Views just after we took off from the base. Ghazni is flatter than most parts of Afghanistan; it has a fairly broad plain near the river and forms part of the country's wheat-growing belt. They grow apples, too. Even so, as you can see, population settlement is pretty sparse. Ghazni is in some ways representative of Afghanistan as a whole. Its north is relatively stable, its south and east the part that has more conflict. The Hazara are the main ethnic group in the north, and like in most places of the country, their areas tend to be more peaceful. The Pashtuns dominate in the south. Ghazni was interesting during the September elections because in the entire province, all the parliamentary winners were Hazara. That is not at all representative of the overall population split, and most people figured there would be an uproar. The Pashtuns were no doubt upset, but the results are not necessarily implausible. We went to one Pashtun district where a grand total of three people voted. A great number of Pashtuns just completely blew off the election.
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