Daikundi Province

For the Hazara tribe, see Daikundi (tribe).

Daykundi /Persian: دایکندی, also spelled Daikondi, Dāykondī or Daikundi) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It was established on March 28, 2004, when it was created from the isolated Hazara-dominated northern districts of Oruzgan province to the south. It is located about 310 kilometres from Kabul.

Daykundi's capital is Nili. Daykundi's population is mostly ethnic Hazaras, different from the Pashtuns in Oruzgan. Until 2006, Gizab was the only district in Daykundi province with a majority Pashtun population, but in May 2006, the government of Afghanistan took Gizab from Daykundi and re-annexed it to Oruzgan province to the south (though this is not reflected in the maps on this page that still show Gizab as part of Daykundi).

The government of Afghanistan, NGOs, the United Nations, and NATO's ISAF forces are barely represented in Daykundi due to its isolation and acute security problems. As a result, much of the province is governed by village elders enacting tribal codes and Taliban insurgents.

In December 2008, Ms. Azra Jafari was named by President Hamid Karzai as Mayor of Nili, Daykundi's capital city. She thus became Afghanistan's first female mayor.

Daykundi province is well-known for its high-quality almonds, which are distributed throughout Afghanistan.

Districts

Districts of Daykundi Province

District	Capital	Population	Area	Notes
Ishtarlay				Created in 2004 from Daykundi District
Kajran				Shifted from Orūzgān Province in 2004
Khedir				Created in 2004 from Daykundi District
Kiti				Shifted from Orūzgān and created within Kajran District in 2004
Miramor				Shifted from Orūzgān and created within Shahristan District in 2004
Nili				Created in 2004 from Daykundi District
Sangi Takht				Created in 2004 from Daykundi District
Shahristan				Shifted from Orūzgān Province in 2004