Lower Dir District (, ) is a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
in the
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
province of
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
.
is the district's headquarters and largest city.
The Lower Dir district was formed in 1996, when
Dir District was divided into
Upper Dir and
Lower Dir districts.
On 22 January 2023, both ''Lower Dir and Upper Dir districts'' were further bifurcated to create a new
Central Dir District. Lower Dir is famous for its beautiful snow-capped mountains, valleys, and pleasant weather. The primary industry in Lower Dir is tourism, which is now rapidly growing.
Lower Dir district borders with
Swat District
Swat District (), also known as the Swat Valley, is a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Known for its stunning natural beauty, the district is a popular tourist destination. With a populati ...
to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Upper Dir to the north and
Malakand and
Bajaur District to the south.
History
At the time of independence of
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
, Dir was a princely state ruled by Nawab Shah Jehan Khan. Dir was merged with Pakistan in 1969, declared a district in 1970, and split into Upper and Lower Dir in 1996.
Education
* The
University of Malakand is a public university located in
Chakdara.
* The
University of Dir is a newly established university located in Timergara.
Demographics
As of the
2023 census, Lower Dir district has 202,836 households and a population of 1,650,183. The district has a sex ratio of 97.24 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 57.36%: 72.57% for males and 43.16% for females. 542,074 (32.88% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 47,860 (2.90%) live in urban areas.
4,439 (0.27%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians.
Pashto
Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...
was the predominant language, spoken by 99.54% of the population.
Administration
National Assembly
NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and
NA-7 (Lower Dir-II) are constituencies of the
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...
of Pakistan from Lower Dir district. These areas were formerly part of
NA-34 (Lower Dir) constituency from 1977 to 2018. The delimitation in 2018 split Lower Dir into two separate constituencies, NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II).
NA-34 constituency (2002-2018)
Since 2018: NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II)
Provincial Assembly
Tehsils
Notable people
*
Nawabzada Shahabuddin Khan, Former Ruler of Lower Dir
*
Siraj ul Haq, politician
*
Muhammad Bashir Khan, politician
Jehan Alam Khan President / Hea
of World Yousafzai Jirga (WYJ)*
Naseem Shah, cricketer
*
Zahid Khan, Ex-Senator
*
Abaseen Yousafzai, Pashto poet
Gallery
File:Nadi in maidan,dir.jpg, Maidan Valley, Lower Dir
File:Lajbouk Dir Lower.jpg, Lajbouk, Lower Dir
File:Chakdara, Lower Dir-KPK, Pakistan.jpg, Chakdara, Lower Dir
File:Kalpane lower dir asimmuu.jpg, Kalpani Top, Lower Dir
See also
*
Constituency NA-6 (Lower Dir-I)
*
Constituency NA-7 (Lower Dir-II)
*
Education in Lower Dir District
*
Upper Dir District
References
https://senate.gov.pk/en/profile.php?uid=804
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1276499-yousafzai-jirga-chief-vows-to-work-for-pakhtuns-unity
https://www.google.com/search?q=jehan+alam+khan+world+yousafzai+jirga&oq=&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCQgAEEUYOxjCAzIJCAAQRRg7GMIDMgkIARBFGDsYwgMyCQgCEEUYOxjCAzIJCAMQRRg7GMIDMgkIBBBFGDsYwgMyCQgFEEUYOxjCAzIJCAYQRRg7GMIDMgkIBxBFGDsYwgPSAQkxMDk0ajBqMTWoAgiwAgHxBSEaeFU0I0DF8QUhGnhVNCNAxQ&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
External links
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Government website section on Lower DirKhyber-Pakhtunkhwa news website section on Lower Dir
{{Lower Dir Union Councils
Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa