Bannu District

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District Bannu
ضلع بنوں
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Mound at Akra
Mound at Akra
Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Bannu district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Country Pakistan
Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
DivisionBannu
HeadquartersBannu
Government
 • TypeDistrict Administration
 • Deputy CommissionerMohammad Khan Bangash
 • District Police OfficerN/A
 • District Health OfficerN/A
Area
 • Total1,972 km2 (761 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total1,210,183
 • Density610/km2 (1,600/sq mi)
 • Urban
49,948
 • Rural
1,160,235
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
Number of Tehsils4

Bannu District (Pashto: بنو ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع بنوں) is a district in Bannu Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It was recorded as a district in 1861 during the British Raj.[2]: 3  It is one of 26 districts that make up the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It borders North Waziristan to the northwest, Karak to the northeast, Lakki Marwat and Bettani to the southeast, and South Waziristan to the southwest. It is represented in the provincial assembly by four MPAs.[3][2]: 3–16 

The major industries of Bannu are cloth weaving, sugar mills and the manufacturing of cotton fabrics, machinery and equipment. It is known for its weekly Jumma fair. The district forms a basin drained by the Kurram and Gambila (or Tochi) rivers, which originate in the hills of Waziristan. Although Bannu is surrounded by rugged and dry mountains, it is a fertile place, and early English visitors had been known to refer to it as a "paradise" – see the description by Edwardes quoted by Thornton.[2]: 6–7 

Physical features[edit]

The district forms a basin drained by the Kurram River , Gambila River and Tochi river[4]: 392  which originate in the hills of Waziristan. The Bannu Valley proper stretches to the foot of the frontier hills, forming an irregular oval, measuring 60 miles (97 km) from north to south and 40 miles (64 km) from east to west.[5]

History[edit]

See also: Bannu

The history of Bannu goes back to prehistoric times, due to its strategic location. Sheri Khan Tarakai is an ancient settlement site located in the Bannu District with ruins of the oldest known village settlement in the Bannu region, which was occupied from the late fifth until the early third millennium BC.[6]

The sacred texts of Zend Avesta and Vendidad mentions Varəna, the Avestan predecessor of the name for Bannu, as one of the sixteen most beautiful and perfect lands created by Ahura Mazda.[7] Bannu is the homeland and birthplace of Fereydun;[8]: 47–50 

British era (1861–1947)[edit]

After the British annexation of Punjab, then including parts of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), the valley was administered by Herbert Edwardes.[5] As a result of his administration, the region became a source of strong support[clarification needed], during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Although the valley itself was peaceful, it was subject to incursions from the Waziri tribes of the Tochi Valley and the neighbouring hills. The primary export of the region was wheat, Salt and alum were also quarried at Kalabagh.[5]

Malik Jaffar Khan Yousafzai, Rais of Ghoriwala Bannu, A Horse Merchant, Circa 1816-1820

As of 1911, the Indus had no bridges within the district, but was navigable for local boats throughout its course of 76 mi (122 km).[5]

Bannu Jirga (1947)[edit]

Main article: Bannu Resolution

On 21 June 1947 in Bannu, a jirga was held by Pashtun leaders including Bacha Khan, his brother Chief Minister Dr Khan Sahib, the Khudai Khidmatgars, members of the Provincial Assembly, Mirzali Khan (Faqir of Ipi), and other tribal chiefs, just seven weeks before the Partition of India. The jirga declared the Bannu Resolution, which demanded that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan composing all Pashtun territories of British India, instead of being made to join either India or Pakistan. However, the British Raj refused to comply with the demand of this resolution, in response to which the Khudai Khidmatgars boycotted the 1947 North-West Frontier Province referendum for merging the province into Pakistan.[9][10]

Pashtun National Jirga (2022)[edit]

Main article: Pashtun National Jirga

On 11-14 March 2022, the Pashtun National Jirga was held at Mirakhel in Bannu District in order to defend the rights of the Pashtun people in the country. The critical issues which were faced by the Pashtuns were discussed during the jirga in a bid to suggest solutions to them.[11][12]

Administrative subdivisions[edit]

Bannu District is divided into 5 Tehsils and 49 union councils.[13][14]

Provincial and National Assembly Seats[edit]

The district has 4 Provincial Seats in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly[15] while it has 1 seat in National Assembly.[16]

National Assembly[edit]

Election Member Party
2002 Maulana Syed Nasib Ali Shah MMA
2008 Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman MMA
2013 Akram Khan Durrani JUI (F)
2018 Imran Khan PTI
2018 (by-election) Zahid Akram Durrani JUI (F)

