Battagram Tehsil is an administrative subdivision (

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

) of the

Battagram District Battagram (, ) is a tribal Districts of Pakistan, district in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The headquarter is Battagram, which is about 75 km from Mansehra, Mansehra city. It was part of historic Yaghistan (In ...

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# ...

. It serves as the Tehsil headquarters and covers a total area of 300 square miles (780 km²). Battagram Tehsil merged into Pakistan as an administrative region before being raised to the status of a district in 1993. On October 8, 2005, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake in

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

badly affected the area.

Overview and history

Battagram Tehsil is surrounded by Allai,

Shangla Shangla District (, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The district's headquarters are located at Alpuri, while the largest city and commercial center is Besham. The district was established in 1995, having p ...

, and

Kohistan Kohistan (, , ), also transliterated Kuhistan, Kuhiston, Quhistan, may refer to: In Afghanistan *Kohistan District, Kapisa, Kapisa Province ** Kohistan Hesa Awal District, a district in Kapisa Province, created within the former Kohistan Distr ...

to the north and the east, and by the

Kaghan Valley The Kaghan Valley (Hindko, ) is an Alpine climate, alpine valley in Mansehra District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The valley stretches across the northern Pakistan, rising from its lowest elevation of to its highest point at the Babusar P ...

and

Mansehra Mansehra (Urdu, ) is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. By population, it is the List of largest cities in Pakistan, 71st largest city in the country and the List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, ...

to the west. It is separated from Allai by a range of mountains rising to over , and from Mansehra by another range running from the

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

border to the Indus above Thakot. The mountain slopes at the eastern end are forested. The total area of Tehsil Battagram is about 300 square miles (780 km²). Wheat, barley, corn, and rice are grown in the area. Cis-Indus known as the Swatis comprise the dominant tribe. Khan culture is dominant in the Battagram Valley. Historically, the Swatis of Hazara drove Hindus out of the upper Hazara, and then settled in

and Battagram. The valley was ruled by Khans (tribal rulers) until they signed the

Instrument of Accession The Instrument of Accession was a legal document first introduced by the Government of India Act 1935 and used in 1947 to enable each of the rulers of the princely states under British paramountcy to join one of the new dominions of Dominion ...

with Pakistan in 1949. Battagram Tehsil was later merged into Pakistan in 1971 as an administrative part of the Battagram sub-division. In 1993, Battagram was upgraded to the status of a district and Battagram became one of the Tehsil of Battagram district.

2005 earthquake

The Battagram (Tehsil) valley was badly affected by the

2005 Kashmir earthquake An earthquake occurred at on 8 October 2005 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, a territory under Pakistan. Its epicenter was 19 km northeast of the city of Muzaffarabad, and 90 km north north-east of Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, ...

on October 8, 2005. More than 4,500 people were killed, and approximately 35,000 were seriously injured.

Administration

The city of

Battagram Battagram (, ) is a city and Union Council of Battagram District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is located at 34°41'N 73°1'E and has an altitude of 1038 metres (3408 feet). Climate With a mild and generally warm and temperate ...

serves as the Tehsil headquarters; Tehsil is subdivided into 12 Union Councils:

Demographics

Population

As of the 2023 census, Battagram Tehsil had a population of 335,984. The population of Battagram Tehsil was 296,198, according to the 2017 Pakistan Census.

People

The area is mainly inhabited by Pashto-speaking

Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

tribes, the Swati and Syed. The

Pashtun tribes The Pashtun tribes (), are tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who speak the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali, the social code of conduct for Pashtuns. They are found primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan a ...

are divided into many sub-tribes, including Khankhel Swati, Ghouri Bhel (most living in Phagora village), Younas Khel, Khadar Khani, Arghoshal Swati, Behram Khel, Raza Khani, Malakal Swati, Mula Khel, Shams Khel, Deshani Swati, Al-Sadatfamilies, Sahibzadgan, and Nikakhel Akhon Khail. They have fought for the land in the past, but the fighting has ceased for the last decade. The people often solve their problems with

Jirga A jirga (, ''jərga'') is an assembly of leaders that makes decisions by consensus according to Pashtunwali, the Pashtun social code. It is conducted in order to settle disputes among the Pashtuns, but also by members of other ethnic groups who ...

system in villages. People of

do not have any external sources of income and mostly depend upon agriculture.

References

{{Tehsils of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Battagram District Tehsils of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa