Zherai District

{{Short description |District in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan}}

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'''Zheray''', also written as '''Zherai''', '''Zheri''' or '''Zhari''' ({{langx|ps|ژړۍ}}; {{langx|prs|ولسوالی ژری}}),<ref>{{cite news |url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan-197022 |title=Defense Minister Urges Religious and Modern Education for Children |work=TOLOnews |date=14 December 2025 |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2025/12/26/kandahar-starts-giving-plots-to-returnees-after-pajhwok-report/ |title=Kandahar starts giving plots to returnees after Pajhwok report |work=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=26 December 2025 |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref> is one of the [[Districts of Afghanistan|districts]] of [[Kandahar Province]] in southern Afghanistan. It has an estimated population of 105,701 people.<ref name="population">{{cite web |url=https://nsia.gov.af:8443/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%86%D9%81%D9%88%D8%B3-%DA%A9%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-1404.pdf#page=117 |title=Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26 |page=94 |work=National Statistics and Information Authority |date=September 2025 |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref> The village of Pasab serves as its center.

Zheray district was created in 2004 from parts of [[Maywand District|Maywand]] and [[Panjwayi District|Panjwayi]] districts. The [[Kandahar–Herat Highway]] runs in the district. [[Panjwayi Bazaar]] is the closest [[town]] to Zherai and [[Kandahar]] the closest city.

== Geography == {{Further|Geography of Afghanistan}} Zheray lies on the north bank of the [[Arghandab River]], which runs east to west through Kandahar Province. The general area is sometimes referred to as the Arghandab Valley. The built-up and farmed area of Zheray is approximately {{cvt|30|km}} east to west by {{cvt|8|km}} north to south, between the river and the [[Kandahar–Herat Highway]].

Most buildings are single-story mud structures, with narrow, winding roads and walkways. The exceptions are the grape-drying huts, which are larger buildings, as high as {{cvt|20|m}}, scattered throughout the countryside. The farmlands are irrigated by a complex system of [[wadi]]s running parallel with the Arghandab River. The area north of Highway 1 is more desert-like with abrupt mountain ranges of approximately 200–400m in height.

==History== {{Further|History of Afghanistan}} The district was created 2004 from land that was formerly part of [[Maywand District|Maywand]] and [[Panjwai District|Panjwai]] districts. It was done by then-President [[Hamid Karzai]] as a reward for [[Habibullah Jan]], an ethnic [[Alizai (Pashtun tribe)|Alizai]] warlord, who had helped defeat the [[Taliban]] in the early part of the 2000s.<ref name=LittleAmerica/>

[[NATO]] and [[International Security Assistance Force|ISAF]] has been supporting the Karzai government and quell an insurgency. The Taliban is deeply rooted in Zheray's history and has long been attempting to exert influence through a system of mullahs and elders (see Resurgence of [[Taliban]]). The situation was complicated by the warlords and criminals who also attempted to minimize the government's power in the area to further their own ends.<ref>"Western Zhari: the people, leaders, tribes and the economy." [Kandahar?]: Human Terrain Team AF8, 2010.</ref>

A 2 AM raid on 18 October 2006 by NATO helicopters, hunting Taliban fighters, was only half a mile from the scene of September's 2006 [[Operation Medusa]], one of the most ferocious battles between Western forces and [[insurgent]]s since late 2001.<ref name="southcoast">[http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/10-06/10-19-06/16world-nation.htm; "Civilians reported killed by airstrikes as NATO hunts Taliban" 19 October 2006] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310130236/http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/10-06/10-19-06/16world-nation.htm; |date=10 March 2007 }} Retrieved 19 October 2006.</ref>

On 4 October 2013, 4 U.S. special operations soldiers were killed and 12 wounded during an operation in the Zheray district. The coalition soldiers were killed by a set of IEDs and a suicide bomber. A Taliban spokesman claimed explosives were placed in a house and detonated when soldiers entered. As other soldiers entered to assist the fallen, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives.<ref name="nytimes">[https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/07/world/asia/afghanistan-coalition-soldiers-killed.html; "Bomb Kills 4 Soldiers In Afghanistan" 6 October 2013] Retrieved 6 October 2013.</ref>

== Politics ==

The [[Shurah]] has been the basic mechanism of government in Zheray. The tribal nature of the district is inseparable from politics, making the decision-making process difficult and time-consuming.

