Kabul

The origin of Kabul, who built it and when, is largely unknown.[25] The Hindu Rigveda, composed between 1500 and 1200 BC and one of the four canonical texts of Hinduism, and the Avesta, the primary canon of texts of Zoroastrianism, refer to the Kabul River and to a settlement called Kubha.[25][26]

The Kabul valley was part of the Median Empire (c. 678–549 BC).[27] In 549 BC, the Median Empire was annexed by Cyrus The Great and Kabul became part the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC).[28] During that period, Kabul became a center of learning for Zoroastrianism, followed by Buddhism and Hinduism.[29] An inscription on Darius the Great's tombstone lists Kabul as one of the 29 countries of the Achaemenid Empire.[26]

Kushan Empire

When Alexander annexed the Achaemenid Empire, the Kabul region came under his control.[30] After his death, his empire was seized by his general Seleucus, becoming part of the Seleucid Empire. In 305 BCE, the Seleucid Empire was extended to the Indus River which led to friction with the neighbouring Mauryan Empire, but it is widely believed that the two empires reached an alliance treaty.[31]

During the Mauryan period, trade flourished because of uniform weights and measures. Irrigation facilities for public use were developed leading to an increased harvest of crops. People were also employed as artisans, jewellers, and carpenters.[32]

The Greco-Bactrians took control of Kabul from the Mauryans in the early 2nd century BC, then lost the city to their subordinates in the Indo-Greek Kingdom around the mid-2nd century BC. Buddhism was greatly patronised by the rulers and the majority of people of the city were adherents of the religion.[33] Indo-Scythians expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BC, but lost the city to the Kushan Empire about 100 years later.[34][35]

Buddha statue at the museum in Kabul, early 1st millennium

It is mentioned as Kophes or Kophene in some classical writings. Hsuan Tsang refers to the city as Kaofu[36] in the 7th century AD, which is the appellation of one of the five tribes of the Yuezhi who had migrated from across the Hindu Kush into the Kabul valley around the beginning of the Christian era.[37] It was conquered by Kushan Emperor Kujula Kadphises in about 45 AD and remained Kushan territory until at least the 3rd century AD.[38][39] The Kushans were Indo-European-speaking peoples based in Bactria (northern Afghanistan).[40]

Around 230 AD, the Kushans were defeated by the Sassanid Empire and replaced by Sassanid vassals known as the Indo-Sassanids. During the Sassanian period, the city was referred to as "Kapul" in Pahlavi scripts.[26] Kapol in the Persian language means Royal (ka) Bridge (pol), which is due to the main bridge on the Kabul River that connected the east and west of the city. In 420 AD, the Indo-Sassanids were driven out of Afghanistan by the Xionite tribe known as the Kidarites, who were then replaced in the 460s by the Hephthalites. It became part of the surviving Turk Shahi Kingdom of Kapisa, also known as Kabul-Shahan.[41] According to Táríkhu-l Hind by Al-Biruni, Kabul was governed by princes of Turkic lineage whose rule lasted for about 60 generations.

Kábul was formerly governed by princes of Turk lineage. It is said that they were originally from Tibet. The first of them was named Barhtigín ... and the kingdom continued with his children for sixty generations... The last of them was a Katormán, and his minister was Kalar, a Bráhman. This minister was favored by fortune, and he found in the earth treasures which augmented his power. Fortune at the same time turned her back upon his master. The Katormán's thoughts and actions were evil, so that many complaints reached the minister, who loaded him with chains, and imprisoned him for his correction. In the end, the minister yielded to the temptation of becoming sole master, and he had wealth sufficient to remove all obstacles. So he established himself on the throne. After he reigned the Bráhman(s) Samand, then Kamlúa, then Bhím, then Jaipál, then Anandpál, then Narda-janpál, who was killed in A.H. 412. His son, Bhímpál, succeeded him, after the lapse of five years, and under him the sovereignty of Hind became extinct, and no descendant remained to light a fire on the hearth. These princes, notwithstanding the extent of their dominions, were endowed with excellent qualities, faithful to their engagements, and gracious towards their inferiors....[41]

— Abu Rayhan Biruni, 978–1048 AD

The Kabul rulers built a defensive wall around the city to protect it from enemy raids. This wall has survived until today. It was briefly held by the Tibetan Empire between 801 and 815.

Map showing names of the regions during the 7th century.

The Islamic conquest reached modern-day Afghanistan in 642 AD, at a time when Kabul was independent.[42] A number of failed expeditions were made to Islamise the region. In one of them, Abdur Rahman bin Samara arrived in Kabul from Zaranj in the late 600s and converted 12,000 inhabitants to Islam before abandoning the city. Muslims were a minority until Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar of Zaranj conquered Kabul in 870 and established the first Islamic dynasty in the region. It was reported that the rulers of Kabul were Muslims with non-Muslims living close by. Iranian traveller and geographer Istakhri described it in 921:

Kábul has a castle celebrated for its strength, accessible only by one road. In it there are Musulmáns, and it has a town, in which are infidels from Hind.[43]

Over the following centuries, the city was successively controlled by the Samanids, Ghaznavids, Ghurids, Khwarazmshahs, Qarlughids, and Khaljis. In the 13th century, the invading Mongols caused major destruction in the region. Report of a massacre in the close by Bamiyan is recorded around this period, where the entire population of the valley was annihilated by the Mongol troops as revenge for the death of Genghis Khan's grandson. As a result, many natives of Afghanistan fled south toward the Indian subcontinent where some established dynasties in Delhi. The Chagatai Khanate and Kartids were vassals of Ilkhanate until the dissolution of the latter in 1335.

