Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Urdu: خیبر پختون خواہ), previously known as the North-West Frontier Province (see names of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), is one of the four provinces ofPakistan, located in the north west of the country. It borders Afghanistan to the north-west,Gilgit-Baltistan to the north-east, Azad Jammu & Kashmir to the east, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to the west and south, Balochistan to the south andPunjab and the Islamabad Capital Territory to the south-east.
The main ethnic group in the province are the Pashtuns, locally referred to as Pakhtuns, followed by a number of smaller ethnic groups, most notably, the Hindkowans and Chitralis. The principal language is Pashto, locally referred to as Pakhto and the provincial capital isPeshawar, locally referred to as Pekhawar.
Geography
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is largely located at the junction where the slopes of the Hindu Kushmountains on the Eurasian plate give way to the Indus-watered hills approaching South Asia, and this has led to seismic activity in the past.[2] Area wise, it is equal to the size of New England [please cite correct reference] .[3]
The famous Khyber Pass links the province to Afghanistan, while the Kohalla Bridge in Circle Bakote is a major crossing point over the Jhelum River in the east.
The province has an area of 28,773 mi² or (74,521 km²). The province's main districts areBannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Abbottabad Haripurand Mansehra. Peshawar and Mardanare the main cities.
The region varies in topography from dry rocky areas in the south to forests and green plains in the north. The climate can be extreme with intensely hot summers to freezing cold winters. Despite these extremes in weather, agriculture remains important and viable in the area.
The hilly terrain of Swat, Kalam, Upper Dir, Naran and Kaghan is renowned for its beauty and attracts a great many tourists from neighbouring regions and from around the world. Swat-Kalam is also termed 'a piece of Switzerland' as there are many landscape similarities between it and the mountainous terrain of Switzerland.
According to the 1998 census, the population of the province was approximately 17 million.[4] of whom 52% are males and 48% are females. The density of population is 187 per km² and the intercensal change of population is of about 30%. Geographically the province could be divided into two zones: the northern one extending from the ranges of the Hindu Kush to the borders of Peshawar basin, and the southern one extending from Peshawar to the Derajat basin.
The northern zone is cold and snowy in winters with heavy rainfall and pleasant summers with the exception of Peshawar basin, which is hot in summer and cold in winter. It has moderate rainfall. The southern zone is arid with hot summers and relatively cold winters and scantly rainfall.
Its climate varies from very cold (Chitral in the north) to very hot in places like D.I. Khan. The major rivers that criss-cross the province are Kabul River, Swat River, Chitral River, Panjgora River, Bara River, Kurram River, Gomal River and Zhob River.
Its snow-capped peaks and lush green valleys of unusual beauty have enormous potential for tourism .
Climate
Main article: Climate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The climate of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa varies immensely for a region of its size, most of the many climate types found in Pakistan. The province stretching southwards from the Baroghil Pass in the Hindu Kushcovers almost six degrees of latitude; it is mainly a mountainous region. Dera Ismail Khan is one of the hottest places in the South Asia while in the mountains to the north the weather is temperate in the summer and intensely cold in the winter. The air is generally very dry and consequently the daily and annual range of temperature is quite large.[5]
Demographics
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Census | Population | Urban |
| 1951 | 4,556,545 | 11.07% |
| 1961 | 5,730,991 | 13.23% |
| 1972 | 8,388,551 | 14.25% |
| 1981 | 11,061,328 | 15.05% |
| 1998 | 17,743,645 | 16.87% |
The province has an estimated population of roughly 21 million that does not include the almost 1.5 million Afghan refugees[6] and their descendants in the province.[7][8] The largest ethnic group are thePashtuns who form about two-thirds of the population.[9]
Pashto is the most pervasive language while Hindko is the second most commonly spoken indigenous language with many dialects. Pashto is predominant in western and southern parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and is the main language in most cities and towns including Peshawar. With an estimated 7.0 million ethnic Pashtuns, Karachi hosts one of the largest Pashtun populations in the world.
Hindkowans is mostly spoken in eastern parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Hazara Division, and especially in the cities of Abbottabad,Mansehra, and Haripur.
In most rural areas of the centre and south various Pashtun tribes can be found including the Yusufzai, Tanoli, Daavi, Khattak, Gharghasht,Marwat, Afridi, Shinwari, Orakzai, Bangash, Mahsud, Mohmand, Wazir, and Gandapur as well as numerous other smaller tribes.
Further north, the prominent Pashtun tribes are, Swati, Kakar, Tareen, Jadoon and Mashwani. There are various non-Pashtun tribes includingAwan, Gujjar. The Awan are believed to be of Arabic origin and are recognisably different from the rest of Pashtun and non-Pushtun majority.
The mountainous extreme north includes the Chitral and Kohistan districts that are home to diverse Dardic ethnic groups such as theKhowar, Kohistani, Shina, Torwali, Kalasha and Kalami.
In addition, Afghan refugees, although predominantly Pashtun (including the Ghilzai and Durrani tribes), include thousands of Persian-speaking Tajiks and Hazaras as well as other smaller groups found throughout the province.
Nearly all of the inhabitants of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa are Muslim with a Sunni majority and significant minority of Shias and Ismailis. Many of the Kalasha of Southern Chitral still retain their ancient Animist/Shamanist religion.
History
 | This article's factual accuracy is disputed. Please see the relevant discussion on the talk page.(May 2010) |
Main article: History of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
 | It has been suggested that portions of this article be moved into History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. (Discuss) |
Ancient history
Since ancient times the region numerous groups have invaded the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa including the Persians, Greeks, Scythians,Kushans, Huns, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, Mughals, Sikhs, and the British. Between 2000 and 1500 BC, the Aryans split off into an Iranian branch, represented by the Pashtuns who came to dominate most of the region, an Indo-Aryan branch represented by the Hindkowans who populated much of the region before the time of the Pashtuns and various Dardic peoples who came to populate much of the north. Earlier pre-Aryan inhabitants include the Burusho.
The Vale of Peshawar was home to the Kingdom of Gandhara from around the 6th century BC and later ancient Peshawar became a capital of the Kushan Empire. The region was visited by such notable historical figures as Darius II, Alexander the Great, Hsuan Tsang, Fa Hsien,Marco Polo, Mountstuart Elphinstone, and Winston Churchill, among others. Following the Mauryan conquest of the region, Buddhismbecame a major faith, at least in urban centres, as attested by recent archaeological and hermeneutic evidence. Kanishka, a prominentKushan ruler was one of the prominent Buddhist kings.
| “ | The region of Gandhara has long been known as a major centre of Buddhist art and culture around the beginning of the Christian era. But until recently, the Buddhist literature of this region was almost entirely lost. Now, within the last decade, a large corpus of Gandharan manuscripts dating from as early as the 1st century A.D. has come to light and is being studied and published by scholars at the University of Washington. These scrolls, written on birch-bark in the Gandharan language and the Kharosthi script, are the oldest surviving Buddhist literature, which has hitherto been known to us only from later and modern Buddhist canons. They also institute a missing link between original South Asian Buddhism and the Buddhism of East Asia, which was exported primarily from Gandhara along the Silk Roads through Central Asia and thence to China.[10] | ” |
Rural areas retained numerous Shamanistic faiths as evident with the Kalash and other groups. The roots of Pashtunwali or the traditional code of honour followed by the Pashtuns is also believed to have Pre-Islamic origins. Persian invasions left small pockets of Zoroastrians and, later, a ruling Hindu elite established itself briefly during the later Shahi period.
The Shahi era
During the early 1st millennium, prior to the rise of Islam, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was ruled by the Shahi kings. The early Shahis were Buddhist rulers and reigned over the area until 870 CE when they were overthrown and then later replaced.
When the Chinese monk Xuanzang visited the region early in the 7th century CE, the Kabul valley region was still ruled by affiliates of the Shahi kings, who is identified as the Shahi Khingal, and whose name has been found in an inscription found in Gardez.
While the early Shahis were Irano-Afghan and Hindus Kabulistani in origin, the later Shahi kings of Kabul and Gandhara may have had links to some ruling families in neighbouring Kashmir and the Punjab. The Hindu Shahis are believed to have been a ruling elite of a predominantly Buddhist, Hindu and shamanistic population and were thus patrons of numerous faiths, and various artefacts and coins from their rule have been found that display their multicultural domain.
The last Shahi rulers were eventually wiped out by tribes led by Mahmud of Ghazni who arrived from Afghanistan early in the 11th century.
Arrival of Islam
Zoroastrianism, Buddhism and Shamanism remained prominent in the region until Muslim Arabs and Turks conquered the area before the 2nd millennium CE. Over the centuries local Pashtun and Dardic tribes converted to Islam, while retaining some local traditions (albeit altered by Islam) such as Pashtunwali or the Pashtun code of honour.
During 963–1187 AD, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa became part of larger Islamic empires including the Ghaznavid Empire, headed by SultanMahmud of Ghazni, and the empire of Muhammad Shahabuddin Ghauri. It Included Afghanistan extending up to Punjab and India Subcontinent and with its capital at Lahore.
Later it was controlled by the Afghan Pashtun Muslims of the Delhi Sultanate. The "Delhi Sultanate" refers to the many Muslim states that ruled the India from 1206 to 1526.
Several Turkic and Afghan dynasties ruled from Delhi Capital instead of Lahore : the Mamluk dynasty (1206–90), the Khilji dynasty (1290–1320), the Tughlaq dynasty (1320–1413), the Sayyid dynasty (1414–51), and the Lodhi dynasty (1451–1526).
Mughal Empire
In 1526 the Delhi Sultanate was absorbed by the emerging Mughal Empire and the Ilkhanate Empire of the Mongols, coming from GreatGenghis Khan and his grandsons like Babur the Mughal Dynasty.
Muslim technocrats, bureaucrats, soldiers, traders, scientists, architects, teachers, theologians and sufis flocked from the rest of the Muslim world to the region and Islam flourished because of these Northern Afghan and Central Asian invaders.
Pashtun/Afghan, Mughal and British maintain nominal control
The area formed part of the Durrani Empire founded by Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747. Ahmed Shah Durrani was born in Multan which was at that time part of Afghanistan. The empire included Bahwalpur, Kashmir, Gilgit, Hazara with its main city Haripur. Under Ahmed Shah Durrani and later his son Timur Shah, who ruled from Lahore and Multan, but later shifted it back to Kandahar.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was an important iranian borderland that was often contested by the Mughals and Safavids who considered it part of their land. During the reign of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa required formidable military forces to control and the emergence of Pashtun nationalism, who opposed Mughals who were trying to infiltrate it from India across the Indus River. A leading force in inspiring Pashtun miltancy was the local warrier poet Khushal Khan Khattak who united some of the tribes against the various empires around the region.
As the Mughal had lost control by 1757, the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa came under the control of the Amir of Afghanistan Ahmed Shah Abdali.
The British Raj and birth of the North-West Frontier Province after the Durand Line Agreement
Main article: Durand Line
The British, who had captured most of the subcontinent without significant problems,[dubious ] faced a number of difficulties here. However, crossing the Indus River on to the Iranian plateau and Pashtun territory which lay there gave them a new type of challenge. The Pashtuns, strong in their belief that they must defend their land from foreign incursion resisted the British advancement. The first war between British and the Pashtunsresulted in a devastating defeat for the former, with just one individual, Dr. William Brydoncoming back alive (out of a total of 14,800-21,000 people). This happened during the First Anglo-Afghan War of 1849 and later the Second Anglo-Afghan War of 1876. The Third Anglo-Afghan War of 1919, was also a continuation of the fight for Reclaiming Areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and claiming independence from British occupation efforts which the Afghansor the Pashtuns resisted with greatest zeal and effort to remain as independent nation.
Unable to enforce their rule and invade these territories fully in the region, the British changed their tactics and played a game of divide and rule. The use of religion and installing puppet Pashtun rulers and dividing the Pashtuns through artificially created regions and ruling indirectly to reduce the chance of confrontation between Pashtuns and the British. Although the smallest size province Pushtoons were divided into Provincially Administered Tribal Areas(PATA), Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), Frontier Regions (FR) and Settled Areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa was restricted to five districts.
Occasional Pashtun resistance and attacks did take place on British in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, including the Siege of Malakand and Swat, both well documented by Winston Churchill who was a war correspondent at the time.
A series of conflicts known as the Anglo-Afghan Wars during the imperialist Great Game, wars between the British and Russian governments, led to the eventual dismemberment of Afghanistan into Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan and Khurasan. Divide and rule policy and the annexation of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan region led to the demarcation of the Durand Line and administration as part of British South Asia.
The Durand line is a poorly marked 1,519-mile (2,445 km) border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. After fighting in two wars against Afghans, the British succeeded in 1893 in imposing the Durand line, dividing Afghanistan from the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan, FR regions, FATA which were incorporated into what was then British India. It was agreed upon by representatives of both governments.
The international boundary line separating two countries was named after Sir Mortimer Durand, foreign secretary of the British colonial government, who in 1893 had negotiated with Abdur Rahman Khan, the Amir of Afghanistan, on the frontier between modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Areas annexed from Afghanistan were the FATA, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces of Pakistan, the successor state of British India and the successor Iranian state of Khorasan.
