Bannu District

District Bannu
District
Map of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with Bannu District highlighted
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Capital	Bannu
Area
• Total	1,227 km2 (474 sq mi)
Population
• Total	677,346
• Density	552/km2 (1,430/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)

Bannu District (Pashto: بنو, (Urdu: ضلع بنوں) is one of 24 districts that make up the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is represented in the provincial assembly by four MPAs. The district's main city is Bannu, near Waziristan.

The major industries of Bannu are cloth weaving and the manufacturing of cotton fabrics, machinery, and equipment. It is famous for its weekly Jumma fair. Bannu is very green place, set amongst rugged and dry mountains, but with very fertile land. Early English visitors had been known to refer to it as a "paradise".

The district has only one University: the University of Science and Technology, Bannu; two long-distance learning education centers: BEST, Sarhad University and Danish Kadda; two post graduate colleges; a Campus of the Engineering University Pshawar, which is affiliated with the University of Engineering and Technology U.E.T, Peshawar; six degree colleges for girls, and, more than 500 primary, middle and higher secondary schools for girls and boys.

Language

Pashto is main language spoken in Bannu specific Khattak dialect. Urdu being National language is also spoken and understood.

Physical features

The district forms a basin drained by the Kurram and the Gambila or Tochi, which run down from the hills of Waziristan. The valley of Bannu proper stretches to the foot of the frontier hills, forming an irregular oval, measuring 60 miles (100 km) from north to south and about 40 miles (60 km) from east to west.

Of the rivers the larger is the Kurram, which upon entering the district at its north-western corner close to Bannu town, runs first south-east, then south into Lakki Marwat. The Tochi river enters the district about 6 miles (9.7 km) south of the Kurram and flows in the same direction into Lakki Marwat, where the rivers eventually unite. Between these rivers and on the left bank of the Kurram in the upper portion of its course, lie the only tracts which are perennially irrigated. For the first 10 miles (16 km) of its passage through the district the Kurram runs between banks of stiff clay which rise abruptly to a height of 10 to 30 feet (9.1 m), and its bed is full of stones and boulders; but lower down it spreads over long stretches of marshland. Its flow is rapid, but it is highly charged with a rich silt which renders it most valuable for irrigation

History

Refer for detail search on the History of Bannu, open http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bannu or enter Bannu in the search window, up in the right corner.

Banusi people have their origins traced back to Arabia, coming from the Khost and Ghazni provinces of Afghanistan.Bannu was noted by the Sanskrit grammarian Pāṇini as the historical country of Varnu. The Chinese pilgrim Hsüan-tsang visited Bannu and Jaguda, Ghazni, while crossing the lands of O-po-kien (Afghans i.e. Pashtuns).

According to Avestan Vendidad, Varəna is one the 16 perfect lands created by Ahura Mazda and it is also associated with Bannu.

The history of Bannu goes back many ages, due to its strategic location. There are many historical relics dating back to the 2nd Century BC. The Akra mounds are one of the relics from the ancient Indus Valley Civilization. There are also relics left behind by Central Asian Invaders en route to the sub-continent.

British era

After the annexation of the Punjab (then including the NWFP)), the valley was administered by Herbert Edwardes on such a thorough level that it became a source of strong support instead of weakness during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. Although the valley itself was peaceful it was subject to incursions from the Waziri tribes in the Tochi Valley and the neighboring hills. Salt was quarried on the government account at Kalabagh and alum was obtained from the same area. But the chief export of the area was wheat.

The modern district of Bannu was originally a tehsil of the old Bannu district of British India, in the Derajat Division of the North-West Frontier Province. The capital Bannu in the north-western corner of the district was the base for expeditions by troops of the British empire to the Tochi Valley and the Waziristan frontier. A military road led from Bannu town towards Dera Ismail Khan.

Upon the creation of the North-West Frontier Province in 1901, the district of Bannu (equivalent to the now defunct Bannu Division), contained an area of 1,680 mi² (4,350 km²) lying north of the Indus, the cis-Indus portions of Bannu was ceded to the Mianwali District of the Punjab.

In 1901 the population was 231,485, of whom the greatest majority were Muslims. The principal tribes inhabiting the district are:

• Banizi: a Pashtun people. The inhabitants of this district have always been very independent and stubbornly resisted the Sikh predecessors of the British.

• Wazir: comparatively recent immigrants from the hills, for the most part peaceable and good cultivators.

The Indus has no bridges within the district, but it is navigable for local boats throughout its course of 76 mi (122 km) (122 km). The main frontier tribes on the border are the Wazir, Bettani and Dawar.

After independence

Bannu became a Divisional Headquarters in 1990, with Nawaz Sharif announcing its upgrade. The district of Bannu was divided into two and Lakki Marwat was separated from it to become its own new and independent district.

Location

Map of Bannu district

The City Location Near Waziristan. Bannu District is approximately 192 kilometers to the south of Peshawar and lies within a sedimentary basin. It is flanked and guarded on all sides by the hard and dried mountain ranges of Koh-e-Safed and Koh-e-Suleiman. It is a scenic part of the southern region, due to the Kurram River and its tributaries, making it a land of meadows, crops and orchards. Every kind of crop and fruit can be grown here, but its banana, dates, figs and rice are especially unique in taste, smell and shape.

Geographically, the modern day Bannu is located in the heart of the southern region with its boundaries touching the districts of Karak, Lakki Marwat and the North, South Waziristan Agencies.

Economy

Bannu is of national economic importance as it is the central market for the whole "Southern Region", furthermore it provides a safe and short route to the Central Asian Markets.

Baran Dam is a unique source of irrigation it is the only dam in Pakistan, situated in a natural low basin area and has never needed reconstruction since its initiation. Bannu has pure drinking water provided to all segments of society...

Industry
-- Bannu Wollen Mills
-- Bannu Sugar Mills
-- Bannu Leather Shoes

Education

From 1974 until 2011 the people of Bannu had been continuously requesting the Federal as well as Provincial Governments to establish a university. Akram Khan Durrani, Chief Minister of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, announced a university would be created in Bannu, University of Science and Technology, Bannu. The Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa substantiated the idea and issued an ordinance regarding its establishment, which started operating in 2005.

Other educational institutes include the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa University of Engineering and Technology Bannu Campus, Bannu Medical College, BEST Bannu (SARHAD University), VU (Islamic Institute of Education & Research), Danesh Gada Bannu and much more.

Demography

The population is 100% ethnic Pashtun. The main tribes are: Bannuchi, Wazir, Mehsud, Dawar, Marwat and some of Bangash. The district has a population of 677,346 spread over an area of 1,227 square kilometres (474 sq mi).

External links

• "History and Settlement of Bannu, Excerpts from Gazetteer of the Bannu District, 1887", Khyber.org