Kabul#History

Kabul was known by different names throughout its history.{{cite encyclopedia|last=Kakar|first=M. Hassan|editor-last=Stearns|editor-first=Peter N.|title=Kabul|year=2008|encyclopedia=Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-517632-2|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195176322.001.0001/acref-9780195176322-e-840?rskey=6DESxq&result=6|access-date=13 February 2021|archive-date=3 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503085215/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195176322.001.0001/acref-9780195176322-e-840?rskey=6DESxq&result=6|url-status=live}} Its meaning is unknown, but it is believed to originate in pre-Islamic times when the city lay on trade routes between India and the Hellenic world.{{cite encyclopedia|editor-last=Everett-Heath|editor-first=John|title=Kabul|year=2020|encyclopedia=Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names|edition=6|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-190563-6|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191905636.001.0001/acref-9780191905636-e-3372?rskey=wE0hco&result=1|access-date=13 February 2021|archive-date=3 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503085109/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780191905636.001.0001/acref-9780191905636-e-3372?rskey=wE0hco&result=1|url-status=live}} In Sanskrit, it was known as Kubha, whereas Greek authors of classical antiquity referred to it as Kophen, Kophes or Koa. The Chinese traveler Xuanzang (fl. 7th century CE) recorded the city as Koafu (高附). The name "Kabul" was first applied to the Kabul River before being applied to the area situated between the Hindu-Kush and Sindh (present-day Pakistan). This area was also known as Kabulistan. Alexander Cunningham (died 1893) noted in the 19th century that Kaofu, as recorded by the Chinese was in all likelihood the name of "one of the five Yuchi or Tukhari tribes". Cunningam added that this tribe gave its name to the city after it was occupied by them in the 2nd century BCE. This "supposition seems likely" as the Afghan historian Mir Ghulam Mohammad Ghobar (1898–1978) wrote that in the Avesta (sacred book of Zoroastrianism), Kabul was known as Vaekereta, whereas the Greeks of antiquity referred to it as Ortospana ("High Place"), which corresponds to the Sanskrit word Urddhastana, which was applied to Kabul. The Greek geographer Ptolemy (died {{circa|170 CE}}) recorded Kabul as Καβουρα (Kabura).

According to a legend, one could find a lake in Kabul, in the middle of which the so-called "Island of Happiness" could be found, where a joyous family of musicians lived. According to this same legend, the island became accessible by the order of a king through the construction of a bridge (i.e. "pul" in Persian) made out of straw (i.e. "kah" in Persian). According to this legend the name Kabul was thus formed as a result of these two words combined, i.e. kah + pul. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Place Names argues that the "suggestion that the name is derived from the Arabic root qbl 'meeting' or 'receiving' is unlikely".

It remains unknown when the name "Kabul" was first applied to the city. It "came into prominence" following the destruction of Kapisa and other cities in what is present-day Afghanistan by Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227) in the thirteenth century. The centrality of the city within the region, as well as its cultural importance as a nexus of ethnic groups in the region, caused Kabul to become known as the Paris of Central Asia in the late 20th century.

{{see also|Timeline of Kabul}}

{{Cleanup|subsection|reason=chaotic structure, contradicting information, etc.|date=January 2018}}

The origin of Kabul, who built it and when, is largely unknown.Adamec, p.231 The Hindu Rigveda, composed between 2000 and 1500 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.aisk.org/aisk/NHDAHGTK05.php|title=An Historical Guide to Kabul – The Name|author=Nancy Hatch Dupree / Aḥmad ʻAlī Kuhzād|publisher=American International School of Kabul|year=1972|access-date=18 September 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100830031416/http://www.aisk.org/aisk/NHDAHGTK05.php|archive-date=30 August 2010}}

The Kabul valley was part of the Median Empire (c. 678–549 BC).{{cite book|first=Graciana|last=del Castillo|author1-link=Graciana del Castillo|title=Guilty Party: The International Community in Afghanistan|publisher=Xlibris Corporation|isbn=978-1-4931-8570-2|page=28|date=2 April 2014}} In 549 BC, the Median Empire was annexed by Cyrus The Great and Kabul became part the Achaemenid Empire (c. 550–330 BC).{{cite book|first1=Hafizullah|last1=Emadi|title=Culture and Customs of Afghanistan|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-33089-6|page=26|year=2005}} During that period, Kabul became a center of learning for Zoroastrianism, followed by Buddhism and Hinduism.{{cite book|first1=Peter|last1=Marsden|title=The Taliban: War, Religion and the New Order in Afghanistan|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-1-85649-522-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/talibanwarreligi0000mars/page/12 12]|date=15 September 1998|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/talibanwarreligi0000mars/page/12}} An inscription on Darius the Great's tombstone lists Kabul as one of the 29 countries of the Achaemenid Empire.

File:Map of the Kushan Empire.png]]

When Alexander the Great annexed the Achaemenid Empire, the Kabul region came under his control.{{cite book|first1=Trudy|last1=Ring|title=International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania|year=1994|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-1-884964-04-6}} After his death, his empire was seized by his general Seleucus, becoming part of the Seleucid Empire. In 305 BC, the Seleucid Empire was extended to the Indus River which led to friction with the neighbouring Mauryan Empire.{{cite book|first1=Meredith L.|last1=Runion|title=The History of Afghanistan|year=2007|url=https://archive.org/details/historyafghanist00runi_653|url-access=limited|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-33798-7|page=[https://archive.org/details/historyafghanist00runi_653/page/n61 41]}}

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, jewelers, and carpenters.Romano, p.12

The Greco-Bactrians took control of Kabul from the Mauryans in the early 2nd century BC, then lost the city to their successors in the Indo-Greek Kingdom around the mid-2nd century BC. Buddhism was greatly patronised by these rulers and the majority of people of the city were adherents of the religion.{{cite book|first1=John|last1=Snelling|title=The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Teaching and Practice|date=31 August 2011|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1-4464-8958-1}} Indo-Scythians expelled the Indo-Greeks by the mid 1st century BC, but lost the city to the Kushan Empire about 100 years later.{{Cite book|title=E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936|last1=Houtsma|first1=Martijn Theodoor|volume=2|year=1987|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-08265-6|page=159|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA159|access-date=23 August 2010|archive-date=3 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503085005/https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA159|url-status=live}}{{cite book|first1=Louis|last1=Dupree|title=Afghanistan|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-5891-0|page=299|date=14 July 2014}}

File:Kabul Museum statue2.jpg statue at the museum in Kabul, early 1st millennium]]

It is mentioned as Kophes or Kophene in some classical Greek writings. The Chinese Buddhist monk Hsuan Tsang refers to the city as Kaofu{{Cite book|title=Chandragupta Maurya and his times|last1=Mookerji|first1=Radhakumud|edition=4|year=1966|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ|isbn=978-81-208-0405-0|page=173|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA173|access-date=18 September 2010|archive-date=29 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111229185942/http://books.google.com/books?id=i-y6ZUheQH8C&pg=PA173|url-status=live}} 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 Common Era.{{cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201012&ct=99|title=A.—The Hindu Kings of Kábul (p.2)|work=Sir H. M. Elliot|publisher=Packard Humanities Institute|location=London|date=1867–1877|access-date=18 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110905192644/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201012&ct=99|archive-date=5 September 2011|url-status=dead}} It was conquered by Kushan Emperor Kujula Kadphises in about 45 AD and remained Kushan territory until at least the 3rd century AD.Hill, John E. 2004. The Peoples of the West from the Weilue 魏略 by Yu Huan 魚豢: A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 AD. Draft annotated English translation... [http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html Link] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223070446/http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/weilue/weilue.html |date=23 December 2017 }}Hill (2004), pp. 29, 352–352. The Kushans were Indo-European-speaking peoples related to the Yuezhi and based in Bactria.A. D. H. Bivar, [http://iranicaonline.org/articles/kushan-dynasty-i-history KUSHAN DYNASTY] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118071505/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kushan-dynasty-i-history |date=18 January 2012 }}, in Encyclopaedia Iranica, 2010

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. 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.{{cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201012&ct=98|title=A.—The Hindu Kings of Kábul|work=Sir H. M. Elliot|publisher=Packard Humanities Institute|location=London|date=1867–1877|access-date=18 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408220905/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201012&ct=98|archive-date=8 April 2014|url-status=dead}} According to Táríkhu-l Hind by Al-Biruni, Kabul was governed by princes of Turkic lineage. It was briefly held by the Tibetan Empire between 801 and 815.

{{main|History of the Jews in Afghanistan}}

Jews had a presence in Afghanistan from ancient times until 2021.{{Cite news|agency=Associated Press|date=2021-09-08|title=Last member of Afghanistan's Jewish community leaves country|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/08/afghanistans-last-jew-leaves-country|access-date=2024-07-12|work=The Guardian|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}} There are records of religious correspondence establishing the presence of Jews in Kabul since the 8th century, though it is believed that they were present centuries or even millennia earlier.{{Cite web|title=Jews of Afghanistan: A History of Tolerance and Diversity|url=https://aissonline.org/en/opinions/jews-of-af.../1164|access-date=2024-07-12|website=aissonline.org|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=Jalalzai|first=Freshta|date=2024-03-08|title=The Little-Known Story of Afghanistan's Last Jew|url=https://newlinesmag.com/essays/the-little-known-story-of-afghanistans-last-jew/|access-date=2024-07-12|website=New Lines Magazine|language=en}} The 12th century Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi wrote down his observations of a Jewish quarter in Kabul.Ben Zion Yehoshua-Raz, “Kabul”, in: Encyclopedia of Jews in the Islamic World, Executive Editor Norman A. Stillman. First published online: 2010 In the early 19th century, Kabul and other major Afghan cities became sites of refuge for Jews fleeing persecution in neighboring Iran.{{Cite web|last=Feigenbaum|first=Aaron|title=The Jewish History of Afghanistan|url=https://aish.com/the-jewish-history-of-afghanistan/|access-date=12 July 2024|website=Aish|date=7 September 2014}}

Jews were generally tolerated for most of their time in Afghanistan, up until the passage of anti-Jewish laws in the 1870s. Jews were given a reprieve under the rule of King Nadir Shah until his assassination in 1933. The influence of Nazi propaganda led to increased violence against Jews and the ghettoization of their communities in Kabul and Herat. Most of Afghanistan's Jews fled the country or congregated in these urban hubs.

After the establishment of the state of Israel, the Jewish community requested permission from King Zahir Shah to migrate there. Afghanistan was the only country that allowed its Jewish residents to migrate to Israel without relinquishing their citizenship. Most of those remaining, approximately 2,000 in number, left after the Soviet invasion in 1979.

As of 1992, there were believed to be two Jews remaining in Afghanistan, both living in a synagogue in Kabul. The congregation's Torah scroll was confiscated during the first Islamic Emirate. Zebulon Simontov was believed and widely reported to be Afghanistan's last Jew, until Tova Moradi fled months after him, with her grandchildren. Moradi, who harbored a rabbi in her home throughout the first Islamic Emirate, lived in Morad Khane, Kabul for decades. While she was married to a Muslim man as a child, she still covertly attended synagogue and tried to teach her children what Hebrew prayers she could remember from her childhood. As of her departure in November 2021, there are believed to be no Jews in Afghanistan.

{{Further|Islamic conquest of Afghanistan}}

File:Ancient Khorasan highlighted.jpg

The Islamic conquest reached modern-day Afghanistan in 642 AD, at a time when Kabul was independent.{{Cite book|title=Ariana antiqua: a descriptive account of the antiquities and coins of|last1=Wilson|first1=Horace Hayman|year=1998|publisher=Asian Educational Services|isbn=978-81-206-1189-4|page=133|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s_K_gcxHz5YC&pg=PA133|access-date=18 September 2010|archive-date=3 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503084943/https://books.google.com/books?id=s_K_gcxHz5YC&pg=PA133|url-status=live}} Until then, Kabul was considered politically and culturally part of the Indian world.{{Cite book|last=Bosworth|first=Clifford Edmund|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8YmAQAAMAAJ&q=The+Ghaznavids,+their+empire+in+Afghanistan+and+Eastern+Iran+994%E2%80%931040,|title=The Ghaznavids: Their Empire in Afghanistan and Eastern Iran, 994 : 1040|date=1973|publisher=Munshiram Manoharlal|isbn=978-1-01-499132-4|pages=43|language=en|access-date=5 April 2023|archive-date=13 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230513042227/https://books.google.com/books?id=Z8YmAQAAMAAJ&q=The+Ghaznavids,+their+empire+in+Afghanistan+and+Eastern+Iran+994%E2%80%931040,|url-status=live}} 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 from the Hindu Shahis 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:

{{blockquote|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.{{cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201012&ct=100|title=A.—The Hindu Kings of Kábul (p.3)|work=Sir H. M. Elliot|publisher=Packard Humanities Institute|location=London|date=1867–1877|access-date=2010-09-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726133107/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/pf?file=80201012&ct=100|archive-date=2013-07-26|url-status=dead}}}}

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:

{{blockquote|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.{{Cite book|title=Travels in Asia and Africa, 1325–1354|last1=Ibn Battuta|edition=reprint, illustrated|year=2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-34473-5|page=180|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zKqn_CWTxYEC&pg=PA180|access-date=2010-09-10|archive-date=2017-04-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416132656/https://books.google.com/books?id=zKqn_CWTxYEC&pg=PA180|url-status=live}}}}

{{Further|Timurid Empire|Mughal Empire}}

File:Humayun (left) with his father Babur (right), painted circa 1640 (Late Shah Jahan Album).jpg with his father Babur, emperors of the Mughal Empire]]

File:Horsemen assembled outside the city walls at Kabul, Afghanis Wellcome V0050453.jpg 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:

{{blockquote|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.{{cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/44608/44608-h/44608-h.htm|title=Description of Kābul|access-date=June 21, 2021|author=Zahir ud-Din Mohammad Babur|work=Memoirs of Babur|publisher=Packard Humanities Institute|year=1525|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630231822/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44608/44608-h/44608-h.htm|url-status=live}}}}

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 zameen ast, hameen ast, o hameen ast, o hameen ast.

