Maidan Shar


Maidan Shar or Maidan Shahr is a growing town in the eastern part of Afghanistan, serving as the capital of Maidan Wardak Province. It is within the jurisdiction of Maidan Shar District and has an estimated population of 50,029 people. Mawlavi Abdullah Darwish is the current mayor of the town.
Maidan Shar is connected by a road network with Kabul to the northeast, Bamyan and Behsud to the west, and Ghazni to the southwest. The Kabul–Kandahar Highway passes in the town, which helps its economy. Maidan Shar currently has a limited number of bazaars, restaurants, hotels, mosques, hospitals, and places to play sports or just relax.
Zarifa Ghafari became Maidan Shar's first female mayor in 2019. At the age of 26, she was one of the youngest to be appointed. She has won awards for her efforts in promoting women's rights in Afghanistan. On or about 15 August 2021, Maidan Shar fell to the Taliban, becoming the twenty-seventh provincial capital to be captured by the Taliban as part of their wider 2021 offensive.

Geography

Maidan Shar is at a strategic location, which connects by road Kabul with Bamyan and Ghazni. It is within the larger Maidan Shar District and sits at an elevation of approximately above sea level. The town is located in the northeastern part of Wardak Province. It is surrounded by the Arghandeh and Paghman mountains of Kabul Province, and the Jalrez and Nirkh districts of Wardak Province. It consists of 59 main villages and 1 sub-village.
Maidan Shar is described as an urban village located west of Kabul. It has 4 city districts, covering a land area of or. Majority of the land is not occupied or utilized, with barren land and vacant plots combining for about 81% of total land use. Institutional land is the second largest built-up land use. Residential dwellings are concentrated in Districts 1 and 2.

Climate

Maidan Shar features a warm-summer humid continental climate under the Köppen climate classification. It has warm, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. The average temperature in Maidan Shar is, while the annual precipitation averages.
July is the warmest month of the year, with an average temperature of. The coldest month, January, has an average temperature of.

Demographics

Maidan Shar has an estimated population of 50,029 people. Ethnically, they are predominantly Pashtuns followed by Tajiks and Hazaras. In 2015 there were 1,585 dwelling units in the city. This number has nearly doubled by 2026.

Economy

The economy of Maidan Shar is mostly based on agriculture, trade, and transport.

Education

There are a number of public and private schools in Maidan Shar. About a decade ago there were a total of 14 schools, with about 275 teachers and 9,268 students.

Healthcare

There are a limited number of hospitals and clinics in Maidan Shar. Residents of the area that seek advanced medical care go to Kabul.

Sports

and football are the most popular sports in Afghanistan. Other sports Maidan Shar's people enjoy playing are futsal and volleyball.

Notable people

  • Hanif Baktash, poet and writer
  • Zarifa Ghafari, former mayor