BAZARAK, PANJSHIR, AFGHANISTAN- On November 28, 2005, Governor Hajji Bahloul opened the first provincial courthouse in the history of the Panjshir Valley.

 

On November 28, 2005, Governor Hajji Bahloul opened the first provincial courthouse in the history of the Panjshir Valley. The new courthouse was designed by the famous Afghan American architect Rafi Samizay.

 

The construction was performed by MRO, a Panjshiri firm, and completed in a single year.

 

During the Russian invasion in 1980s the Panjshir Valley suffered severe destruction. The only existing courthouse was a room in a house in Bazarak where Ahmad Shah Massaud was born. Currently Bazarak is the capital of the Panjshir province.

 

To date, USAID and MSI, Inc., which has an all-Afghan staff of architects, have completed 27 courthouses. Two more are under construction and the plan for another five has just been approved. USAID is funding five more architectural plans which will be built by Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRT) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

 

By building such courthouses, USAID is supporting the Government of Afghanistan and helping the government bring the rule of law to every province of the country.