Urgun

Urgun (Pashto: ورګون‎, Persian: اورگون‎‎), also called Orgun (Pashto: اورګون‎) or Urgin (Pashto: ورګين‎), is the main town of the Urgun District of Paktika Province, Afghanistan, with an estimated population of 10,665. Urgun contains the main bazaar of eastern Paktika.

Names

The town of Urgun is also called Loy Urgun (لوی ورګون) or Urgun-e Kalan, "Greater Urgun".

Like many place names in Afghanistan, Urgun can be spelled a number of different ways. Orgun, Urgin, Urgum, Urgim, Urghim, Wargun, Warghun, Arghun, Urgon, and Orgon are the most popular alternative spellings.

History

Formerly, Urgun used to be the capital of the largely undeveloped and remote province of Paktika. In the 1970s, however, the provincial capital was moved from Urgun to the town of Sharana, due to Sharana's proximity with the main highway connecting it to the larger cities and commercial centers of Kabul and Kandahar.

The Siege of Urgun during the Soviet-Afghan War took place between 1983 and 1984. It devastated the town.