Khost (Pashto: خوست‎, Persian: خوست‎‎) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country next to Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Khost province used to be part of Paktia province in the past. The city of Khost serves as the capital of Khost province. The population of the province is around 546,800, which is mostly a tribal society. Khost Airport serves the province for domestic flights to Afghanistan's capital, Kabul.

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History

Recent history

In September 2011, work on the construction of Khost International Airport began. It is estimated the airport will cost $2.5 million. The funds for the project are being provided by the Afghan government. The airport will be located in a desert between Ismailkhel and Tani District.

Politics and governance

The current governor of the Province is Abdul Jabbar Naeemi. The city of Khost is the capital of Khost province. All law enforcement activities throughout the province are controlled by the Afghan National Police (ANP). The border of Afghanistan's Khost province with neighboring Pakistan's FATA is monitored and protected by the Afghan Border Police (ABP), which is part of the ANP. The border is called the Durand Line and is known to be one of the most dangerous in the world due to heavy militant activities and illegal smugglings. A provincial police chief is assigned to lead both the ANP and ABP. The police chief represents the Ministry of the Interior in Kabul. The ANP is backed by other Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), including the NATO-led forces.

Khost or Khowst (Pashto/Persian: خوست) is a city in eastern Afghanistan. The capital of Khost Province is Matoon. Khost is a mountainous region near Pakistan's border with neighboring North Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Bannu in Pakistan. The population of Khost City is about 160,000 people and the whole province has around a million. There are various tribes living in Khost. Some of the main tribes are Zadran, Mangal, Zazi, Tani, Gurbaz, Muqbal, and Sabari. The city of Khost has a population of 106,083 (in 2015). it has 6 districts and a total land area of 7,139 Hectares. The total number of dwellings in this city are 11,787.

During the nine-year Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the town was besieged from July 1983 to November 1987. Khost Airfield, with its 9,000-foot (2,700 m) runway, served as a base for helicopter operations for the Soviet military.

American forces have used the Khost Airfield since as early as at least January 2007 during the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) that commenced in October 2001.