Charikar امام ابو حنیفه Imam Azam Imam Abu Hanifa | |
|---|---|
 A street in Charikar during thewar in Afghanistan, 2007 | |
  Charikar Location in Afghanistan | |
| Coordinates:35°0′47″N69°10′8″E / 35.01306°N 69.16889°E /35.01306; 69.16889 | |
| Country |  Afghanistan |
| Province | Parwan |
| District | Charikar |
| Government | |
| • Type | Municipality |
| • Mayor | Hafiz Raz Mohammad Yasir[1] |
| Elevation | 1,600 m (5,200 ft) |
| Population (2025)[2] | |
| 222,751 | |
| • Urban | 74,189 |
| Time zone | UTC+04:30 (Afghanistan Time) |
Charikar,[3][a] also known asImam Abu Hanifa[4][b][c] orImam Azam,[5][d] is acity in the northeastern area ofAfghanistan, serving as the capital ofParwan Province. It is within the jurisdiction ofCharikar District and has an estimated population of 222,751 people.[2] They include variousethnic groups of Afghanistan.[6][7] Themayor of the city is Hafiz Raz Mohammad Yasir.[1][8]
Charikar was officially renamed in December 2022 to honor the 8th-centurySunni Muslim theologian and juristAbu Hanifa,[4] who is also sometimes called Imam Azam ("The Great Imam")[5] and was the founder of theHanafi school ofIslamic law. The city lies on theAfghanistan Ring Road, 69 km (43 mi) fromKabul along the route to the northern provinces. Travelers would pass the city when traveling toMazar-i-Sharif,Kunduz orPuli Khumri. Despite the proximity to Kabul, slightly more than half of the land is not built-up. Of the built-up land, almost equal parts are residential (37%) and vacant plots (32%), with a grid network of road coverage amounting to 19% of built-up land area, as of 2015[update].[9] The city is at the gateway to thePanjshir Valley, where theShamali plains meet the foothills of theHindu Kush, and is known for its pottery and high-quality grapes.[10] It has four police districts (nahias) and a total land area of 3,025 ha (11.68 sq mi).[9]
In 1221, theBattle of Parwan was fought near Charikar, in whichJalal al-Din Mangburni with a large army defeated a column of 30,000 soldiers of the invading Mongols. He later escaped into the northern Punjab, and avoided the immediate consequences of the fall of theKhwarezmid Empire.[11][12]
At the beginning of the 19th century, Charikar became a flourishing commercial town of several thousand inhabitants.[13] Charikar was the location of major battle during theFirst Anglo-Afghan War. In 1841 a British garrison was massacred by Afghans led byMir Masjidi Khan, and the Anglo-Indian army officer MajorEldred Pottinger was badly wounded.[14]
During theSoviet–Afghan War (1979–1989), the region around Charikar saw fierce fighting.[10] Some areas around Charikar served as a stronghold of theLiberation Organization of the People of Afghanistan (SAMA). Charikar was at the front line betweenAhmad Shah Massoud'sNorthern Alliance and theTaliban who captured Kabul in 1996. Charikar,Jabal Saraj District andGulbahar were captured in January of 1997.[15]
On 14 August 2011, a team of about six suicide bombers attacked the governor's palace in Charikar. The GovernorAbdul Basir Salangi survived but 19 people were killed to which the Taliban claimed responsibility.[16]
On19 May 2020, gunmen opened fire inside a mosque in Charikar, killing 11 worshipers and injuring 16 others when they were offering theevening prayer after breaking theirRamadan fast. The Taliban denied involvement in the attack.[17][18][19]
In late August 2020, the city was thesite of floods that killed at least 92 people.[20]
Following theTaliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban provincial governor of Parwan province announced in December 2022 that the name of the city would be changed. One news source said the new name of the town was "Imam Abu Hanifa",[4] while another reported the new name as "Imam Azam".[5] A government official from the formerAfghan regime said the renaming was the beginning of an anti-Farsi campaign by the regime.[4]
Charikar has ahumid continental climate (Köppen:Dsa) with hot summers and cold winters. The winter months are much rainier than the summer months. The warmest month of the year is July, with an average temperature of 25.0 °C (77.0 °F). January is the coldest month, with temperatures averaging −2.9 °C (26.8 °F).
| Climate data for Charikar | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.6 (38.5) | 4.2 (39.6) | 11.0 (51.8) | 18.4 (65.1) | 25.0 (77.0) | 30.0 (86.0) | 33.0 (91.4) | 32.2 (90.0) | 28.0 (82.4) | 21.4 (70.5) | 13.1 (55.6) | 7.2 (45.0) | 18.9 (66.1) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −2.9 (26.8) | −1.8 (28.8) | 4.4 (39.9) | 10.9 (51.6) | 17.0 (62.6) | 21.9 (71.4) | 25.0 (77.0) | 24.3 (75.7) | 20.0 (68.0) | 13.7 (56.7) | 6.2 (43.2) | 0.7 (33.3) | 11.6 (52.9) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −9.3 (15.3) | −7.8 (18.0) | −2.3 (27.9) | 3.4 (38.1) | 8.9 (48.0) | 13.7 (56.7) | 17.0 (62.6) | 16.3 (61.3) | 12.0 (53.6) | 5.9 (42.6) | −0.7 (30.7) | −5.8 (21.6) | 4.3 (39.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 50 (2.0) | 72 (2.8) | 73 (2.9) | 51 (2.0) | 23 (0.9) | 6 (0.2) | 2 (0.1) | 1 (0.0) | 3 (0.1) | 9 (0.4) | 20 (0.8) | 29 (1.1) | 339 (13.3) |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 51 | 58 | 57 | 51 | 40 | 29 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 33 | 43 | 45 | 40 |
| Source: Climate-Data.org[21] | |||||||||||||
According to Afghanistan'sNational Statistics and Information Authority, Charikar has an estimated population of 222,751 people.[2] They include various ethnic groups of Afghanistan.[6][7] In 2015 there were about 10,671dwellings in the city.[22] Earlier figures provided 172,200 residents.[23]
The population of approximately 560,000 is composed ofPashtun,Tajik,Uzbek,Qizilbash,Kuchi,Hazara, and other minority groups.
The main ethnic groups are Pashtuns and Tajiks, but there are small numbers of Uzbeks, Qizilbash and Hazaras as well.
| Districts |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Populated places | ||
| Landforms | ||
| Other | ||
