Gerishk District

Gereshk District (pop 166,827), also called Nahri Saraj, takes the name from its principal municipality of Gereshk town (pop 48,546) in Helmand Province, Southern Afghanistan.

Demography

The ethnic composition is predominantly Pashtun.^[1] At the time of Taliban Gereshk District was under control of Noorzai tribe.

Location

Gerishk District sits at the intersection of Highway 1 (the 'Afghan ring-road', based on the old Silk Road and refurbished in the 1960s with US investment) and the Helmand River. A major stopping-point on the trade routes from Pakistan and Iran, Gereshk enjoys the prospect of returning to its historical prosperity, although this is under threat of Taliban resurgence in the region.

Income

The main source of income is agriculture. The soil is rich and the irrigation systems are in relatively good condition. The irrigation is from the Helamand River, karezes and tube-wells.

Hospitals and Schools

There is a hospital with both male and female doctors. There are 20 schools in the district, attended by 80% of the children.

Guantanamo connection

Bismullah appointed to be the transportation director for Ghereskh by the Hamid Karzai administration was sent to Guantanamo, where he was held in extrajudicial detention for seven years.^[2] On January 17, 2009, the Bush administration acknowledged that he had never been an "enemy combatant".

See also

• Hyderabad airstrike

References

1. ^ MRRD District Profile
2. ^ Carol Rosenberg (2009-01-17). "Six more detainees freed from Guantánamo". Miami Herald. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/story/858981.html. Retrieved 2009-01-18. ^{[dead link]} mirror

External links

• http://www.aims.org.af/maps/district/hilmand/nahri_sarraj.pdf District Map
• http://www.jemb.org/eng/electoral_system/reg.centers.pdf Actual census data since 2005 year