Bannu District

Bannu District (, ) is a district in the Bannu Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Its status as a district was formally recorded in 1861 during the British Raj.

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.

Geography District 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. It 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.

The district forms a basin drained by the Kurram River, Gambila River and Tochi river 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.

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.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.

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.Michael Witzel, "The Home of the Aryans" people.fas.harvard.edu. Bannu is the homeland and birthplace of Fereydun.Gherardo Gnoli. Zoroaster's Time and Homeland: a study on the origins of Mazdeism.Published by Istituto Universitario Orientale (1980), ASIN: B0018NEFO0.

Malik Dilasa Khan had also fought a successful battle against the Sikh Empire. in which he killed one of the prominent Sikh Military commander Jai Singh Atariwala in the Battle of Bannu.

British era (1849–1947) Bannu District was annexed by the British from its former Sikh rulers after the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848–1849. After the British annexation of Punjab, then including parts of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), the valley was administered by Herbert Edwardes. In 1857 revolt the valley 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.

As of 1911, the Indus had no bridges within the district, but was navigable for local boats throughout its course of .

Jirga 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.

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.

Administrative subdivisions Bannu District is divided into 6 Tehsils and 46 union councils.

TehsilDivisions/Districts of Pakistan Note: Although divisions as an administrative structure has been abolished, the election commission of Pakistan still groups districts under the division namesName (Urdu)Area (km²)Pop. (2023)Density (ppl/km²)

(2023)Literacy rate (2023)Union CouncilsBaka Khel Tehsil() ()367192,797107.8428.25%Bannu Tehsil() ()228644,909106.9749.46%Domel Tehsil() ()425224,428115.5441.38%Kakki Tehsil() ()6692,021109.0142.62%Miryan Tehsil() ()141166,4731,180.6631.77%Wazir Tehsil74537,26250.0216.33%

Provincial and National Assembly Seats The district has 4 Provincial Seats in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly while it has 1 seat in National Assembly.

National Assembly NA-39 (Bannu) ElectionMemberParty 2002 Maulana Syed Nasib Ali Shah MMA 2008 Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman MMA 2013 Akram Khan Durrani JUI (F) 2018 Imran Khan PTI 2018 (by-election) Zahid Akram Durrani MMA

Provincial Assembly Member of Provincial Assembly Party Affiliation Constituency Year Sher Azam Khan Pakistan Peoples Party ParliamentariansBannu-I2018 Pakhtoon Yar Khan Pakistan Tehreek-e-InsafBannu-II 2018 Shah Muhammad Khan Pakistan Tehreek-e-InsafBannu-III 2018 Akram Khan Durrani Muttahida Majlis-e-AmalBannu-IV2018

Demographics

As of the 2023 census, Bannu district has 183,130 households and a population of 1,357,890. The district has a sex ratio of 108.33 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 41.75%: 58.47% for males and 23.84% for females. 445,307 (32.87% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 48,398 (3.56%) live in urban areas.

Religion

+ Religion in contemporary Bannu DistrictReligiousgroup194120172023 Islam 157,09783.74% 1,208,0541,349,35999.61% Hinduism 24,51713.07% 2752790.02% Sikhism 5,2852.82%22~0% Christianity 4670.25% 1,4944,8440.36%Others2320.12%3600.04%1700.01% Total Population187,598100% 1,210,183 1,354,674100%

+ Religious groups in Bannu District (British North-West Frontier Province era)Religiousgroup1881189119011911192119311941 Islam 301,002 337,269 206,429 225,374 219,695 237,674 257,648 Hinduism 30,643 33,832 22,178 20,721 23,509 26,181 31,471 Sikhism 790 1,062 2,673 3,746 3,286 5,482 6,112 Christianity 82 58 183 245 244 964 699 Jainism 60 55 22 0 0 0 0 Zoroastrianism 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Buddhism 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Judaism 0 0 0 0 0 0 Others 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total population 332,577 372,276 231,485 250,086 246,734 270,301 295,930

Language

Pashto is the predominant language, spoken by 99.09% of the population.

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

Bannu District

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