Dera Ismail Khan (;

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

and , ), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of

Dera Ismail Khan District Dera Ismail Khan District (Urdu and , ), often abbreviated as D.I. Khan is a district in the Dera Ismail Khan division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The capital of the district is the town of Dera Ismail Khan. The district has ...

, located in

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 ...

, Pakistan. It is the 10th largest city of Pakistan and third or fourth largest in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population. Dera Ismail Khan is situated on the west bank of the

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

, at its junction with the

Gomal River The Gomal (, ) is a river in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It rises in northern Afghanistan's Paktika Province and joins the Indus River 20 miles south of Dera Ismail Khan, in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Gomal University in Dera Ismail ...

. It is south of the provincial capital

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

, and northwest of

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Etymology

In the local language, the word ''ḍerā'' means "tent, encampment", and is commonly found in the name of towns in the

Indus Valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans- Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the disp ...

such as

Dera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan, abbreviated as D.G. Khan, is a city in the southwestern part of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 16th most-populous city in Punjab and List of most p ...

and

Dera Bugti Dera Bugti ( Balochi: , Urdu: ) is a district within the Balochistan province of Pakistan. It was established as a separate district in 1983. Administration The district is administratively divided into the following five tehsils (subdivisio ...

. It is named after Dodai mercenary Ismail Khan, son of

Malik Sohrab Dodai Malik Sohrab Dodai was a Baloch mercenary who moved to Multan (Punjab) in the late 15th century with his father Mir Doda Khan at the behest of the Langah Sultanate dynasty. He was accompanied by his sons, Ghazi Khan, Fateh Khan, and Ismail Khan. ...

, who founded the town. As such the name of the city means "Camp of Ismail Khan."

History

Foundation

Early history

The region around Dera Ismail Khan has been inhabited for millennia, as evidenced by the nearby site of

Rehman Dheri Rehman Dheri or sometime Rahman Dheri () is a Pre-Harappan Archaeological Site situated near Dera Ismail Khan in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. This is one of the oldest urbanised centres found to date in South Asia. Dated (3300 - ...

— a

pre-Harappan Several periodisations are employed for the periodisation of the Indus Valley Civilisation. While the Indus Valley Civilisation was divided into Early, Mature, and Late Harappan by archaeologists like Mortimer Wheeler, newer periodisations incl ...

archaeological site dating back from 3300 BCE. In the seventh century, the city had a large population of

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

s and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Medieval history

D. I. Khan is located in the historical

Derajat Derajat (Urdu: , the plural of the word 'dera' ) is a historical and cultural region in central Pakistan, bounded by the Indus River to the east and the Sulaiman Mountains to the west. It is located in the area where the provinces of Punjab, Paki ...

region, which was established in the 15th century, when

Baloch people The Baloch ( ) or Baluch ( ; , plural ) are a nomadic, Pastoralism, pastoral, ethnic group which speaks the Western Iranian, Western Iranic Balochi language and is native to the Balochistan region of South Asia, South and Western Asia, encompas ...

were invited to settle the region by Shah Husayn, of the

Langah Sultanate The Langah Sultanate was a late medieval sultanate based in the Punjab region in the western Indian subcontinent between the 15th and 16th centuries. It was the dominant power of the lower Doab tract with Multan at its centre. The Langah Sult ...

. Baloch settlers were assimilated through the, later waves of

Pashtun 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 ...

settlement, although villagers along the alluvial plains are typically Baloch or

Jat The Jat people (, ), also spelt Jaat and Jatt, are a traditionally agricultural community in Northern India and Pakistan. Originally pastoralists in the lower Indus river-valley of Sindh, many Jats migrated north into the Punjab region in l ...

. Dera Ismail Khan region was part of

Multan Subah Multan is the fifth-most populous city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the sixth-largest city in the country; and serves as the administrative headquarters of its eponymous divi ...

of Mughal Empire, though D. I Khan never attained a station of great power or importance before the British period. D. I. Khan grew prosperous as a trading centre for Powindah nomads, during Nader Shah's invasion of the Mughal Empire. D. I. Khan was ruled by nine generations of Baloch leaders descended directly from Ismail Khan. The last, Nusrat Khan, was removed from power after the city was captured by

Ahmad Shah Durrani Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan. Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...

in 1750. In 1794, the city was granted to Nawab Muhammad Khan Sadozai by

Shahzada Kamran Durrani Kamran Mirza Durrani (Pashto/ Persian: کامران میرزا دورانی) was the last Durrani ruler of Herat from 1826 to 1842. He was the son and successor of Mahmud Shah Durrani (). During Kamran Mirza's early life, a lengthy struggle for ...