Following the era of the Khalji dynasty in 1333, the famous Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta was visiting Kabul and wrote:

We travelled on to Kabul, formerly a vast town, the site of which is now occupied by a village inhabited by a tribe of Persians called Afghans. They hold mountains and defiles and possess considerable strength, and are mostly highwaymen. Their principal mountain is called Kuh Sulayman.[44]

Humayun with his father Babur, emperors of the Mughal Empire

Old painting showing the Great Wall of Kabul

In the 14th century, Kabul became a major trading centre under the kingdom of Timur (Tamerlane). In 1504, the city fell to Babur from the north and made into his headquarters, which became one of the principal cities of his later Mughal Empire. In 1525, Babur described Kabulistan in his memoirs by writing that:

There are many differing tribes in the Kābul country; in its dales and plains are Turks and clansmen and 'Arabs; and in its town and in many villages, Sārts; out in the districts and also in villages are the Pashāi, Parājī, Tājik, Bīrkī and Afghān tribes. In the western mountains are the Hazāra and Nikdīrī tribes, some of whom speak the Mughūlī tongue. In the north-eastern mountains are the places of the Kāfirs, such as Kitūr and Gibrik. To the south are the places of the Afghān tribes.[45]

Mirza Muhammad Haidar Dughlat, a poet from Hindustan who visited at the time wrote: "Dine and drink in Kabul: it is mountain, desert, city, river and all else." It was from here that Babur began his 1526 conquest of Hindustan, which was ruled by the Afghan Lodi dynasty and began east of the Indus River in what is present-day Pakistan. Babur loved Kabul due to the fact that he lived in it for 20 years and the people were loyal to him, including the weather that he was used to. His wish to be buried in Kabul was finally granted. The inscription on his tomb contains the famous Persian couplet, which states:

اگرفردوس روی زمین است همین است و همین است و همین است

Transliteration:

Agar fardus rui zamayn, ahmain ast', o ahmain ast', o ahmain ast'.

(If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, it is this, it is this!)[46]

Kabul remained in Mughal control for the next 200 years.[47] Though Mughal power became centred within the Indian subcontinent, Kabul retained importance as a frontier city for the empire; Abul Fazl, Emperor Akbar's chronicler, described it as one of the two gates to Hindustan (the other being Kandahar).[48] As part of administrative reforms under Akbar, the city was made capital of the eponymous Mughal province, Kabul Subah. Under Mughal governance, Kabul became a prosperous urban centre, endowed with bazaars such as the non-extant Char Chatta.[47] For the first time in its history, Kabul served as a mint centre, producing gold and silver Mughal coins up to the reign of Alamgir II.[49] It acted as a military base for Shah Jahan's campaigns in Balkh and Badakhshan. Kabul was also a recreational retreat for the Mughals, who hunted here and constructed several gardens. Most of the Mughals' architectural contributions to the city (such as gardens, fortifications, and mosques) have not survived.[47][50] During this time, the population was about 60,000.[11]

Under later Mughal Emperors, Kabul became neglected.[47] The empire lost the city when it was captured in 1738 by Nader Shah, who was en route to invade the Indian subcontinent.[49]

Shujah Shah Durrani, the last Durrani King, sitting at his court inside the Bala Hissar

Chihil Sutun Palace (also known as "Hendaki"), one of numerous palaces built by the Emir in the 19th century

Nine years after Nader Shah and his forces invaded and occupied the city as part of the more easternmost parts of his Empire, he was assassinated by his own officers, causing its rapid disintegration. Ahmad Shah Durrani, commander of 4,000 Abdali Afghans, asserted Pashtun rule in 1747 and further expanded his new Afghan Empire. His ascension to power marked the beginning of Afghanistan. By this time, Kabul had lost its status as a metropolitan city, and its population had decreased to 10,000.[51] Interest in the city was renewed when Ahmad Shah's son Timur Shah Durrani, after inheriting power, transferred the capital of the Durrani Empire from Kandahar to Kabul in 1776.[3][47] Kabul experienced considerable urban development during the reigns of Timur Shah and his successor Zaman Shah; several religious and public buildings were constructed, and diverse groups of Sufis, jurists, and literary families were encouraged to settle the city through land grants and stipends.[52][47] Kabul's first visitor from Europe was Englishman George Forster, who described 18th-century Kabul as "the best and cleanest city in Asia".[53]

In 1826, the kingdom was claimed by Dost Mohammad Khan, but in 1839 Shujah Shah Durrani was re-installed with the help of the British Empire during the First Anglo-Afghan War. In 1841 a local uprising resulted in the killing of the British resident and loss of mission in Kabul and the 1842 retreat from Kabul to Jalalabad. In 1842 the British returned to Kabul, demolishing the city's main bazaar in revenge before returning to British India (now Pakistan). Akbar Khan took to the throne from 1842 to 1845 and was followed by Dost Mohammad Khan.

