
3
A.
Nature of the Border
3
B.
Terrain and Vegetation
4
1. The High Rugged Country of the East
4
a. The Wakhan Corridor
4
b. Ishkashim to Taligan
12
c. Drainage
12
2. Low Hillsand Plains Between Kunduz and
Daulatabad
3. Foothills of the Northwestern Margins of the
Band-i-Turkestan and Paropamisus Range . . .
16
C.
Roads
18
D.
Climate
20
III.
The People
20
A.
General Characteristics of the Population
20
B.
Ethnic Groups
25
1. Kirghiz
25
2. Tajiks
25
3. Uzbeks
26
4. Turkmen
26
5. Hazaras
27
6. Chahar Aimak
27
7. Pathans
27
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C. Soviet Penetration
IV. Economic Activity
A. General
B. Agriculture
C. Livestock
D. Processing
E. Changes in the Economic Scene
Appendixes
Gaps in Intelligence
Source References
Plate
Page
28
28
28
29
29
29
30
33
35
Figure 1. USSR-Afghanistan Boundary Markers. following page 4
Photographs
Figure 2. Looking northwest across part of the Little Pamir ? 6
Figure 3. A shaky bridge of logs crossing the Shor River 9
Figure 4. Looking southwest from the south bank of the
Ab-i-Wgkhan 10
Figure 5. Looking west-northwest down the Ab-i-Wg,khg.n . 10
Figure 6. An unusually wide section of the Ab-i-Panja . 11
Figure 7. Looking due west down the Ab-i-Panja 13
Figure 8. Looking east along the Afghan ring road ? ? ? . 15
Figure 9. A sandy trail through desert-edge vegetation
north of Shibarghan 15
Figure 10. A part of the Afghan ring road . . . . 17
Figure 11. The main road from Herat to Qala Nau
? ? ? ? . 17
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Figure 12. The poor state of repair of most roads 19
Figure 13. Extreme aridity is the rule in the low
plains of northwestern Afghanistan 21
Figure 14. November snow cover 21
Figure 15. A rugged Tajik 23
Figure 16. A street in Faiza)gd 24
Figure 17. Main street in Mazar-i-SharIf 24
Figure 18. With one exception, all of this group at
Tala Barfaq are Tajiks 26
Figure 19. Yaks being milked at a temporary Kirghiz camp 28
Figure 20. Soviet-built oil tank farm at Hera, 1955 . 30
Afghanistan:
Uzbek S.S.R.
Afghanistan:
Maps
Following page
Wakhan Corridor (13327) 36
-Tadzhik S.S.R-Afghan Border (13685) 36
Terrain and Transportation (10944-Second
Revision)
CONEDENTIAL
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NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN
Summary
Northern Afghanistan is a target for penetration by the USSR.
Along its entire northern border Afghanistan has a common frontier
with the USSR. Soviet penetration into the western and central
part of the border area is relatively easy because of close ethnic
ties between peoples both sides of the border, particularly among
the numerically predominant Uzbeks. From Iran westward, for about
two-thirds of its entire length the border crosses bleak, dry, sandy
plains or runs along the somewhat sluggish Amu Darya (Ab-i-Panja)
river. The eastern third of the border goes through extremely rugged,
almost inaccessible high mountains. Immediately south of the border,
northern Afghanistan includes (1) the sparsely populated uplands
that lie north of the Paropamisus Range and the Hindu Kush in the
west; (2) the virtually uninhabited high mountains and pamir of the
Wakhan Corridor in the east;_and (3) a little-known intermediate
area in the big bend of the Ab-i-Panja. Northern Afghanistan is
essentially a dry, windy region -- a transitional zone between the
true desert of Iran and the high, cold steppe-desert of Tadzhik SSR.
The northern, half of the ring road, which encircles the central
mountain mass of Afghanistan, provides almost the only vehicular
traffic route in the area. Trails connect isolated settlements and
lead to high passes but, by western standards, they are not good.
The population of northern Afghanistan, a total of 2 to 3
million, varies considerably in ethnic origin. Most of the people,
however, are peasants, including the riverine-village and oasis
farmers of the west, chiefly Uzbek and Turkmen, and the Tajik and
Kirghiz nomads of the Wakhan Corridor. They are largely illiterate,
and most seem to be disinterested in propaganda from either the
central government in Kabul or the USSR. Some, however -- notably
the Uzbeks -- will probably cooperate with the Soviets. The influx
of technicians into Afghanistan since 1954 has aided the spread of
Soviet influence.
Almost all of the people of Afghanistan are engaged in agriculture
and animal husbandry. Although some cotton and opium are exported,
most crops are consumed locally. Karakul skins are also exported --
chiefly to the USSR. Recently, the slow progress of industrial
development in Afghanistan has been accelerated by foreign financial
and technical aid, which in the case of the Soviet Union has been a
means of strengthening its hold on Northern Afghanistan.
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Stepped-up Soviet interest in this northern region was demonstrated
in the petroleum exploration agreement signed in January 1958. This
program reportedly calls for 470 Soviet Bloc technicians. The cost
of materials and equipment is to be advanced in addition to the credit
previously extended by the USSR to Afghanistan.
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I. Introduction
Northern Afghanistan, a region once denied to the Tsars and later to the
Soviets, is to be a target in the campaign to expand Soviet influence in Asia.
Soviet pressure has effectively prevented American ground observation within
the region, and the Afghan Government has prohibited American aerial photography
of the area.
It is assumed that aerial photography of this region has been or soon
will be flown by the USSR. An American firm has already photographed southern
Afghanistan for the Afghan Government, and has negotiated for permission to
provide coverage for gaps that exist between the Soviet photography and the
American. 1/ If the Soviets are able to obtain the American photography, they
will possess complete coverage of Afghanistan.
This study presents to the reader a subject known to the Soviets
in great detail -- the regional geography of Afghanistan north of
the Hindu Kush.
II. Physical Background
A. Nature of the Border
For the first hundred miles west of China the northern border
of Afghanistan runs over land -- largely mountain ridges and peaks --
as far as an island near the eastern end of Sar-i-k31 (Lake Victoria:
73?47'E). Westward beyond this point, it follows an east-west course
through the center of Lake Victoria, continues down the PamirRiver,
which begins at Lake Victoria, and along the Tb-i-WNkhEn and Ab-i-Panja
(Amu Darya downstream from about 69?20'E) River to Kham-i-Tb, the
northwesternmost riverine village in Afghanistan, about halfway
between Kelif and Kerki, USSR. At this point the boundary leaves
the Amu Darya and runs in general southwestward, almost entirely
over land, and about a mile and a half north of Zulfigar, reaches
the north-flowing Hari Rud, which here forms the boundary with Iran.
In the extreme east the Wakhan Corridor is so narrow -- 8 to 40
miles -- that all of it falls within the scope of this report. Its
southern and eastern boundary with China, Jammu and Kashmir, and
Pakistan follows a line of very high mountain ridges and passes and
is not otherwise clearly defined, except for a few stone cairns
(see Map 109)44).