(If there is a paradise on earth, it is this, and it is this, and it is this!){{Cite book|title=War Against the Taliban: Why It All Went Wrong in Afghanistan|last1=Gall|first1=Sandy|year=2012|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4088-0905-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/waragainsttaliba0000gall/page/165 165]|url=https://archive.org/details/waragainsttaliba0000gall|url-access=registration|access-date=30 September 2013}}

Kabul remained in Mughal control for the next 200 years.{{cite web|last=Schinasi|first=May|title=Kabul iii. History From the 16th Century to the Accession of Moḥammad Ẓāher Shah|url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kabul-iii-history|access-date=29 June 2021|website=Encyclopaedia Iranica|language=en-US|archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629170713/https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kabul-iii-history|url-status=live}} 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).{{Cite journal|last=Samrin|first=Farah|title=The City of Kabul Under the Mughals|date=2005|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145943|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|volume=66|page=1307|jstor=44145943|issn=2249-1937|access-date=29 June 2021|archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629170711/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44145943|url-status=live}} As part of administrative reforms under Akbar, the city was made capital of the eponymous Mughal province, Kabul Subah.{{Cite web|last=Roy|first=Kaushik|date=January 2015|title=Mughal Empire and Warfare in Afghanistan: 1500–1810|url=https://academic.oup.com/book/4199/chapter-abstract/146011616?redirectedFrom=fulltext|access-date=2023-06-20|website=academic.oup.com|doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198099109.003.0001|isbn=978-0-19-809910-9|archive-date=20 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620230909/https://academic.oup.com/book/4199/chapter-abstract/146011616?redirectedFrom=fulltext|url-status=live}} Under Mughal governance, Kabul became a prosperous urban centre, endowed with bazaars such as the non-extant Char Chatta. 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.{{Cite book|last=Bosworth|first=Clifford Edmund|title=Historic cities of the Islamic world|date=2008|publisher=Brill|isbn=978-90-04-15388-2|page=257|oclc=231801473}} 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.{{Cite journal|last=Foltz|first=Richard|date=1996|title=The Mughal Occupation of Balkh 1646–1647|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/26195477|journal=Journal of Islamic Studies|volume=7|issue=1|page=52|doi=10.1093/jis/7.1.49|jstor=26195477|issn=0955-2340|access-date=29 June 2021|archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629170710/https://www.jstor.org/stable/26195477|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}} During this time, the population was about 60,000.

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

{{Further|Durrani dynasty|Barakzai dynasty}}

File:Shuja Shah Durrani of Afghanistan in 1839.jpg, the last Durrani King, sitting at his court inside the Bala Hissar]]

File:Hendaki Palace, the Emir's residence, Kabul Wellcome L0025004.jpg (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.{{Citation|last=Ziad|first=Waleed|title=From Yarkand to Sindh via Kabul: The Rise of Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi Sufi Networks in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries|date=30 October 2018|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004387287_007|work=The Persianate World|page=145|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122095707/https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004387287/BP000012.xml|publisher=BRILL|doi=10.1163/9789004387287_007|isbn=978-90-04-38728-7|s2cid=197951160|access-date=11 November 2021|archive-date=22 November 2021|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}} 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.Hanifi, Shah Mahmoud. p. 185. [https://books.google.com/books?id=kh1hpPLSpcEC Connecting Histories in Afghanistan: Market Relations and State Formation on a Colonial Frontier] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210815092453/https://books.google.com/books?id=kh1hpPLSpcEC |date=15 August 2021 }}. Stanford University Press, 2011. 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.{{Citation|last=Ziad|first=Waleed|title=From Yarkand to Sindh via Kabul: The Rise of Naqshbandi-Mujaddidi Sufi Networks in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries|date=30 October 2018|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/9789004387287_007|work=The Persianate World|pages=148–149|publisher=BRILL|doi=10.1163/9789004387287_007|isbn=978-90-04-38728-7|s2cid=197951160|access-date=18 December 2021|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122095707/https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004387287/BP000012.xml|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}} Kabul's first visitor from Europe was Englishman George Forster, who described 18th-century Kabul as "the best and cleanest city in Asia".{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1651814.stm|title=Kabul: City of lost glories|date=12 November 2001|access-date=18 September 2010|work=BBC News|archive-date=2 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002212006/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/1651814.stm|url-status=live}}

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 which 4,500 regular British troops and 14,000 civilians were killed by Afghan tribesmen. In 1842 the British returned to Kabul, demolishing the city's main bazaar in revenge during the Kabul Expedition (1842) before returning to British India (now Pakistan). Akbar Khan took to the throne from 1842 to 1845 and was followed by Dost Mohammad Khan.{{Cite web|title=Story Map Cascade|url=https://www.loc.gov/ghe/cascade/index.html?appid=a0930b1f4e424987ba68c28880f088ea|access-date=2023-06-20|website=Library of Congress|archive-date=17 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817041928/https://loc.gov/ghe/cascade/index.html?appid=a0930b1f4e424987ba68c28880f088ea|url-status=live}}

File:Kabul, capitale dell’Afganistan a.jpg

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.Caption for Panorama of the Bala Hissar WDL11486 Library of Congress

In Kabul, an established bazaar city, leather and textile industries developed by 1916.{{cite web|title=Draft Kabul City Master Plan|url=https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00JMMJ.pdf|website=USAID|access-date=21 November 2019|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402205705/https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00JMMJ.pdf|url-status=dead}} The majority of the population was concentrated on the south side of the river.

The city was modernised throughout the regime of King Habibullah Khan, with the introduction of electricity, telephone, and a postal service.Tanin, Z. (2006): Afghanistan in the 20th Century. Tehran. 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 6 km from Kabul. This area, named Darulaman, 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 after a local uprising orchestrated by Habibullah Kalakani, but he 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 in 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.

File:Dilkusha Palace, Kabul Afghanistan.jpg

During the inter-war period, France and Germany helped to develop the country and maintained high schools and lycees in the capital, providing education for the children of the city's elite families.Anthony Hyman, "Nationalism in Afghanistan" in International Journal of Middle East Studies, 34:2 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002) 305. Kabul University opened in 1932, and by the 1960s the majority of teachers were western educated AfghansHyman, 305. and the majority of instructors at the university had degrees from Western universities.

Kabul's only railway service, the Kabul–Darulaman Tramway, operated for six years from 1923 to 1929.{{cite web|title=Kabul New City light rail plan – Railways of Afghanistan|url=http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/afghanistan/kabul-new-city-light-rail-plan/|website=www.andrewgrantham.co.uk|date=18 August 2015|access-date=26 January 2018|archive-date=26 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126125644/http://www.andrewgrantham.co.uk/afghanistan/kabul-new-city-light-rail-plan/|url-status=live}} When Zahir Shah took power in 1933, Kabul had the only {{convert|6|mi|sp=us|0|abbr=off|order=flip}} of rail and the country had few internal telegraphs, phone lines or roads. Zahir turned to the Japanese, Germans and Italians for help in developing a modern transportation and communications network.Nick Cullather, "Damming Afghanistan: Modernisation in a Buffer State" in The Journal of American History 89:2 (Indiana: Organization of American Historians, 2002) 518. A radio tower built in Kabul by the Germans in 1937 provided communication with outlying villages.Cullather, 518. A national bank and state cartels were organised to allow for economic modernisation.Cullather, 519. Textile mills, power plants, carpet and furniture factories were built in Kabul, providing much-needed manufacturing and infrastructure.

File:66-174 Kabul Afghanistan 1966.jpg

During the 1940s and 1950s, urbanisation accelerated and the built-up area was increased in size to 68 km² by 1962, an almost fourteen-fold increase since 1925. The Serena Hotel opened in 1945 as the first Western-style luxury hotel. In the 1950s, under the premiership of Mohammad Daoud Khan, 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, a mechanised bakery, a five-lane highway from Kabul to the Soviet border and dams, including the Salang Pass to the north of Kabul.Cullather, 530. 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.{{cite web|last1=Caryl|first1=Christian|title=When Afghanistan Was Just a Stop on the 'Hippie Trail'|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/strange-rebels-excerpt_b_3427854|website=HuffPost|language=en|date=12 June 2013|access-date=21 November 2019|archive-date=26 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626204243/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/strange-rebels-excerpt_b_3427854|url-status=live}} 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 demonstrations by Socialist, Maoist, liberal or Islamist factions.Cullather, 534.

File:Kabul-46-Stadthuegel-1976-gje.jpg

Foreigners flocked to Kabul as the nation's tourism industry expanded. To accompany the city's new-found tourism, western-style accommodations were opened in the 1960s, notably the Spinzar Hotel.{{cite web|url=https://ackuimages.photoshelter.com/image/I0000n5RXicm0vfM|title=Hotels and Tourists. | ACKU Images System|access-date=31 August 2021|archive-date=31 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831210756/https://ackuimages.photoshelter.com/image/I0000n5RXicm0vfM|url-status=live}} Western, American and Japanese tourists visited the city's attractions{{cite news|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/Afghans_Prepare_For_Tourism_Development/1843909.html|title=Afghans Prepare for Tourism Development|newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|date=5 October 2009|access-date=31 August 2021|archive-date=31 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831210754/https://www.rferl.org/a/Afghans_Prepare_For_Tourism_Development/1843909.html|url-status=live|last1=Blua|first1=Antoine}} including Chicken Street{{cite book|last=Amstutz|first=J. Bruce|publisher=Diane Publishing|isbn=978-0-7881-1111-2|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_RUSNyMH1aFQC|title=Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation|year=1994|oclc=948347893}} and the National Museum that contained some of Asia's finest cultural artifacts.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/travel/21kabul.html|title=The Mysteries of Kabul|newspaper=The New York Times|date=21 January 2007|last1=Hammer|first1=Joshua|access-date=1 September 2021|archive-date=1 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901154024/https://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/21/travel/21kabul.html|url-status=live}} Lonely Planet called it an upcoming "tourist trap" in 1973.{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/middle-east/afghanistan/articles/when-afghanistan-was-just-the-laid-back-highlight-on-the-hippie-/|title=When Afghanistan was just a laid-back highlight on the hippie trail|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=20 April 2018|last1=Smith|first1=Oliver|access-date=31 August 2021|archive-date=17 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817013308/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/middle-east/afghanistan/articles/when-afghanistan-was-just-the-laid-back-highlight-on-the-hippie-/|url-status=live}} Pakistanis visited to watch Indian movies that were banned in their own country. Kabul was nicknamed the Paris of Central Asia. According to J. Bruce Amstutz, an American diplomat in Kabul:

{{blockquote|[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.}}

Until the late 1970s, Kabul was a stop on the Hippie trail from Bamyan to the west towards Peshawar.{{cite news|title=The Lonely Planet Journey: The Hippie Trail|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/the-lonely-planet-journey-the-hippie-trail-6257275.html|access-date=14 June 2017|agency=The Independent|date=5 November 2011|archive-date=15 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170615005133/http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/the-lonely-planet-journey-the-hippie-trail-6257275.html|url-status=live}} The city was known for its street sales of hashish and became a major attraction for western hippies.{{cite news|title=Afghan King Overthrown; A Republic Is Proclaimed|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/18/archives/afghan-king-overthrown-a-republic-is-proclaimed-afghanistan-king-is.html|website=The New York Times|date=18 July 1973|access-date=1 April 2019|archive-date=29 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129042317/https://www.nytimes.com/1973/07/18/archives/afghan-king-overthrown-a-republic-is-proclaimed-afghanistan-king-is.html|url-status=live}}

{{Further|Soviet–Afghan War|Afghan Civil War (1989–92)}}

File:Old View of Kabul with Pul-e Khishti Mosque and Kabul Fortress in Background.jpg 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.Haynes, 372. Private businesses were nationalised in the Soviet manner.Haynes, 373. 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.

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.J. Robert Moskin, American Statecraft: The Story of the U.S. Foreign Service (Thomas Dunne Books, 2013), p. 594.John Prados, Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), p. 468. 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.Dick Camp, Boots on the Ground: The Fight to Liberate Afghanistan from Al-Qaeda and the Taliban (Zenith, 2012), pp. 8–9. 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. General Rahman was heard loudly saying: "Kabul must burn! Kabul must burn!",{{cite book|title=Afghanistan: The Soviet Invasion and the Afghan Response, 1979–1982|last1=Kakar|first1=Hassan M.|year=1997|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-20893-3|page=291|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QyTmFj5tUGsC&pg=PA291|access-date=8 January 2013|archive-date=3 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503084850/https://books.google.com/books?id=QyTmFj5tUGsC&pg=PA291|url-status=live}} and mastered the idea of proxy war in Afghanistan.{{cite book|last=Yousaf|first=Mohammad|title=Silent Soldier: The Man Behind the Afghan Jehad General Akhtar Abdur Rahman|year=1991|publisher=Jang Publishers, 1991|location=Karachi, Sindh|page=106|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cAoNAAAAIAAJ&q=Silent+soldier:|access-date=15 December 2015|archive-date=3 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503084914/https://books.google.com/books?id=cAoNAAAAIAAJ&q=Silent+soldier%3A|url-status=live}} 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.

