Kabul is the capital city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into 22 municipal districts. In 2025 its population is estimated to be 6.74 million people. In contemporary times, Kabul has served as Afghanistan's political, cultural and economical center. Rapid urbanisation has made it the country's primate city and the 76th-largest city in the world.
Dari, Dari Persian, or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari Persian is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language; it is known as Afghan Persian or Eastern Persian in many Western sources. The decision to rename the local variety of Persian in 1964 was more political than linguistic to support an Afghan state narrative. Dari Persian is most closely related to Tajiki Persian as spoken in Tajikistan and the two share many phonological and lexical similarities. Apart from a few basics of vocabulary, there is little difference between formal written Persian of Afghanistan and Iran; the languages are mutually intelligible. Dari Persian is the official language for approximately 35 million people in Afghanistan and it serves as the common language for inter-ethnic communication in the country.
The music of Afghanistan comprises many varieties of classical music, folk music, and modern popular music. Afghanistan has a rich musical heritage and features a mix of Persian melodies, Indian compositional principles, and sounds from ethnic groups such as the Pashtuns, Tajiks and Hazaras. Instruments used range from Indian tablas to long-necked lutes. Afghanistan's classical music is closely related to Hindustani classical music while sourcing much of its lyrics directly from classical Persian poetry such as Mawlana Balkhi (Rumi) and the Iranian tradition indigenous to central Asia. Lyrics throughout most of Afghanistan are typically in Dari (Persian) and Pashto. The multi-ethnic city of Kabul has long been the regional cultural capital, but outsiders have tended to focus on the city of Herat, which is home to traditions more closely related to Iranian music than in the rest of the country.
The Zazi, also spelled Zazai, zarakzai or Jaji, are a Karlani (کرلاڼي) Pashtun tribe. They are found in Afghanistan and Pakistan
TOLO is a commercial television station operated by MOBY Group in Afghanistan. Launched in 2004, it became one of the first commercial stations in the country and laid the foundation for an accessible media outlet by offring a large library of shows. It is one of the most popular television channels in Afghanistan and broadcasts shows in both Dari-Persian and Pashto
Shakardara District is situated in the central part of Kabul Province, Afghanistan. It has a population of 3,000 people, with another 10,000 expected to return from abroad.
The February 2010 Kabul attack on 26 February 2010 was a combined suicide bombing and shooting attack. A car bomb levelled the Arya Guesthouse, also known as the Hamid Guesthouse, popular with Indian doctors. Two armed attackers then entered the nearby Park Residence, housing other foreigners. One detonated a suicide bomb, and the other was shot dead. The Safi Landmark Hotel nearby was badly damaged by the blasts. At least 18 people were killed and 36 more were injured.
Sherkhan Farnood was an Afghan banker, Chairman of Kabul Bank until late 2010, which is Afghanistan's largest private financial institution with over 1 million customers. Farnood held 28.16% of the shares in the Kabul Bank. He also owned Pamir Airways, in partnership with Khalilullah Fruzi/Frozi, Mohammed Fahim and possibly others. According to media reports, by November 2010 Da Afghanistan Bank insisted both Farnood and Kabul Bank chief executive Frozi had been removed from bank management;. As of early 2011, both were effectively under house arrest and could not leave the country.
Tolo News, stylized TOLOnews, is an Afghan news channel and website broadcasting from Kabul. Owned by the Moby Media Group, it was launched in August 2010 as Afghanistan's first twenty-four hour news channel.
The 2013 Afghan presidential palace attack occurred on 25 June 2013, in a highly secure zone of Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan.
On 20 October 2017, suicide bombers attacked mosques in Kabul and Ghor Province, Afghanistan, killing at least 60 people.
Operation Devi Shakti was an operation of the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Afghanistan after the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the fall of Kabul, the capital city, to the Taliban.
On 2 November 2021, a major insurgent attack at the Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan Military Hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed at least 25 people.
On 21 April 2022, a powerful bomb rocked the Shia Seh Dokan mosque in Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh Province, Afghanistan, killing at least 31 people and injuring more than 87 others. The Islamic State – Khorasan Province claimed responsibility via Telegram.
