Panjshir Gorge, Afghanistan: geography, strategic importance

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:55

Panjshir Gorge is a deep mountainous valley located in the northeast of Afghanistan. From 1980 to 1984, several military operations were carried out here with the participation of Soviet troops during the war in Afghanistan in 1979-1989.

Name history

The Panjshir Gorge has been known since the beginning of the 11th century. In literal translation from Afghan, its name means "five lions". So in those days they called the governors of the powerful Sultan Mahmud Gaznevi, who ruled in these places. He was the padishah and emir of the Ghaznavid state at the turn of the 10th-11th centuries. According to legend, these governors built a dam across the Panjshir River in one night, which still exists today. Locals believe that deep and strong faith helped them in this.

Panjshir is a fairly large river, which is one of the main tributaries of the Kabul River. Included in the basin of the Indus River. The Panjshir Valley is located along the famous Hindu Kush mountain range. Its area is about 3.5 thousand square kilometers. The average height exceeds 2,200 meters above sea level. Peak points are at around 6 thousand meters above sea level. The village of Rukh is considered the center of the Panjersh Gorge. Herethe elders of the province were based.

Meaning of the Gorge

The gorge is of great strategic importance. It was especially pronounced during the Afghan war. The fact is that the river valley that flows through the gorge divides Afghanistan into northern and southern parts.

It is here that the most successful and convenient passes from one part of the country to another are located. The terrain at the same time consists of a complex system of rivers and tributaries that pass through the gorges. Therefore, they serve as an excellent natural shelter during hostilities. The valley turns into an impregnable fortress, organically suitable for conducting combat operations by partisan detachments.

The Panjshir Gorge was of strategic importance during the war against the communist regime in 1975, and then during the confrontation with the Soviet troops during the 10-year war.

During the entire time that the Soviet Union kept troops in this Asian country, the gorge to which this article is dedicated remained the hottest spot on the entire map of Afghanistan. It was here that the most fierce battles took place, it was here that the Soviet troops suffered the greatest losses of personnel. For many Soviet soldiers and officers, Panjshir remained a nightmare for the rest of their lives.

Fierce fighting

The resistance in this territory was led by the influential Afghan warlord Ahmad Shah Massoud. Much attention was paid to the Salang pass, which was commonly called the "throat of Kabul". It was here that the route from Hairatan toKabul. It was considered a key highway for convoys of trucks that delivered civilian and military cargo to Afghanistan from the USSR.

Near the village of Rukh in the first years of the war, the so-called second Muslim battalion was stationed, created on the basis of the 177th separate special forces detachment. In total, it included a thousand people.

Since 1984, the 682nd motorized rifle regiment was based, numbering about one and a half thousand military men. In total, nine large-scale operations were carried out against the partisan detachments of Ahmad Shah Massoud. Many eyewitnesses of those events recalled that the most difficult situation was in the Panjursh Gorge. The partisans were able to regularly repel the offensive of the Soviet troops.

Tension in this part of the country continued after the withdrawal of the Soviet army in 1989. First, the confrontation with the regime of the Afghan president from 1987 to 1992, Mohammad Najibullah, and later with the Taliban. An Islamist movement that originated in Afghanistan in 1994 among the Pashtuns.

Population of the gorge

The population of this valley, which formed the basis of the Panjshir province, was estimated at about 100 thousand people. Such data was given in the mid-80s, when Soviet troops were actively fighting there.

All these people were dispersed over 200 settlements. There are currently no accurate population figures. According to various estimates, from 150 to 300 thousand people live in the gorge. Mostly they are Afghan Tajiks. In general, Tajiks in Afghanistanquite a lot. According to some sources, from 11 to 13 million people, which is one third of the total population of the country. They are the second largest people in Afghanistan.

Panjshir - the historical area where Afghan Tajiks live. 99% of them live here. The mining of lithium and emeralds is developed in the gorge. The main attraction is the mausoleum of Ahmad Shah Massoud.

Confrontation with Massoud's troops

By 1979, when the Afghan war began, all units of the Afghan government army were finally driven out of the gorge. It was under the absolute control of the field commander Ahmad Shah Massoud. Later, he even received the nickname Panjshur Lion.

In 1979, a new leader came to power in the country, General Secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan Babrak Karmal. He demanded the immediate restoration of state power in all provinces. On this basis, government troops, with the support of a limited contingent of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, participated in military operations to liberate settlements that were under the control of the rebels.

The area of the Panjshir Gorge turned out to be one of the most problematic in this regard. The geography of Afghanistan was such that access here by road was severely limited due to the complex mountainous landscape. The only road led through the city of Gulbahor. However, it was not easy to use it either, since Massoud's group put up serious resistance. In addition, Massoud himself was a local. This isallowed him to better navigate the terrain and receive support from the natives.

In addition, this gorge was the optimal transport corridor for the supply of weapons from Pakistan and the organization of training bases by the rebels.

The fate of Masood

Thus, in fact, Ahmad Shah Massoud became one of the main opponents of the Soviet troops during the entire 10-year stay in Afghanistan. It is worth noting that he was born in a Tajik family.

In 1973, after the coup d'état, he was forced to emigrate to Pakistan. There he joined the Islamist opposition led by Burhanuddin Rabbani.

In 1975, he took part in a failed uprising against the dictator Mohammed Daoud. Then he fought against the Soviet troops and President Karmal.

After the withdrawal of the army, the USSR actually became the ruler of Masudistan. This is a self-proclaimed state, which included provinces in the northeast of Afghanistan. The capital was organized in the center of the province of Takhar - Talukan. Masudistan had its own government, about 2.5 million people, mostly Tajiks, its own currency and a 60,000-strong army.

In 1992, Massoud's army entered Kabul. After that, Rabbani became the president of Afghanistan, and Massoud received the portfolio of the minister of defense. However, after the fall of the Soviet regime, Masud had to confront Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. In 1994, as a result of the fighting for control of Kabul, about four thousand civilians were killed, and the city itself wassubstantially destroyed.

Yet in 1996, the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, and Masudistan became part of the Northern Alliance, which was headed by Massoud.

It is known that since 1999 Massoud cooperated with US intelligence. As a result, in 2001 he was killed during a suicide attempt. He introduced himself as a journalist, and hid the bomb in a video camera. According to some reports, Massoud was killed on the orders of bin Laden because of links with the Americans.

Panjshir operations

The first Panjshir operation took place back in 1980. The fighting began on 9 April. Massoud's headquarters was destroyed, but it was not possible to pursue the retreating rebels. Due to the relief, heavy equipment could not pass. This was one of the first successes of the Soviet troops in Afghanistan. The Panjshir Gorge did not seem so impregnable then.

The results of the operation were recognized as successful. Masood's group was defeated, he himself fled, having been seriously wounded.

However, for inexplicable reasons, the Soviet troops decided not to leave their battalions in the occupied villages. As a result, they were soon back in the hands of Masood's resurrected guerrillas.

Truce with Massoud

Masoud was one of those Afghan field commanders who willingly went to a truce with the Soviet units. The first truce was concluded immediately after the end of the military operation in 1980.

Masoud promised not to attack Soviet and government troops, in turn, they promised not toair and artillery support in the event of clashes between Massoud's troops and the Islamic Party of Afghanistan, led by Hekmatyar.

Another truce was reached at the turn of 1982-1983.

Results of Panjshir operations

In total, during the stay of Soviet troops in Afghanistan, 9 large-scale operations were carried out in this gorge. Each resulted in temporary and partial control of the Panjshir Gorge, which was eventually lost.

There are no exact data on losses from the Soviet army and the Afghan Mujahideen.