Jalalabad or Eastern Afghanistan

Jalalabad, or "City of Glory," a bustling city of possibly 500,000, is the largest trade and market center of eastern Afghanistan.

The most densely populated areas in Afghanistan are the eastern Pashtun provinces. Nangrahar, Laghman, Kunar, Khost, Paktika, and Paktia are nearly 100% Pashtun; Ghazni, Logar, and Wardak, along with Kabul Province (not city) are majority Pashtun.

Pashtuns have paid a heavy price for centuries of bloodshed. History says that of the 17,000 or so British subjects retreating from Kabul to Jalalabad in the mid-1800’s, only one person made it alive to the fort in Jalalabad.

This is said to be the largest single massacre of a retreating force in history. Culturally, this area is very conservative, with a tradition very similar to Pakistan’s Tribal Territories. Support for Al-Qaida and the Taliban is prevalent, especially in remote areas.

More info coming Enshallah, but I feel a tea-break coming on.