Paktika is the southernmost part of a historical region known as Greater Paktia (Pashto: لویه پکتیا, Loya Paktia), that was once a unified province including
Paktia,
Khost and parts of
Ghazni and
Logar. The tribes that reside in this area were mentioned by the Greek historian
Herodotus, who called them the "Pactyans" as early as the 1st millennium BCE.
20th century The modern province of Paktika has its origins in the administrative reorganisation of 30 April 1964, when Afghanistan was divided into 29 provinces, replacing the previous system of fewer but larger units. At that time, the government announced plans to create a new
province of Urgun and Katawaz, to be carved out of the former
Governorate of Urgun () within the
High Governorate of the South. The new province was not immediately constituted, however, as the government stated it would be established only after "some constructional and developmental projects" were completed. In the meantime, the territory remained subordinate to
Paktia. The proposal was still being discussed in 1966, when a geographer at the
U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research noted that "it has been proposed that a new province of Katawaz and Urugan be formed from part of Paktia Province", likely tied to an ongoing development plan for the region. The 1971 edition of the
Times Atlas of the World does show a province of Katawaz-Urgun, and in 1973, a map of the minor civil divisions of Afghanistan published by the
University of Nebraska at Omaha shows a draft map of the
new province of Paktika, though later sources revert to showing Paktia in its original extent. The province was never formally constituted. By the mid-1970s, the territory had instead been organised into the
Large District of Urgun (), subordinate to
Paktia, and the
Large District of Katawaz (), subordinate to
Ghazni. This arrangement was confirmed still in place in 1978 by the official yearbook of the
Republic of Afghanistan. In the meantime, the provincial capital of the remote and underdeveloped region had been relocated from
Urgun to
Sharana, owing to the latter's more favourable position along the main highway connecting
Kabul, Ghazni and
Kandahar. It was only in 1979 that the modern province of Paktika was formally established by the
pro-Soviet government, merging the Large District of Urgun with the Large District of Katawaz into a single new province. Paktika was the site of many battles during the Soviet occupation of the country and the lawless years that followed. For example, the
Siege of Urgun took place between 1983 and 1984.
Recent history As one of the most remote provinces in Afghanistan and an area that saw much devastation in previous years, Paktika suffers from a severe lack of critical infrastructure. Reconstruction in the province after the fall of the
Taliban has been slow compared to that in nearby provinces such as
Khost and
Zabul. This is primarily due to the remoteness of the region and repeated attacks on aid workers and
NATO forces. In June 2004, members of the
Utah and
Iowa National Guard helped
Army Reserve Civil Affairs Soldiers from
Oregon establish a
Provincial Reconstruction Team base in
Sharana, the provincial capital, to lead the development effort. The first full contingent of eight Civil Affairs Soldiers from the U.S. Army Reserve's 450th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), based in
Riverdale Park,
Maryland, arrived in September 2004. The
Shkin firebase was composed of special operations forces. In an article from
Time, the U.S. base was described as: :"The U.S. firebase looks like a Wild West cavalry fort, ringed with coils of razor wire. A U.S. flag ripples above the 3-ft.-thick mud walls, and in the watchtower a guard scans the expanse of forested ridges, rising to 9,000 ft., that mark the border. When there's trouble, it usually comes from that direction." While the province hasn't witnessed the outright fighting in the last few years that has affected provinces like
Helmand, there is a constant low level of tribal violence, accompanied by criminal and Taliban activity. The last serious fighting in the province took place in 2004, amid reports that then-Governor
Muhammad Ali Jalali was collaborating with Taliban forces, and that the Taliban had effectively annexed eastern portions of the province. Jalali and many of his allied officials, were replaced and U.S. Special Forces were dispatched to fight the Taliban while the Pakistani forces fought with the Taliban's allies in neighbouring