File:Evstafiev-40th army HQ-Amin-palace-Kabul.jpg 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 many 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.{{Cite web|url=https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft7b69p12h;chunk.id=0;doc.view=print|title=Afghanistan|website=publishing.cdlib.org|access-date=4 August 2021|archive-date=13 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210813153023/https://publishing.cdlib.org/ucpressebooks/view?docId=ft7b69p12h;chunk.id=0;doc.view=print|url-status=live}} 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".Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation, by J. Bruce Amstutz – Page 139 Contrastingly, that same year American diplomat Charles Dunbar commented that the Soviet troops' presence was "surprisingly modest",Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation, by J. Bruce Amstutz – Page 139 & 140 and an author in a 1983 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists article thought that the Soviet soldiers had a "friendly" atmosphere.Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists – December 1983 issue

The city's population increased from around 500,000 in 1978 to 1.5 million in 1988.Afghanistan: The Soviet Withdrawal from Afghanistan, by Amin Saikal, William Maley – Page 48 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.{{cite journal|url=https://journals.openedition.org/samaj/212|title=Kabul at War (1992–1996): State, Ethnicity and Social Classes|year=2007|publisher=samaj.revues.org|doi=10.4000/samaj.212|access-date=25 October 2014|last1=Dorronsoro|first1=Gilles|journal=South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal|doi-access=free|archive-date=26 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141026102747/http://samaj.revues.org/212|url-status=live}} Soviet men and women were very common in the city's shopping roads, with the large availability of Western products. 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.Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation, by J. Bruce Amstutz – Page 140 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.{{cite web|last1=Landay|first1=Jonathan S.|title=A truck bomb exploded in crowded downtown Kabul today,...|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/04/27/A-truck-bomb-exploded-in-crowded-downtown-Kabul-today/7671578116800/|website=UPI|language=en|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-date=12 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180112043011/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1988/04/27/A-truck-bomb-exploded-in-crowded-downtown-Kabul-today/7671578116800/|url-status=live}}

File:Kabul during civil war of fundamentalists 1993-2.jpg in 1993, showing the destruction caused by the civil war.]]

{{Main|Afghan Civil War (1992–96)}}

After the fall of Mohammad Najibullah's{{cite book|title=The Gem Hunter: The Adventures of an American in Afghanistan|last1=Bowersox|first1=Gary W.|year=2004|publisher=GeoVision, Inc.|location=United States|isbn=978-0-9747323-1-2|page=100|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WVAN9pjnRzMC&pg=PA100|access-date=22 August 2010|archive-date=8 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210808094045/https://books.google.com/books?id=WVAN9pjnRzMC&pg=PA100|url-status=live}} 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."{{cite news|title=Guerrillas Take Afghan Capital as Troops Flee|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/28/world/guerrillas-take-afghan-capital-as-troops-flee.html|website=The New York Times|date=28 September 1996|access-date=28 December 2017|archive-date=10 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010085715/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/09/28/world/guerrillas-take-afghan-capital-as-troops-flee.html|url-status=live}} About 80 percent of the city was devastated and destroyed by 1996.{{cite book|title=Bleeding Afghanistan: Washington, Warlords, and the Propaganda of Silence|last1=Kolhatkar|first1=S.|last2=Ingalls|first2=J.|last3=Barsamian|first3=D.|date=2011|publisher=Seven Stories Press|isbn=978-1-60980-093-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=px7rU0i-71UC|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=7 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201207173205/https://books.google.com/books?id=px7rU0i-71UC|url-status=live}}Bowersox (p.192) The old city and western areas were among the worst-hit. A 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.{{cite news|last1=Burns|first1=John F.|title=Afghan Capital Grim as War Follows War|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/05/world/afghan-capital-grim-as-war-follows-war.html|website=The New York Times|date=5 February 1996|access-date=28 December 2017|archive-date=2 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201102075843/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/02/05/world/afghan-capital-grim-as-war-follows-war.html|url-status=live}}

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.Nazif M Shahrani, "War, Factionalism and the State in Afghanistan" in American Anthropologist 104:3 (Arlington, Virginia: American Anthropological Association, 2008), 719. 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.{{cite web|year=2005|url=http://www.afghanistanjusticeproject.org/warcrimesandcrimesagainsthumanity19782001.pdf|title=Casting Shadows: War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity: 1978–2001|publisher=Afghanistan Justice Project|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004221455/http://www.afghanistanjusticeproject.org/warcrimesandcrimesagainsthumanity19782001.pdf|archive-date=4 October 2013}}Amnesty International. 16 November 1995 Accessed at: {{cite web|url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/asa11/015/1995/en/|title=Afghanistan: Further information on fear for safety and new concern: Deliberate and arbitrary killings: Civilians in Kabul|date=16 November 1995|access-date=18 October 2014|archive-date=3 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150403163212/https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ASA11/015/1995/en/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|year=1995|url=http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jly2.htm|title=Afghanistan: escalation of indiscriminate shelling in Kabul|publisher=International Committee of the Red Cross|access-date=13 February 2011|archive-date=10 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510012006/http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/documents/misc/57jly2.htm|url-status=live}} These forces took steps to restore law and order. Courts started to work again, convicting individuals inside government troops who had committed crimes.{{youTube|id=Jnia-TUuCDs|title=BBC Newsnight 1995}} 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,{{cite web|year=1998|url=http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/documents/reports/talibans-war-on-women.pdf|title=The Taliban's War on Women. A Health and Human Rights Crisis in Afghanistan|publisher=Physicians for Human Rights|access-date=15 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070702234326/http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/library/documents/reports/talibans-war-on-women.pdf|archive-date=2 July 2007|url-status=dead}} 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.

{{Further|Fall of Kabul (2021)|Presidency of Hamid Karzai|List of terrorist attacks in Kabul since 2008}}

In November 2001, the Northern Alliance captured Kabul after the Taliban had abandoned the city following an American invasion. A month later, a new government began to assemble under President Hamid Karzai. A NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was deployed in Afghanistan and many expatriate Afghans returned to the country. Kabul's population grew from about 500,000 in 2001 to over 3 million. Foreign embassies re-opened. In 2008, responsibility for security began to shift from NATO to Afghan forces.{{cite web|url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/international-engagement/flash-from-the-past-kabul-security-handed-back-to-afghans-in-2008/|title=Flash from the Past: Kabul security handed back to Afghans in 2008|date=22 September 2018|access-date=12 June 2020|archive-date=12 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200612213320/https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/international-engagement/flash-from-the-past-kabul-security-handed-back-to-afghans-in-2008/|url-status=live}} In 2001 rebuilding began{{cite web|last=Bergen|first=Peter|date=4 March 2013|title=What Went Right?|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/03/04/what-went-right/|access-date=26 November 2019|website=foreignpolicy.com|archive-date=9 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609174836/https://foreignpolicy.com/2013/03/04/what-went-right/|url-status=live}} and many of the city's damaged landmarks were rebuilt or restored, including the Gardens of Babur in 2005,{{Cite web|url=https://www.archnet.org/sites/5595|title=Archnet|website=www.archnet.org|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-date=1 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901124418/https://archnet.org/sites/5595|url-status=live}} the arch of Paghman, the Mahmoud Khan Bridge clock tower in 2013{{Cite web|url=https://www.kabulnath.de/Sal-e-Tschardahoum/Shoumare-313/shahmahmoud%20Mahmoud.html|title=ÇÈá äÇÊåÜ/ÓÜÜÜÇá ÜÜÜÜÜÜåÇÑÏåÜã/ÔãÇÑåی۳۱۳/ÇÓÊÇÏ ÔÇå ãÍãæÏ/ÈÑÍåÇی ÓÇÚÊ ÔåÑ ÇÈá|trans-title=The clock towers of Kabul city|author=Shah Mahmoud Mahmoud|website=www.kabulnath.de|access-date=1 September 2021|archive-date=1 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901124409/https://www.kabulnath.de/Sal-e-Tschardahoum/Shoumare-313/shahmahmoud%20Mahmoud.html|url-status=live}} and the Taj Beg Palace in 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.darivoa.com/a/taj-beg-palace-/5694275.html|title=قصر تاج‌بیگ پس از بازسازی|date=10 December 2020|language=Persian|via=www.darivoa.com|access-date=1 September 2021|archive-date=29 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629033847/https://www.darivoa.com/a/taj-beg-palace-/5694275.html|url-status=live}} Local community efforts repaired homes and dwellings.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/may/13/there-is-less-fear-restoration-of-kabul-repairs-the-ravages-of-war|title='There is less fear': Restoration of Kabul repairs the ravages of war|newspaper=The Guardian|date=13 May 2019|access-date=1 September 2021|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115160331/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/may/13/there-is-less-fear-restoration-of-kabul-repairs-the-ravages-of-war|url-status=live}}

File:Apartments in Kabul street.jpg

With an increasing population the city experienced rapid urbanisation, and many informal settlements were built.{{cite web|title=Afghanistan Displacement and Returnee Response Informal Settlement Profiles: City of Kabul|url=http://www.reachresourcecentre.info/system/files/resource-documents/reach_afg_factsheet_kabul_cover_page_jan2017_3.pdf|website=www.reachresourcecentre.info|access-date=23 January 2018|archive-date=24 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124070913/http://www.reachresourcecentre.info/system/files/resource-documents/reach_afg_factsheet_kabul_cover_page_jan2017_3.pdf|url-status=live}} Numerous modern housing complexes were built after the late 2000s, many of them gated and secured, to serve a growing Afghan middle class.{{cite web|title=For a Lucky Few, Life Is Better in This Kabul Neighbourhood|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/01/kabul-afghanistan-suburb-modern/|website=www.nationalgeographic.com|date=28 December 2017|access-date=23 January 2018|archive-date=13 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113220139/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/01/kabul-afghanistan-suburb-modern/|url-status=dead}} These included the Aria City (in District 10) and Golden City (District 8).{{cite web|last1=Rasmussen|first1=Sune Engel|title=Kabul – the fifth fastest growing city in the world – is bursting at the seams|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/dec/11/kabul-afghanistan-fifth-fastest-growing-city-world-rapid-urbanisation|website=The Guardian|date=11 December 2014|access-date=8 January 2017|archive-date=9 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109115432/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/dec/11/kabul-afghanistan-fifth-fastest-growing-city-world-rapid-urbanisation|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=To go with story 'Afghanistan-elections-presidency-economics' by...|url=https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/to-go-with-story-afghanistan-elections-presidency-economics-news-photo/456453908#/to-go-with-story-afghanistanelectionspresidencyeconomics-by-emmanuel-picture-id456453908|website=Getty Images|date=October 2014|language=en-gb|access-date=23 January 2018|archive-date=24 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124011102/https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/to-go-with-story-afghanistan-elections-presidency-economics-news-photo/456453908#/to-go-with-story-afghanistanelectionspresidencyeconomics-by-emmanuel-picture-id456453908|url-status=live}} Complexes were 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).{{cite news|title=The Changing Face Of Kabul|url=https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-the-changing-face-of-kabul/27796779.html|website=RFE/RL|date=14 June 2016|language=en|access-date=23 January 2018|archive-date=24 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124005718/https://gandhara.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-the-changing-face-of-kabul/27796779.html|url-status=live|last1=Recknagel|first1=Charles|last2=Sarwar|first2=Mustafa}}{{cite web|title=Completed Projects – Gholghola Group|url=http://gholghola.com/en/complete-projects/|website=gholghola.com|access-date=23 January 2018|archive-date=15 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215071658/http://gholghola.com/en/complete-projects/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=New township changes Kabul ring road course|url=https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2015/03/10/new-township-changes-kabul-ring-road-course|website=www.pajhwok.com|date=14 February 2015|last1=Hamdard|first1=Azizullah|access-date=25 January 2018|archive-date=26 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012605/https://www.pajhwok.com/en/2015/03/10/new-township-changes-kabul-ring-road-course|url-status=live}}

A high-security "Green Zone" was formed in the centre of the city.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/17/afghanistan-kabul-diplomats-embassies|title=Kabul to give diplomats an 'ordinary life' in Baghdad-style green zone|website=TheGuardian.com|date=17 May 2009|access-date=1 September 2021|archive-date=1 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901122145/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/17/afghanistan-kabul-diplomats-embassies|url-status=live}} In 2010, a series of guarded checkpoints called the Ring of Steel was put into operation. Concrete blast walls appeared throughout Kabul in the 2000s.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/kabul-architecture-war-us-afghanistan/|title=A photo tour of Kabul shows how 20 years of U.S. military presence reshaped Afghanistan's capital|newspaper=Washington Post|date=|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-date=26 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210326042641/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/kabul-architecture-war-us-afghanistan/|url-status=live}}

