Gardēz (Pashto: ګردېز‎, Persian: گردیز‎‎) is the capital of the Paktia Province of Afghanistan. The population of the city was estimated to be ca. 10,000 in the 1979 census, but was estimated to be 70,000 in 2008. The population is overwhelmingly Pashtun. The city of Gardez is located at the junction between two important roads that cut through a huge alpine valley.