Baghlan Province in the context of "Qataghan-Badakhshan Province"

Kunduz (Persian: استان قندوز, romanized: Ostāne Qanduz) (Pashto: کندز,), also known as Qunduz, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northern part of the country next to Tajikistan. The population of the province is around 1,136,677, which is mostly a tribal society; it is one of Afghanistan's most ethnically diverse provinces with many different ethnicities in large numbers living there. The city of Kunduz serves as the capital of the province. It borders the provinces of Takhar, Baghlan, Samangan and Balkh, as well as the Khatlon Region of Tajikistan. The Kunduz Airport is located next to the provincial capital.

The Kunduz River valley dominates the Kunduz Province. The river flows irregularly from south to north into the Amu Darya river which forms the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan. A newly constructed bridge crosses the Amu Darya at Sherkhan Bandar and the international trade is a large source of Kunduz's economy. The river, its tributaries, and derivative canals provide irrigation to the irrigated fields that dominate land usage in the agricultural province. There are also rain-fed fields and open range land that span several miles. Kunduz was once a major economic center for Afghanistan, but the wars since 1978 have changed fortunes for the province. Initially during the War in Afghanistan (2001-2021), Kunduz was one of the more stable regions of Afghanistan, but during the 2010s quickly turned into one of the most unstable provinces of the country, resulting in large parts falling under Taliban insurgent control. In 2021, the Taliban gained control of the province during their nationwide summer offensive.

Takhar (Pashto, Dari: تخار), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeast of the country next to Tajikistan. It is surrounded by Badakhshan in the east, Panjshir in the south, and Baghlan and Kunduz in the west. The city of Taloqan serves as its capital. The province contains 17 districts, over 1,000 villages, and approximately 1,113,173 people, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a rural society.

Parwan is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is the largest province of the Greater Parwan region, and has a population of about 751,000. The province is multi-ethnic and is a mostly rural society. The province is divided into 10 districts. The town of Imam Abu Hanifa serves as the provincial capital. The province is located north of Kabul Province and south of Baghlan Province, west of Panjshir Province and Kapisa Province, and east of Maidan Wardak Province and Bamyan Province. The province's famous tourism attraction is the Golghondi Hill, also known as “the flower hill,” located in Imam Azam about an hour away from the capital city of Kabul. After Panjshir this province has been considered as one of the main raising points of Afghanistan War against Soviets.

The name Parwan is also attributed to a town, the exact location of which is now unknown, that supposedly existed during prehistory, in the nearby Hindu Kush mountains.

Baghlan is a city in northern Afghanistan, in the eponymous Baghlan Province. It is located three miles east of the Kunduz River, 35 miles south of Khanabad, and about 500 metres above sea level in the northern Hindu Kush. Baghlan's capital, Puli Khumri, is known to be an economic hub connected to eight other provinces by the Kabul-North highway.[1]

Surkh Kotal (Persian: چشمه شیر Chashma-i Shir; also called Sar-i Chashma, is an ancient archaeological site located in the southern part of the region of Bactria, about 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of the city of Puli Khumri, the capital of Baghlan Province of Afghanistan. It is the location of monumental constructions made during the rule of the Kushans. Huge temples, statues of Kushan rulers and the Surkh Kotal inscription, which revealed part of the chronology of early Kushan emperors (also called Great Gara) were all found there. The Rabatak inscription which gives remarkable clues on the genealogy of the Kushan dynasty was also found in the Robatak village just outside the site.

The site of Surkh Kotal, excavated between 1952 and 1966 by Prof. Schlumberger of the Délégation Archéologique Française en Afghanistan, is the main site excavated of the Kushan Empire. Some of the site's sculptures were transferred to the National Museum of Afghanistan (also known as the 'Kabul Museum'), the rest of the site was completely looted during the Afghan Civil War. The most famous artifacts of this site are the Surkh Kotal inscriptions, the statue of King Kanishka and the fire altar. The statue of the king was destroyed during the Taliban wave of iconoclasm in February–March 2001, but has been restored by French conservationists. The three artifacts are currently on display in the Afghan National Museum.

Panjshir (Pashto: پنجشېر, Dari: پنجشیر, lit. 'five lions'), commonly known as Panjsher, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country containing the Panjshir Valley. The province is divided into seven districts and contains 512 villages. The main inhabitants of the province are Shamali Tajiks, who speak Dari. As of 2021, the population of Panjshir province was about 334,940. Its current governor is Mohammad Agha Hakim.

Panjshir became an independent province from the neighboring Parwan Province in 2004. It is bordered by Baghlan and Takhar in the north, Badakhshan and Nuristan in the east, Laghman and Kapisa in the south, and Parwan in the west.

Bamyan (Pashto, Dari: بامیان), also spelled Bamiyan, Bāmīān or Bāmyān, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan with the city of Bamyan as its center, located in central parts of Afghanistan.

The terrain in Bamyan is mountainous or semi-mountainous, at the western end of the Hindu Kush mountains concurrent with the Himalayas. The province is divided into eight districts, with the town of Bamyan serving as its capital. The province has a population of about 495,557 and borders Samangan to the north, Baghlan, Parwan, and Maidan Wardak to the east, Ghazni and Daikundi to the south, and Ghor and Sar-e-Pol to the west. It is the largest province in the Central region of Afghanistan.

The Kunduz River (Persian: رود قندوز) is a tributary of the Amu Darya in northern Afghanistan. It rises in Bamyan Province in the Hindu Kush, and in its upper reaches is also known as the Bamyan River or the Surkhab River. After passing through Baghlan and Kunduz provinces, the Kunduz River merges into the Amu Darya.