The city continued to develop despite frequent terrorist attacks, mainly by Taliban insurgents, and Kabul was the fifth fastest-growing city in the world in 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/urban_growth1.html|title=World's fastest growing urban areas (1)|publisher=City Mayors|date=17 May 2012|access-date=17 August 2012|archive-date=25 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125090345/http://citymayors.com/statistics/urban_growth1.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://thediplomat.com/2017/01/kabul-a-city-with-2-faces/|title=Kabul: A City With 2 Faces|website=thediplomat.com|access-date=26 November 2019|archive-date=9 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609174158/https://thediplomat.com/2017/01/kabul-a-city-with-2-faces/|url-status=live}} Until August 2021, the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) were 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.{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-isi-urged-attacks-u-targets-officials-002201562.html|title=U.S. blames Pakistan agency in Kabul attack|agency=Reuters|date=22 September 2011|access-date=22 September 2011|archive-date=25 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110925075845/http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-isi-urged-attacks-u-targets-officials-002201562.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pakistan-usa-haqqani-idUSTRE78G1RM20110917|title=U.S. links Pakistan to group it blames for Kabul attack|date=17 September 2011|work=Reuters|access-date=21 September 2011|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924155251/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/17/us-pakistan-usa-haqqani-idUSTRE78G1RM20110917|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/clinton-presses-pakistan-to-help-fight-haqqani-insurgent-group/|title=Clinton Presses Pakistan to Help Fight Haqqani Insurgent Group|publisher=Fox News|date=18 September 2011|access-date=21 September 2011|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924181106/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/09/18/clinton-presses-pakistan-to-help-fight-haqqani-insurgent-group/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-condemns-us-comments-spy-agency-044440789.html;_ylt=A2KJ3vVYX3xOdRkA9EZXNyoA?rnd=005681253004174930714413|title=Pakistan condemns US comments about spy agency|agency=Associated Press|date=23 September 2011|access-date=23 September 2011|archive-date=27 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130727053454/http://news.yahoo.com/pakistan-condemns-us-comments-spy-agency-044440789.html%3B_ylt%3DA2KJ3vVYX3xOdRkA9EZXNyoA?rnd=005681253004174930714413|url-status=live}} Government employees, soldiers and ordinary civilians were targets of attacks.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghanistan-bombings-20111207,0,4701392.story|title=Two Afghanistan bombings aimed at Shiites kill at least 59 people|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=7 December 2008|access-date=9 December 2011|first1=Hashmat|last1=Baktash|first2=Alex|last2=Rodriguez|archive-date=25 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125021608/http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-afghanistan-bombings-20111207,0,4701392.story|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Rubin|first=Alissa|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/world/asia/14afghanistan.html?pagewanted=all|title=U.S. Embassy and NATO Headquarters Attacked in Kabul|newspaper=nytimes.com|date=13 September 2011|access-date=2 September 2017|archive-date=10 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010085817/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/14/world/asia/14afghanistan.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Holehouse|first=Matthew|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8759579/Kabul-US-embassy-attack-September-13-as-it-happened.html|title=Kabul US embassy attack: September 13 as it happened|publisher=telegraph.co.uk|date=13 September 2011|location=London|access-date=6 April 2018|archive-date=31 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131200655/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/8759579/Kabul-US-embassy-attack-September-13-as-it-happened.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2691816.ece|title=At least 55 killed in Kabul suicide bombing|date=7 December 2008|access-date=9 December 2011|location=Chennai, India|work=The Hindu|archive-date=3 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160203001406/http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article2691816.ece|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/photojournal/|title=Photos of the Day: Dec. 8|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|date=7 December 2008|access-date=9 December 2011|archive-date=24 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200824065325/https://blogs.wsj.com/photojournal/|url-status=live}} The Afghan government called the actions of the terrorists war crimes. The deadliest attack was a truck bombing in May 2017.{{Cite web|title=Country Reports on Terrorism 2017|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2017/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230620230432/https://www.state.gov/reports/country-reports-on-terrorism-2017/|archive-date=June 20, 2023|access-date=June 20, 2023|website=U.S. Department of State}} The 2021 Kabul school bombing targeted a girls' school in Dashte Barchi.{{cite news|title=Death toll rises to 85 in Afghanistan girls' school bomb attack|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/05/09/asia/afghanistan-girls-school-attack-intl-hnk/index.html|work=CNN|date=10 May 2021}}

The city was seized during the 2021 Taliban offensive on August 15, 2021. Under Taliban rule the city and the country experienced relative calm,{{Cite web|date=2022-08-12|title=Afghanistan's Security Challenges under the Taliban|url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/afghanistan/afghanistans-security-challenges-under-taliban|access-date=2022-10-19|website=www.crisisgroup.org|language=en|archive-date=24 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221024223815/https://www.crisisgroup.org/asia/south-asia/afghanistan/afghanistans-security-challenges-under-taliban|url-status=live}} although terrorist attacks continued to be committed by the regional ISIL branch.{{Cite web|date=2022-09-23|title=Afghanistan: Seven Killed, 41 Injured in Blast Near Mosque in Kabul|url=https://www.outlookindia.com/international/afghanistan-four-killed-ten-wounded-in-blast-near-mosque-in-kabul-news-225399|access-date=2022-10-19|website=www.outlookindia.com/|language=en|archive-date=19 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221019154042/https://www.outlookindia.com/international/afghanistan-four-killed-ten-wounded-in-blast-near-mosque-in-kabul-news-225399|url-status=live}}

{{Further|Geography of Afghanistan}}

File:Kabul-Pano By Dani.jpg on the right]]

File:DSC 0049-2.jpg dam and lake]]

File:Kabul mountains.jpg

Kabul was situated in the eastern part of the country, {{convert|1791|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}} above sea level in a narrow valley, wedged between the Hindu Kush mountains along the Kabul River. Immediately to the south of the old city are the ancient city walls and the Sher Darwaza mountain, with the Shuhadayi Salihin cemetery behind it. A bit further east is the ancient Bala Hissar fortress with the Kol-e Hasmat Khan lake behind it.

Its location has been described as a "bowl surrounded by mountains".Canada in Afghanistan: The War So Far by Peter Pigott Some of the mountains (which are called koh) include: Khair Khana-e Shamali, Khwaja Rawash, Shakhi Baran Tey, Chihil Sutun, Qurugh, Khwaja Razaq and Sher Darwaza. There are also two mountains in between urban areas to the west: Koh-e Asamai (locally known as the Television hill) and Ali Abad. Hills within the city (which are called tapa) include Bibi Mahro and Maranjan.

The Logar River flows into Kabul from the south, joining the Kabul River not far from the city centre.

The city covers an area size of {{convert|1023|km2|sqmi|0}}, making it by far the largest in the country. The closest foreign capital cities as the crow flies are Islamabad, Dushanbe, Tashkent, New Delhi and Bishkek. Kabul is roughly equidistant between Istanbul (western Asia) and Hanoi (eastern Asia).

Kabul has a continental, cold semi-arid climate (BSk), with precipitation concentrated in the winter (almost exclusively falling as snow) and spring months. Summers have very low humidity, providing some relief from the heat. Autumns feature warm afternoons and sharply cooler evenings. Winters are very cold by South Asian standards, with a subzero January daily average temperature of {{convert|-2.3|°C|1}}, mainly due to the high elevation of the city. Spring is the wettest time of the year. Sunny conditions dominate year-round, and the annual mean temperature is only {{convert|12.1|°C|1}}, much lower than that of Afghanistan's other large cities.

{{Weather box

|width = auto

|location = Kabul (1956–1983)

|metric first = Y

|single line = Y

|Jan record high C = 18.8

|Feb record high C = 18.4

|Mar record high C = 26.7

|Apr record high C = 29.4

|May record high C = 33.5

|Jun record high C = 37.7

|Jul record high C = 40.5

|Aug record high C = 41.0

|Sep record high C = 35.1

|Oct record high C = 31.6

|Nov record high C = 24.4

|Dec record high C = 20.4

|year record high C = 41.0

|Jan high C = 4.5

|Feb high C = 5.5

|Mar high C = 12.5

|Apr high C = 19.2

|May high C = 24.4

|Jun high C = 30.2

|Jul high C = 32.1

|Aug high C = 32.0

|Sep high C = 28.5

|Oct high C = 22.4

|Nov high C = 15.0

|Dec high C = 8.3

|year high C = 19.5

|Jan mean C = -2.3

|Feb mean C = -0.7

|Mar mean C = 6.3

|Apr mean C = 12.8

|May mean C = 17.3

|Jun mean C = 22.8

|Jul mean C = 25.0

|Aug mean C = 24.1

|Sep mean C = 19.7

|Oct mean C = 13.1

|Nov mean C = 5.9

|Dec mean C = 0.6

|year mean C = 12.1

|Jan low C = −7.1

|Feb low C = −5.7

|Mar low C = 0.7

|Apr low C = 6.0

|May low C = 8.8

|Jun low C = 12.4

|Jul low C = 15.3

|Aug low C = 14.3

|Sep low C = 9.4

|Oct low C = 3.9

|Nov low C = −1.2

|Dec low C = −4.7

|year low C = 4.3

|Jan record low C = -25.5

|Feb record low C = -24.8

|Mar record low C = -12.6

|Apr record low C = -2.1

|May record low C = 0.4

|Jun record low C = 3.1

|Jul record low C = 7.5

|Aug record low C = 6.0

|Sep record low C = 1.0

|Oct record low C = -3.0

|Nov record low C = -9.4

|Dec record low C = -18.9

|year record low C = -25.5

|Jan precipitation mm = 34.3

|Feb precipitation mm = 60.1

|Mar precipitation mm = 67.9

|Apr precipitation mm = 71.9

|May precipitation mm = 23.4

|Jun precipitation mm = 1.0

|Jul precipitation mm = 6.2

|Aug precipitation mm = 1.6

|Sep precipitation mm = 1.7

|Oct precipitation mm = 3.7

|Nov precipitation mm = 18.6

|Dec precipitation mm = 21.6

|year precipitation mm = 312.0

|Jan rain days = 2

|Feb rain days = 3

|Mar rain days = 10

|Apr rain days = 11

|May rain days = 8

|Jun rain days = 1

|Jul rain days = 2

|Aug rain days = 1

|Sep rain days = 1

|Oct rain days = 2

|Nov rain days = 4

|Dec rain days = 3

|year rain days = 48

|Jan snow days = 7

|Feb snow days = 6

|Mar snow days = 3

|Apr snow days = 0

|May snow days = 0

|Jun snow days = 0

|Jul snow days = 0

|Aug snow days = 0

|Sep snow days = 0

|Oct snow days = 0

|Nov snow days = 0

|Dec snow days = 4

|year snow days = 20

|Jan humidity = 68

|Feb humidity = 70

|Mar humidity = 65

|Apr humidity = 61

|May humidity = 48

|Jun humidity = 36

|Jul humidity = 37

|Aug humidity = 38

|Sep humidity = 39

|Oct humidity = 42

|Nov humidity = 52

|Dec humidity = 63

|year humidity = 52

|Jan sun = 177.2

|Feb sun = 178.6

|Mar sun = 204.5

|Apr sun = 232.5

|May sun = 310.3

|Jun sun = 353.4

|Jul sun = 356.8

|Aug sun = 339.7

|Sep sun = 303.9

|Oct sun = 282.6

|Nov sun = 253.2

|Dec sun = 182.4

|year sun = 3175.1

|source 1 = NOAA{{cite web|url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-II/AH/40948.TXT|title=Kabul Climate Normals 1956–1983|access-date=30 March 2013|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504065917/https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/pub/data/normals/WMO/1961-1990/RA-II/AH/40948.TXT|archive-date=2023-05-04}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/services/data/v1?dataset=global-summary-of-the-day&stations=40948099999&startDate=1700-01-01&endDate=2023-12-31&dataTypes=MAX,MIN,PRCP|title=Global Surface Summary of the Day - GSOD|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=January 26, 2023}}

}}

The Kabul River flows 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.http://kbr.id/english/11-2016/in_kabul__where_the_rivers_run_dry_/wo {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122095656/https://kbr.id/english/11-2016/in_kabul__where_the_rivers_run_dry_/wo |date=22 November 2021 }} 86710.html

A large lake and wetland was located just to the southeast from the old city called Kol-e Hashmat Khan.{{cite web|first1=Kate|last1=Clark|title=Kabul Duck Alert 2: Pictures of birds and birdwatchers at the Kol-e Hashmat Khan wetland {{!}} Afghanistan Analysts Network|url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/kabul-duck-alert-2-pictures-of-birds-and-birdwatchers-at-the-kol-e-hashmat-khan-wetland/|website=www.afghanistan-analysts.org|date=25 April 2016|access-date=26 January 2018|archive-date=3 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703215820/https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/kabul-duck-alert-2-pictures-of-birds-and-birdwatchers-at-the-kol-e-hashmat-khan-wetland/|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|title=Kabul wetland declared new protected area for migrating birds|url=https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/kabul-wetland-declared-new-protected-area-migrating-birds|website=United Nations Environment Programme|access-date=2 October 2019|date=19 June 2017|archive-date=3 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191003044953/https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/kabul-wetland-declared-new-protected-area-migrating-birds|url-status=dead}} Some rare species of birds have been spotted at the lake, such as the Eastern imperial eagle and the Dalmatian pelican.{{cite web|title=Kabul – Legislation and Policy Advances|url=https://afghanistan.wcs.org/Wild-Places/Kabul.aspx|website=afghanistan.wcs.org|access-date=26 January 2018|archive-date=28 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028105631/https://afghanistan.wcs.org/Wild-Places/Kabul.aspx|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite news|title=Qargha Lake, a transcendental beauty of nature|url=http://www.afghanistantimes.af/qargha-lake-a-transcendental-beauty-of-nature/|website=Afghanistan Times|access-date=21 November 2019|archive-date=18 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191118184728/http://www.afghanistantimes.af/qargha-lake-a-transcendental-beauty-of-nature/|url-status=live}}

Air pollution is a major problem in the city during the winter season, when many residents burn low-quality fuels.{{cite web|last1=Hamid|first1=Tamim|title=Kabul Faces 'Worst' Air Pollution This Year|url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/kabul-faces-%E2%80%98worst%E2%80%99-air-pollution-year|website=tolonews.com|access-date=21 November 2019|archive-date=29 November 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191129023335/https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/kabul-faces-%E2%80%98worst%E2%80%99-air-pollution-year|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Jackson|first1=Allison|title=Kabul chokes on dirty air as temperatures plunge|url=https://phys.org/news/2019-01-kabul-dirty-air-temperatures-plunge.html|website=phys.org|language=en-us|access-date=26 April 2019|archive-date=26 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426112458/https://phys.org/news/2019-01-kabul-dirty-air-temperatures-plunge.html|url-status=live}}

File:Afghanistan Kabul Province Kabul District.png

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).{{cite web|last1=Foschini|first1=Fabrizio|title=A geographical guide to a metropolis in the making|url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Kabul-Police-Districts.pdf|website=www.afghanistan-analysts.org|access-date=4 June 2019|archive-date=4 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604121049/https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Kabul-Police-Districts.pdf|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|title=Community Scorecard of Kabul Municipality 2016|url=https://iwaweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/KBL-Municipality-CSC-FINAL-REPORT.pdf|website=iwaweb.org|access-date=22 February 2018|archive-date=23 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223050735/https://iwaweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/KBL-Municipality-CSC-FINAL-REPORT.pdf|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://open_jicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/12068151.pdf|title=Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Ministry of Urban Development Affairs (MUDA) Kabul Municipality Dehsabz City Development Authority (DCDA)|access-date=26 November 2019|archive-date=12 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190712164258/http://open_jicareport.jica.go.jp/pdf/12068151.pdf|url-status=live}}

{{City Districts of Kabul}}

{{Further|Demographics of Afghanistan|Afghan diaspora}}

File:2011 SCF Kabul-3.jpg]]

Kabul's population was estimated in 2023 at about 4.95 million.{{Cite web|date=10 July 2023|title=Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2023-24|url=http://nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%86%D9%81%D9%88%D8%B3-%DA%A9%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-1402-04.pdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230911065759/http://nsia.gov.af:8080/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/%D8%A8%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%86%D9%81%D9%88%D8%B3-%DA%A9%D8%B4%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%84-1402-04.pdf|archive-date=11 September 2023|access-date=11 September 2023|website=nsia.gov.af}} The city's population has long fluctuated due to the wars. The lack of an up-to-date census means that there are various estimates of the population.

