Upper Dir District

Upper Dir District (Pashto: پورتنۍ دیر ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع دیر بالا) is a district located in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The city of Dir is its district headquarter. Geographically, it is located in the northern part of Pakistan. It borders with the Chitral district on the north, Afghanistan on the northwest, the Swat district on the east, and the Lower Dir district on the south. It shares 40 to 50 kilometers border with Afghanistan.

Upper Dir District
ضلع دیر بالا
پورتنۍ دیر ولسوالۍ‎
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Top: Jahaz Banda in Kumrat valley
Bottom: Lowaro Top
Location of Upper Dir District (highlighted in red) in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa map
Location of Upper Dir District (highlighted in red) in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa map
Country Pakistan
Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
DivisionMalakand
Established1996
HeadquartersDir
Government
 • TypeDistrict Administration
 • Deputy CommissionerGohar Zaman Wazir, PAS
 • District Police OfficerSSP Mushtaq Ahmad, UNPM
Area
 • Total3,699 km2 (1,428 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[1]
 • Total947,401
 • Density260/km2 (660/sq mi)
 • Urban
44,165
 • Rural
902,256
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
Number of Tehsils6
Main language(s)Pashto ,[2]: 21  Gawri
Websitedirupper.kp.gov.pk

History
Kalkot Kumrat valley,Kakad,{Doag Dair}°Upper Dir

Dir was home to various popular civilizations. It has been the place where the Aryans, the Budhists, and the Mughals survived. It was also a home to the Gandhara civilization. It was invaded by Alexander The Great.

In the sixteenth century, it was invaded by the Yousafzai tribe of the Pashtuns.

In 1898, Yousafzai Pashtun Muhammad Sharif Khan was declared the Nawab of Dir. He was succeeded by his son Nawab Aurang Zeb Khan in 1904, who ruled until his death in 1925. Subsequently, his son Shah Jehan Khan succeeded him and ruled the state for almost 35 years. At the time of the independence of Pakistan, in 1947, Dir was still a princely state, separated from Pakistan. It was no later than 1969, when it was annexed with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. [3] Till 1996, Dir was a unit combined district. But in 1996, the Dir District was divided into Upper and Lower Dir districts.

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1972 251,045—    
1981 362,565+4.17%
1998 575,858+2.76%
2017 947,401+2.65%
Sources:[4]

According to the 2017 census, Upper Dir district had 119,101 households and a population of 947,401. Upper Dir had a sex ratio of 1030 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 46.09% - 64.84% for males and 28.85% for females. 44,100 (4.65%) lived in urban areas. 37.29% of the population was under 10 years of age. 471 (0.05%) of the people in the district were from religious minorities.[1]

Languages of Upper Dir district (2017)

  Pashto (90.78%)
  'Others' (mainly Kohistani) (8.60%)
  Others (0.62%)

Pashto is the predominant language, spoken by 90.78% of the population. Other languages, mainly various Kohistani languages, are spoken by 8.60% of the population.[1]

Administration

Upper Dir District has 6 Tehsils.[5]

National Assembly

This district is represented by one elected MNA (Member of National Assembly) in Pakistan National Assembly. Its constituency is NA-5 (Upper Dir).[6]

Member of National AssemblyParty AffiliationYear
Molana Asad UllahMuttahida Majlis-e-Amal2002
Najum-din KhanPakistan Peoples Party2008
Sahibzada Sebgat UllahPakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf2018

Provincial Assembly

In the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there are three seats for the Upper Dir district. Its constituency is PK-10, PK-11 and PK-12.

Member of Provincial AssemblyParty AffiliationConstituencyYear
Malak Badsha SalehPakistan Peoples Party ParliamentariansPK-10 Upper Dir-I2018
Sahibzada SanaullahPakistan Peoples Party ParliamentariansPK-11 Upper Dir-II2018
Inayat UllahMuttahida Majlis-e-AmalPK-12 Upper Dir-III2018

Towns

Except for the town of Dir and a number of rapidly growing towns along the main road, the population is rural, scattered in more than 1200 villages in the deep narrow valleys of the Panjkora and its tributaries.

Of these, notable villages are

Division of Dir

Popular places[7]


See also

References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Upper Dir District.
  1. "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2017)". www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  2. 1998 District Census report of Upper Dir. Census publication. Vol. 104. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.
  3. "1". The Commissioner Of Malakand, The Government Of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. {{cite web}}: Check |archive-url= value (help)
  4. "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  5. "District Dir Upper".
  6. "Election Commission of Pakistan". Archived from the original on 10 November 2015. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  7. http://www.pdma.gov.pk/documents/District_Tehsil_and_Union_code_Reference_Map_Upper_Dir.pdf%5B%5D

35°12′15″N 71°52′20″E

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