Shangla District
ضلع شانگلہ
شنګله ولسوالۍ
Top: Shangla Top
Bottom: Road near Besham
Location of Shangla district in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Location of Shangla district in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Country Pakistan
Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
DivisionMalakand
HeadquartersAlpuri
Government
  TypeDistrict Administration
  Deputy CommissionerN/A
  District Police OfficerN/A
  District Health OfficerN/A
Area
  Total1,586 km2 (612 sq mi)
Population
  Total759,609
  Density480/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
District Council28 seats
Number of Tehsils5
Websiteshangla.kp.gov.pk

Shangla District (Pashto: شنګله ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع شانگلہ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The district's headquarter is located at Alpuri,[2] while the largest city and commercial center is Besham. The district was established in 1995, having previously been a subdivision of Swat District.[3] The total area of the district is 1,586 square kilometers.[3] Shangla comprises three subdivisions, Alpuri, Puran, Chakesar, Martung and Besham tehsils.

Location

The district is bounded in the north by Kohistan District, in the east by Battagram District and Torghar District, in the west by Swat District, and in the south by Buner District.[3]

Administrative Divisions

History

Shangla was a sub-division of the Swat district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan until it was granted the status of a separate district in 1995, primarily owing to the efforts of Haji Badi uz Zaman, a political leader and community figure, assassinated in 1994, and his son, Afsar ul Mulk.

There are relics of the ancient Greek period at Pirsar, Chakesar and Daut. it is believed that Alexander the Great camped at Pirsar for a few days.[4][5][6] There are also relics of the Hindu Shahi in Olandar-Ajmair.[7] [8]

A number of Buddha sculptures also are also found in district Shangla which indicate that Shangla was also the previous part of Buddhist civilization.[9][10][11]

The district was hit by the 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake in which more than 18 people were killed.[12]

Geography

Shangla district consists of small valleys and is situated between the hillocks and surrounded by high mountains full of forests comprising Pindrow Fir, Morinda Spruce, Blue Pine (Kail), Chir Pine and Deodar Cedar trees. The average elevation of the district is 2000 to 3000 meters above sea level.[3] The highest point (3,440 m) is near Kuz Ganrshal in the north of the district.[3] The Shangla District is connected with the Swat District by the Shangla Pass.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1951 107,731    
1961 121,528+1.21%
1972 179,813+3.63%
1981 251,546+3.80%
1998 434,563+3.27%
2017 759,609+2.98%
Sources:[13]

At the time of the 2017 census the district had 88,386 households and a population of 759,609. Shangla had a sex ratio of 967 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 33.13% - 51.67% for males and 14.50% for females. The entire population was rural. 35.81% of the population was under 10 years of age. 230 (0.03%) people in the district were from religious minorities.[1]

Languages of Shangla district (2017)

  Pashto (96.76%)
  'Others' (mainly Kohistani) (2.69%)
  Others (0.55%)

Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 96.76% of the population. 2.69% of the population spoke languages classified as 'Others', mainly Kohistani languages.[1]

The main tribe of Shangla is Yusufzai, that contribute more than half of the district population, the dense and well populated area of Shangla is Alpuri tehsil (Gwarband) that contribute more than 253000+ of district population, Shangla is one of the unique districts of Pakistan that contains more than 80% of forest land. The youngest noble laurate Malala Yousafzai's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was born in Shangla, however, she herself was born in Mingora, Swat.[14]

Education

In November 2022, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mahmood Khan, inaugurated University of Shangla.[15] The university was earlier a campus of University of Swat.[16]

National and provincial assembly

This district is represented by one elected MNA (Member of National Assembly) in Pakistan National Assembly. Its constituency is NA-31.[17]

Since 2002: NA-11 (Shangla)

ElectionMemberParty
2002Engr Amir Muqam MMA
2008Engr Amir Muqam PML
2013Dr Ibadullah Khan PML (N)
2018Dr Ibadullah Khan PML (N)

Provincial Assembly

Member of Provincial AssemblyParty AffiliationConstituencyYear
Sher Muhammad KhanPakistan People's PartyPF-71 previously Swat1977
Haji Badiu zaman khanPakistan People's PartyPF-73 Previously Swat1988
Haji Badiu zaman khanPakistan People's PartyPF-73 Previously Swat1993
Dr.Afsar ul mulkPakistan People's PartyPF-73 Previously Swat1995
Engr.Hamid IqbalPakistan People's PartyPK-87 Shangla-I2002 Abdul MunimIndependentPK-88 Shangla-II- Shaukat Ali YousafzaiPakistan Tehreek-e-InsafPK-23 Shangla-I2018
Faisal ZebAwami National PartyPK-24 Shangla-II2018

References

  1. 1 2 3 "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2017)". www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  2. PCO 1998, p. 8.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 PCO 1998, p. 1.
  4. Zahir, Muhammad (2018-12-28). "Alexander the Great at Aornos (Mount Pir-Sar), District Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan: Report on Historical and Archaeological Field Investigations (2017 – 2018)". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. Kunwar, Ripu M.; Sher, Hassan; Bussmann, Rainer W. (2021-07-29). Ethnobotany of the Himalayas. Springer Nature. p. 1645. ISBN 978-3-030-57408-6.
  6. Pakistan Quarterly. Pakistan Publications. 1965. p. 62.
  7. Shangla – Government of Pakistan tourism site
  8. "Attempt to steal Shangla Buddhist sculpture fails". The Express Tribune. 2021-03-07. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  9. Bacha, Umar (2018-11-16). "Stone-carved Buddha defaced by Shangla people". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  10. Pakistan Affairs. Information Division, Embassy of Pakistan. 1980.
  11. "Earthquake death toll rises to 363 in Pakistan - SAMAA".
  12. "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  13. "Malala Fund".
  14. "CM inaugurates university in Shangla". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  15. "Shangla Campus (Alpuri) – UNIVERSITY OF SWAT". Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  16. "Election Commission of Pakistan". Archived from the original on 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2015-11-06.

Bibliography

  • 1998 District Census report of Shangla. Census publication. Vol. 106. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.

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