Kabul's population was estimated to have been about 10,000 in 1700, 65,000 by 1878, and 120,000 by 1940. More recently, the population was around 500,000 in 1979, whilst another source claims 337,715 as of 1976.{{cite web|title=Trolleybuses in Kabul|url=http://www.spvd.cz/index.php/component/content/article/181-clanky/svet/af/217-afghanistan-en|website=www.spvd.cz|access-date=8 January 2017|archive-date=14 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170114233944/http://www.spvd.cz/index.php/component/content/article/181-clanky/svet/af/217-afghanistan-en|url-status=live}} This figure rose to about 1.5 million by 1988, before dramatically dropping in the 1990s. Kabul became one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, with its population growing fourfold from 2001 to 2014. This was partly due to the return of refugees after the fall of the Taliban regime, and partly due to Afghans moving from other provinces mainly due to war between Taliban insurgents and Afghan government forces in their native areas as well as looking for labor. This resulting rapid urbanisation means that many residents today live in informal settlements.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/dec/11/kabul-afghanistan-fifth-fastest-growing-city-world-rapid-urbanisation|title=Kabul – the fifth fastest growing city in the world – is bursting at the seams|first=Sune Engel|last=Rasmussen|date=11 December 2014|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=8 January 2017|archive-date=9 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170109115432/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2014/dec/11/kabul-afghanistan-fifth-fastest-growing-city-world-rapid-urbanisation|url-status=live}} Shanty mud-brick homes on the mountainsides and steep hills have been built by them and these are usually poverty-stricken, not connected to the water and electricity grid. Although the settlements are illegal, they have been tolerated by authorities. In 2017 Kabul Municipality started a project to paint the homes in these settlements in bright colors in an effort to "cheer up" residents.{{cite web|last1=Wellman|first1=Phillip Walter|title=Homes in Kabul painted bright colors to cheer up war weary residents|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/homes-in-kabul-painted-bright-colors-to-cheer-up-war-weary-residents-1.474759|website=Stars and Stripes|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-date=20 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120124728/https://www.stripes.com/news/homes-in-kabul-painted-bright-colors-to-cheer-up-war-weary-residents-1.474759|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Abed|first1=Fahim|last2=Mashal|first2=Mujib|title=Urban Sprawl Up Kabul's Mountainsides, With Splashes of Color|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/30/world/asia/kabul-urban-sprawl.html|website=The New York Times|date=30 May 2017|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-date=20 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120124621/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/30/world/asia/kabul-urban-sprawl.html|url-status=live}}

File:Houses upon houses, Kabul Afghanistan.jpg

Kabul is and has historically been the most ethnically diverse city in the country, with the population including Afghans from all over the country.Women of Afghanistan in the Post-Taliban Era: How Lives Have Changed and Where They Stand Today by Rosemarie Skaine, 2009. Approximately 45% of Kabul's population is Tajik, 25% Hazara, another 25% is Pashtun, and minority ethnic groups include Qizilbash (counted to Tajiks), 1% Baloch, 2% Uzbek, 1% Turkmen, and 1% Afghan Hindu.{{cite web|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0311/feature2/images/mp_download.2.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080227220328/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0311/feature2/images/mp_download.2.pdf|archive-date=27 February 2008|title=National Geographic Magazine}} Almost three-quarters of the population of Kabul follow Sunni Islam, and around Twenty-five percent of residents are Shiites. Other religions in the city include Sikhism and Hinduism.

In 1525, Babur described the region in his memoirs by writing that:

{{Blockquote|Eleven or twelve tongues are spoken in Kābul—‘Arabī, Persian, Turkī, Mughūlī, Hindī, Afghānī, Pashāī, Parājī, Gibrī, Bīrkī, and Lamghānī. If there be another country with so many differing tribes and such a diversity of tongues, it is not known.{{cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/44608/44608-h/44608-h.htm|title=Description of Kābul|access-date=June 21, 2021|author=Zahir ud-Din Mohammad Babur|work=Memoirs of Babur|year=1525|archive-date=June 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200630231822/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/44608/44608-h/44608-h.htm|url-status=live}}|Baburnama|1525}}

File:Afghan girls in September 2012.jpg

Along with Pashtun, Tajik and Hazara communities, who make up the majority of the population of the city, there was a significant population of Uzbek, Turkmen, Kuchi, Qizilbash, Hindu, Sikh and other groups. The broader province of Kabul however, is dominated by Pashtun and Tajik groups.{{Cite web|url=https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4f1029c92.pdf|title=Afghanistan – AFG38731 –Tajiks in Kabul and Mazar-e-Sharif – Taliban|work=Country Advice: Afghanistan|publisher=Refugee Review Tribunal, Australia|date=2 June 2011|via=www.refworld.org|access-date=25 November 2019|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802190948/https://www.refworld.org/pdfid/4f1029c92.pdf|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/309320/Kabul|title=Kabul|publisher=Online Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=18 September 2010|archive-date=26 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726224554/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/309320/Kabul|url-status=live}} The Dari (Persian) and Pashto languages are widely used in the region, although Dari serves as the lingua franca. Multilingualism is common throughout the area, particularly among the Pashtun people.

The term "Kabuli" (کابلی) is referred to the urbanites of the city. They were ethnic-neutral, typically speak Dari (Persian), were generally secularly educated, and favor Western fashion. Many Kabulites (especially elites and the upper class) left the country during the civil war and are now outnumbered by rural people who moved in from the countryside, mostly refugees but also labor-seekers.{{cite web|title=Kabul – Naval Postgraduate School|url=https://my.nps.edu/web/ccs/kabul|website=my.nps.edu|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-date=11 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111165313/https://my.nps.edu/web/ccs/kabul|url-status=live}}{{cite web|first1=Fabrizio|last1=Foschini|title=Striking at Kabul, now and then {{!}} Afghanistan Analysts Network|url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/striking-at-kabul-now-and-then/|website=www.afghanistan-analysts.org|date=17 January 2012|access-date=11 January 2018|archive-date=11 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111172004/https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/striking-at-kabul-now-and-then/|url-status=live}}

About 68% of the city's population follow Sunni Islam while 30% are Shiites (mainly the Hazaras and Qizilbash). The remaining 2% are followers of Sikhism and Hinduism, as well as one known Christian resident (First Lady Rula Ghani) and one Jewish resident (Zablon Simintov) in the 2010s. It is estimated that there were 500–8,000 Afghan Christians in the country as a whole; due to restrictions on religious freedom, they often worship in secret, rendering it difficult to estimate the number of Christians in Kabul specifically.{{cite web|title=International Religious Freedom Report 2009|url=http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127362.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130031916/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127362.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 November 2009|publisher=Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State|year=2009|access-date=6 March 2010}} Hundreds of non-Muslims still remain after the Taliban retakeover Afghanistan.{{cite web|title=Afghan Sikhs, Hindus meet Taliban officials, are assured of safety|url=https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/newsindia/afghan-sikhs-hindus-meet-taliban-officials-are-assured-of-safety/ar-AANoqBh|website=The Indian Express|access-date=1 February 2022|archive-date=29 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129162610/https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/newsindia/afghan-sikhs-hindus-meet-taliban-officials-are-assured-of-safety/ar-AANoqBh|url-status=live}} Kabul also has small Sindhi and Punjabi merchant community (which most of the Sikhs and Hindus belong to){{Cite web|date=2022-04-21|title=Hinduism in ancient and modern Afghanistan|url=https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/04/21/hinduism-in-ancient-and-modern-afghanistan/|access-date=2024-07-25|language=en-US}} and Turkish communities (mostly business-owners and investors), and in the 1980s had a sizable Russian community during the Soviet campaign in the country.

File:Aerial Photos of Ghazi Stadium.jpg]]

Cricket has historically been the dominant sport in Kabul, with two of three sports stadiums reserved for it.{{cite web|title=Afghanistan aim to maintain ascendancy as format changes|url=https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1342146|website=www.icc-cricket.com|language=en|access-date=16 September 2019|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802191348/https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1342146|url-status=live}}

;Professional sports teams from Kabul

• Sports complexes
• Alokozay Kabul International Cricket Ground
• Ghazi Stadium used for football
• Olympic Committee Gymnasium

{{Further|Politics of Afghanistan}}

File:200229-D-AP390-1529 (49603221753).jpg, the Presidential Palace in Kabul]]

The municipality's administrative structure consisted of 17 departments under a mayor. Like other provincial municipalities in Afghanistan, the municipality of Kabul dealt with city affairs such as construction and infrastructure. The city districts (nāhia) collected certain taxes and issued building licenses. Each city district had a district head appointed by the mayor, and lead six major departments in the district office. The neighbourhood organisation structure at the nahia level was called a gozar. Kabul has been Divided in to 630 Gozars. A wakil-e gozar was a person chosen to represent a community within a city district.

Kabul's Chief of Police was Lt. Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi. The police were part of the Afghan National Police (ANP) under the Ministry of Interior and were arranged by city districts. The Police Chief was selected by the Interior Minister and is responsible for all law enforcement activities throughout the Kabul province.

{{Further|Economy of Afghanistan}}

Kabul's main products included fresh and dried fruit, nuts, beverages, Afghan rugs, leather and sheep skin products, furniture, antique replicas, and domestic clothes. The World Bank authorised US$25 million for the Kabul Urban Reconstruction Project which closed in 2011.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P083919/kabul-urban-reconstruction-project?lang=en&tab=overview|title=Kabul Urban Reconstruction Project|publisher=Worldbank.org|access-date=18 May 2014|archive-date=18 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140818022540/http://www.worldbank.org/projects/P083919/kabul-urban-reconstruction-project?lang=en&tab=overview|url-status=live}} Over the last decade, the United States has invested approximately $9.1 billion into urban infrastructure in Afghanistan.{{cite web|url=http://www.dvidshub.net/news/113405/us-forces-afghanistan-adjusts-its-91-billion-infrastructure-program-meet-afghans-near-term-needs#.UjFOTX-SGUk|title=DVIDS – News – US Forces – Afghanistan adjusts its $9.1 billion infrastructure program to meet Afghans' near-term needs|publisher=Dvidshub.net|access-date=18 May 2014|archive-date=24 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224190108/https://www.dvidshub.net/news/113405/us-forces-afghanistan-adjusts-its-91-billion-infrastructure-program-meet-afghans-near-term-needs#.UjFOTX-SGUk|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323716304578481072267924656|title=Kabul's Tax Levies Raise Flags From U.S. Watchdog – WSJ|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=13 May 2013|publisher=online.wsj.com|access-date=25 October 2014|archive-date=24 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150224190813/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323716304578481072267924656|url-status=live|last1=Hodge|first1=Nathan}} The wars since 1978 have limited the city's economic productivity but after the establishment of the Karzai administration since late 2001, local economic developments have included a number of indoor shopping malls. The first of these was the Kabul City Center, opened 2005. Others have also opened in recent years including Gulbahar Center, City Walk Mall and Majid Mall.{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Alan|title=The Modern Face of Kabul – The Atlantic|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/03/the-modern-face-of-kabul/100707/|website=www.theatlantic.com|language=en|access-date=26 January 2018|archive-date=26 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126125535/https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/03/the-modern-face-of-kabul/100707/|url-status=live}}

Mandawi Road on the south side of the river, located between Murad Khani and Shur Bazaar neighbourhoods, is one of the main bazaars of Kabul. This wholesale market is very popular amongst locals. Nearby is the Sarai Shahzada money exchange market.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EPw7EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA192|title=Beyond the Silk Roads|isbn=978-1-108-83831-3|last1=Marsden|first1=Magnus|date=9 September 2021|publisher=Cambridge University Press|access-date=2 September 2021|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902004431/https://books.google.com/books?id=EPw7EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA192|url-status=live}} Chicken Street is perhaps best known to foreigners.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/comment/register/article/only-the-brave-survive-on-chicken-street-in-kabul-9tx5fvr5h2f|title=Only the brave survive on Chicken Street in Kabul: Two market traders encapsulate the sorry history of Afghanistan|first=Martin|last=Fletcher|author-link=Martin Fletcher|date=6 October 2009|newspaper=The Times|access-date=2 September 2021|archive-date=1 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901190509/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/only-the-brave-survive-on-chicken-street-in-kabul-9tx5fvr5h2f|url-status=live}}

Kabul's largest industrial hub was located in District 9, on the north banks of the River Kabul and near the airport. About {{convert|4|mi|km|0|order=flip|abbr=on}} from downtown Kabul, in Bagrami, a {{convert|22|acre|ha|0|adj=on|order=flip}} industrial complex had been completed with modern facilities, which allowed companies to operate businesses there. The park had professional management for the daily maintenance of public roads, internal streets, common areas, parking areas, 24 hours perimeter security, access control for vehicles and people.Afghanistan Industrial Parks Development Authority...[http://www.aisa.org.af/IPD/Bagrami.htm Kabul (Bagrami)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070605111223/http://www.aisa.org.af/IPD/Bagrami.htm |date=5 June 2007 }} A number of factories operated there, including the $25 million Coca-Cola bottling plant and the Omaid Bahar juice factory.

