Zabul
ZABUL
Afghan province.
Zabul is the name of both a province in Afghanistan and an Iranian city. The Afghan province of Zabul is located in southeastern Afghanistan, bordering Pakistan on the south and the province of Kandahar on the west. Zabul province has a population of approximately 200,000, most of whom are Push-tun, though some Hazara live in the north. The provincial capital is Kalat, which lies along the main highway from Kabul to Kandahar. Zabul, which is famous for its almonds, is in a very dry and windy region, where agriculture is limited to a few irrigated valleys. The drought of the late 1990s and early 2000s hit this area particularly hard. Many of the tribes in Zabul province were strong supporters of the Taliban movement, and security remains problematic in this area.
The Iranian city of Zabul is in the SistanBaluchistan province and is situated near the Afghan border across from the Afghan city of Zaranj. The population of Zabul in 2001 was 126,000.
Bibliography
Adamec, Ludwig W. Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan. Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1991.
Iranian Statistical Year Book: 1380 (2001–2002). Tehran: Statistical Centre of Iran, 2002.
Rubin, Barnett R. The Fragmentation of Afghanistan: State Formation and Collapse in the International System, 2d edition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2002.
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