Etching of Kabul by an Italian artist, 1885

The Second Anglo-Afghan War broke out in 1879 when Kabul was under Sher Ali Khan's rule, as the Afghan king initially refused to accept British diplomatic missions and later the British residents were again massacred. During the war, Bala Hissar was partially destroyed by a fire and an explosion.[54]

Having become an established bazaar city, leather and textile industries developed by 1916.[55] The majority of the population was concentrated on the south side of the river.

Kabul modernised throughout the regime of King Habibullah Khan, with the introduction of electricity, telephone, and a postal service.[56] The first modern high school, Habibia, was established in 1903. In 1919, after the Third Anglo-Afghan War, King Amanullah Khan announced Afghanistan's independence in foreign affairs at Eidgah Mosque in Kabul. Amanullah was reform-minded and he had a plan to build a new capital city on land about 6 km away from Kabul. This area was named Darulaman and it consisted of the famous Darul Aman Palace, where he later resided. Many educational institutions were founded in Kabul during the 1920s. In 1929 King Amanullah left Kabul due to a local uprising orchestrated by Habibullah Kalakani, but he himself was imprisoned and executed after nine months in power by King Nader Khan. Three years later, in 1933, the new king was assassinated during an award ceremony inside a school in Kabul. The throne was left to his 19-year-old son, Zahir Shah, who became the last King of Afghanistan. Unlike Amanullah Khan, Nader Khan and Zahir Shah had no plans to create a new capital city, and thus Kabul remained the country's seat of government.

Dilkusha Palace, built in European style in the 1900s

During the inter-war period France and Germany helped develop the country and maintained high schools and lycees in the capital, providing education for the children of the city's elite families.[57] Kabul University opened in 1932 and by the 1960s western educated Afghans made up the majority of teachers.[58] By the 1960s the majority of instructors at the university had degrees from Western universities.[58]

Kabul's only railway service, the Kabul–Darulaman Tramway, operated for six years from 1923 to 1929.[59]

When Zahir Shah took power in 1933 Kabul had the only 10 kilometers (6 miles) of rail in the country and the country had few internal telegraphs, phone lines or roads. Zahir turned to the Japanese, Germans and Italians for help developing a modern transportation and communication network.[60] A radio tower built by the Germans in 1937 in Kabul allowed instant communication with outlying villages.[61] A national bank and state cartels were organised to allow for economic modernisation.[62] Textile mills, power plants, carpet and furniture factories were also built in Kabul, providing much-needed manufacturing and infrastructure.[62]

The river bank in the centre of Kabul in the 1960s

During the 1940s and 1950s, urbanisation accelerated and the built-up area was increased to 68 km² by 1962, an almost fourteen-fold increase compared to 1925.[55] The Serena Hotel opened in 1945 as the first Western style luxury hotel. Under the premiership of Mohammad Daoud Khan in the 1950s, foreign investment and development increased. In 1955, the Soviet Union forwarded $100 million in credit to Afghanistan, which financed public transportation, airports, a cement factory, mechanised bakery, a five-lane highway from Kabul to the Soviet border and dams, including the Salang Pass to the north of Kabul.[63] During the 1960s, Soviet-style microrayon housing estates were built, containing sixty blocks. The government also built many ministry buildings in the brutalist architecture style.[64] In the 1960s the first Marks & Spencer store in Central Asia was built in the city. Kabul Zoo was inaugurated in 1967, which was maintained with the help of visiting German zoologists. During this time, Kabul experimented with liberalisation, notably the loosening of restrictions on speech and assembly which led to student politics in the capital and various demonstrations by Socialist, Maoist, liberal or Islamist factions.[65]

People and traffic in a part of Kabul, 1976

Foreigners flocked to Kabul and the nation's tourism industry picked up speed. To accompany the city with newfound tourism, western-style accommodations were opened in the 1960s, notably the Spinzar Hotel.[66] Western, American and Japanese tourists were visiting the city's attractions[67] including the "celebrated" Chicken Street[68] and the National Museum that used to have some of Asia's finest cultural artifacts.[69] Lonely Planet called it an upcoming "tourist trap" in 1973.[70] Additionally, Pakistanis were also visiting to watch Indian movies in cinemas that were banned in their own country.[66] During this time, Kabul had been nicknamed the Paris of Central Asia.[1][2] According to J. Bruce Amstutz, an American diplomat in Kabul:

[Before the 1978 Marxist coup d'etat] Kabul was a pleasant city [..] Though poor economically, it was spared the eyesore slums so visible in other Asian cities. The Afghans themselves were an imposing people, the men tall and self-assured and the women attractive.[68]

Until the late 1970s, Kabul was a major stop on the famous Hippie trail, coming from Bamyan to the west on towards Peshawar.[71] At the time, Kabul became known for its street sales of hashish and became a major tourist attraction for western hippies.[16]

Centre of Kabul in 1979; the Pul-e Khishti bridge crosses the Kabul River to the old city in the south bank

On 28 April 1978, President Daoud and most of his family were assassinated in Kabul's Presidential Palace in what is called the Saur Revolution. Pro-Soviet PDPA under Nur Muhammad Taraki seized power and slowly began to institute reforms.[72] Private businesses were nationalised in the Soviet manner.[73] Education was modified into the Soviet model, with lessons focusing on teaching Russian, Marxism–Leninism and learning of other countries belonging to the Soviet bloc.[73]

Amid growing internal chaos and heightened cold war tensions, the U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs, was kidnapped on his way to work at the U.S. Embassy in Kabul on 14 February 1979 and killed during a rescue attempt at the Serena Hotel. There were conflicting reports of who abducted Dubs and what demands were made for his release. Several senior Soviet officials were in the lobby of the hotel during a standoff with the kidnappers, who were holding Dubs in room 117.[74][75] Afghan police, acting on the advice of Soviet advisors and over the objections of U.S. officials, launched a rescue attempt, during which Dubs was shot in the head from a distance of six inches and killed.[76] Many questions about the killing remain unanswered.