The portion of the boundary between the Amu Darya and Iran,
some 400 miles, was originally marked by 79 survey stations,
approximately 1 every 10 kilometers; but the, nature, size and
appearance of such stations is not known. However, each was
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marked at least by pillars, as in Figure 1. Two large pillars were
placed 5 meters apart, equidistant from the boundary, and a much
smaller pillar was set on a line between them -- directly on the
boundary line. Such a set of 3 pillars is also said to be located
every 2-1/2 kilometers, making 3 sets of pillars between stations.
Where the boundary is determined by a watercourse, 2 boundary pillars
are erected on the land on opposite sides of the watercourse, 1
pillar within the territory of each country. Pairs of pillars, marked
as in Figure 1, are erected at intervals of 2-1/2 kilometers. The
actual boundary designated is the center of the deepest part of the
channel; but in upper reaches, where there is no navigation and a
"deepest channel" is of little significance, the actual boundary is
the midpoint of the stream. In all, 1,192 islands in the Amu Darya,
(Ab-i-Panja) and Pamir/. Rivers are numbered and are allocated to either
USSR or Afghanistan, in most cases by determining the deepest part
of the channel. 2/
The markers and stations here mentioned are believed to
have been installed or possibly reexamined and recorded by the Joint
Soviet-Afghan Border Commission in 1947-48. No work 1/ was done by
this commission on the 100 miles of land boundary east of Lake Victoria,
the 12 boundary pillars previously established there having been
considered adequate for so remote an area. A protocol Li of the
agreement that established the mixed boundary commission on 13 June
1946 is available, but copies of the maps made by the commission
(122 sheets at 1:50,000) are probably held only by Moscow and Kabul;
certainly they are not available in the United States. Likewise the
commission's detailed description of the boundary, as provided for in
the agreement, is not available. To date the Afghans have given the
United States only a "cleansed version" of the boundary demarcation
maps, the reliability of which is unknown.
B. Terrain and Veg.9tation
1. The High Rugged Country of the East
a. The Wakhan Corridor
The Wakhan Corridor is generally thought of as extending from
the Afghan village of Ishlashim at its lc:R.7er or western end to the
Wakhgr Pass (Wakhgr Dawn) at the Chinese border on the east. At
the eastern end the border is divided by a westward salient of Chinese
territory -- one segment continuing to the northeast and the other
to the southeast. Consequently, Afghan territory actually extends
east of Wakhgr Pass on the north and on the south (see Maps 13327
and 13685). From Ishkashim to the easternmost point of Afghanistan
is 185 airline miles, whereas the distance to the Wakhgr Pass is
only 165 miles. The Corridor is widest (40 miles) in the middle,
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ESZENSSIM
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White
Green
AFGHANISTAN
PILLAR MARKER
BOUNDARY
MARKER
USSR PILLAR
MARKER
USSR AFGHANISTAN BOUNDARY MARKERS
Center marker and distances apply to a land boundary only. A watercourse
boundary is marked by placing the two large pillars on opposite banks.
Figure 1
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where it includes the Nicholas Range, and narrowest in the western
third of its extent, where width ranges from 8 to 15 miles except
at the headwaters of the north-flowing Ishtragh River (71?49'E) where
the width reaches 18 miles. At the western entrance, the Corridor
is 11 miles wide.
The country is extremely rugged. The mountains are young, as
mountains go, and have not been rounded off by erosion; conversely
little silt and rock material has been deposited in the valleys.
Only the largest valleys have floodplains of even moderate proportions;
the rest are V-shaped and are occupied by fast streams or rushing
torrents. In past millenia, however, glaciation of the "mountain"
type has been extensive -- probably not covering all the land mass
but certainly filling and scouring the valleys and making much of
their lower walls nearly vertical. As the rivers of ice diminished
and were replaced by rivers of water, the larger valleys were partly
filled with silt, rock rubble, and glacial boulders and now approximate
plains in appearance because the streams do not have volume enough to
scour deep channels. Such a flat valley floor, with its wandering
stream, characteristically has a partial cover of grass and glacial
boulders, may contain a chain of shallow lakes in peaty soil, and
may be miles wide and dozens of miles long. It is called a "pamir"
(Figure 2).*
There is no travel by wheeled vehicles in the Wakhan Corridor.
All transportation is by foot or horse, and east of Nurss the
imperturbable yak is also a beast of burden. The term "trail" as
applied in the Corridor and also in much of the rest of Badakshn
does not necessarily imply a visible path where others have obviously
walked. At its minimum significance, the trail may be only a way
or access route along which it is possible to scramble with pack
animals.
The Wakhjir Pass in the southeast prong of the Corridor provides
access between Wakhan Pamir on the west and Taghdumbash Pamir, which
extends east and north into China. The flat floors of both pamirs
end some 10 miles from the pass, and the intervening 20-mile stretch
through the pass is rough. The northeast prong of the Corridor is
occupied by the Little Pamir, 1 to 4 miles wide, which extends first
*The term "Pamirs," used in the plural and usually capitalized,
refers in general to the high mountain area of central Asia, covering
parts of China, USSR, and Afghanistan. In the USSR the terms Eastern
Pamir and Western Pamir are used for two regions, not political
subdivisions, within Gorno-Badakhshanskaya Autonomous Oblast.
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Figure 2. Looking northwest across
part of the Little Pamir at Bozai
Gumbaz, 37?071N-74?01'E. The
buildings are tombs. A rider on
horseback could cross the steeply-
sloping "terrace", but not the
peaks in tlje distance.
northeastward and then north in the valley of the Aq Su River as far
as Ak-Tash in USSR, and southwestward to Bozai Gumbaz (7)-i-?E) in
Afghanistan. Within the pamir, Chakmaktin Kol and the string of
small shallow lakes _northeast of it constitute an indefinite drainage
divide between the Aq Su River, flowing northeastward, and the Little
Pamir River, which flows southwestward through the southwestern end
of the Little Pamir. Most of the water is believed to flow down the
Aq Su.
East of the latitude of Langar (73?47'E), the Corridor consists
of only the drainage basins mentioned above and, except for the Aq Su
valley, is bounded by high ridges. This area is nearly the Roof of
the World -- peaks and passes range from 16,.000 to 20,000 feet above
sea level; Chakmaktin Kol is more than 13,000 feet; the Ab-i-Wakhan
begins as melt water from a permanent glacier 5 miles south of Wakhjir
Pass; and bare rock or shale is exposed on the hillsides, which are
barren of any significant vegetation. Even the moist pamirs have no
trees, but their bunch grass is valuable as forage for pack animals.
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All travel is through the lowlands; in some places excess water is
a problem, as in the lower 10 miles of the Wakhan Pamir (between
Wakhjir village and Bozai Gumbaz).
In the southeast prong of the Corridor, about halfway between
Wakhjir Pass and Bozai Gumbaz, it is apparently possible to turn
south up watercourses and cross the border at Delhi Sang Pass,
elevation 20,000 feet. Much of the trail is over permanent snowfields.