File:Kabul Antiquity Shop2.jpg (Kochi Murgha)]]

According to Transparency International, the government of Afghanistan was the third most-corrupt in the world, as of 2010.{{cite web|url=http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2010/results|title=Corruption Perceptions Index 2010 Results|publisher=Transparency International|year=2010|access-date=27 February 2011|archive-date=26 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181226144223/https://www.transparency.org/|url-status=live}} Experts believe that the poor decisions of Afghan politicians contributed to the unrest in the region. This also prevented foreign investment in Afghanistan, especially by Western countries. In 2012, there were reportedly $3.9 billion paid to public officials in bribes which contributed to these issues.{{cite web|date=9 August 2013|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/08/afghanistan-s-million-dollar-minister.html|title=Afghanistan's Million Dollar Minister|website=The Daily Beast|access-date=18 May 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140424060524/http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/09/08/afghanistan-s-million-dollar-minister.html|archive-date=24 April 2014|url-status=dead}}

Da Afghanistan Bank, the nation's central bank, was headquartered in Kabul. In addition, there are several commercial banks in the city.Licensed banks in Kabul include: Afghanistan International Bank, Kabul Bank, Azizi Bank, Pashtany Bank, [http://www.afghanunitedbank.com/ Afghan United Bank] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130731022438/http://www.afghanunitedbank.com/ |date=31 July 2013 }}, Standard Chartered Bank, Punjab National Bank, Habib Bank and Western Union

As of 2016 there were{{Update inline|date=August 2024|?=yes|reason=What are the latest figures for Kabul specific tourism?}} about 20,000 foreign tourists visiting Afghanistan per year.{{cite news|url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2016/09/27/20000-foreign-tourists-visit-afghanistan-annually|title=20,000 foreign tourists visit Afghanistan annually|publisher=Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN)|editor=Navid Ahmad Barakzai|date=27 September 2016|access-date=15 May 2017|archive-date=23 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161123022923/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2016/09/27/20000-foreign-tourists-visit-afghanistan-annually|url-status=live}}

A US$1 billion contract was signed in 2013 to commence work on the "Kabul New City" (sometimes reported as "New Kabul City"), which is a major residential scheme that would accommodate 1.5 million people.{{cite news|title=$1b contract signed to begin work on New Kabul City plan|url=http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2013/09/04/1b-contract-signed-begin-work-new-kabul-city-plan|publisher=Pajhwok Afghan News –|editor=Muhammad Hassan Khetab|date=4 September 2013|access-date=30 September 2013|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924085013/http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2013/09/04/1b-contract-signed-begin-work-new-kabul-city-plan|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=http://www.dcda.gov.af/|title=Welcome to our Official Website|publisher=DCDA|access-date=17 August 2012|archive-date=30 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131230233634/http://www.dcda.gov.af/|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://pajhwok.com/2023/08/18/iea-officials-inaugurate-construction-of-new-kabul-city/|title=IEA officials inaugurate construction of New Kabul City|work=Pajhwok Afghan News|date=August 18, 2023|access-date=2023-09-25|archive-date=20 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920234133/https://pajhwok.com/2023/08/18/iea-officials-inaugurate-construction-of-new-kabul-city/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.ariananews.af/construction-gets-underway-on-new-kabul-housing-project/|title=Construction gets underway on New Kabul housing project|work=Arian News|date=August 17, 2023|access-date=2023-09-25|archive-date=16 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230916040922/https://www.ariananews.af/construction-gets-underway-on-new-kabul-housing-project/|url-status=live}} Construction was delayed due to instability in the region, but construction broke ground in August 2023 after a new contract was signed between the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing and Khawar Company. The new agreement is expected to modernize the city, address overpopulation, and incentivize the return of expatriates by adding housing to accommodate 3 million people and modern amenities.{{Cite news|last=Kakar|first=Hijratullah|date=2023-08-18|title=IEA officials inaugurate construction of New Kabul City|url=https://pajhwok.com/2023/08/18/iea-officials-inaugurate-construction-of-new-kabul-city/|access-date=2024-07-12|language=en-GB}}{{Cite web|title=Parcel B First Phase – Kabul New City|url=https://kabulnewcity.com/parcel-b-first-phase/|access-date=2024-07-12|language=en-US}}{{Cite web|title=Designing Kabul New City|url=https://architecturestudio.fr/en/projets/brouillon-auto-18/|access-date=2024-07-12|website=Architecturestudio|language=en-US}} The construction is planned to occur in two phases over the span of about 30 years.

Another development is the Qatar Township in Kabul.{{cite news|url=https://pajhwok.com/2023/05/30/qatar-townships-construction-works-resume-in-kabul/|title=Qatar Township's construction works resume in Kabul|work=Pajhwok Afghan News|date=30 May 2023|access-date=2023-09-25|archive-date=7 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807211514/https://pajhwok.com/2023/05/30/qatar-townships-construction-works-resume-in-kabul/|url-status=live}} Construction was halted for the COVID-19 pandemic, but resumed in May 2023. The township—which is planned to include 12 blocks with 768 flats, three business blocks, one mosque, two schools, and an orphanage—could become operational in 2024.{{Cite news|last=Haidari|first=Afsana|date=2023-05-30|title=Qatar Township's construction works resume in Kabul|url=https://pajhwok.com/2023/05/30/qatar-townships-construction-works-resume-in-kabul/|access-date=2024-07-12|language=en-GB}}

{{Further|Communications in Afghanistan}}

File:1950s Afghanistan - Afghan radio station.jpg in the 1950s]]

As of November 2015, there were more than 24 television stations based out of Kabul.{{cite web|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-v-micallef/afghanistan-2015-the-view_b_8476964.html|title=Afghanistan 2015: The View From Kabul|first=Joseph V.|last=Micallef|website=HuffPost|date=8 November 2015|access-date=10 November 2015|archive-date=12 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112045503/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joseph-v-micallef/afghanistan-2015-the-view_b_8476964.html|url-status=live}} Terrestrial TV transmitters were located at the summit of the Koh-e Asamai.

GSM/GPRS mobile phone services are provided by Afghan Wireless, Etisalat, Roshan, MTN and Salaam. They provide 4G and 3G services. In November 2006, the Afghan Ministry of Communications signed a US$64.5 million 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.

Mail and delivery services are provided by Afghan Post, FedEx, TNT N.V., and DHL.

{{Further|Tourism in Afghanistan}}

Kabul has many hotels for domestic and foreign travelers. Guest houses are also found in the city. The better and safer ones are located in the Shahr-e Naw and Wazir Akbar Khan neighbourhoods (the Green Zone). The following are some of the hotels in Kabul (in alphabetical order).

• Baron Hotel
• Central Hotel
• Darya Village Hotel
• Golden Star Hotel
• Kabul Inter-Continental
• Kabul Serena Hotel
• Kabul Star Hotel
• Khyber Hotel
• Park Star Hotel
• Safi Landmark Hotel
• Spinzar Hotel
• Zohak Village

File:Bird Market Kabul.jpg

The old part of Kabul was filled with bazaars nestled along its narrow, crooked streets, examples being the Mandawi and the Bird Market (Ka Foroshi). Cultural sites included: the National Museum of Afghanistan, notably displaying an impressive statue of Surya excavated at Khair Khana, the ruined Darul Aman Palace, the tomb of Mughal Emperor Babur at Bagh-e Babur, and Chihil Sutun Park, the Minar-i-Istiqlal (Column of Independence) built in 1919 after the Third Afghan War, the tomb of Timur Shah Durrani, the Bagh-e Bala Palace and the imposing Id Gah Mosque (founded 1893). Bala Hissar was a fort which was partially destroyed during the Second Anglo-Afghan War, then restored as a military college. There was also the Kolola Pushta fort, which was garrisoned by the Afghan Army, and the nearby 19th-century Shahrara Tower fort, which was ruined in 1928. The Koh-e Asamai mountain had a temple that was considered important to Hinduism.

Other places of interest include Kabul City Center, which was Kabul's first shopping mall, the shops around Flower Street and Chicken Street, Wazir Akbar Khan district, Kabul Golf Club, Kabul Zoo, Abdul Rahman Mosque, Shah-Do Shamshira and other famous mosques, the National Gallery of Afghanistan, the National Archives of Afghanistan, Afghan Royal Family Mausoleum, the OMAR Mine Museum, Bibi Mahro Hill, Kabul Cemetery, and Paghman Gardens best known for the famous Taq-e Zafar arch. The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) was also involved in the restoration of the Bagh-e Babur (Babur Gardens).

Maranjan Hill (Tappe-i-Maranjan) was a nearby hill where Buddhist statues and Graeco-Bactrian coins from the 2nd century BC have been found. Outside the city proper lied the Buddhist Guldara stupa and another stupa at Shewaki. Paghman and Jalalabad were interesting valleys west and east of the city. On the latter road, about 16 miles east of the city, was the Tang-e Gharu gorge.

Kabul used to have as many as 23 cinemas, but currently only had four, including the state owned Ariana Cinema. The decline of cinema of Afghanistan since the 1990s, both due to war and oppressive regimes, had meant many of these have closed.{{cite web|url=https://tolonews.com/arts-culture-168833|title=Kabul Once Had 23 Cinemas, Now Just 4|publisher=TOLOnews|date=17 November 2021|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-date=29 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210829180523/https://tolonews.com/arts-culture-168833|url-status=live}} The Nandari, or Kabul National Theater, was one of the largest theaters in Asia before it was destroyed in the civil war and has not been restored.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/afghanistan-cinema-kabul-movies-b1776248.html|title=The battle for the Kabul Nandari cinema|work=The Independent|date=26 December 2020|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-date=1 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901003346/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/afghanistan-cinema-kabul-movies-b1776248.html|url-status=live}} The lack of investment meant that the sector did not recover after 2001, and notably the rundown Park Cinema was controversially demolished in 2020.

File:Kabul's national history museum.jpg]]

File:National Archives, Afghanistan.jpg

File:Bebi Mahroo Park in 2010.jpg

• Parks
• Bagh-e Babur (Gardens of Babur)
• Bagh-e Chihil Sutun (Gardens of Chihil Sutun)
• Bagh-e Bala Park
• Zarnegar Park
• Shahr-e Naw Park
• Bagh-e Zanana
• Chaman-e-Hozori
• Bibi Mahro Park
• Lake Qargha
• Mosques
• Abdul Rahman Mosque
• Id Gah Mosque
• Abul Fazl Shrine
• Sakhi Shrine
• Pul-e Khishti Mosque
• Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque
• Mausoleums
• Mausoleum of Timur Shah Durrani
• Mausoleum of Abdur Rahman Khan
• Mausoleum of Zahir Shah, Nadir Shah and other members of the royal Musahiban family
• Mausoleum of Jamal-al-Din al-Afghani
• Palaces
• Tajbeg Palace
• Stor Palace
• Darul Aman Palace
• Chihil Sutun Palace
• Bagh-e Bala Palace
• Shah Bobo Jan Palace
• Arg (Presidential Palace), including numerous other palaces inside the compound
• Char Chenar Palace
• Delgusha Palace and its clock tower
• Haram Sara Palace
• Salam Khana Palace
• Kuti Baghcha
• Museums
• National Museum of Afghanistan
• National Archives of Afghanistan
• National Gallery of Afghanistan
• Negaristani Milli
• Other landmarks
• Clock tower at Mahmoud Khan Bridge
• Minaret of Knowledge and Ignorance
• Minaret of the Unknown Corps on Jada-e Maiwand
• Sherpur Cantonment (British Cemetery)

Kabul Baghe Babur mosque.jpg|16th-century mosque inside the Gardens of Babur

Victory-Arch-Paghman.jpg|The Taq-e Zafar in Paghman

Minar-e-Elm-wa-Jahil, Kabul, Afghanistan.JPG|The Minaret of Knowledge and Ignorance,{{langx|prs|منار علم و جهل}} built in the 1920s on a hill in Deh Mazang, commemorating king Amanullah's victory over the Mullah-e Lang in the Khost rebellion

Zarnegar mausoleum palace postcard.jpg|Mausoleum of emir Abdur Rahman Khan, Zarnegar Park

Guldara stupa.jpg|Buddhist stupa of Guldara

Tomb of former King Zahir Shah - panoramio (cropped).jpg|Royal Mausoleum at Maranjan hill

Kabul Gorge 2 1968.jpg|The Tang-e Gharu canyon east of Kabul

{{see also|Architecture of Afghanistan}}

File:Shah Do Shamshira aerial.png

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351210427|title=An evaluation of architectural monuments in Afghanistan as in the capital city, Kabul|date=|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-date=31 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831215445/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/351210427_An_evaluation_of_architectural_monuments_in_Afghanistan_as_in_the_capital_city_Kabul|url-status=live}}

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.

File:The Mausoleum of Timur Shah, Kabul, 1879.jpg (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. 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. Its accompanying clock tower, {{Circa|1911}}, was also a British creation.{{Cite web|url=https://president.gov.af/da/?page_id=7974&__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_CSd7GgyLGlddS4GBluZjdT2fBgdRKTgObtPbA_qeyNg-1630516942-0-gqNtZGzNAeWjcnBszQel|title=Arg clock tower|website=president.gov.af|access-date=1 September 2021|archive-date=1 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210901172453/https://president.gov.af/da/?page_id=7974&__cf_chl_jschl_tk__=pmd_CSd7GgyLGlddS4GBluZjdT2fBgdRKTgObtPbA_qeyNg-1630516942-0-gqNtZGzNAeWjcnBszQel|url-status=live}}

Houses in Kabul during this time were generally made up of walled compounds, built around courtyards and having narrow passageways to places.{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-cities-homes-idUSL8N2IJ3CF|title=Push to modernise takes toll on Kabul's historical homes|newspaper=Reuters|date=10 December 2020|via=www.reuters.com|access-date=2 September 2021|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902003948/https://www.reuters.com/article/afghanistan-cities-homes-idUSL8N2IJ3CF|url-status=live}}

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. Houses also became more open, without having many of the walls. 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.