In 1893, Sir Mortimer Durand was sent to Kabul by the government of British India for the purpose of settling an exchange of territory required by the demarcation of the boundary between northeastern Afghanistan, Iran and the Russian possessions.
The Amir showed ability in diplomatic argument, his tenacity where his own views or claims were in debate, with a sure underlying insight into the real situation. The territorial exchanges were amicably agreed upon; the relations between the British Indian and Afghan governments, as previously arranged, were confirmed; and an understanding was reached upon the important and difficult subject of the border line of Afghanistan on the east, towards India.
From the British side the camp was attended by Sir Mortimer Durand and Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum the, Political Agent for the Khyber Agency. Afghanistan was represented by Sahibzada Abdul Latif and the Governor Sardar Shireendil Khan representing the King Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.[11]
While the Afghan side greatly resented the border and viewed it as a temporary development, the British viewed it as being a permanent settlement. The North-West Frontier Province was formed on November 9, 1901, as a Chief Commissioner ruled province, the Chief Commissioner was the chief executive of the province.
He ran the administration with the help of his principal advisers and Civil servants better known as judicial and Revenue Commissioners.
The formal inauguration of the province took place five and half months later, at Shahi Bagh on April 26, 1902, on the occasion of the historical Darbar in the Shahi Bagh (Kings Garden) in the capital town of Peshawar.
It was held by Lord Curzon the Governor of the North-West Frontier Province. The province then comprised only five districts after dividing annexed areas from Afghanistan into FATA, Frontier Regions and the North-West Frontier Province and Southern Punjab.
North-West Frontier Province districts were Peshawar District, Hazara District, Kohat District, Bannu District and the Dera Ismail Khan District.
The first Chief Commissioner of the North-West Frontier Province was Harold Deane. He was known as a strong administrator and he was succeeded by Ross-Keppel, in 1908, whose contribution as a political officer was widely known amongst the tribal/frontier people.
North-West Frontier Province was raised to a full-fledged governor-ruled province in 1931 in accordance with the demand by the Round Table Conference held in 1931. It was agreed upon in the conference that the North-West Frontier Province would be raised to a governor-ruled province with its own Legislative Council. Sir Ralph Griffith was appointed the first Governor in 1932 (having succeeded Stuart Pearks as Chief Commissioner in 1931).
Therefore, on January 25, 1932, the Viceroy inaugurated the first North-West Frontier Province Legislative Council. The first provincial elections were held in 1937 and the independent candidate and noted British loyal civil servant Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum was elected as the province's first Chief Minister.
After independence
During the early 20th century the so-called Red Shirts led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan agitated through Non-violence for the rights of Pakhtunareas.
Following independence, the North-West Frontier Province voted to join Pakistan in a referendum in 1947. However, Afghanistan's loya jirga of 1949 declared the Durand Line invalid, which led to border tensions with Pakistan. Afghanistan's governments have periodically refused to recognize Pakistan's inheritance of British treaties regarding the region, leading to a counter-claim by Pakistan that the original treaties, if they must be discussed, can only be held with the original signer, the Kingdom of Afghanistan, which is now defunct - essentially denying modern Afghanistan the same sort of inheritance rights that it denies Pakistan.
During the 1950s, Afghanistan supported a secessionist movement called that failed to gain substantial support amongst the tribes of the North-West Frontier Province known as the Pashtunistan Movement. Afghanistan's refusal to recognize the Durrand Line, and its subsequent support for the Pashtunistan Movement has been cited as the main cause of tensions between the two countries that have existed since Pakistan's independence.
After President Ayub Khan eliminated Pakistan's provinces, President Yahya Khan, in 1969, abolished this "one unit" scheme and addedAmb, Swat, Dir, Chitral and Kohistan to the new North-West Frontier Province as PATA.
Afghan jihad and war with USSR
During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the North-West Frontier Province, the PATA and FATA served as a major base for supplying theMujahideen who fought the Soviets during the 1980s.
Following the invasion over five million Afghan refugees poured into Pakistan, most residing in the North-West Frontier Province (as of 2007 nearly 3 million remain).
The North-West Frontier Province remained heavily influenced by events in Afghanistan and the civil war led to the rise of the Taliban, which had emerged in the border region between Afghanistan, Baluchistan, PATA and FATA as a formidable political force that nearly took over all of Afghanistan. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the FATA and bordering North-West Frontier Province became a front-line region again as part of the global "War on Terror".