From here southeastward the steep and slippery descent into Hunza
continues through }lam Darchi to Misgar at 10,000 feet, where a
telegraph line connects the former princely state of Hunza with the
rest of India-Pakistan. The principal route from the Corridor to
Hunza, however, is more roundabout -- eastward through the Wakhjir
Pass to the head of the Taghdumbash Pamir, then southward through
the Kilik Pass (Kilik Dawn) or the Mintaka Pass to }lam Darchi.
Some 10 miles east of Langar, a side trail takes off to the south
and connects with a network of trails leading, as does the trail
over Delhi Sang Pass, to Hunza and to Gilgit in Pakistan-controlled
Kashmir. On the eastern route, west of Delhi Sang Pass, is the
Irshad Uwin Pass (16,300 feet), which is in reality two passes less
than a mile apart that provide alternate trails for 4 or 5 miles.
Farther west and nearer Langar are the Khora Bhurt (15,200 feet)
and Qalander Uwin (19,390 feet) Passes. They are open to men on
foot only (no ponies) and only for a few weeks in spring and autumn.
Trails also lead northward out of the northeast prong of the
Corridor, cross the drainage divide via high passes such as the
Andamin (Andamin Dawn) and Urta-bel' (Pereval Urta-bel'), and lead
down into the Great Pamir east of Lake Victoria. Some 20 miles.
northeast of Bozai Gumbaz the Andamin Stream (Andamin Jilga) enters
from the northwest into the confused drainage pattern of the water
divide (the Aq Su headwaters). Apparently, it is possible to proceed
up the Andamin Stream and its western tributary, skirting Salisbury
Peak (about 19,000 feet) along its eastern and northern slopes, and
then cross the border into the USSR at Andamin Pass (15,130 feet).
A little lake at the crest has outlets to both north and south.
From here northward and eastward the route follows another Andamin
Stream (Andamin Su) and the Istyk River, eventually reaching the
north-flowing Aq Su at Takhtamysh 25 miles north of Kyzyl-Rabat.
Some 8 miles east of the confluence of the Andamin Jilga and Aq Su
Rivers, 28 miles east of Bozai Gumbaz, a short steep trail swings
northward to Urta-bel' Pass (about 14,100 feet) and then down to
the Istyk River route.
West of the latitude of Langar the southern boundary of the
Corridor continues to follow high ridge lines, as it does to the east,
but the northern boundary follows watercourses. Between Langar and
Qala Wust the Corridor reaches its greatest width, including the
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Nicholas Range, a practically unexplored mountain mass with an east-
northeast--west-southwest ridge. The ridge is highest near the
eastern end and apparently slopes down gradually to the west. About
3 miles east of this unnamed high point is Waram Pass, through which
runs a trail from Langar to Lake Victoria on the USSR border.
While some travelers have gone through the Great Pamir both
east and west of Lake Victoria, probably without encountering
difficult terrain, most travelers in the Corridor have been en route
between Afghanistan and China or_India_and have therefore used the
Wakhan Pamir. On this tortuous Ab-i-Wakhan route the nearly barren
valley walls rise steeply to the north and south, permitting very
little floodplain development. In places, there is insufficient
room near the river for a footpath, which must therefore cut back
into the mountains, as between Qala Panja and Qala Wust. East of
Sarhad-i-Wakhan, the route leaves the river to climb the Daliz Pass;
halfway between Sarhad-i-Wakhan and Langar it not only leaves the
river but has been built onto -- not into -- the hillside with brush
and stones. The bridge over the Shor River (Shor Jilga; 73?35'E)
is a shaky one-horse structure (Figure 3) that could be sent to the
bottom of the small gorge by one good push. Apparently Sarhad-i-Wakhan
occupies a strategic position on a south-facing slope above the steep
river bank, and there is no way of circumventing it -- the trail from
the west (Figure 4) crosses to the north bank at Nurss a mile or two
west of Sarhad-i-Wakhan; to the east the trail rises steeply above
the north bank (Figure 5); and the trail from the south crosses the
river directly to Sarhad-i-Wakhan.
Baroghil Pass is the lowest crossing point in the mountain chain
that defines the south rim of the Corridor, not only in the Langar-Qala
Panja sector but also for the entire Corridor. On maps and in reports
its elevation is quoted as 12,480 feet above sea level,which makes it
only 1,500 feet above Sarhad-i-WEkhEn. The trail over the pass leads
in general due south from Sarhad-i4EkhEn, crossing the Kb-i-WEkhEn
about a_mile east of its confluence with the north-flowing Warsing
River (Ab-i-Warsing); it then cuts southwest to, and up, the Warsing
River valley. As an alternate route the Ab-i-Wakhan can be crossed
west of the confluence, and the broad marshy lower Warsing valley
can be followed for 3 miles before the gentle rise begins. The crest
of the mountains lies about 10 airline miles from Sarhad-i-Wakhan
and consists of a nearly level expanse of grass .and loose stone some
600 yards wide. Through Baroghil Pass sheep move southwestward to
be bartered for sugar, tea, and cloth from the Chitral Agency. For
travelers from Sarhad-i-Wakhan bound due south of Darkot and Yasin,
another alternate route branches southeastward off the Baroghil route
about halfway up to the ridge, and tops the ridge at Darwazo Pass
(Darviazo An; 12,730 feet), some 4 miles east of the Baroghil.
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Figure 3. A shaky bridge of logs paved
with stones and twigs crossing the Shor
River at approximately 37000'N-73?37'E.
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Figure_4._Looking southwest from the south bank of the
Ab-i-Wakhan a few miles west of Nurss. The riders are
headed downstream, well above the river that flows in
the gorge below. The nameless peak (22,500 feet) in
the distance is in Pakistan.
Figure 5. Looking west-northwest down the -Al-i-W-81117L
and the western slopes of Daliz Pass from 36058'30"N-
73?28'30"E, just east of Sarhad-i-W-6..kh-gn. At the base
of the hill in the right middle distance is the village
of Sarhad-i-Wakhan. The two foremost animals are yaks.
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Between Sarhad-i-WEkhEn and Qala Panja, 3 other passes are also used
(see Map 13327) -- the XEn KhUn (16,300), Ochhili (17,350), and Phur
Nisini (17,200) -- all of which lead to Chitral. Although the Phur
Nisini is easier than the Anosha Pass (Kach Pass) to the west or
the Ochhili to the east, it is suitable only for men with light loads
and not for animals.
The lower Corridor, from Qala Panja to IshkashTm, differs markedly
from the rough, cut-up country to the east. There is still a mountain
wall to the north and one to the south, but the drop between the 2
villages that are some 65 miles apart is only 550 feet (from 9,050
to 8,500 feet); and the flat floodplain ranging from a few yards to
a mile in width makes traveling easy all the way (Figure 6). But in
Figure 6. An unusually wide section of the Ab-i-Panja
floodplain in the lower Corridor. The view was taken
looking north-northeast in midafternoon, late August,
about 40 miles east of Ishkashim and 7 miles east of
Urgand. The 23,000-foot peak in the distance is in
the USSR and appears to the traveler to be the highest
peak for dozens of miles.
this part of the Corridor, where mountains rise 10,000 to 15,000 feet
above the trail, travelers can get the impression of being "in a box."
