34°05′22″N 70°40′59″E/34.0894°N 70.683°E/ 34.0894; 70.683

Achin (Pashto: اچين ولسوالۍ) is a district in southern Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, on the border with Pakistan.

Its population is 100% Pashtun. Achin is home to the Shinwari tribe, one of the largest Pashtun tribes.

It was a stronghold of the Mujaheddin during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s.

During the April 2017 Nangarhar airstrike, the United States Air Force dropped a MOAB in Achin district which targeted a tunnel complex of the ISIS-affiliate located in the area, and reportedly killed dozens of militants.

Economy

The primary licit crop in Achin is wheat. Collecting and selling firewood, and manual labor, are other income-generating activities. Tobacco is also grown in the district.

Opium poppy

In 2000, UNDCP recorded 130 poppy-growing villages in Achin, making it the greatest opium growing district in eastern Afghanistan that year.

External links

  • 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine (PDF)
  • (extensive photographs of Achin poppy cultivation)