Dawlat Shah District is located approximately 74 km from Mehterlam, the provincial centre of Laghman Province in Afghanistan. It is a mountainous district and borders Nuristan Province to the North and North-East, Alingar District to the East, Alishing District to the South and Kapisa and Parwan provinces to the West. The population is 29,500 (2006) - 70% Tajik, 29% Pashai and 1% Pashtun. It has 60 villages. The district center is the village of Dawlat Shah, located on at 1583 m altitude in the Hindukush mountains in the valley of the Alishing river.