Charikar District in the context of "Charikar"

Charikar, also known as Imam Abu Hanifa or Imam Azam, is the capital of Parwan Province in northern Afghanistan. It also serves as the district center of Charikar District, which has a population of around 171,200 residents. They include nearly all ethnic groups of Afghanistan. The city was officially renamed in December 2022 to honor the 8th-century Sunni Muslim theologian and jurist Abu Hanifa, who is also sometimes called Imam Azam ("The Great Imam") and was the founder of the Hanafi school of Islamic law.

Charikar lies on the Afghan Ring Road, 69 km (43 mi) from Kabul along the route to the northern provinces. Travelers would pass the city when traveling to Mazar-i-Sharif, Kunduz or Puli Khumri. Despite the proximity to Kabul, slightly more than half of the land is not built-up. Of the built-up land, almost equal parts are residential (37%) and vacant plots (32%), with a grid network of road coverage amounting to 19% of built-up land area, as of 2015. The city is at the gateway to the Panjshir Valley, where the Shamali plains meet the foothills of the Hindu Kush, and is known for its pottery and high-quality grapes.