They are in the same "box" with the Russians, however, since Russian
Ishkashim is just across the Ab-i-Panja from Afghan Ishkashim; the
Russian road on the north side perforce follows the river, as does
the Afghan trail; and, at Afghan settlements such as Shikarf, Russian
sentries may be only 200 yards away. In this sector the southern
wall can be crossed in 3 places: the Anoshah Pass, 14 airline miles
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south of Pagui; the Kotia7z, 11 miles south of Shikarf; and the
Ishtr:Egh, some 15 miles south of Ishtiggh. West of the Corridor
mouth, 6 other passes can be approached from Zebak.
b. Ishk.i:shim to TaT4En
Practically no information is available on the country in the
big bend of the Ab-i-Panja north of the Zebak-Taliqan road other
than that which can be read from the inaccurate maps of the area.*
Certainly it is wild and rugged country, much of it between 9,000
and 15,000 feet (see Map 13685). Most of the slopes are too steep
and the precipitation is too scanty to permit more than occasional
scrubby tree growth. The usual vertical zonation of vegetation is
Observable -- with trees at the lowest and wettest elevations, thick
grass on the pamirs and sparse grass on the moister slopes) scattered
alpine-type vegetation on the slopes above them, and a nearly barren
zone just below the snow line. Probably this area has even less._
non-local travel than the Corridor. All travel east of the Rustak-
Samti road and north of Faiigblid is by foot or horse. The central
mountain mass, however, makes it easier to follow the encircling
Ab-i-Panja, difficult though it is, than to cross the mountains.
As far downstream as its junction with the Kyzyl-Su (37?36'N-69025TE),
the Ab-i-Panja continues to flow through steep-walled valleys that have
almost no floodplains. In some places, the valleys are chasm-like
for several miles (Figure 7); and the trail can follow the riverbed
only at lowest water if at all.
c. Drainage
In the mountains of the high, rugged country of the east the
drainage pattern is a network of perennial streams and small torrents.
The fact that there are pamirs in the Corridor and apparently none
in the big bend area indicates that the Corridor has a certain amount
of standing surface water whereas the big bend has almost none.
Particularly in summer when melt water is released, the pamirs are
wet and in some places swampy. Chakmaktin Kol is merely a deeper
and possibly marshy section within the Aq Su-Little Pamir River
drainage divide. Lake Victoria is 12 miles long, 1 to 3 miles wide,
and has no flowing surface outlet; but water probably seeps westward.
The wet areas within 10 miles east and south of its eastern end may
be swamps or lakes. North of IshkEshIM is glacier-fed Shiwa Lake,
*Many statements in this study are general or vague, not from
choice but because of the highly unsatisfactory nature of statistical
and map information. Afghanistan has practically no machinery for
the systematic collection of data.
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which is nearly round and about 5 miles across; it drains into the
Ab-i-Panja, 8 miles to the east. The surface is over 7,000 feet in
elevation, and the lake is frozen nearly three-fourths of the year.
One source credits it with an altitude of 11,000 feet and a depth of
100 feet. 5/ The fact that no other lakes are shown on available
maps may well be due to the lack of exploration, especially in the
big bend area. Everywhere, spring and early summer are the seasons
of greatest water flow, and late summer and winter the time of low
water. Travel is seriously hampered during May-July. Probably the
ideal time for travel is September, a month of relatively low water
before the snow and cold weather set in.
Figure 7. Looking due west down the Ab-i-Panja from above
the right bank at 37?77'N-71?34'E. The river here is some
6,500 feet above sea level. The village of Rushan (Qala
Wamar) lies 2 miles downstream on the right bank, hidden
by the promontory at the right. The Bartang River, flowing
southwestward, joins the Ab-i-Panja about a mile to the
south (left of the camera). The latter changes its course
from north to west-northwest at this confluence. Beyond
the bend in the middle distance, the Ab-i-Panja flows west-
southwest on a wide flat floor until it is again closely
confined by steep banks about 8 miles downstream.
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2. Low Hills and Plains Between Kunda and Dau1a-05Ed
As the Ab-i-Panja leaves the mountains near Samti and Chubek,
it splits into two branches, which unite again in a single channel
about 30 miles downstream (see Map 13685). Between the two branches
is a crescent-shaped area of Afghan territory known as the Urta Tagai
(Uzbek: "middle steppe" or possibly "central plain"). At this point
the Ab-i-Panja, which from here westward is more commonly known as
the Amu Darya,* begins to develop an appreciable flood plain and
occasional meanders; mountains lie farther back from the river;
temperature rises and aridity increases. Although much of the Urta
Tagai is cultivated, parts of it are swampy; and farther downstream
there may be relatively large swampy areas along the river. One
such, north of Hazrat Imam (68053'E), is ideal for duck hunting,
and near Kuduk Toba (Tebe) at 68?15'E the river has twin reedy
channels. From Hazrat Imam westward the whole valley is flat and
sandy.
The Amu Darya floodplain increases in width to about 2 miles at
Ayvadzh (Aiwanj: 36?58'N-68?03'E); and west of Pata Kesar it is as
much as 10 miles wide in Afghanistan. Its southern margin is usually
marked by 1 or 2 alluvial scarps 10 to 20 feet high, which separate
it from the higher sand plain to the south. The sand plain may be
of sandy clay, drift sand, or dunes interrupted by low hills. In
width, it ranges from 2 miles in the east near Alwanj to 20 miles in
the west near Andkhui, forming a real barrier to any land transportation
that must cross it. Much of the sand plain is bounded fairly
sharply on its southern margin by foothills that rise to elevations
of 4,000 to 6,000 feet, but in the west the southern margin of the
sand plain shades into a stony plain that extends in an east-west
strip roughly from Andkha to the Kara Bil' Hills (Karabie' Upland)
or about to the meridian of Daulataa (36?30'N-65?E). Most of the
sand plain has a surface of sandy clay or stream outwash gravels
from the hills to the south. The stony plain has scattered sand
dunes and salt pans as well as foothill outliers (see Map 109)+4).
The western part of this Low Hills and Plains region -- from
Kelif to Daulataaa -- is the southeastern portion of the Kara Kum
Desert. Most of the ground is bare because it is salty as well as
dry. The meager vegetation consists of an occasional low bush and
short, widely scattered grasses (Figures 8 and 9).
*Also known as the Oxus River.
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Figure 8. Looking east along the Afghan ring road between
Balkh and Mazar-i-Sharif. Foothills bordering the plain
can be seen at the right.
Figure 9. A sandy trail through desert-edge vegetation north
of Shibarghan, between Andkha (36?56'N-65?08'E) and Tiamlik
(37?02'N-65?56'E). The tower in the distance is part of a
military guard station.