Provincial Assembly[edit]

Member of Provincial Assembly Party Affiliation Constituency Year
Sher Azam Khan Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians Bannu-I 2018
Pakhtoon Yar Khan Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Bannu-II 2018
Shah Muhammad Khan Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Bannu-III 2018
Akram Khan Durrani Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F) Bannu-IV 2018

Demographics[edit]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1972 392,468—    
1981 485,240+2.39%
1998 695,260+2.14%
2017 1,210,183+2.96%
Sources:[17]

At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 1,210,183, of which 614,911 were males and 595,248 females. Rural population was 1,160,235 (95.87%) while the urban population was 49,948 (4.13%). The literacy rate was 46.55% - the male literacy rate was 66.84% while the female literacy rate was 26.26%. Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 98.20% of the population.[1]

Religion[edit]

Religion in Bannu District (1941 vs 2017)
Religion Population (1941)[18]: 22  Percentage (1941) Population (2017)[1] Percentage (2017)
Islam Star and Crescent.svg 257,648 87.06% 1,208,054 99.82%
Hinduism Om.svg 31,471 10.63% 275 0.02%
Sikhism Khanda.svg 6,112 2.07% -- --
Christianity Christian cross.svg 699 0.24% 1,494 0.12%
Total Population 295,930 100% 1,210,183 100%

Universities in Bannu[edit]

District Bannu has two Universities with one i.e University of Science & Technology, Bannu (USTB),[19] founded in 2005 by Mr. Akram Khan Durrani, the then Chief Minister, has a full degree awarding status and another one as a campus of the University of Engineering & Technology (UET), Peshawar. USTB offers a wide variety of courses in Science, Engineering and Arts subjects at Bachelors, Master and PhD level. These universities host students from District Bannu, the neighboring districts of Lakki Marwat, Karak, Waziristan as well as from all over Pakistan.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2017)". www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  2. ^ a b c S.S. Thorbourne (1883). Bannu; or our Afghan Frontier. London: Trűbner & Co. ISBN 1314135279.
  3. ^ Constituencies and MPAs – Website of the Provincial Assembly of the NWFP
  4. ^ "Imperial Bannu District". Gazetteer of India. Vol. 6. Clarendon Press. 1908.
  5. ^ a b c d  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bannu". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 3 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 355.
  6. ^ Petrie, C.A., Thomas, K.D. & Morris, J.C. 2010. Chronology of Sheri Khan Tarakai, in Petrie, C.A. (ed.). Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan, Bannu Archaeological Project Monographs – Volume 1, Oxbow Books, Oxford: 343–352.
  7. ^ Michael Witzel, "The Home of the Aryans" people.fas.harvard.edu.
  8. ^ Gherardo Gnoli. Zoroaster's Time and Homeland: a study on the origins of Mazdeism.Published by Istituto Universitario Orientale (1980), ASIN: B0018NEFO0.
  9. ^ Ali Shah, Sayyid Vaqar (1993). Marwat, Fazal-ur-Rahim Khan (ed.). Afghanistan and the Frontier. University of Michigan: Emjay Books International. p. 256. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  10. ^ H Johnson, Thomas; Zellen, Barry (2014). Culture, Conflict, and Counterinsurgency. Stanford University Press. p. 154. ISBN 9780804789219. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2019-08-18.
  11. ^ "Nationalist parties convene jirga on Pakhtun issues". The News International. March 12, 2022.
  12. ^ "په بنو کې درې ورځنۍ "پښتون قامي جرګه" روانه ده". Radio Mashaal (in Pashto).
  13. ^ "Pakistan Tehsil Wise Census 2017 [PDF] (official)" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-11-07. Retrieved 2017-11-11.
  14. ^ Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1 July 2009). "Pakistan: North West Frontier Province District, Tehsil and Union Code Reference Map" (PDF). United Nations Pakistan unportal.un.org.pk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2013.
  15. ^ "By Seat | KP Assembly". www.pakp.gov.pk. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  16. ^ "The Election Commission :: Untitled Page". 2012-11-15. Archived from the original on 2012-11-15. Retrieved 2017-11-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  17. ^ "Pakistan: Provinces and Districts". www.citypopulation.de.
  18. ^ "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1941 VOLUME X NORTH-WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE". Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  19. ^ mskd. "University of Science & Technology, Bannu". University of Science & Technology, Bannu. Retrieved 2022-02-25.

Coordinates: 33°03′38″N 70°33′08″E / 33.06048°N 70.552176°E / 33.06048; 70.552176

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bannu_District&oldid=1079521693"