Sirikot

Sirikot
—  Union council  —
Sirikot is located in Haripur District
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
District	Haripur
Tehsil	Ghazi
Population
• Total	85,000

Sirikot, a word derived from Sir-i-Koh, meaning the top of the hill, is one of the 44 union councils of Haripur District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 34°10'60N 73°43'50E in Ghazi Tehsil - Sirikot village is the principle settlement of the Union Council.

To the west of Haripur Tehsil there is another very beautiful and populous village of the Mashwani's known as Gudwalian (Goodvalley), it is located between Haripur city and Sirikot(Ghazi). It is between 12–14 km from Haripur and is the site of a well known Mosque - the "Ali Masjid". A majority of the population of Sirikot and Gudwallian (Goodvalley) is Pashto speaking, commonly known as Mashwani, a tribe of Syed from Syed Banda Nawaz, famous as Baba Gaisu Daraz who married a lady from Pathan tribe of Kakar. The Hindko speaking community, which is the dominant community in Haripur District overall, is the second major population in this area.

Geography and climate

Due to the high altitude, temperatures in Hazara are cooler than on the plains, though Abbottabad at 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) still has maxima around 32°C (90°F) with high humidity in June and July. Further up, temperatures are cooler, often cooler than the Northern Areas valleys due to the cloudiness. In winter, temperatures are cold, with minima in January around 0°C (32°F) and much lower in the high mountains. Snowfalls are not uncommon even at lower levels.

Hazara lies close to the crossroads formed by the river Indus and the Grand Trunk Road. The Karakoram Highway begins at the town of Havelian and goes north through the division towards China via the Northern Areas. While, the Sirikot village is a mountainous area lying towards the west of Haripur District on West of Tarbela Dam. The nearest Union Council to this is Kundi-Umarkhana, which have Mashwani population in Majority as Sirikot towards Tarbela (Ghazi) side. On the other hand, Gudwalian another populated area of Mashwanis lies towards land area of Haripur city. The climate of Sirikot is better than Haripur on average due to its hilly location on the upper range of Tarbela.

Population

The population of the Sirikot Union Council is around 85,000 estimated in 2005. The total area of Hazara is 18013 km²: See table below.

Demographics and society

Hazara University Mansehra on Map

The area is populated by the Pashto speaking people as their mother tongue, and some others also speak Hindko as their mother tongue. Pashto (which forms a majority in the rest of the province) is predominant in Sirikot, 95% of the population of Sirikot speaks Pashto while most of the remaining speak Hindko. Syed and Mashwani are the major tribe in Sirikot while Awan, Gujjars and few others also live here.

Villages in Union Council Sirikot

Aram Dara, Shatalu Sharief, Sirikot Kalay, Botigram, Gallai, Ghundheray, Sirikot, Serai, Billah, Chountrai, Shanai, Chinarkot, Khairooch, Baghoona, Duraha, Damraha, Kotkay, Pulhari, Damkay, Bugnia, Kukarchaha, Bail, Garhan, Dheri,Sanger, Jabba choi kihari and others.

Sub tribes

The sub tribes of Mashwani residing in the area are sub-sections of the Mashwani include:Manikhel,Jalal Khail,Sahib Khail,Sen Khail (Moolhan), Dura Khail, Bhatal,Haseen Khail,Wares khail, Wahdet khail, Baji Khel, Ludin, Matkani, Roghani, Ganjiyan, Murjankhel, , Janikhel, Rahatkhel, Senkhael.

The Mashwani population of Sirikot was around 50,000 out of total 85,000 of Gujjars from Garhan and Bail area and central village Awan tribes as estimated in 2005.

References

Muhammad Riasat

External links

• Satellite image
• Rehan Mashwani Website
• S U Jan's website
• Syed Saqib Imad's Website
• Sirikot Community Toolbar