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3. Foothills of the Northwestern Margins of the
Band-i-TurkestSn and Paropamisus Range
From the vicinity of Daulatabad to the Iranian border, the strip
of Afghanistan that lies north of the mountains is a narrow foothill
belt, rather well dissected by stream valleys. In two places, it
narrows considerably -- where the Band-i-Turkestan and Paropamisus
Ranges thrust westward as spurs from the main mass of the Hindu Kush.
Both spurs contain considerable areas above 10,000 feet and in each
the 7,000-foot contour (chosen arbitrarily) comes within 30 miles of
the irregular border with the USSR, which averages about 2,500 feet.
A drainage divide more than 3,000 feet high extends from the
Band-i-Turkestan northward to the border near 64?E and separates
the northeast flowing Ram Gul Tagao, which dries up in the desert
near Andkha, from the west flowing Chichaktu Shor. This area north
of the Band-i-Turkestan is fairly rough country.-- the stream pattern
is dense and most of the streams are perennial, some even unfordable
during spring flood. Foot trails generally follow the valleys, whereas
the vehicle road west of Maimana cuts directly across the grain of the
terrain in' several places. Parts of the major stream valleys may be
bordered by brush and tamarisk thickets. Elsewhere the characteristic
cover consists of grass tussocks separated by several feet of bare
ground. Only during the spring rainy season is there a continuous
cover of grasses and shrubs.
Between the two spurs the area is drained by the west-flowing
Murghab River, which cuts north through the western tip of the
Band-i-Turkestan; it picks up the Chichaktu Shor in Afghanistan and
the KashUn (KoshEn Rua) and Kushka (Kuskh Riad) rivers in Turkmenistan
and then flows north to water the Mary oasis. South of the
Paropamisus Range the Hari Rid flows westward, curves northward
around the range to the Iranian border, and continues into Turkmenistan
as the Tedzhen River. Outliers from the western end of the Paropamisus
Range turn north to the Turkmen border just east of the Iranian border
and divide Kushka drainage on the east from Hari on the west.
From the Murghab River to the Iranian border the lower parts of
the foothills near the USSR and Iranian borders are somewhat less
rough than those farther east, but the terrain is more varied. Most
of the land consists of hills and low mountains, with no broad level
expanses (Figures 10 and 11). Between the Murghab and Kushka Rivers,
stream erosion has carved fairly steep-sided gullies, which are much
easier to follow on foot than to cross. In Afghanistan the Murghab
is a river of considerable size, carrying a large quantity of water
even during the summer dry period; but the Kashan and Kushka are
little more than headwater streams until after they cross the border.
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Figure 10. A part of the Afghan ring road in
the narrow valley of the Murgha River a few
miles south of Baia Murghi.b.
Figure 11. The main road from Herat to Qala Nau
crosses the narrow plain south of the Paropamisus
Range about 20 miles northeast of Herat.
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The land between the Kushka River and the northward curve of
the Paropamisus Range along the Hari RUA (Tedzhen River) is
topographically the least formidable area west of Daulatabad. Hills
are lower than to the east and west. Some of them have relatively
flat summits and are separated by flat-bottomed depressions -- both
these features increasing in size toward the north as the general
elevation becomes layer. Because slopes are sufficiently gentle,
many of the trails cut directly across the hills.
Just east of the Iranian border is somewhat rougher country,
comparable to the Kushka-Murghab area. North of 35?N it is
characterized by foothill ridges -- outliers of the Paropamisus --
of which 4 run northwestward across the Iranian border and another
2 curve northward into Turkmenistan. South of 350, around Kohsan
(34?39'N) and Ghurian (34?20'N), the valley of the Hari Rid is
broader and the country considerably more open.
Like the rough land east of the Murghab, the country to the
west of it supports trees only in riverine thickets and other places
where the soil is moist enough and not too saline. Distinctive
features not found east of the Murgha are the occasional pistachio
groves. The bushy trees grow in open stands on hillside slopes,
producing a somewhat park-like appearance. Elsewhere low shrubs
and grasses provide an almost continuous cover during the spring
wet season but dry out and expose much bare ground the rest of the
year.
C. Roads
The existence of relatively reliable information on vehicle
routes in northern Afghanistan is one of the brighter spots in the
intelligence picture and makes possible the following analysis. In
it no attempt has been made to duplicate the detailed information
on base, surface, width, condition and trafficability that is
available in NIS 34, Afghanistan. .q/ In fact such information is
largely academic for this area. The essential facts about roads in
northern Afghanistan are:
(1) All are dirt or gravel, none is paved.
(2) Most surfaces are very poor, permitting
average speeds of 10 to 20 miles per
hour, although certain spots are good
enough for 40 miles per hour.
(3) Irrigation ditches are cut across roads
promiscuously, creating small fords.
(4) Mountain roads are tortuous and dangerous.
(5) On the plains, off-road travel is possible
in much of the area and may be better
than on the road itself (Figure 12).
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Figure 12. The poor state of repair of most roads
often forces travelers to use the off-road natural
surface. This picture was taken a few miles east
of Ankhai.
The principal travel route in northern Afghanistan is along
that part of the Afghan ring road lying between Hera and Kundaz,
and an eastward spur from Kunduz to Faizabad (see Map 10944). West
of Kundaz there are several tracks and stretches of open country
where properly equipped vehicles can travel north from the ring road
to the border. Wheeled vehicles can cut. southward through the Hindu
Kush only along the Bitghlan-Doshi-Shikari-Ghorband-Jabal us Siraj-
Kabul route; but pack animals can enter the mountain mass from several
points on the ring road; east of Faizabaa, they are the principal
means of transport.
Much of the discussion of the Corridor and Badakshan, in Section
II-B, Terrain and Vegetation, is concerned with travel routes.
Apparently it was once possible to jeep as far east as Qala Panja in
the Corridor, and portions of the Ishkgshim-Qala Panja route may
still be jeepable (see Figure 6), but now the western approaches to
Ishkashim (via Zebak) do not permit vehicle entry. While the route
from IshkashTm north along the Ab-i-Panja is probably truckable on
the Soviet side, the comparable route on the Afghan side is assumed
to be no more than a pack trail.
Reports_// that have been received indicate the Soviets have
bridged the Ab-i-Panja at more than one place in the Corridor and
are planning bridges at others. Such reports are believed to be
untrue or exaggerated. Although Soviet garrisons J of some strength
are certainly located along the river and occasional "practice"
crossings have probably been made, a permanent bridge structure is
thought not to exist.
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D. Climate
For a country that has been so little surveyed as Afghanistan,
a remarkably good account of the climate is found in NIS 34 Section
23: Weather and Climate. 2/ Therefore, the following paragraphs
include only a few basic points that would be significant to a
person on the ground.
Northern Afghanistan is essentially a dry region. On the east
is the high, cold steppe-desert of Eastern and Western Pamir in
Tadzhik SSR, north of the Wakhan Corridor. On the west is a low,
warm, true desert that extends westward into Iran. The area between
them is transitional in temperature and elevation and has slightly
more precipitation than either zone, but it is still a dry region.