On 24 December 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan and Kabul was heavily occupied by Soviet Armed Forces. In Pakistan, Director-General of the ISI Akhtar Abdur Rahman advocated for the idea of covert operation in Afghanistan by arming Islamic extremists who formed the mujahideen.[77] General Rahman was heard loudly saying: "Kabul must burn! Kabul must burn!",[78] and mastered the idea of proxy war in Afghanistan.[77] Pakistani President Zia-ul-Haq authorised this operation under General Rahman, which was later merged with Operation Cyclone, a programme funded by the United States and carried out by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Taj Beg Palace in 1987, the Soviet Army headquarters during the Soviet–Afghan War

The Soviets turned the city of Kabul into their command centre during the Soviet–Afghan War, and while fighting was mostly taking place in the countryside, Kabul was widely disturbed. Political crime and guerrilla attacks on military and government targets were common, and the sound of gunfire became commonplace at night in the outskirts. Large numbers of PDPA party members and Soviet troops were kidnapped or assassinated, sometimes in broad daylight, with acts of terrorism committed by civilians, anti-regime militias and also Khalqists. By July 1980, as much as twelve party members were being assassinated on a daily basis, and the Soviet Army stopped patrolling the city in January 1981. A major uprising against the Soviet presence broke out in Kabul in February 1980 in what is called the 3 Hut uprising. It led to a night curfew in the city that would remain in place for seven years.[79] The Soviet Embassy also, was attacked four times with arms fire in the first five years of the war. A Western correspondent revisiting Kabul in December 1983 after a year, said that the city was "converted into a fortress bristling with weapons".[80] Contrastingly, that same year American diplomat Charles Dunbar commented that the Soviet troops' presence was "surprisingly modest",[81] and an author in a 1983 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists article thought that the Soviet soldiers had a "friendly" atmosphere.[82]

The city's population increased from around 500,000 in 1978 to 1.5 million in 1988.[83] The large influx were mostly internal refugees who fled other parts of the country for safety in Kabul. During this time, women made up 40% of the workforce.[84] Soviet men and women were very common in the city's shopping roads, with the large availability of Western products.[81] Most Soviet civilians (numbering between 8,000 and 10,000) lived in the northeastern Soviet-style Mikrorayon (microraion) housing complex that was surrounded by barbed-wire and armed tanks. They sometimes received abuse from anti-Soviet civilians on the streets.[85] The mujahideen rebels managed to strike at the city a few times—on 9 October 1987, a car bomb planted by a mujahideen group killed 27 people, and on 27 April 1988, in celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Saur Revolution, a truck bomb killed six people.[86]

Kabul's Jada-e Maiwand in 1993, showing the destruction caused by the civil war.

After the fall of Mohammad Najibullah's[87] government in April 1992, different mujahideen factions entered the city and formed a government under the Peshawar Accords, but Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's party refused to sign the accords and started shelling the city for power, which soon escalated into a full-scale conflict. This marked the start of a dark period of the city: at least 30,000 civilians were killed in a period known locally as the "Kabul Wars."[88] About 80 percent of the city was devastated and destroyed by 1996.[89][90] The old city and western areas were among the worst-hit. A The New York Times analyst said in 1996 that the city was more devastated than Sarajevo, which was similarly damaged during the Bosnian War at the time.[91]

The city suffered heavily under a bombardment campaign between rival militias which intensified during the summer of 1992. Its geographic location in a narrow valley made it an easy target from rockets fired by militias who based themselves in the surrounding mountains.[92] Within two years' time, the majority of infrastructure was destroyed, a massive exodus of the population left to the countryside or abroad, and electricity and water was completely out. In late 1994, bombardment of the capital came to a temporary halt.[93][94][95] These forces took steps to restore law and order. Courts started to work again, convicting individuals inside government troops who had committed crimes.[96] On 27 September 1996, the hardline Taliban militia seized Kabul and established the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. They imposed a strict form of Sharia (Islamic law), restricting women from work and education,[97] conducting amputations against common thieves, and hit-squads from the infamous "Ministry for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice" watching public beatings of people.[97]

In November 2001, the Northern Alliance captured Kabul after the Taliban had abandoned it following the American invasion. A month later a new government under President Hamid Karzai began to assemble. In the meantime, a NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was deployed in Afghanistan. The war-torn city began to see some positive development as many expatriate Afghans returned to the country. The city's population grew from about 500,000 in 2001 to over 3 million in recent years. Many foreign embassies re-opened. In 2008 the process started to gradually hand over security responsibilities from NATO to Afghan forces.[98] From late 2001 the city has been continuously rebuilt -[99] many of the damaged landmarks were rebuilt or renovated, for example the Gardens of Babur in 2005,[100] the arch of Paghman, the Mahmoud Khan Bridge clock tower in 2013,[101] and the Taj Beg Palace in 2021.[102] Local community efforts have also managed to restore war-ravaged local homes and dwellings.[103]

