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Spin Boldak سپین بولدک (Pashto)
Empty fuel trucks heading towards the Friendship Gate at the Wesh-Chaman border crossing
Spin BoldakLocation in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 31°0′29″N 66°23′53″E / 31.00806°N 66.39806°E / 31.00806; 66.39806
Country	Afghanistan
Province	Kandahar
District	Spin Boldak
Elevation	4,009 ft (1,222 m)
Time zone	UTC+4:30

Spin Boldak (Dari, Pashto: سپین بولدک) is a border town and the headquarters of Spin Boldak District in the southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan, next to the border with Pakistan. It is linked by a highway with the city of Kandahar to the north, and with Chaman and Quetta in Pakistan to the south. Spin Boldak has the second major port of entry between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Wesh-Chaman border crossing. It is also a major transporting, shipping and receiving site between the two neighboring countries.

The district is populated mostly by Noorzai and Achakzai Pashtuns.

Climate

With an influence from the local steppe climate, Spin Boldak features a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh), characterised by little precipitation throughout the year. The average temperature in Spin Boldak is 19.7 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 217 mm. July is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 31.8 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 6.9 °C.

Insurgent Activity

In January 2006, "a suicide bomber on a motorbike killed at least 20 people and wounded 20 more," according to one report. "The attacker drove the vehicle into a crowd watching a wrestling match and detonated a bomb," said Kandahar provincial Gov. Asadullah Khalid. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

The town was the site of a suicide bombing in February 2008 that killed 38 Afghans and injured several Canadian soldiers.

In April 2010, three nephews of the former governor of Spin Boldak district, Hajji (or Haji) Fazluddin Agha, aged 15, 13 and 12, were killed in a bomb attack. The bomb was attached to a donkey which was led to the checkpoint in front of the former governor's home and detonated by remote control. Hajji Fazluddin Agha, according to the report, is of one of President Hamid Karzai’s most important political allies in Kandahar, and had also served as Mr. Karzai's top campaign official in Kandahar Province. He was unhurt in the bombing, but two bystanders and two policemen were wounded.

On 14 July 2021, Taliban forces as part of the 2021 Taliban offensive captured Spin Boldak along with the border post with Pakistan. The Taliban immediately took over border duties by regulating movement of people and goods between Spin Boldak and the Wesh–Chaman border crossing. It was at this border crossing on 15 July 2021, the Indian photo-journalist Danish Siddiqui was killed by the Taliban and his body mutilated

Railway

In 1891 the British extended the Indian Railways system (now Pakistan Railways) to the border town of Chaman via the Khojak Tunnel from Qilla Abdullah, from the east and thence south. The rails were not extended into Afghanistan to the north and west for political reasons. Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, is less than 10 km from Chaman in Balochistan province of Pakistan.

Over much of the last century, there have been proposals to extend the Chaman line to Afghanistan and possibly beyond, passing through Spin Boldak. These proposals have the support of the current Afghan government. In July 2010, Pakistan and Afghanistan signed a Memorandum of understanding for going ahead with the laying of rail tracks between the two countries.

See also

• Torkham
• Zaranj
• Islam Qala
• Torghundi
• Hairatan
• Sher Khan Bandar
• Demogan
• Kandahar Province

Notes

1. Alternative spellings include: Spīn Baldak, Spīn Būldak, Spīn Bōldak, and Spin Baldak.

References

1. "The Master of Spin Boldak: Undercover with Afghanistan’s drug-trafficking border police" by Matthieu Aikins, Harper's Magazine, December 2009, p. 54. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
2. "Climate: Spin Boldak - Climate-Data.org". Retrieved 9 September 2016.
3. "Taliban attacks kill at least 24 in Afghanistan", CBC News, 16 January 2006, 12:32 PM ET. Retrieved via Yahoo! Image 20 April 2010.
4. "Canadian troops blamed in blast that killed 38" by Stephanie Levitz, The Canadian Press, and Noor Khan thestar.com, 18 February 2008. Note: The Canadians were blamed by Asadullah Khalid only to the extent they ignored his warnings of the risk. Retrieved 20 April 2010.
5. "Explosives cache found in Kandahar as escalation of Taliban attacks feared" Archived 6 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine by Ethan Brown, Canwest News Service, 2 May 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
6. "Deputy Mayor of Kandahar Is Killed" by Richard A. Oppel Jr. and Taimoor Shah; T. Shah reported from Kandahar; an employee of The Times contributed reporting from Khost, as did Sangar Rahimi from Kabul; Oppel reported and filed the story from Kabul; The New York Times, 20 April 2010. Deputy Mayor Azizullah Yarmal of Kandahar city was killed the same day in a separate incident. (A version of this article appeared in print on 21 April 2010, on page A6 of the New York edition. "A Killing Further Erodes Afghan Faith in Leaders.") Retrieved 2010-04-20, 12 July 2010.
7. "Taliban capture key Afghan border crossing with Pakistan: Spokesman". Channel News Asia. 14 July 2021. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
8. "Border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan reopens after Taliban seizure". France24. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
9. Laskar, Rezaul; Sunny, Shiv (17 July 2021). "Indian journalist killed in line of duty by Taliban". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 20 July 2021.

v t e Kandahar Province
Capital: Kandahar
Districts	Arghandab Arghistan Daman Ghorak Kandahar Khakrez Maruf Mayanishin Maiwand Nesh Panjwayi Reg Shah Wali Kot Shorabak Spin Boldak Zhari
Populated places	Alkozai Arghandab Arghistan Baladay Balandi Bazar-i-Panjwayi Daman Ghorak Golzar Ilbak Kar-Mulla Karz Khakrez Khosrow Sofla Lower Babur Maiwand Mulla Wali Waleh Maruf Nagahan Najeeban Nesh Reg Alaqadari Regay Singesar Spin Boldak Tarok Kolache Tizak Walakan Wali Yakh Karez Zangabad
Landforms	Arghandab River Arghistan River Dori River
Other	Governors Dahla Dam Kandahar International Cricket Stadium Kandahar Stadium Kirka Sharif

• Populated places in Kandahar Province