The eastern part of northern Afghanistan is higher -- all the
Corridor is above 8,500 feet in elevation -- and therefore cooler
than the west. Winters in the east are cold and snowy, sometimes
to the point of precluding all travel, whereas the west may have
infrequent light snow and several consecutive days without frost.
Summers are rather rough in the west, as in any low-elevation desert
(Figure 13); but in the east midday shade is comfortable, and night
brings an occasional frost. Rain and snow (Figure 14) fall chiefly
during the period from midwinter through spring -- January through
April -- and then the snow begins to melt, making May to July the
wettest time of year underfoot. Many fords are impassable and roads
and bridges are washed out in June.
Throughout northern Afghanistan, summer nights are considerably
cooler than the days, but both have fairly consistent or uniform
temperatures from day to day. Winter weather is variable, as it is
in New York or Chicago, with irregular periods of cold and milder
temperatures. Winter skies are clouded about half the time; summer
skies are much clearer. Thunder may be heard in spring and summer,
but not all thunderstorms produce rain that reaches the ground.
Winds are stronger than most Americans are accustomed to, often
reaching gale force in winter.
III. The People
A. General Characteristics of the Population
Westerners generally have the impression that most of the
Afghan people are thin, dirty, diseased, clothed in near rags, and
uneducated. By Western standards this is true, and it has been true for
centuries, but the common man has learned to compensate for his primitive
existence by taking a keen interest in new things and new people, a
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Figure 13. Extreme aridity is the rule in the low
plains of northwestern Afghanistan. The tower is
a part of the military guard station shown in the
distance in Figure 9.
Figure 14. November snow cover on the trail
from FaizabaU northwest to the Ab-i-Panja.
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willingness to set aside worries and to change his mind frequently,
and above all by an uncompromising hospitality toward strangers. He
is a well tanned outdoor man who herds animals or scratches the ground
to raise crops, is unable to plan for the future or accumulate capital,
and leads what we would consider a hard life at the subsistence level.
His education has probably been achieved through experience and parental
instruction, with possibly a few weeks of formal elementary schooling
when there was enough money and impetus to support a local teacher. No
more than one school age child in 30 receives any classroom education,
and the outlay for him is about $15 per year. The effect of a
naturally high birth rate is offset by a high death rate, and
efficiency is reduced by tuberculosis, malaria, pneumonia, and eye
diseases.
Opportunity for contact with people and ideas outside the small
community is meager. Word of mouth is probably the most common
means of receiving news, which is richer near the caravan or bus
routes. In the village, a newspaper may sometimes be available for
the literate to read and the illiterate to hear. Kabul broadcasts
Government propaganda, Government news gleaned from the newspapers,
and religious speeches of prominent mullahs. Although these
broadcasts can be heard throughout the country, the only large
audience is the urban middle class, which resides chiefly in Kabul
but also in small numbers in Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat, and other towns.
For others the high initial cost, absence of electricity, and
nuisance of batteries make owning a radio nearly impossible; and
communal listening is not popular. German and Dutch sets are the
more popular in the country as a whole, but it is estimated that
well over half the receivers north of the Hindu Kush are of USSR
manufacture. Soviet and Indian broadcasts heard in Afghanistan are
more valued for their music than for their propaganda.
The total population of northern Afghanistan is probably between
2 and 3 million people. Their location is determined primarily by
the presence of water and secondarily by the presence of land suitable
for grazing or cropping. All towns, villages, and riverine settlements
in northern Afghanistan are basically oases. They are relatively
larger in the west, where there are a few full-fledged "towns", and
smaller in the mountainous east where settlements of one to twenty
houses are common (see Map 10944). Although the population between
oasis-towns is sparse, people will be encountered in the plains
areas -- usually moving about between the main road and the river
or staying overnight in the rabats.
Most of the people -- probably in the neighborhood of 90 percent
are peasants. They may be sedentary village farmers who have settled
where there is water enough for irrigation, seminomads who practice
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lowland agriculture in winter and migrate up the mountains to take
advantage of high summer pastures, or full-time nomads dependent on
sheep and goats (Figure 15). A village or town is not completely
Figure 15. A rugged Tajik
in the western part of the
Wakhan Corridor. At 9,000
feet, he carries more than
his weight of winter rye.
urban but is made up of an outer fringe of irrigated farmland that
feeds the farmer and the nonf arming urbanites. Service and professional
people, government employees) and well-to-do persons comprise a small
but important segment of the population, probably less than ten
percent. The predominantly peasant population lives in small villages;
the Quarter-Inch map series contains literally many hundreds of
place-names. Possibly 300,000 of the people of northern Afghanistan
live in towns of 5,000 or larger (Figures 16 and 17). The following
list includes the principal towns of the area and also indicates the
wide range in estimates of their population.
Town PopulationTown Population
(in 1,000's) (in 1,000's)
T.q. ChTth
3-20
Kundrtz
10-20
Andkha
5-30
Kviaja inath Saiyid
-10
Baghlan
10-18
Maimana
10-25
Bala Murghab
3-8
Maiar-i-SharTf
30-55
Balkh
10-20
Pul-i-Khumri
8-15
Fai.5715Ed
4-25
Rustg.k
10-20
Haibak
10-20
Sari-i-Pul
5-20
Hazrat 'Main
-10
Shibarghan
2-20
Herat
30-85
TaITgan
10-20
IshkEshTm
-2
TgshkurghEn
-20
KhEriabad
15-30
Wakhan Corridor (The)
-1
Totals
175-494
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Figure 16. A street in Faizabaa, a largely
Tajik town of some 20,000 people. The two
men in sun helmets are westerners.
Figure 17. Main street in Mazar-i-SharTf.
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B. Ethnic Groups
The people of northern Afghanistan fall into three major ethnic
groups and a number of smaller ones. Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Turkmen
predominate in the area extending from the central Corridor to the
Murghab-Kushka Rivers. Kirghiz dominate the eastern Wakhan Corridor.
In southern Nazar and Kataghan Provinces, south of the Uzbeks, are
the Hazaras. The Chahar Aimak live in the extreme west, south and
west of the Turkmen. Scattered throughout the north are many Pathans,
transplanted from southern Afghanistan. In the following paragraphs,
the ethnic groups are discussed from east to west, following the
pattern used in Section II, Physical Background.
1. Kirghiz
All the Kirghiz in Afghanistan -- somewhat less than 1,000 --
live in the Wakhan Corridor. Most of them live in the eastern
half -- in the area that is east of Sarhad-i-WahEn (73?30'E) on the
Tb-i-W.Ekhan, in the area east of approximately 73000' on the Pamir
River that includes the Lake Victoria region. The southern mountain
rim of the Corridor and the mountain chain in the northeast are
little known and probably almost uninhabited. The Kirghiz are
thoroughly Mongolian, short of stature, with dark yellow skin and
sparse beard. The eastern half of the Corridor is a transborder
extension of the main tribal area in the Kirgiz SSR and Sinkiang.