Modern high-rises built in the 2010s

The city has experienced rapid urbanisation with an increasing population. Many informal settlements have been built.[104] Since the late 2000s, numerous modern housing complexes have been built, many of which are gated and secured, to serve a growing Afghan middle class.[105] Some of these include the Aria City (in District 10) and Golden City (District 8).[106][107] Some complexes have been built out-of-town, such as the Omid-e-Sabz township (District 13), Qasaba/Khwaja Rawash township (District 15), and Sayed Jamaludin township (District 12).[108][109][110]

Throughout the years, a high-security "Green Zone" was formed in the centre of the city.[111] In 2010, a series of manned checkpoints called the Ring of Steel was put into operation. Concrete blast walls also appeared throughout Kabul in the 2000s for security reasons.[112]

Despite frequent terrorist attacks in the city, mainly by Taliban insurgents, the city continued to develop and was the fifth fastest-growing city in the world as of 2012.[113][114] Until August 2021, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) had been in charge of security in and around the city. Kabul was periodically the scene of deadly bombings carried out mostly by the Taliban and its wing the Haqqani network.[115][116][117][118] Government employees, soldiers and ordinary civilians have all been targets of attacks.[119][120][121][122][123] The Afghan government called the actions of the terrorists war crimes. The deadliest attack yet was a truck bombing in May 2017. The city was seized during the 2021 Taliban offensive on August 15, 2021; under Taliban rule the city and the country has experienced some relative calm,[124] although a number of terrorist attacks have since been committed by the regional ISIL branch.[125]

Kabul has a continental, cold semi-arid climate (BSk) with precipitation concentrated in the winter (almost exclusively falling as snow) and spring months. Temperatures are cool compared to much of Southwest Asia, mainly due to the high elevation of the city. Summer has very low humidity, providing relief from the heat. Autumn features warm afternoons and sharply cooler evenings. Winters are cold, with a January daily average of −2.3 °C (27.9 °F). Spring is the wettest time of the year. Sunny conditions dominate year-round. The annual mean temperature is 12.1 °C (53.8 °F), much lower than the other large cities of Afghanistan.

The Kabul River flowed through the heart of the city, dividing the central bazaars. There are several bridges (pul) crossing the river, the major ones being Pul-e Shah-Do Shamshira, Pul-e Bagh-e Omomi, Pul-e Khishti, and Pul-e Mahmoud. Due to climate change, since the 21st century, the river runs dry most of the year, only filling up in the wetter winter and spring seasons.[128]

A large lake and wetland was located just to the southeast from the old city called Kol-e Hashmat Khan.[129] The marsh provides a critical resting place to thousands of birds who fly between the Indian subcontinent and Siberia. In 2017 the government declared the lake a protected area.[130] Some rare species of birds have been spotted at the lake, such as the Eastern imperial eagle and the Dalmatian pelican.[131] Kabul's other large lake is Qargha, located some 9 km northwest from the centre. It is a major attraction for locals as well as foreigners.[132]

Air pollution is a major problem in the city during the winter season, when many residents burn low-quality fuels.[133][134]

Location of Kabul Municipality within Kabul Province

The city of Kabul located within Kabul District, one of the 15 districts of Kabul Province. As the provincial capital, it forms a municipality (shārwāli) which is further divided into 22 administrative districts called municipal districts or city districts (nāhia), which coincide with the official Police Districts (PD).[135] The number of city districts increased from 11 to 18 in 2005, and then to 22 by 2010 after the incorporation of Districts 14 and 19–22 which were annexed by Kabul Municipality from surrounding rural districts. The city limits have thus substantially increased. Due to demarcation disputes with the provincial administration, some of these new districts are more administered by the provincial districts than the municipality.

District 1 contains most of the old city. Downtown Kabul mostly consist of Districts 2, 4 and 10. In addition, Districts 3 and 6 house many commercial and governmental points of interests.[136] The city's north and west are the most urbanised, as opposed to the south and east.

The table below show the 22 city districts and their settlements, with information about its land size and usage, accurate as of 2011.[137]

