District Bannu
ضلع بنوں
بنو ولسوالۍ‎
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
Websitebannu.kp.gov.pk

Bannu District (Pashto: بنو ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع بنوں) is a district in the Bannu Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Its status as a district was formally recorded in 1861 during the British Raj.[2]: 3  This district constitutes one of the 26 districts that collectively form the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. 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 

Cloth weaving, sugar mills and the manufacturing of cotton fabrics, machinery and equipment are the major industries in Bannu. It is also 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

The district forms a basin drained by the Kurram River , Gambila River and Tochi river[4]: 392  which originate in the hills of Waziristan. Extending its reach to the base of the frontier hills, the Bannu Valley unfolds as an asymmetrical oval, spanning 60 miles (97 km) from north to south and 40 miles (64 km) from east to west.[5]

History

The history of Bannu goes back to prehistoric times due to its strategic location. Notably, Sheri Khan Tarakai is an ancient settlement site located in the Bannu District. Here, remnants bear witness to the presence of the most ancient village settlement within the Bannu region. This site witnessed occupation from the late fifth century to 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 

Ghazi Dilasa Khan was also fought a successful battle against the sikh empire.[9] in which he killed one of the prominent Sikh Military commander Jai Singh Atariwala in the Battle of Bannu.[10]

British era (1861–1947)

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, 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]

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]

Hindus and Sikhs of Bannu migrating to India during the partition of 1947.

Bannu Jirga (1947)

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.[11][12]

Pashtun National Jirga (2022)

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.[13][14]

Administrative subdivisions

Bannu District is divided into 6 Tehsils and 46 union councils.[15][16]

  1. Bannu Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل بنوں)(Pashto: بنو تحصیل‎)
  2. Domel Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل ڈومیل)(Pashto: ډومیل تحصیل‎)
  3. Kakki Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل ککی)(Pashto: ککي تحصیل‎)
  4. Baka Khel Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل بکاخیل)(Pashto: بکاخېل تحصیل‎)
  5. Meryan Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل میریان)(Pashto: میریان تحصیل‎)
  6. Wazir Tehsil
  7. Gumatti Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل گومتی)(Pashto: ګوماتي تحصیل‎)

Provincial and National Assembly Seats

The district has 4 Provincial Seats in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly[17] while it has 1 seat in National Assembly.[18]

National Assembly

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

Provincial Assembly

Member of Provincial Assembly Party AffiliationConstituencyYear
Sher Azam KhanPakistan Peoples Party ParliamentariansBannu-I2018
Pakhtoon Yar KhanPakistan Tehreek-e-InsafBannu-II2018
Shah Muhammad KhanPakistan Tehreek-e-InsafBannu-III2018
Akram Khan DurraniMuttahida Majlis-e-AmalBannu-IV2018

Demographics

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:[19]

At the time of the 2017 census the district had 122,638 households and a population of 1,210,183. Bannu had a sex ratio of 968 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 46.55% - 66.84% for males and 26.26% for females. 49,948 (4.13%) lived in urban areas. 33.64% of the population was under 10 years of age. Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 98.20% of the population.[1]

Religion

Religion in Bannu District (1941 vs 2017)
Religion Population (1941)[20]: 22  Percentage (1941) Population (2017)[1] Percentage (2017)
Islam 257,648 87.06% 1,208,054 99.82%
Hinduism 31,471 10.63% 275 0.02%
Sikhism 6,112 2.07% -- --
Christianity 699 0.24% 1,494 0.12%
Total Population 295,930 100% 1,210,183 100%

Universities in Bannu

District Bannu has two Universities with one i.e University of Science & Technology, Bannu (USTB),[21] 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

References

  1. 1 2 3 "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2017)". www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  2. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 3 4 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. ↑ Rashid, Haroon (2008). History of the Pathans: The Ghurghushti, Beitani and Matti tribes of Pathans. Haroon Rashid. p. 436.
  10. ↑ Chopra, Gulshan Lall (1940). Chiefs and Families of Note in the Punjab. Government Printing. p. 200.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ "Nationalist parties convene jirga on Pakhtun issues". The News International. March 12, 2022.
  14. ↑ "په بنو کې درې ورځنۍ "پښتون قامي جرګه" روانه ده". Radio Mashaal (in Pashto).
  15. ↑ "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.
  16. ↑ 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.
  17. ↑ "By Seat | KP Assembly". www.pakp.gov.pk. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  18. ↑ "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)
  19. ↑ "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  20. ↑ "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1941 VOLUME X NORTH-WEST FRONTIER PROVINCE". Retrieved 14 October 2021.
  21. ↑ mskd. "University of Science & Technology, Bannu". University of Science & Technology, Bannu. Retrieved 2022-02-25.

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

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