Typically horse-loving nomads, completely dependent on yaks, sheep,
and goats, they cross borders at will to trade, raid, and pasture
their animals. Their largest village is Bozai Gumbaz (pronounced
Box-eye Gumbaz).
2. Tajiks
Tajiks are the dominant group in (1) the western half of the
Corridor, (2) a narrow strip' west of the Tb-i-Panja between IshkashIm
and Rushan, and (3) southern Badakshn and southeastern Kataghan
Provinces. They are also present in smaller percentages in several
other parts of northern Afghanistan, such as (1) the area between
Maigr-i-Sharif and TEshkurgh-En, (2) a strip 100 miles long south of
Sar-i-Pul, and (3) the town of Hera and the land to the east of it.
It is significant that Tajiks also inhabit parts of the USSR that are
adjacent to Afghanistan from the middle of the Corridor to the Urta
Tagai (69?20'E).
The Tajiks are usually tall and good looking, with olive skin,
straight noses and full black beards (Figure 18). Although openly
antagonistic to the central government and therefore excluded from
the higher military and administrative positions, they are a solid,
orderly group of farmers, traders, and artisans. The language,
called Tajik, is a Persian dialect similar to the Afghan dialect of
Persian. Soviet propaganda probably has had little effect on these
people.
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Figure 18. With one exception, all of this group at
Tala Barfaq are Tajiks. The man at the extreme left
comes from Kabul, about 80 miles to the southeast.
3. Uzbeks
About one million Uzbeks live in Afghanistan, all of them in
the north. The solid center of northern Afghanistan is occupied by
Uzbeks. Toward the east, they inhabit all of northern Badakshah
except for the narrow strip of Tajik territory along the Tb-i-Panja
between Ishkgshith and the Soviet town of Rushan. Toward the west,
they occupy the plain-and-hill area between the Amu Darya and the
Hindu Kush as well as the Band-i-Turkestgn. Between 640 and 67?E
(western Maimana Province), the Uzbeks are not dominant in the area
near the USSR border, which is Turkmen territory.
The Afghan Uzbeks are closely related to the people of the same
name across the Amu Darya in the USSR and are largely, but not
wholly, Mongoloid. They retain the Mongoloid eyefold and scant
beard, but they are taller and have a complexion of reddish-tinge.
Most of the Uzbeks are sedentary, raising cotton and karakul and
breeding horses.
4. Turkmen
Smallest of the three principal frontier groups, the Turkmen
live in a narrow band parallel to the USSR border from 630 to 67?E.
They also inhabit an extensive area north of the border and west of
the Amu Darya. The moderately tall slender figure and light yellowish
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or reddish skin mark them as Caucasoid. Compared with the relatively
peaceful Uzbeks, they are a restive people; and they probably dislike
the Russian government as much as the Afghan. They number upwards
of 100,000.
A combination of farming and nomadic herding provides a livelihood
for most of these people. Fields around their permanent villages are
planted to cereals in spring and are often unirrigated. In summer,
all but a few of the Turkmen accompany their flocks to better pastures
in the hills, returning in the fall when the lowland pastures revive.
5. Hazaras
Most of the Hazaras who leave their core area in the central
Hindu Kush go eastward, especially to Kabul; but a few move north
into Afghan Turkestan. Along the Iranian border from Islam Qala
southward and around the town of gala Nau in northern Herat Province,
the Hazaras total perhaps 50,000.
The Hazaras are true Mongoloids. Taciturn but sturdy and
relatively reliable, they are sedentary farmers who thoroughly
dislike the central government, preferring to be let alone.
6. Chahar Aimak
The Chahar Aimak comprise an indefinite group, estimated at
350,000 people, who live on both sides of the USSR border for a
distance of 100 miles east of Iran and in an area including most of
southeastern Herat Province and extreme northwest Kandahar Province.
Some are nomads and others farmers. The Chahar Aimak face is round,
and the hair is plentiful and black.
7. Pathans
The Pathans are the ruling tribal group in Afghanistan and most
of them live in the southern part of the country. For political
reasons, some 100,000 families of Pathans have been resettled in
northern Afghanistan, where they constitute a politically reliable
element in a sea of Soviet-connected Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Turkmen.
The largest area of Pathan concentration is between B-Eghl-gn and
Doshi. In north central Mazal--i-SharIT Province are several small
scattered concentrations and east of Herat is a rather considerable
area in which they are intermingled with Tajiks.
Pathans are a rather impressive looking Caucasoid people -- tall
with black to light-brown hair, and rather light-colored skin.
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C. Soviet Penetration
With the exception of the Pathans, the peoples of northern
Afghanistan, particularly the Uzbeks, are reported to be highly
susceptible to Soviet overtures. They do not lean toward Communism
as such, but they have close ethnic and cultural connections with
people north of the border. This, combined with an inadequate system
of checks and identification in Afghanistan, have made the initial
stages of Soviet penetration relatively easy. The deeply seated,
though seldom violent, resentment of the native northern Afghans
against their local Pathan rulers and the Kabul Government provides
a continuous entree which the USSR can ill afford to neglect. Radio
Tashkent still beams southward in Uzbek, which many Afghans understand.
The influx of technicians since 1954 has provided a highly mobile
source of Soviet influence in the area.
IV. Economic Activity
A. General
Between 80 and 90 percent of the people of northern Afghanistan
are supported by or engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry.
About half of Afghanistan's cultivated area, or about 2 percent of _
the total area of the country lies between the Hindu Kush and the
Amu Darya. Some of the crops -- perhaps less than half -- are grown
without irrigation. All crops are grown on small plots and, except
for export cotton, are used in the home or for local sale as a cash
crop. Animal husbandry ranges in importance from the few animals
kept by a completely sedentary family, through semi-nomadism (Figure
19), to a small number of completely nomadic herders. Karakul is
raised chiefly by large-scale methods and is exported.
Figure 19. Yaks being milkeoliat a temporary Kirghiz
camp near Bozai Gumbaz in the eastern Corridor.
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B. Agriculture
The steppe climate of the lowlands and foothills north of the
Hindu Kush is well adapted to the raising of grains, fruits, vegetables,
and cotton. Winter wheat is the favorite grain, followed in importance
by corn, rice, and barley. Sorghums are used largely for fodder.
Grapes, peaches, plums, apples, melons, other fruits, and nuts are
prominent crops. ?Most of the vegetables familiar to an American are
grown in Afghanistan. All of these crops are consumed locally except
for some nuts and a small part of the fruit crop that is exported to
neighboring countries, either fresh or driejk/ Northern Kataghan and
Mazar-i-Sharif Provinces produce nearly all -Lhe cotton of the country
and a large part of this is exported, chiefly to USSR. Herat and
Badakshan raise opium, which is used locally and exported by both
smuggling and legal channels. The opium acreage is increasing under
government urging.
C. Livestock
Animals are perhaps three times as numerous as people in the
country as a whole, and in northern Afghanistan the ratio may be
even higher. Sheep and goats make up the bulk of the animal population.
