Surrounded by the mountains and deserts of the Hindu Kush, which boil up from the valley floor to the north, east and west, it is the axis of commerce for a huge area of eastern Afghanistan and has been a strategic location for armies throughout the country's long history of conflict.

[8] Archaeological discoveries, including Greek, Sassanid, Hephthalite, and Hindu Shahi coins give an insight into the rich history of Gardez.

In 2002, the city and surroundings was attacked by local warlord Pacha Khan Zadran, who was chosen as Paktia governor by Hamid Karzai's administration only to be refused by tribal elders.

[13] On January 4, 2002, the first American soldier to die in the War in Afghanistan, Sergeant First Class Nathan Chapman, was killed in Gardez.

[14][15] Gardez is located at 2,308 m above sea level, making it the third-highest provincial capital in Afghanistan, and is not far from the Tora Bora region of caves and tunnels.

Gardez is located at a junction between two important roads, one connecting Kabul with Khost, the other linking Ghazni with Parachinar in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

[18] The Encyclopaedia Iranica states that the population of the city was 9,550 in 1979 and that "They were mainly Fārsīwān Tājīks, Gardīz belonging to a network of old isolated Tājīk settlements sparsely distributed in southeastern Afghanistan that are remnants of a time when Pashto had not yet reached the area.

There was also a significant community of Hindu and Sikh shopkeepers who altogether ran 9% of the shops in the bāzār, mostly specializing in jewellery and cloth"[8] The city of Gardez is also a major fuel wood market for Kabul.

This infusion of funds catalyzed rapid growth in various sectors, such as infrastructure development, industrial expansion, and education initiatives.

As a consequence, the city saw a surge in job opportunities, improved living standards, and a thriving business environment, marking a pivotal period in its history.

After the fall of the Taliban, the first Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan was established in Paktiā near Gardez in early March 2003, headed by the US Army along with a U.S. Agency for International Development representative, Randolph Hampton.

The continuing challenge to bring electricity, medical clinics, schools and water to the more remote villages in Paktia are a result of ongoing security issues.