The Unai Pass or Onai Pass is a mountain pass on the western side of the Paghman Mountains in Jalrez District,

Maidan Wardak Province Maidan Wardak (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also called Wardag or Wardak, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the central region of Afghanistan. It is divided into eight districts and has a population of approximately 500,00 The capital ...

, Afghanistan. It is of strategical importance due to its geographical location to the southwest of

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Ac ...

. The Sarchashma River flows through the pass, which is the upstream part of the Kabul River. The Maidan River, a tributary of the Kabul/Sarchashma rises at the pass at an altitude of about . Due to its importance, the pass has a long history of being involved in conflict in Afghanistan. In 1929, Muhammad Mir Fath (1901-1964) was one of three Hazara commanders who defeated the forces of Habibullah Kalakani at the pass between March and September of that year. The '' mujahedin'' took the Unai Pass in the spring of 1979 during the war against the Soviet-backed Afghan communist regime, and Jalrez district was one of the earliest districts to be taken. In 1983, the

Hazara Hazara may refer to: Ethnic groups * The Hazaras, a Persian-speaking people of Afghanistan and Pakistan * Aimaq Hazara, Aimaq's subtribe of Hazara origin * Hazarawals, a Hindko-speaking people of the Hazara region of northern Pakistan * Hazar ...

Al-Nasr Al Nassr Football Club ( ar, نادي النصر السعودي; '' Naṣr'' meaning ''Victory'') is a Saudi Arabian football club based in Riyadh. Formed in 1955, the club plays its home games at the Mrsool Park. Their home colours are yellow ...

group attacked the Harakat Islami in Siasang and the area near the pass. In 2008, the Ministry of Public Works began the rehabilitation of 136 kilometres of the Kabul highway, aided by 36 million euros funding from the Italian government. The first phase of the project, Lot No 1, began in 2008 with the rehabilitation of a 54 kilometre stretch of earth road starting in

Maidan Shar Maidan Shar ( ps, میدانښار, Maidānkhār; fa, میدانشار, Maidānshār), also Maidan Shahr or simply Maidan, is the capital of Maidan Wardak province in central Afghanistan. Its population was estimated to be 35,008 in 2003, of wh ...

and working towards the Unai Pass.

References

{{Wardak Province Jalrez District Mountain passes of Afghanistan Hazarajat