Horses, mules, donkeys, and camels are raised in small numbers as
beasts of burden. All except the karakul are used locally as food,
draft animals, and sources of cloth or leather. The formerly profitable
business of raising and exporting karakul skins is limited exclusively
to northern Afghanistan, particularly betweenAndkiruiand MaiEr-i-Sharif.
Most of the skins are for export to the United States, but since 1950
this demand has fallen off -- giving USSR an opportunity to pick up
the surplus. Since most of the karakul is raised by herders who have
invested considerable capital in large specialized herds, the cutback
in production has resulted in hardship. Furthermore, sale to the USSR
rather than the United States results in a loss of dollar income.
D. Processing
Insofar as the term can be applied to northern Afghanistan,
industry is located in the valley of the Kunduz River. A factory
for producing sugar from beets is located in Bgh1n and operates
at little better than half capacity for lack of beets. Cotton is
ginned locally, and some of it is manufactured into coarse cloth at
a factory in Pul-i-Khumri -- both these operations being largely
government controlled. The gin at Kunda also processes cottonseed
into oil and soap. Some of the ordinary wool is used by the Hera
carpet factory and some is exported to USSR, but probably more than
half is woven into clothing in the home. Many of the villages have
the usual small pottery-making establishment and a small forge using
scrap metal. Practically all other processing is done in the home
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for home or local use, .but some of the home weaving of cotton, wool,
and silk constitutes a cottage textile industry.
A major deterrent to the development of industrial activity is
the lack of fuel. Coal mines at Ishpushta and Kar Kar (Karkar) fall
short of supplying even present requirements, and wood is extremely
scarce for both lumber and fuel. For this reason the discovery of
oil at Sar-i-Pul in November 1956 appears to the Afghans to be of
particular significance, even though the oil is of poor quality.
Further drilling in the area is continuing under Soviet direction,
chiefly for its political impact. With poor transportation and no
nearby refinery, this oil is no panacea for the economic ills of
the country.
E. Changes in the Economic Scene
The interplay of Soviet and Western forces striving for the
affection of Afghanistan is resulting in forced-draft development
in an economy that has heretofore been geared largely to primitive
conditions. In northern Afghanistan the impetus is mainly Soviet
(Figure 20) and the high wages offered have caused a certain amount
Figure 20. Soviet-built oil tank farm at Hera, 1955.
of disruption in existing establishments such as the Pul-i-Khumri
textile mill, which has experienced difficulty in hiring people who
have the required technical background. The ordinary peasant is
little affected, but a few people who are employed on foreign-sponsored
projects have more purchasing power than they are accustomed to.
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A port of sorts is being developed at Qizil Qala on the Ab-i-Panja,
and the road to it from Kundaz is being improved. To accommodate
jet planes, a new airfield has been built at Mazar-i-SharIf, and
Afghan would-be pilots are receiving instruction from Russian
pilots in Soviet-built jet planes.
Soviet interest in Afghan agriculture is reflected in the
earmarking of approximately 40 million dollars of the 100 million
dollar credit established by the USSR for agricultural development,
including irrigation projects in the north.
Early in 1958, additional evidence of stepped-up Soviet interest
in northern Afghanistan became available. A petroleum agreement that
calls for a 7-stage exploration program involving 470 Soviet and
Soviet Bloc technicians and a geological survey that will include
aerial photography was reportedly signed on 7 January 1958. The cost
of materials and equipment for this petroleum program is said to be
approximately 8 million dollars, and is a sum over and above the
100 million dollar credit previously established. 22/ Earlier reports
indicate that the total petroleum loan may be as high as 15 million
dollars.
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APPENDIX A
GAPS IN INTETT.TGENCE
Serious gaps in intelligence data were encountered in preparing
every part of this study. For example, available intelligence reports
pertinent to the physical and economic geography of the country
indicate a general lack of first-hand observation of the landscape.
In the past, reports from occasional observers in northern Afghanistan
lacked detail primarily because travelers seldom left the main routes.
In recent years, the opportunity to travel in this part of Afghanistan
has been sharply restricted, thus making detailed information even
harder to get. Nor could the lack of detailed first-hand information
be remedied by available statistical data, since the statistics are
often inadequate and sometimes misleading.
Neither maps nor photographs can begin to bridge the deep gaps
in information adequately. The basic map series covering northern
Afghanistan is hopelessly out of date; the newest map series including
part of the area duplicates many of the blank spaces that appeared
on earlier maps. Most photographs of the area lack proper
identification for intelligence purposes.
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APPENDIX B
SOURCE REFERENCES
A wide variety of types of information went into this study.
Available maps and photographs were used to supplement the observations
found in many of the intelligence reports. Intelligence documents
from several services or agencies -- chiefly the Army, Air Force,
CIA, and ICA -- were utilized. Information was also derived from
the National Intelligence Survey (NIS) of Afghanistan.
Evaluations following the classification entry are those
appearing on the cited documents and have the following significance:
Source of Information Information
A - Completely reliable 1 - Confirmed by other sources
B - Usually reliable 2 - Probably true
C - Fairly reliable 3 - Possibly true
D - Not usually reliable 4 - Doubtful
E - Not reliable 5 - Probably false
F - Cannot be judged 6 - Cannot be judged
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1. State, Kabul. 284, 5 Nov 57, Discussion of Fairchild Geneva
Representative with Afghan Government Officials, 5 p. C.
2. Army, Kabul. R-20-49, 28 Jan 49, Maps of the USSR-Afghanistan
Border, p. 3, info 27 Jan 49, S. Eval A-2.
3. Army, Kabul. R-121-46, 14 Oct 46, Afghan-USSR Border, p. 1-35,
IG 6101.0101, S. Eval A-2.
4. United Nations. United Nations Treaty Series, 1949, vol 31,
no. 476, "Frontier Agreement Between Afghanistan and the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics, Signed at Moscow on 13 June 1946."
p. 158-167. U.
5.
6. CIA. National Intelligence Survey: Afghanistan, NIS 34,
sec 32, "Highways," C.
7.
8.
9. CIA. National Intelligence Survey: Afghanistan, NIS 34,
sec 23, "Weather and Climate," C.
25X1A
10. State, Kabul. Dsp 513, 8 Mar 58, Soviet-assisted Oil Exploration
Plan, C.
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?,,Tet'l;:rzded7,77.U.S.:rzet
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3
AFGHANISTAN
TERRAIN & TRANSPORTATION
ROAD (Motorable all year, but subject to temporary
blockage by snow or flood. Surface generally
improved.)
ROAD (Motorable in dry weather. Surface unim-
proved or partially improved.)
SELECTED TRAIL (Primarily for carts and animals.
Some motorable with difficulty. Surface
rarely improved.)
Selected airfield
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or route
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???? International boundary,
demarcated
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undemarcated
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indefinite
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? National capital
24 Province capital
Miles
50 100
150
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I
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INDIA
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SNOW
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