South Waziristan. winds its way through a small valley on its way back to Forward Operating Base Orgun-E from Combat Outpost Zerok. (2011) On 1 November 2004, a civil affairs convoy was ambushed near
Surobi, between the Shkin firebase and Orgun-E. U.S. Army Spc. James Kearney, a turret gunner, died of a head shot from a sniper, which initiated the ambush. Two vehicles were destroyed in the engagement and three other Soldiers were wounded. The Provincial Reconstruction Team base was named Camp Kearney on 21 November 2004 to honor the sacrifice of Spc. James Kearney. On Jun 18, 2008 in the
Ziruk District Governor's compound, two members of the Provincial Reconstruction Team, HMN Mark Retmier and CM1 Ross Toles, were killed due to rocket attacks. The mess hall on Forward Operating Base Sharana was named after CM1 Toles and the hospital was named after HMN Retmier. Kearney Base became the nucleus of what is now Forward Operating Base Sharana. On July 4, 2009, combat outpost Zerok in East Paktika Province was attacked. The Haqqani network insurgents attacked the COP using mortars, accurate heavy machine gun fire, RPG fire, recoils rifles, and a 5000 lb Jingle Truck VBIED that destroyed the outpost's radio communication. The accurate enemy indirect fire from their mortars set the US mortar pit on fire, and killed two Able Company, 3rd Battalion 509th parachute Infantry regiment mortarmen, PFC Casillas and PFC Fairbairn. They were both returning fire on the 120 mm mortar. After the VBIED went off, multiple insurgents began maneuvering towards the outpost, some getting within 100 meters of the cop. Because the enemy was advancing so close to the outpost, the request for CAS was called in, but because of the DUSTWUN (large scale search) for PFC Bergdahl, (who went AWOL after abandoning his post only 100 km away from COP Zerok), air support was delayed. After intense fighting the US Paratroopers suppressed and killed most of the enemy, eventually gunships arrived and JDAMs were dropped on enemy targets. In 2010 the 101st Rakkasan air assault took over COP Zerok.
60 minutes produced a TV special documenting the unit's takeover of the COP, entitled
COP Zerok. In late July 2011, foreign troops and Afghan special forces killed more than 50 insurgents during an operation in eastern Paktika to clear a training camp the
Haqqani network used for foreign fighters, NATO said. Disenfranchised insurgents told security forces where the camp was located, the coalition said. In November 2011, an estimated 60 to 70 Taliban insurgents were killed in an abortive attack on a joint Afghan-ISAF base in the Margha area of Barmal. No international troops were killed or injured in the incident. It is believed the insurgents crossed over from neighboring FATA and Balochistan of Pakistan. In a separate incident the governor of Sar Hawza district died in the same month after his vehicle struck a roadside bomb. Civilians have also been killed by the foreign forces. In the spring of 2012 the 172nd Infantry Brigade opened the first Afghan National Army/ US Joint Artillery Fire Base in the Orgun District. In early 2013 10th Mountain Division, 2–14th Infantry, Golden Dragons, took over FOB Zerok. Eight civilians including a pregnant woman and a baby died when
Polish soldiers shelled the village of Nangar Khel, where a wedding celebration was taking place. Seven Polish soldiers have been charged with war crimes for allegedly opening fire in revenge.
U.S. Army PFC Bowe Bergdahl turned himself in to the Taliban on July 4, 2009, somewhere between OP Mest, near the town of Yahya Khel, and FOB Sharana. He was freed in a prisoner trade on May 31, 2014. Paktika was one of the provinces most affected by the
2022 Afghanistan earthquake on 22 June 2022. In
Gayan District, approximately 1,800 homes, or 70 percent of the district's homes, were destroyed, and 238 people were killed, with 393 others injured. In
Barmal District, at least 500 people died, with a thousand others injured. Heavy rain and the earthquake contributed to landslides that destroyed entire
hamlets. The local clinic in Gayan, which had the capacity of only five patients, was also heavily damaged. Of the about 500 patients admitted to the clinic due to the earthquake, about 200 died. Three days later, an
aftershock killed five persons and wounded 11 more in Gayan District. ==Geography==