City districts of Kabul

Name Location Settlements Area Urban area Agricultural area Vacant area Location map District 1 ناحیه ۱ Central Chindawol Kharabat (street) Jadayi Maiwand (street) Mandawi (street) Rika Khana Shur Bazar 4.67 km² 65.3% ~0% 18.9% District 2 ناحیه ۲ Central Andarabi Baharistan Deh Afghanan Karte Ariana Karte Parwan (part) Murad Khane Shash Darak (part) 6.76 km² 72.6% 0% 7.3% District 3 ناحیه ۳ West Deh Bori Deh Mazang Deh Naw Jamal Mina Karte Char Karte Mamorin (part) Karte Sakhi Silo (street, part) 9.22 km² 82% 0.6% 8.8% District 4 ناحیه ۴ Northwest Karte Parwan (part) Kolola Pushta Shahrara Shahr-e Naw Taimani 11.63 km² 83.1% 1% 6% District 5 ناحیه ۵ West Afshar Fazel Baig Karte Mamorin (part) Khushal Khan Mena Kote Sangi/Mirwais Maidan Silo (street, part) Qala-e Wazir 29.2 km² 49.6% 14% 30.9% District 6 ناحیه ۶ Southwest Darulaman Karte Seh Qala-e Shada 49.1 km² 32.5% 13.5% 50.8% District 7 ناحیه ۷ South Aqa Ali Shams Chihil Sutun Deh Dana Gozar Gah Wassel Abad 32.5 km² 46.8% 17% 31.6% District 8 ناحیه ۸ Southeast Beni Hisar Karte Naw Rahman Mina Qalacha Shah Shahid 48.4 km² 33.7% 33.9% 25.1% District 9 ناحیه ۹ Northeast Karte Wali Mikrorayon (2nd, 3rd, 4th) Shash Darak (part) Yaka Tut 24.5 km² 48.4% 29.7% 13.7% District 10 ناحیه ۱۰ North Bibi Mahro Char Qala Qala-e Fathullah Qala-e Musa Sherpur Wazir Akbar Khan 13.0 km² 75.3% 10.8% 5.6% District 11 ناحیه ۱۱ Northwest Hazara-e Baghal Khair Khana Qala-e Najara 17.4 km² 75.4% 0% 21% District 12 ناحیه ۱۲ East Ahmad Shah Baba Mina/Arzan Qimat Bagrami But Khak Shina 34.8 km² 33.2% 42.8% 21.7% District 13 ناحیه ۱۳ Southwest Bist Hazari Dashte Barchi Omid-e Sabz (township) 46.6 km² 32% 23.5% 40.2% District 14 ناحیه ۱۴ Northwest Paghman 120.1 km² 8.6% 47% 24.6% District 15 ناحیه ۱۵ North Hamid Karzai Int'l (airfield) Khwaja Bughra Khwaja Rawash Qasaba (township) 32.1 km² 32.2% 7.5% 33% District 16 ناحیه ۱۶ East Mikrorayon (1st/Old) Qala-e Zaman Khan Sement Khana 25.2 km² 37.1% 33.2% 24.1% District 17 ناحیه ۱۷ Northwest Shakar Dara 56.0 km² 16.7% 9.5% 72% District 18 ناحیه ۱۸ Northeast Bakhtiaran Deh Sabz Tara Khel 33.9 km² 19.4% 40.2% 29.2% District 19 ناحیه ۱۹ Northeast Pul-e Charkhi 141.4 km² 8.1% 0.05% 77.4% District 20 ناحیه ۲۰ South Char Asiab 143.6 km² 4.1% 17.7% 71.1% District 21 ناحیه ۲۱ East Hudkhel 63.9 km² 1.5% 2.7% 88.1% District 22 ناحیه ۲۲ Southeast Shewaki 79.0 km² 6.5% 24.6% 62.2%

A US$1 billion contract was signed in 2013 to commence work on the "New Kabul City", which is a major residential scheme that would accommodate 1.5 million people.[162][163] In the meantime, many high rise buildings were being constructed in order to control the overcrowding and also to modernise the city.[164]

An initial concept design called the City of Light Development, envisioned by Dr. Hisham N. Ashkouri, for the development and the implementation of a privately based investment enterprise has been proposed for multi-function commercial, historic and cultural development within the limits of the Old City of Kabul, along the southern side of the Kabul River and along Jade Meywand Avenue,[165]

Studio of Radio Kabul in the 1950s

As of November 2015, there were more than 24 television stations based out of Kabul.[166] Terrestrial TV transmitters were located at the summit of the Koh-e Asamai.

In Kabul, Minister Amir Zai Sangin of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology maintained statistics regarding telecommunications in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Afghanistan Information Management Services (AIMS) provided software development, capacity development, information management, and project management services to the Afghan Government and other NGOs, thereby supporting their on-the-ground activities.

GSM/GPRS mobile phone services in the city were provided by Afghan Wireless, Etisalat, Roshan, MTN and Salaam. As of 2012, all of them provided 3G services as well. In November 2006, the Afghan Ministry of Communications signed a $64.5 million US dollar deal with ZTE on the establishment of a countrywide fibre optical cable network to help improve telephone, internet, television and radio broadcast services not just in Kabul but throughout the country.[167] Internet cafes were introduced in 2002 and has been expanding throughout the country. As of 2012, 3G services were also available.

There were a number of post offices throughout the city. Package delivery services like FedEx, TNT N.V., and DHL were also available.

Major hotels in Kabul included; the Serena Hotel, the Inter-Continental, and the Safi Landmark Hotel above the Kabul City Center. Most visitors preferred lodging at guest houses, which were found all over the city. The better and safer ones were in the Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhood where the embassies were located.

