Paktia Province

Paktia (Pashto: پکتيا‎ - Paktyā, Persian: ولایت پکتیا‎‎) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. The province is divided into eleven districts and has a population of roughly 525,000, which is mostly a tribal society living in rural areas. Pashtun tribes make up the majority of the population but smaller number of Tajiks are also found.Gardēz is the provincial capital.

History

Paktia used to be a unified province with Khost and Paktika, these three provinces are now referred to as Loya Paktia, meaning "Greater Paktia". Paktia came to prominence during the 1980s, when a significant portion of Afghanistan's leadership originated from the province. Some of the more notable leaders include: Najibullah Ahmadzai, a former President of Afghanistan, Mohammad Aslam Watanjar, Shahnawaz Tanai, and Sayed Muhammad Gulabzoi.

The Soviet-Afghan War 1988

Between January 7, 1988 – January 8, 1988, in the Paktia Province, near the Pakistani-Afghan border the Battle for Hill 3234 was a successful defensive battle fought by the 345th Independent Guards Airborne Regiment, 39 Soviet Airborne Troops, in Soviet occupied Afghanistan fought against a force of up to 200 to 250 Mujahideen rebels.