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Hairatan

Hairatan (Dari and Pashto: حیرتان; Uzbek and Tajik: Ҳайратон / Hayraton) is a border town in northern Balkh Province of Afghanistan.[1] The Hairatan dry port and border checkpoint is located in the eastern section of the town. It sits along the Amu River in the Kaldar District. The river forms the border with neighboring Uzbekistan, and the two nations are connected by the Afghanistan–Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge. The city of Termez in Uzbekistan is a short distance away to the northwest of Hairatan, on the other side of the Amu River.

Hairatan
حیرتان
The Welcome to Afghanistan sign at Hairatan in northern Afghanistan (2010)
The Welcome to Afghanistan sign at Hairatan in northern Afghanistan (2010)
Hairatan is located in Afghanistan
Hairatan
Hairatan
Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 37°13′1″N 67°25′01″E / 37.21694°N 67.41694°E / 37.21694; 67.41694
Country Afghanistan
ProvinceBalkh Province
DistrictKaldar District
Elevation
1,000 ft (300 m)
Time zoneUTC+04:30 (Afghanistan Time)

Hairatan is one of the major transporting, shipping and receiving locations in Afghanistan.[2][3][4][5] It is also an official border crossing between the people of Afghanistan and Uzbekistan. Security in and around the town is provided by the Afghan National Security Forces. All foreign travelers must possess a valid travel visa to enter Afghanistan.[6][7] Citizens of Afghanistan could stay for up to 10 days in Termez without a visa.[8]

History

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Further information: History of Afghanistan

The region around Amu River has been important in the history of civilizations from the Bactria–Margiana Archaeological Complex, and the area around Hairatan was important during early Indo-Iranian migration by the Andronovo culture. In the early 1990s, Hairatan was the location of the 70th Division of General Abdul Momen, who was loosely aligned with Abdul Rashid Dostum's National Islamic Movement of Afghanistan. After Momen's 1994 death by an RPG missile attack, the 70th Division split and Dostum loyalist Colonel General Helaluddin took command.[9]

During the presidency of Hamid Karzai, the town became an important strategic location for Afghanistan. NATO-trained Afghan National Security Forces established bases to provide security and maintain border activities. The Afghan Border Police are in charge of protecting the border while the Afghan National Customs regulate and monitor all trade activities. They are backed by the Afghan Armed Forces.

 
Members of the Afghan Border Police search a locomotive near the Hairatan border crossing point.

A freight terminal in Hairatan is the terminus of one of three rail lines in Afghanistan - a 10 km (6 mile) link to Termez.[10] In January 2010, the construction was started of a 75 km (50 mile) rail link from Hairatan to a terminal at Gur-e Mar near the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. The project, part of the transport strategy and action plan of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program, was contractually scheduled for completion by June 2011,[11][12] but was complete ahead of schedule, in November 2010.[13]

In May 2010, then-U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, the president of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), several the Afghan ministers, and fellow ambassadors from Japan, Finland, and Uzbekistan attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony inaugurating the Hairatan rail line. The United States and Japan became the two largest shareholders in ADB. This rail link became the first phase of a larger rail network planned to link Iran in the west and Tajikistan via a line at Sher Khan Bandar in neighboring Kunduz Province to the east. These future lines will create a rail corridor through northern Afghanistan and enable freight coming from Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to reach Persian Gulf ports on rail.[14][15][16]

In 2023, the Afghanistan Railway Authority (ARA) took control of the Hairatan-Mazar rail service.[17][18] Meanwhile, the Termez International Trade Center opened in Termez, which allows Afghan traders to stay there for up to 10 days without a travel visa.[8] Many people from other provinces of Afghanistan visit Hairatan for personal pleasure purposes, especially during the winter season.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Balkh: Tourists flocking to Hairatanborder town". Pajhwok Afghan News. 5 December 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  2. ^ "Hairatan Port revenue surges to nearly 8 billion afs". Pajhwok Afghan News. 29 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  3. ^ "China to Transport Goods to Afghanistan By Railway: ARA". TOLOnews. 10 December 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  4. ^ "500,000 metric tons of goods imported, exported via railroads". Pajhwok Afghan News. 24 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  5. ^ "ACCI: Transit Through Afghanistan Up 50%". TOLOnews. 19 October 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  6. ^ "Afghanistan tourist visa for Uzbek citizens". visalist. July 7, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  7. ^ "Uzbekistan tourist visa for Afghan citizens". visalist. August 19, 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-18.
  8. ^ a b "First Part of Joint Market Opens on Border with Uzbekistan". TOLOnews. 27 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-29.
  9. ^ Anthony Davis, 'The Battlegrounds of Northern Afghanistan,' Jane's Intelligence Review, July 1994
  10. ^ "Afghan rebuild underway". Railway Gazette International. 2007-07-12. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  11. ^ "Hairatan to Mazar-i-Sharif railway"
  12. ^ "Construction of Afghan railway launched". Railway Gazette International. 2010-01-27. Retrieved 2010-02-24.
  13. ^ Unstoppable: The Hairatan to Mazar-e-Sharif Railway Project Performance-Based Operation and Maintenance Contract (PDF) (Report). Asian Development Bank. 2014-02-01. Archived from the original (pdf) on 2020-12-24. Retrieved 2021-05-24.
  14. ^ "Routes for Major Railway Project Identified: ARA". TOLOnews. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  15. ^ "May 25, 2010: U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry Remarks at Hairatan Rail Line Ceremony" Archived June 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "Hairatan-Uzbekistan Rail Project". Railway Gazette International. 26 March 2013. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  17. ^ "Afghanistan to Take Responsibilities Over Hairatan-mazar-e-sharif Railway:ARA". Bakhtar News Agency. December 31, 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
  18. ^ "Afghanistan signs contract to run Hairatan-Mazar railway with Kazakh company". The Tashkent Times. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-01.
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37°13′01″N 67°25′01″E / 37.21694°N 67.41694°E / 37.21694; 67.41694

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