• Serena Hotel
• Inter-Continental
• Safi Landmark Hotel

Italian baroque style of Shah Do Shamshira

Kabul's various architectural designs reflected the various links it has had with empires and civilisations, particularly being on the ancient trade route connecting India and China with Persia and the West.[172]

The Buddhist Chakari minaret was likely built in the Kushan era and had traces of Greco-Bactrian and Gandhara Art. It had Buddhist swastika and both Mahayana and Theravada qualities. Following the Islamic conquest, a new age of architectural realms appeared in the Kabul region. The Gardens of Babur was perhaps the best preserved example of Islamic and Mughal architecture. Emperor Babur had also built seven other big gardens in Kabul at the time. The present Gardens of Babur also reflect Afghanistan's traditional architecture by the wooden carving, pressed stucco, decorative stone masonry and other features. Another fine example of the Babur era is the Id Gah Mosque, using stones from the Punjab and Sindh and designed by Persians.[172]

Tomb of Timur Shah Durrani (early 19th century rebuilt)

Ahmad Shah Durrani's rise as the Afghan ruler brought changes to Kabul and the nation, with a more inward-looking and self-protecting society reflecting the architecture that were no different between the rich and poor peoples. mausoleum of Timur Shah Durrani, the Afghan ruler until his death in 1793, was another example of Islamic design, built in an octagonal structure. It followed Central Asian traditions of decorative brick masonries along with a colorless appearance.[172] After the Second Anglo-Afghan War, the country's emir Abdur Rahman Khan brought European styles for the first time. The Bagh-e Bala Palace was designed in a mixed Mughal and British Indian style, the first significant change from traditional Afghan and Islamic styles. However palaces were still built with Central Asian Islamic design at heart. Numerous lavish buildings were created during this time, combined with large gardens. The Dilkusha Palace within the Arg was the first created by a British architect.[172] Its accompanying clock tower, circa 1911, was also a British creation.[173]

Houses in Kabul during this time were generally made up of walled compounds, built around courtyards and having narrow passageways to places.[174]

In the 1920s, new styles were strongly influenced by European architectural styles due to king Amanullah Khan's visits to Europe, particularly Berlin and Paris. Darul Aman Palace was the best known example of modern Western design. The Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque was built in an unusual style for a mosque in Western and Italian style baroque. The Taq-e Zafar in Paghman and other landmarks there were also based on European designs.[172] Houses also became more open, without having many of the walls.[174] Later in the century, several Soviet inspired designs made its way into Kabul. Most notable of these were the various microraions built in the city in the 1960s and afterwards. A different flavor of modern style was seen on the Hotel Inter-Continental Kabul and Serena Hotel.[172]

In the 21st century, modern designs based on glass facades became popular. Examples of this modern Western style were the Kabul City Center and Golbahar Center. The National Assembly building opened in 2015 had elements of modern Islamic Mughal architecture, considered to have the largest dome in Asia. The Indian architecture could also be influenced by the fact it was built by the government of India, but its carving and large porch represent Afghan traditional architectural forms.[172] The new Ministry of Defense building followed traditional, Islamic and Western designs inspired by the Pentagon. Another mix of these designs appeared on the Paghman Hill Castle completed in 2014.[172] Increasing numbers of high rises have been built in this period, with the Kabul Markaz tower in 2020 becoming the city's first to break the 100 metres (330 ft) tall barrier.[175] The construction boom with modern high-rises throughout the 2010s had led to a major change in the city's skyline.[174]

• 
  Traditional hill dwellings
• 
  "Old Mikroyan", 1960s built
• 
  Ministry of Finance and Khyber Restaurant (1966)
• 
  Pamir Cinema building (Agricultural Development Bank)
• 
  Pashtany Bank and the brutalist Kabul Tower
• 
  Andarabi Road dwellings on the riverbank
• 
  Apartments built in the 2000s with contemporary Afghanese style

Hamid Karzai International Airport (Kabul International Airport) was located 25 km (16 mi) from the centre of Kabul, which had always served as the country's main airport. It was a hub to Ariana Afghan Airlines, the national carrier of Afghanistan, as well as private airlines such as Afghan Jet International, East Horizon Airlines, Kam Air, Pamir Airways, and Safi Airways. Regional airlines such as Air India, SpiceJet, flydubai, Emirates, Gulf Air, Mahan Air, Pakistan International Airlines, Turkish Airlines and others also had regularly scheduled flights to the airport. A new international terminal was built by the government of Japan and began operation in 2008.

Traffic in Kabul city center in 2013

The AH76 highway (or Kabul-Charikar Highway) connected Kabul north towards Charikar, Pol-e Khomri and Mazar-i-Sharif (310 km (190 mi) away), with leading roads to Kunduz (250 km (160 mi) away). The AH77 highway went west towards Bamiyan Province (150 km (93 mi) away) and Chaghcharan in the central mountains of Afghanistan. To the south-west, the Kabul-Ghazni Highway went to Ghazni (130 km (81 mi) away) and Kandahar (460 km (290 mi) away). To the south, the Kabul-Gardez Highway connected it to Gardez (100 km (62 mi) away) and Khost. To the east, the Kabul-Jalalabad Highway went to Jalalabad (120 km (75 mi) away) and across the border to Peshawar.

Much of the road network in downtown Kabul consisted of square or circle intersections (char-rahi). The main square in the city was Pashtunistan Square (named after Pashtunistan), which had a large fountain in it and was located adjacent to the presidential palace, the Central Bank, and other landmarks.[176] The Massoud Circle was located by the U.S. Embassy and had the road leading to the airport. In the old city, Sar-e Chawk roundabout was at the center of Maiwand Road (Jadayi Maiwand). Once all roads led to it, and in the 16th century was called the "navel of Kabul".[177] In the Shahr-e Naw district there were several major intersections: Ansari, Haji Yaqub, Quwayi Markaz, Sedarat, and Turabaz Khan. The latter, named after Turabaz Khan, connected Flower Street and Chicken Street. There were also two major intersections in western Kabul: the Deh Mazang Circle and Kote Sangi. Salang Watt was the main road to the north-west, whereas Asamayi Watt and Seh Aqrab (also called Sevom Aqrab) was the main road to western Kabul.

