Haska Meyna | |
Native Name: | هسکه مېنه |
Native Name Lang: | ps |
Settlement Type: | Town |
Mapsize: | 250px |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Afghanistan |
Subdivision Type1: | Province |
Subdivision Name1: | Nangarhar Province |
Subdivision Type2: | District |
Subdivision Name2: | Haska Meyna District |
Population As Of: | 2002[1] |
Population Total: | 50,595 |
Timezone1: | Afghanistan Standard Time |
Utc Offset1: | +4:30 |
Demographics1 Title1: | Main language(s) |
Demographics1 Info1: | Pashto |
Haska Meyna (ps|هسکه مېنه), also called Deh Bala, is a town in Haska Meyna District in the south of Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan, bordering on Pakistan. The town is located within the heartland of the Shinwari tribe of Pashtuns.
Deh Bala 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.
Qari Barakatullah Saleem was born in the district. Deh Bala (ده بالا) is one of the villages of Haska Meyna district. Qari Barakatullah Saleem was an Afghan Quran reciter and is regarded as one of the best reciters of the Quran. He had won multiple Qira'at competitions.
Agriculture is the main source of income. Crops include wheat, corn, sugar cane and rice. At times, opium poppies have been an important crop. Deh Bala's residents do not have a modern water supply system for their crops. They traditionally drain water from the mountain (Spīn_Ghar), which flows along the south of the district, using water tap and shallow wells. Floods often destroy valuable fields. In the hill country, water must often be carried long distances by pack animal. Most villagers do not have access to potable water. Collecting and selling firewood, and manual labor, are other income-generating activities.