page_title: Nawa-I-Barakzayi District
section_title: Government
hierarchical_section_title: Nawa-I-Barakzayi District / Government
caption_attribution_description: English: From left, U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Col. William McCollough, commander, 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment; Afghan National Army Capt. Saki Dad; Abdul Manaf, governor of the Nawa District; Haji Muhammed Nafex Kahn, chief of the Nawa District Police; Shamsi, a security adviser for the Nawa District; and Ian Purves, a stabilization adviser with Provincial Reconstruction Team - Helmand, plan a community shura in the Nawa District Bazaar, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, July 22, 2009. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Staff Sgt. William Greeson/Released)
context_page_description: Nāwa-I-Barakzāyi District is an administrative district in Helmand Province, Afghanistan located south of the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah along the Helmand River. It is bordered by the districts of Lashkar Gah, Nad Ali, Garmsir, and Rig, as well as the provinces of Nimruz and Kandahar. It falls within the area known as Pashtunistan, an area comprising most of southeast Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. The dominant language is Pashto and many of the 89,000 residents practice the traditional code of Pashtunwali. Nawa-I-Barakzayi's name reflects the dominant Pashtun tribe in the district, the Barakzai. Prior to the 1970s, it was called Shamalan after a small village at the south end of the district
  It is one of the top opium-producing districts in Afghanistan with 6% of Afghanistan's total crop being grown there. This has made the Nawa-i-Barakzayi district a central hub in the opium and heroin trade. The district has also been the scene of heavy fighting during the Helmand province campaign. It was a Taliban stronghold until the summer of 2009, when United States Marines were deployed there as part of Operation Strike of the Sword.
context_section_description: As of February 2010 the Nawa-i-Barakzayi district is governed by Abdul Manaf.  He lives in a compound next to a Marine base. The District Administrator is Haji Mohammed Khan.  The District Chief of Police is Haji Muhammed Nafex Kahn.  The Afghan National Army in the area is led by Captain Saki Dad.  The International Security Assistance Force main representative is Lieutenant Colonel Matt Baker of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines.  Ian Purves is a British stabilization advisor from the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team.  Scott Dempsey is the representative from USAID.  Abdul Manaf was appointed District Governor in the summer of 2009.
caption: (From Left) LtCol William McCollough, Capt Saki Dad, Abdul Manaf, Haji Muhammed Nafex Kahn, Shamsi, and Ian Purves plan a community shura in the Nawa District Bazaar.
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