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. 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. 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 {{convert|100|m|ft}} tall barrier.{{cite web|url=https://www.emporis.com/buildings/1438696/kabul-markaz-residential-tower-1-kabul-afghanistan|title=Kabul Markaz Residential Tower 1, Kabul | 1438696|publisher=Emporis|date=|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-date=31 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831182138/https://www.emporis.com/buildings/1438696/kabul-markaz-residential-tower-1-kabul-afghanistan|url-status=usurped}} The construction boom with modern high-rises throughout the 2010s had led to a major change in the city's skyline.

Kabul street scene, 1974.jpg|Traditional hill dwellings

Kabul Old "MicroRayon" (5451145168).jpg|"Old Mikroyan", 1960s built

66-183 Kabul Khyber Restaurant Afghanistan 1966.jpg|Ministry of Finance and Khyber Restaurant (1966)

Вадим Чуприна-Кабул VADIM CHUPRINA © Kabul 08.jpg|Pamir Cinema building (Agricultural Development Bank)

Pashtany Bank and Kabul Tower.jpg|Pashtany Bank and the brutalist Kabul Tower

Newly renovated - panoramio.jpg|Andarabi Road dwellings on the riverbank

Afghanese architecture, 2000s-built flats in Kabul.jpg|Apartments built in the 2000s with contemporary Afghan style

{{Further|Transport in Afghanistan}}

File:Flightline at Kabul International Airport.jpeg (Kabul International Airport), 2012]]

Kabul has no train service.

Kabul International Airport is located {{convert|25|km|abbr=on}} from the centre of Kabul. It is 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.

The AH76 highway (or Kabul-Charikar Highway) connected Kabul north towards Charikar, Pol-e Khomri and Mazar-i-Sharif ({{convert|310|km|mi|abbr=on}} away), with leading roads to Kunduz ({{convert|250|km|mi|abbr=on}} away). The AH77 highway went west towards Bamiyan Province ({{convert|150|km|mi|abbr=on}} away) and Chaghcharan in the central mountains of Afghanistan. To the south-west, the Kabul-Ghazni Highway went to Ghazni ({{convert|130|km|mi|abbr=on}} away) and Kandahar ({{convert|460|km|mi|abbr=on}} away). To the south, the Kabul-Gardez Highway connected it to Gardez ({{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}} away) and Khost. To the east, the Kabul-Jalalabad Highway went to Jalalabad ({{convert|120|km|mi|abbr=on}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://baileyaplangandcomp.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/the-square-of-pashtunistan/|title=The Square of Pashtunistan|date=10 February 2015|access-date=3 March 2018|archive-date=3 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303225748/https://baileyaplangandcomp.wordpress.com/2015/02/10/the-square-of-pashtunistan/|url-status=live}} 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".{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/newsnight/8357427.stm|title=The place to take the Afghan pulse|date=12 November 2009|access-date=3 March 2018|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122095657/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/newsnight/8357427.stm|url-status=live}} 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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-20509559/traffic-chaos-as-kabul-s-roads-are-improved|title=Roadworks bring traffic chaos to Kabul|work=BBC News|access-date=21 July 2018|archive-date=22 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022103627/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-20509559/traffic-chaos-as-kabul-s-roads-are-improved|url-status=live}} In efforts to tackle this issue, a 95 km outer ring road costing $110 million was approved in 2017.{{cite web|url=http://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/officials-say-kabul-ring-road-construction-start-soon|title=Officials Say Kabul Ring Road Construction to Start Soon|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-date=20 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120124329/http://www.tolonews.com/afghanistan/officials-say-kabul-ring-road-construction-start-soon|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=http://rta.org.af/eng/2017/09/17/idb-pays-74m-loan-for-construction-of-kabul-city-ring-road/|title=IDB Pays $74m Loan For Construction of Kabul City Ring-Road|date=17 September 2017|website=rta.org.af|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-date=3 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180403205325/http://rta.org.af/eng/2017/09/17/idb-pays-74m-loan-for-construction-of-kabul-city-ring-road/|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite news|url=https://www.khaama.com/president-ghani-kabuls-ring-road-important-economical-project-3768|title=President Ghani: Kabul's ring road important economical project|newspaper=The Khaama Press News Agency|date=16 August 2015|access-date=25 January 2018|archive-date=25 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125193632/https://www.khaama.com/president-ghani-kabuls-ring-road-important-economical-project-3768|url-status=live|last1=Moosakhail|first1=Zabihullah}} A new bus public transport service was also planned to be opened in 2018 (see below).{{cite web|url=http://kbr.id/english/07-2017/amid_chaos__kabul_gears_up_for_pioneering_metro_bus_service/91148.html|title=Amid chaos, Kabul gears up for pioneering metro bus service|date=17 July 2017|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-date=20 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120124448/http://kbr.id/english/07-2017/amid_chaos__kabul_gears_up_for_pioneering_metro_bus_service/91148.html|url-status=live}} 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".{{cite web|url=http://khabarnama.net/blog/2017/09/17/building-fly-overs-in-kabul/|title=در پایتخت؛ شهرداری کابل و ساخت 286 متر پُل هوایی در 8 موقعیت مزدحم شهر ||date=17 September 2017|access-date=25 January 2018|archive-date=26 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180126012822/http://khabarnama.net/blog/2017/09/17/building-fly-overs-in-kabul/|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite web|url=http://projects.worldbank.org/P131864?lang=en|title=Kabul Urban Transport Efficiency Improvement Project|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-date=20 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120124136/http://projects.worldbank.org/P131864?lang=en|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://nl4worldbank.org/2017/06/09/urban-transport-program-helps-keep-kabul-clean/|title=Urban Transport Program Helps Keep Kabul Clean|date=9 June 2017|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-date=20 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180120070308/https://nl4worldbank.org/2017/06/09/urban-transport-program-helps-keep-kabul-clean/|url-status=live}}

File:Afghan National Police set up Ring of Steel (4671626066).jpg 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.autonews.com/article/20130626/BLOG06/130629915/why-the-corolla-is-so-popular----even-in-afghanistan|title=Why the Corolla is so popular – even in Afghanistan|date=26 June 2013|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-date=21 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121001137/http://www.autonews.com/article/20130626/BLOG06/130629915/why-the-corolla-is-so-popular----even-in-afghanistan|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082606430_2.html?g=0|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=In Afghanistan, a car for the masses|first=David|last=Nakamura|date=27 August 2010|access-date=2 September 2017|archive-date=12 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171112022002/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/26/AR2010082606430_2.html?g=0|url-status=live}}Australian Broadcasting Corporation, [http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/09/2565599.htm Dodgy cars clogging Kabul's roads] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512090605/http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/05/09/2565599.htm |date=12 May 2009 }} The number of dealerships had also increased from 77 in 2003 to over 550 by 2010.{{cite web|url=https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/afghanistan/corolla-s-the-car-of-choice-in-kabul-1.112845|title=Corolla's the car of choice in Kabul|access-date=20 January 2018|archive-date=21 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180121000003/https://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/afghanistan/corolla-s-the-car-of-choice-in-kabul-1.112845|url-status=live}} 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 (Milli 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.{{cite web|url=http://languages.oberlin.edu/blogs/relg270/catherine-lytle-from-gerbils-to-trolleybus/|title=Catherine Lytle: From Gerbils to Trolleybus|access-date=8 January 2017|archive-date=2 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802213225/http://languages.oberlin.edu/blogs/relg270/catherine-lytle-from-gerbils-to-trolleybus/|url-status=dead}}

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,{{cite web|title=Kabul Municipality Unveils First Metro Bus System|url=https://tolonews.com/business/kabul-municipality-unveils-first-metro-bus-system|website=TOLOnews|language=en|access-date=21 November 2019|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402171624/https://www.tolonews.com/business/kabul-municipality-unveils-first-metro-bus-system|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Kabul municipality unveils new developments in metro bus project|url=https://www.khaama.com/kabul-municipality-unveils-new-developments-in-metro-bus-project-03420/|website=The Khaama Press News Agency|date=12 September 2017|access-date=21 November 2019|archive-date=2 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402223206/https://www.khaama.com/kabul-municipality-unveils-new-developments-in-metro-bus-project-03420/|url-status=live}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://ariananews.af/new-bus-service-for-kabul-city-launched/|title=New bus service for Kabul city launched|date=25 March 2021|access-date=24 July 2021|archive-date=24 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210724150035/https://ariananews.af/new-bus-service-for-kabul-city-launched/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://km.gov.af/6060/%D8%A8%D8%B3%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%B7%D8%AD-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%A2%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%81%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%AA-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF|title=Kabul Municipality – شاروالی کابل: بس‌های شهری شاروالی کابل در سطح شهر آغاز به فعالیت کرد!|publisher=Km.gov.af|date=|access-date=22 November 2021|archive-date=24 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210824222947/https://km.gov.af/6060/%D8%A8%D8%B3%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%84%DB%8C-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%B3%D8%B7%D8%AD-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%D8%A2%D8%BA%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%A8%D9%87-%D9%81%D8%B9%D8%A7%D9%84%DB%8C%D8%AA-%DA%A9%D8%B1%D8%AF|url-status=live}}

File:An Open Call for participation in Kabul city.jpg

File:Kabul mayor speaking during solid waste discussion league.png speaking with league management during the inauguration ceremony of first ever internet-based solid waste discussion league in 2021]]

File:MoU between Kabul and NITech.png 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.{{cite report|title=Regional Commissions report on the progress on the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda (2019–2022)|date=2022|publisher=United Nations|page=19|url=https://www.un.org/ecosoc/sites/www.un.org.ecosoc/files/files/en/2022doc/UNECE-QR-report.pdf}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://km.gov.af/3436/%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C%D9%87%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%DA%A9-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB-%D8%A2%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86)|title=Kabul Municipality - شاروالی کابل: اطلاعیه‌ی اشتراک در بحث آنلاین!|website=km.gov.af|access-date=7 June 2022|archive-date=27 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927210801/https://km.gov.af/3436/%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C%D9%87%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%DA%A9-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB-%D8%A2%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86)|url-status=live}}{{cite report|title=What are the priorities of Kabul municipal districts|date=2020|publisher=Kabul City Municipality|url=https://km.gov.af/3201/%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB-%D8%A2%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B4%DA%A9%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AD%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84)|access-date=7 June 2022|archive-date=7 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607060904/https://km.gov.af/3201/%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C%D9%87-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB-%D8%A2%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D9%BE%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86-%D9%85%D8%B4%DA%A9%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D9%86%D9%88%D8%A7%D8%AD%DB%8C-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%84)|url-status=live}}

{{Cite web|url=https://km.gov.af/3658/%D9%BE%D9%87-%DA%9A%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A2%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB-%DA%A9%DB%90-%DA%AB%DA%89%D9%88%D9%866)|title=Kabul Municipality - شاروالی کابل: په ښاری آنلاین بحث کې ګډون!|website=km.gov.af|access-date=7 June 2022|archive-date=7 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607060909/https://km.gov.af/3658/%D9%BE%D9%87-%DA%9A%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A2%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB-%DA%A9%DB%90-%DA%AB%DA%89%D9%88%D9%866)|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://km.gov.af/3657/%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C%D9%87%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%DA%A9-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%DA%AF%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A2%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%DB%8C)|title=Kabul Municipality - شاروالی کابل: اطلاعیه‌ی اشتراک در گفتمان آنلاین شهری!|website=km.gov.af|access-date=7 June 2022|archive-date=7 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607060908/https://km.gov.af/3657/%D8%A7%D8%B7%D9%84%D8%A7%D8%B9%DB%8C%D9%87%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B4%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%DA%A9-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%DA%AF%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A2%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%B1%DB%8C)|url-status=live}}

{{Cite web|url=https://km.gov.af/3569/%D9%BE%D9%87-%DA%9A%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB-%DA%A9%DB%90-%DA%AB%DA%89%D9%88%D9%86)|title=Kabul Municipality - شاروالی کابل: په ښاری انلاین بحث کې ګډون!|website=km.gov.af|access-date=7 June 2022|archive-date=7 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607060907/https://km.gov.af/3569/%D9%BE%D9%87-%DA%9A%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB-%DA%A9%DB%90-%DA%AB%DA%89%D9%88%D9%86)|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|url=https://km.gov.af/4053/%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%86-%DA%AF%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A2%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%B2%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%B1%DA%AF%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D8%AF)|title=Kabul Municipality - شاروالی کابل: اولین گفتمان آنلاین در مورد مدیریت زباله‌ها برگزار شد|website=km.gov.af|access-date=7 June 2022|archive-date=7 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220607060905/https://km.gov.af/4053/%D8%A7%D9%88%D9%84%DB%8C%D9%86-%DA%AF%D9%81%D8%AA%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A2%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D9%85%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D9%85%D8%AF%DB%8C%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AA-%D8%B2%D8%A8%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%87%D9%87%D8%A7-%D8%A8%D8%B1%DA%AF%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%B1-%D8%B4%D8%AF)|url-status=live}}

{{Cite web|url=https://km.gov.af/3437/%D9%BE%D9%87-%DA%9A%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB-%DA%A9%DB%90-%DA%AB%DA%89%D9%88%D9%86)|title=Kabul Municipality - شاروالی کابل: په ښاری انلاین بحث کې ګډون!|website=km.gov.af|access-date=7 June 2022|archive-date=27 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220927211102/https://km.gov.af/3437/%D9%BE%D9%87-%DA%9A%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%84%D8%A7%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%A8%D8%AD%D8%AB-%DA%A9%DB%90-%DA%AB%DA%89%D9%88%D9%86)|url-status=live}}

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.