In 2010, the name of the province was changed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Economy
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's share of Pakistan's GDP has historically been 10.5%, although the province accounts for 11.9% of Pakistan's total population, rendering it the second poorest province after neighboringBalochistan. The part of the economy that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa dominates is forestry, where its share has historically ranged from a low of 34.9% to a high of 81%, giving an average of 61.56%.[13] Currently, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounts for 10% of Pakistan's GDP,[14] 20% of Pakistan’s mining output[15] and since 1972, it has seen its economy grow in size by 3.6 times.[16]
After suffering for decades due to the fallout of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, today they are again are being targeted for totally a different situation of terrorism.
Agriculture remains important and the main cash crops include wheat, maize, Tobacco (in Swabi ), rice, sugar beets, as well as various fruits are grown in the province.
Some manufacturing and high tech investments in Peshawar has helped improve job prospects for many locals, while trade in the province involves nearly every product. The bazaars in the province are renowned throughout Pakistan. Unemployment has been reduced due to establishment of industrial zones.
Numerous workshops throughout the province support the manufacture of small arms and weapons of various types. The province accounts for at least 78% of the marble production in Pakistan.[17]
Social issues
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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continues to have an image problem. Even within Pakistan it is regarded as a "radical state" due to the rise of Islamist parties to power in the province and purported support for the remnants of the Taliban who are believed by some to be hiding in the province.
The Awami National Party sought to rename the province "Pakhtunkhwa", which translates to "Land of Pakhtuns" in the Pashto language. This has been opposed by some of the non-Pashtuns, and especially from Parties Like Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). The PML-N derives its support in the province from primarily non-Pashtun Hazara regions. In 2010, it was announced that the province would finally have a name and this lead to a wave of protests in the Hazara region.[18] On April 15, 2010, the province was officially named as "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" when Pakistan's Senate approved it with 80 Senators in favor of the name while only 12 opposed it.[19]
The MMA, who until the elections of 2008, had a majority in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government, proposed Afghania as a compromise name.[20]
After the 2008 general election, the Awami National Party formed a coalition provincial government with the Pakistan Peoples Party, and supported the Pakistan Peoples Party federal government and in other provinces.[21]
The strongholds of the Awami National Party are in the Pashtun areas of Pakistan, particularly in the Peshawar valley, while Karachi in Sindhhas one of the largest Pashtun populations in the world with around 7 million by some estimates.[22] In the 2008 election, the ANP won two Sindh assembly seats in Karachi. The Awami National Party has been instrumental in fighting the Taliban.[23]
Folk music
Main article: Pashto music
Pashto folk music is popular in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and has a rich tradition going back hundreds of years. The main instruments are the Rubab, mangey and harmonium.
Khowar folk music is popular in Chitral and northern Swat. The tunes of Khowar music are very different from those of Pashto and the main instrument is the Chitrali Sitar.
A form of band music composed of clarinets (surnai) and drums is popular in Chitral. It is played at polo matches and dances. The same form of band music is also played in the neighbouring Northern Areas.
Education
The trend towards higher education is rapidly increasing in the province and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is home to Pakistan's foremost engineering university (Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute), which is located in Topi, a town in Swabi district. The University of Peshawar is also a notable institution of higher learning. The Frontier Post is perhaps the province's best-known newspaper and addresses many of the various issues facing the local population.
| Year | Literacy Rate |
|---|---|
| 1972 | 15.5% |
| 1981 | 16.7% |
| 1998 | 35.41% |
| 2008 | 49.9% |
This is a chart of the education market of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa estimated by the government in 1998. Also see[26]
| Qualification | Urban | Rural | Total | Enrolment Ratio(%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | 2,994,084 | 14,749,561 | 17,743,645 | — |
| Below Primary | 413,782 | 3,252,278 | 3,666,060 | 100.00 |
| Primary | 741,035 | 4,646,111 | 5,387,146 | 79.33 |
| Middle | 613,188 | 2,911,563 | 3,524,751 | 48.97 |
| Matriculation | 647,919 | 2,573,798 | 3,221,717 | 29.11 |
| Intermediate | 272,761 | 728,628 | 1,001,389 | 10.95 |
| BA, BSc… degrees | 20,359 | 42,773 | 63,132 | 5.31 |
| MA, MSc… degrees | 18,237 | 35,989 | 53,226 | 4.95 |
| Diploma, Certificate… | 82,037 | 165,195 | 247,232 | 1.92 |
| Other qualifications | 19,766 | 75,226 | 94,992 | 0.53 |
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