The steep population rise in the 21st century had caused major congestion problems for the city's roads.[178] In efforts to tackle this issue, a 95 km outer ring road costing $110 million was approved in 2017.[179][180] Construction would have taken five years and it will run from Char Asiab via Ahmad Shah Baba Mina, Deh Sabz ("Kabul New City" development area), the AH76 highway, Paghman and back to Char Asyab.[181] A new bus public transport service was also planned to be opened in 2018 (see below).[182] In September 2017, the head of the Kabul Municipality announced that 286 meters of pedestrian overpass footbridges will be built in eight busy areas "in the near future".[183]

Under the Kabul Urban Transport Efficiency Improvement Project that was signed in 2014 and backed by the World Bank, the city has seen widespread improvements in road conditions, including the building of new pedestrian sidewalks, drainage systems, lighting and asphalted road surfaces. The project runs until 31 December 2019.[184][185]

A Toyota Corolla (E100) at a security checkpoint in 2010

Private vehicles had been on the rise in Kabul since 2002, with about 700,000 cars registered as of 2013 and up to 80% of the cars reported to be Toyota Corollas.[186][187][188] The number of dealerships had also increased from 77 in 2003 to over 550 by 2010.[189] Gas stations were mainly private-owned. Bicycles on the road were a common sight in the city.

The taxicabs in Kabul were painted in a white and yellow livery. The majority of these were older model Toyota Corollas. A few Soviet-era Russian cabs were also still in operation.

Long-distance road journeys were made by private Mercedes-Benz coach buses or vans, trucks and cars. Although a nationwide bus service was available from Kabul, flying was safer, especially for foreigners. The city's public bus service (Millie Bus / "National Bus") was established in the 1960s to take commuters on daily routes to many destinations. The service had about 800 buses. The Kabul bus system had discovered a new source of revenue in whole-bus advertising from MTN similar to "bus wrap" advertising on public transit in more developed nations. There was also an express bus that runs from downtown to Hamid Karzai International Airport for Safi Airways passengers.

An electric trolleybus system operated in Kabul from February 1979 to 1992 using Škoda fleet built by a Czechoslovak company (see Trolleybuses in Kabul for more). The trolleybus service was highly popular mainly due to its low price compared to the Millie Bus conventional bus service. The last trolleybus came to a halt in late 1992 due to warfare – much of the copper overhead wires were later looted but a few of them, including the steel poles, can still be seen in Kabul today.[138][190]

In June 2017 Kabul Municipality unveiled plans for a new bus rapid transit system, the first major urban public transportation scheme. It was expected to open by 2018,[191][192] but its construction had been hampered. In March 2021, a new city bus service was launched in Kabul using American vehicles built by IC Bus, and accompanied by newly built bus stops throughout the city. Five buses entered service on one route which is expected to be expanded to a fleet of 200 buses on 16 different routes.[193][194]

Kabul city announced open calls through the Kabul municipality's HP and its Facebook page, to participate in town meeting and planning process

Kabul mayor Mohammad Daud Sultanzoy speaking with league management during the inauguration ceremony of first ever internet-based solid waste discussion league in 2021

A memorandum of understanding signed by Kabul City mayor Ahmad Zaki Sarfaraz and Nagoya Institute of Technology executive director in 2019

In 2019, the Nagoya Institute of Technology, in partnership with the Kabul city Municipality, jointly agreed to deploy a digital platform, called D-Agree in urban planning to provide support for stakeholders to promote meaningful public participation and help reach consensus in Kabul city planning process.[195]

From September 2019 until the Fall of Kabul (2021) in August 2021, the platform was used on behalf of Kabul Municipality to moderate more than 300 Kabul city-related planning discussions.[196] [197] [198] [199] [200] [201] [202] In these discussions, more than 15,000 citizens participated in planning activities hosted by D-Agree and generated more than 71,000 opinions which catalogued into issue-based information system regarding urban-related thematic areas.[195] Despite the Taliban take-over, D-Agree will continue to play an important role in facilitating urban planning and infrastructure-related consultations.[203]

In 2022, United Nations reported that D-Agree Afghanistan is used as a digital and smart city solutions in Afghanistan.[195][204]

D-Agree, is a discussion support platform with artificial intelligence–based facilitation.[205] The discussion trees in D-Agree, inspired by issue-based information system, contain a combination of four types of elements: issues, ideas, pros, and cons.[205] The software extracts a discussion's structure in real time based on IBIS, automatically classifying all the sentences.[205]

Universities included:

• American University of Afghanistan
• Kabul University
• Kabul Medical University
• Kabul Polytechnic University
• Kabul Education University of Rabbani
• Kateb University
• Kardan University
• Afghan National Security University
• Bakhtar University
• Dawat University
• Dunya University of Afghanistan (DUA)
• Gawharshad Institute of Higher Education
• Gharjistan University
• Afghanistan Institute Of Higher Education
• Kaboora Institute of Higher Education
• Kabul Health Sciences Institute
• Karwan University
• Khatam Al-Nabieen University
• Maryam University
• Mashal University
• Qalam institute of higher education
• Rana Institute of Higher Education
• Rifah Afghanistan Institute
• Salam University