The Zheray seat of government for the district is located in Pasab. The district center is also adjacent to Forward Operating Base Pasab (FOB Pasab), a former [[International Security Assistance Force|ISAF]] base now controlled by the [[Afghan National Security Forces]].<ref name=MountaineerOnline>{{cite web|title=General visits 3rd BCT Soldiers during Pasab Day|url=http://www.drum.army.mil/mountaineer/Article.aspx?ID=5669|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110829004821/http://www.drum.army.mil/mountaineer/Article.aspx?ID=5669|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 August 2011|website=The Mountaineer Online|publisher=Fort Drum - United States Army|access-date=5 February 2015}}</ref><ref name=GlobalPost>{{cite web|title=US troops in Afghanistan: Packing up and moving out|url=http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/groundtruth/afghanistan-drawdown-us-troops-afghan-soldiers-retrograde|work=Global Post|access-date=5 February 2015}}</ref>

Jamal Agha was the district governor in 2015.<ref name="APD">[http://en.apdnews.com/asia-pacific/south-asia/269998.html; "Afghanistan launches poppy eradication campaign in former Taliban stronghold" 27 January 2015]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Retrieved 27 July 2016.</ref><ref name="Pajhwok">[https://web.archive.org/web/20160728014129/http://archive.pajhwok.com/en/2015/03/28/poppies-destroyed-400-hectares-land-kandahar "Poppies destroyed on 400 hectares of land in Kandahar" 28 March 2015] Retrieved 27 July 2016.</ref> Muhammed Naez Sarhadi and Karim Jan were previous district governors.<ref name="DVIDS">[http://www.dvidshub.net/video/147900/cleaning-house#.VNPei53F8xI; "DVIDS: Cleaning House" 29 May 2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160822213307/https://www.dvidshub.net/video/147900/cleaning-house#.VNPei53F8xI; |date=22 August 2016 }} Retrieved 5 February 2015.</ref><ref name=LittleAmerica>{{cite book|last1=Chandrasekaran|first1=Rajiv |author-link=Rajiv Chandrasekaran |title=Little America: The War Within the War for Afghanistan |date=2013|publisher=Bloomsbury|location=London|isbn=1408831201|page=281}}</ref> Mohammad Masoum Khan leads the Afghan National Police forces in the district as of 26 January 2015.<ref name=APD />

== Economy == {{Further|Economy of Afghanistan}} Most residents of Zheray are villagers involved in [[agriculture]], [[trade]] and [[transport in Afghanistan|transport]]. The major crops of the area have always been [[grapes]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://pajhwok.com/2022/07/11/drought-affects-grapes-yield-in-kandahar-this-season/ |title=Drought affects grapes yield in Kandahar this season |work=Pajhwok Afghan News |date=11 July 2022 |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://english.news.cn/20220702/4f064da2e88e4342a704ead7e4ca3feb/c.html |title=Grapes harvested from orchards in Kandahar, Afghanistan |work=Xinhua |date=2 July 2022 |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>

== Tribes == Most people in Zheray are [[Pashtuns]]. There are at least a dozen tribes, the most numerous of which are the Alizai, Achakzai, Nurzai and [[Ghilzai]]. Many [[nomad]]ic tribes pass through the northern areas of Zheray between Maywand and [[Arghandab District, Kandahar|Arghandab]] districts.

== Sub-districts== The political geography of Zheray changes over time. Many of the smaller villages bear the name of the local elder. A collection of these smaller villages can be loosely described as a sub-district. Zheray currently has the following sub-districts: * Nar Kariz * Nalgham * [[Singesar|Sangsar]] * Kolk * Gariban * Siah Choy * Sablaghay * Pashmul * Asequeh * Sanzari

== See also == *[[Districts of Afghanistan]] *[[Khosrow Sofla]] *[[Tarok Kolache]]

== References == {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

==External links== *{{YouTube|HlLh4Av1VVA| د ژوند آسانتیاوې؛ کندهار کې هم راستنېدونکو افغان کډوالو ته د ځمکو د وېش لړۍ پیل شوه }} *{{YouTube|SHlKBRpWWkY| Returnees begin receiving lands in Kandahar / آغاز روند توزیع زمین برای عودت کنندگان در کندهار }}

[[Category:Districts of Kandahar Province]]