Despite the Taliban take-over, D-Agree will continue to play an important role in facilitating urban planning and infrastructure-related consultations.{{cite report|title=女性の絵消した」「タリバンを拒絶」…アフガニスタン人の本音 日本のIT会社が公開|date=2021|publisher=The Asahi Shinbun|url=https://globe.asahi.com/article/14421938|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210820055841/https://globe.asahi.com/article/14421938|url-status=live|archive-date=20 August 2021}}

In 2022, United Nations reported that D-Agree Afghanistan is used as a digital and smart city solutions in Afghanistan.{{cite report|title=The Transition of Asian and Pacific Cities to a Sustainable Future:Accelerating Action for Sustainable Urbanization|date=2022|publisher=Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific|page=23|url=https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/d8files/knowledge-products/Regional-Partners-Forum-Outcome-Report-20220318.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705004656/https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/d8files/knowledge-products/Regional-Partners-Forum-Outcome-Report-20220318.pdf|url-status=live|archive-date=5 July 2022}}

D-Agree, is a discussion support platform with artificial intelligence–based facilitation.{{cite journal|last1=Hadfi|first1=Rafik|last2=Haqbeen|first2=Jawad|last3=Sahab|first3=Sofia|last4=Ito|first4=Takayuki|date=August 2021|title=Argumentative conversational agents for online discussions|journal=Journal of Systems Science and Systems Engineering|volume=30|issue=4|pages=450–464|doi=10.1007/s11518-021-5497-1|pmid=34054250|pmc=8143987}} 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. The software extracts a discussion's structure in real time based on IBIS, automatically classifying all the sentences.

{{Further|Education in Afghanistan|List of schools in Kabul}}

The Ministry of Education led by Ghulam Farooq Wardak was responsible for the education system in Afghanistan.{{cite web|url=http://moe.gov.af/|title=دپوھنی وزارت|publisher=Moe.gov.af|access-date=18 May 2014|archive-date=14 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111114200155/http://moe.gov.af/|url-status=live}} Public and private schools in the city have reopened since 2002 after they were shut down or destroyed during fighting in the 1980s to the late 1990s. Boys and girls were strongly encouraged to attend school under the Karzai administration but many more schools were needed not only in Kabul but throughout the country. The Afghan Ministry of Education had plans to build more schools in the coming years so that education was provided to all citizens of the country. High schools in Kabul included:

• Abdul Hadi Dawi High School, a school for boys
• Abdul Rahim-e-Shaheed High School, a school for boys and girls (up to Year 6) founded in 1970
• Afghan Turk High Schools, Turkish-Afghan schools
• Aisha-i-Durani School, a German-Afghan school for girls
• Amani High School, a German-Afghan school for boys founded in 1924
• Ghulam Haider Khan High School, a school for boys
• Habibia High School, a British-Afghan school founded in 1903 by King Habibullah Khan
• International School of Kabul, an American-Afghan school
• Lycée Esteqlal, a Franco-Afghan school founded in 1922
• Malalai High School, a Franco-Afghan school for girls
• Nazo Ana High School, a school for boys
• Rahman Baba High School, an American-Afghan school for boys

File:Kabul Medical University in 2006.jpg]]

File:Shaheed Professor Rabbani Education University.jpg]]

Universities included:

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

{{Further|Health care in Afghanistan|List of hospitals in Afghanistan}}

File:Kabul Military Hospital - panoramio.jpg]]

Health care in Afghanistan has improved in the last two decades. There are over 5,000 hospitals and clinics in the country, with the major ones being in Kabul.

• ADEI Medical Complex{{Cite web|url=https://www.adei.af/|title=ADEI Medical Complex|work=Official website|access-date=2023-04-09|archive-date=29 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231129051842/http://adei.af/|url-status=live}}
• Afghan-Japan Hospital{{cite news|url=https://tolonews.com/health-182479|title=MoPH to Distribute Covid-19 Vaccine to Provinces|work=TOLOnews|date=March 13, 2023|access-date=2023-09-25|archive-date=25 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230925203745/https://tolonews.com/health-182479|url-status=live}}
• Afshar Hospital
• Ahmad Shah Baba Hospital
• Ariana Medical Complex{{Cite web|url=https://amc.com.af/|title=Arianna Medical Complex|access-date=2023-09-25|archive-date=27 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927081004/https://www.amc.com.af/|url-status=live}}
• Atatürk Children's Hospital
• CURE International Hospital{{cite web|url=http://cure.org/hospitals/afghanistan/|title=CURE Afghanistan|publisher=CURE International|access-date=27 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100816212611/http://cure.org/hospitals/afghanistan/|archive-date=16 August 2010|url-status=dead}}
• Daoud Khan Military Hospital
• French Medical Institute for Children
• Indira Gandhi Children's Hospital
• Jamhuriat Hospital
• Jinnah Hospital
• Malalai Maternity Hospital
• Maywand Hospital
• Rabia-I-Balki Maternity Hospital
• Wazir Akbar Khan Hospital{{cite news|url=https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/uae-medical-firm-run-two-key-kabul-hospitals|title=UAE Medical Firm To Run Two Key Kabul Hospitals|work=TOLOnews|date=30 July 2018|access-date=2023-09-25|archive-date=19 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231019135030/https://tolonews.com/afghanistan/uae-medical-firm-run-two-key-kabul-hospitals|url-status=live}}

{{Div col|colwidth=40em}}

• Gaju Khan Yousafzai (c. 1490–1565), Pashtun revolutionary leader who served under the banner of Sher Shah Sur of the Sur Empire

• Sher Ali Khan (c. 1825–1879), former Emir of Afghanistan
• Abdur Rahman Khan (born between 1840 and 1844 – 1901), Emir of Afghanistan
• Amanullah Khan (1892–1960), Emir of Afghanistan during the Independence War till abdication in 1929
• Habibullāh Kalakāni (1891–1929), Revolutionary rebel leader and ruler of Afghanistan in 1929
• Mohammed Zahir Shah (1914–2007), the last king of Afghanistan
• Hafizullah Amin (1929–1979), former Prime Minister of Afghanistan
• Babrak Karmal (1929–1996), former President of Afghanistan
• Zamina Begum (1917–1978), former Afghan princess and first lady of Afghanistan
• Sibghatullah Mojaddedi (1926–2019), former President of Afghanistan
• Anahita Ratebzad (1931–2014), former Minister of Social Affairs and Tourism of Afghanistan
• Abdullah Abdullah (born 1960), former chief executive officer of Afghanistan
• Shukria Barakzai (born 1970), Afghan politician and former ambassador of Afghanistan to Norway
• Roya Rahmani (born 1978), former Afghan diplomat, who served as Afghanistan's first female ambassador to the United States
• Nasima Razmyar (born 1984), Afghan-Finnish politician

• Abu Khalid al-Kabuli (live during 7th century), a prominent early Islamic figure, known for his close companionship with Ali Zayn al Abidin, fourth Imam of Shia Islam
• Abu Hanifa (born 7th century), prominent Islamic scholar and the founder of the Hanafi school of jurisprudence, one of the four major Sunni legal schools, whose ancestors hailed from the Kabul region
• Mir Zahid Harawi (born 17th century), religious scholar and historian, worked and died in Kabul
• Sayyid Mir Jan (lived during 19th century) Sufi saint and leader of the Naqshbandi Ishaani Sub-Tariqa
• Mohaqiq Kabuli (born 1928), Twelver Shia Marja'

• Mohammad Hussain Sarahang (1924–1983), singer
• Abdul Rahim Sarban (1930–1993), singer
• Nainawaz (1935–1979), artist, poet and composer
• Farhad Darya (born 1962), singer
• Ahmad Zahir (1946–1979), singer
• Aryana Sayeed (born 1985), singer

• Salim Durani (1934–2023), former cricketer and only Indian Test cricketer to have been born in Afghanistan
• Siyar Bahadurzada (born 1984), mixed martial artist, former Shooto Middleweight Champion, and first athlete from Afghanistan to fight in the UFC
• Asghar Afghan (born 1987), retired cricketer, Afghanistan's former captain who ended his career with the highest T20I wins as captain
• Omar Nazar (born 1978), footballer
• Zubayr Amiri (born 1990), footballer for SC Hessen Dreieich and the Afghanistan national team
• Karim Janat (born 1998), cricketer, brother to Asghar Afghan
• Naveen-ul-Haq (born 1999), cricketer
• Hamid Rahimi (born 1983), boxer

• Azita Ghanizada (born 1978 or 1979), American actress
• Leena Alam (born 1978), film actress
• Vida Samadzai (born 1978), actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder
• Annet Mahendru (born 1985), Afghan-born American actress
• Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada (born 1997), former child actor

• Saib Tabrizi (born c. 1592) Persian poet who spent several years in Kabul under the patronage of Mirzā Aḥsan-Allāh Ẓafar Khan, the governor of Kabul at the time
• Khaled Hosseini (born 1965), Afghan-American novelist
• Homeira Qaderi (born 1980), writer
• Nainawaz (1935–1979), artist, poet and composer

• Sayed Hamid Noori (born 1965), journalist
• Mustafa Nayyem (born 1981), Afghan-Ukrainian journalist who was influential in sparking the Euromaidan
• Yama Wolasmal (born 1982), journalist
• Farahnaz Forotan (born 1992), journalist
• Wahida Faizi (born 1994), journalist

• Adela Mohseni (born c. 1972), women's rights activist{{Div col end}}

• {{flagdeco|IND}} Pune, India (since 2003){{Cite web|url=http://www.ankara.bel.tr/en/foreign-relations-department/sister-cities-of-ankara#.V6zuCGVvfxs|title=Sister Cities of Ankara|access-date=11 August 2016|archive-date=24 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181224190520/https://www.ankara.bel.tr/en/foreign-relations-department/sister-cities-of-ankara/#.V6zuCGVvfxs|url-status=live}}
• {{flagdeco|TUR}} Istanbul, Turkey (since 1992){{cite web|title=Sister Cities of Istanbul|url=http://www.greatistanbul.com/sister_cities.htm|publisher=Greater Istanbul|access-date=10 April 2015|archive-date=27 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090527130230/http://www.greatistanbul.com/sister_cities.htm|url-status=live}}
• {{flagdeco|RUS}} Kazan, Russia (since 2005)Cultures and Globalization: Cities, Cultural Policy and Governance by Helmut K Anheier, p.376
• {{flagdeco|USA}} Kansas City, Missouri, United States (since 2018){{cite web|title=Deputy Mayor of Kabul Signs Sister Cities Friendship Agreement with Kansas City, Missouri ::: Embassy of Afghanistan|url=https://www.afghanembassy.us/news/deputy-mayor-of-kabul-signs-sister-cities-friendship-agreement-with-kansas-city-missouri|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402150736/https://www.afghanembassy.us/news/deputy-mayor-of-kabul-signs-sister-cities-friendship-agreement-with-kansas-city-missouri/|archive-date=2 April 2019|access-date=23 March 2019|website=www.afghanembassy.us}}
• {{flagdeco|USA}} Omaha, Nebraska, United States (since 2003){{cite web|title=Cities in Afghanistan and Nebraska forge "sister cities" partnership – Afghanistan|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/cities-afghanistan-and-nebraska-forge-sister-cities-partnership|website=ReliefWeb|language=en|access-date=22 January 2018|archive-date=10 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410105417/https://reliefweb.int/report/afghanistan/cities-afghanistan-and-nebraska-forge-sister-cities-partnership|url-status=dead}}

{{Portal|Afghanistan}}

• List of cities in Afghanistan
• List of rulers of Kabul
• Timeline of Kabul

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|colwidth=30em}}

• {{cite book|last=Adamec|first=Ludwig W.|date=2012|title=Historical Dictionary of Afghanistan|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7815-0}}
• {{Cite news|date=14 October 2007|title=Afghanistan Struggles to Preserve Rich Past Despite Ongoing War|publisher=The Canadian Press|url=http://www.afghanemb-canada.net/en/news_bulletin/2007/october/15/index.php|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011140217/http://www.afghanemb-canada.net/en/news_bulletin/2007/october/15/index.php|archive-date=11 October 2008}}
• Hill, John E. (2009). Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd centuries CE. Charleston, South Carolina: BookSurge. {{ISBN|978-1-4392-2134-1}}.
• {{cite journal|last1=Parodi|first1=Laura E.|title=Kabul, a Forgotten Mughal Capital: Gardens, City, and Court at the Turn of the Sixteenth Century|journal=Muqarnas Online|date=2021|volume=38|issue=1|pages=113–153|doi=10.1163/22118993-00381P05|s2cid=245040517}}
• {{cite book|last=Romano|first=Amy|date=2003|title=A Historical Atlas of Afghanistan|url=https://archive.org/details/historicalatlaso0000roma|url-access=registration|publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-8239-3863-6}}
• {{Cite news|last=Tang|first=Alisa|date=21 January 2008|title=Kabul's Old City Getting Face Lift|work=The Boston Globe|agency=Associated Press|url=http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2008/01/21/kabuls_old_city_getting_face_lift/}}{{Dead link|date=November 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{Commons category|Kabul}}

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{{Wikivoyage}}

{{AfghanistanLargestCities}}

{{Asian capitals}}

{{Kabul Province}}

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Category:Capitals in Asia

Category:Cities in Afghanistan

Category:Kabul Shahi

Category:Places in Shahnameh

Category:Populated places along the Silk Road

Category:Populated places established in the 2nd millennium BC

Category:Populated places in Kabul Province

Category:Provincial capitals in Afghanistan