Mihtarlam

Mihtarlam (Persian: مهترلام‎, Pashto: مهترلام‎), also spelled Mehtar Lam, is the sixteenth-largest city of Afghanistan. It is the capital of Laghman Province and center of Mihtarlam District. It is the only large urban settlement in the province. The town is situated in the valley formed by the Alishing and Alingar rivers, 47 km northwest of the city of Jalalabad. There is a paved road between the cities that takes approximately one hour to travel by car.

Mihtarlam

مهترلام

Mehtar Lam
City
Clockwise from top: An alley in Mihtarlam; a highway checkpoint; Mihtarlam RTC
Etymology: Chief Lam
Mihtarlam
Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 34°39′N 70°11′E
Country Afghanistan
ProvinceLaghman Province
DistrictMihtarlam District
Named forLamech
Elevation
779 m (2,556 ft)
Population
 (2020)
 • Total144,162[1]
Time zoneUTC+4:30 (UTC+4:30)

Etymology

Mihtarlam is named after Lamech (Mether Lam), the father of Noah. In the Persian language, 'mihtar' means headman, lord or chief. Lam is Noah's father's name.[2]

History

On 6 February 2006, two people were killed by police in riots in Mihtarlam in events of the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.[3]

On 2 May 2020, a motorbike bomb exploded outside the provincial prison in Mihtarlam, killing three civilians and injuring four members of the Afghan security forces. Noor Mohammad, director of Laghman's provincial prison directorate, was among the injured.[4]

On 5 October 2020, Provincial Governor of Laghman, Rahmatullah Yarmal, was slightly wounded after his convoy was targeted by a suicide car bomber.[5]

Places of interest
  • The Tomb of Lamech is located in the area. Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni built the shrine, amid gardens, over the site of his presumed grave, 50 kilometres from Mihtarlam.[6]
  • Qala-e-Seraj

See also

References
  1. "NSIA" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-06-09.
  2. "Afghanistan: Metar Lamech Shrine". www.culturalprofiles.org.uk. Retrieved 2020-12-15.
  3. Freeman, Simon (February 6, 2006). "First deaths in Muhammad cartoon protests". Times. London. Archived from the original on 13 January 2008. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
  4. "Three killed, four injured in blast outside Afghanistan's Laghman prison". May 2, 2020 – via https://iranpress.com/.
  5. "Afghan governor left injured after being targeted by suicide bomber". TRT World.
  6. Elphinstone, Mountstuart, "SULTÁN MAHMÚD. (997–1030.)", The History of India, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 532–579, ISBN 978-1-139-50762-2, retrieved 2020-12-15
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