Re establishment of the city

The original town was swept away by flooding on the Indus River in 1823. The present city was founded by Nawab Sher Muhammad Khan of the Saddozai clan in 1825, and now stands four miles (6 km) away from the permanent channel of the river, atop a small plateau. Nawab Sadozai took into consideration the opinions of Diwan Lakhi Mal and Tej Bhan Nandwani for the city's reconstruction. Architects were brought in from Punjab, who designed a city where Hindus would live south of the city center and Muslims north of it. Four bazaars were laid in each of the cardinal directions, with all four converging in the town's central '' Chowgalla''. The rebuilt city contained a large bazaar for Afghan traders, and the city prospered from trade via the

Gomal Pass Gomal Pass () is a mountain pass on the Durand Line border between Afghanistan and the southeastern portion of South Waziristan in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. It takes its name from the Gomal River and is midway between the ...

. An eight foot mud wall with nine gates was built around the city during this time as well, some of which such as the ''Kaneran Wala'' and ''Sakki'' survive until today. All existing buildings date from no earlier than the 19th century.Dera Ismail Khān Town – Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 11, p. 269
Dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved on 2012-06-01.

Sikh rule (1821–1849)

Dera Ismail Khan remained under

Sadozai Sadozai, also Sudhozai, Sudhazai, may refer to: * Sadozai (Pashtun tribe), a major tribe from Afghanistan and Pakistan * Wazirzada Sadozai (Pashtun tribe), a branch of the Sadozai tribe, concentrated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa * Sadozai dynasty, was ...

rule from the nearby town of

Mankera Mankera ( Saraiki and ) is the principal town of Mankera Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of Bhakkar District, in the Punjab province of Pakistan.Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

ruler Maharaja

Nau Nihal Singh Kunwar Nau Nihal Singh (9 March 1821 – 5 November 1840) was the third maharaja of the Sikh Empire, ruling from 1839 until his death in 1840. He was the only son of Maharaja Kharak Singh and his consort, Maharani Chand Kaur. He was known as ...

of the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...

in 1836. Diwan Lakhi Mal appointed city's ''Kardar'' ruler, though the Nawabs of the city from the Durrani order were allowed to maintain their title and some income. The city suffered under punitive taxes that lead to frequent complaints in the Sikh ''Darbar'' at Lahore, resulting in several changes of ''Kardar''.

Colonial British India era

D. I. Khan's first deputy commissioner under

British Indian Empire The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

was General Henry Charles Van Cortland, who arrived in February 1848, before departing later that year to quell a revolt in nearby

. Following the defeat of rebels at Multan, Lieutenant Butler was made the next deputy commissioner of D. I. Khan and

Bannu Bannu (, ), also called Bani Gul or Bani (, ) is a city located on the Kurram River in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the capital of Bannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of the Banuchi tribe and speak Banuch ...

. Under his rule, city's infrastructure and colonial administration system were established in which top posts were exclusively occupied by the British. The city was on the edge of the Tribal Areas — lands that were frequently in rebellion against British Indian Empire. The town did not rise up in revolt against British Indian Empire during the 1857

Sepoy Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the form ...

. In 1861, D. I. Khan was made into the Divisional Capital of the new

Dera Ismail Khan Division Dera Ismail Khan Division is an administrative division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It is the southernmost division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. CNIC code of Dera Ismail Khan Division is 12. Location Dera Ismail Khan Division borders ...

: analogous to a British county. The municipality was constituted in 1867, while the Dera Ismail Khan Cantonment was established in 1894. By 1881 the city's population was 22,164. The military

cantonment A cantonment (, , or ) is a type of military base. In South Asia, a ''cantonment'' refers to a permanent military station (a term from the British Raj). In United States military parlance, a cantonment is, essentially, "a permanent residential ...

area, which lies southeast of the town, had an area of , excluding the portion known as Fort Akalgarh on the northwest side. The Dera Ismail Brigade had its winter headquarters at Dera Ismail Khan, and the garrison consisted of a mountain battery, a regiment of Native cavalry, and three regiments of Native infantry. Detachments from these regiments helped to garrison the outposts of Drazinda, Jandola, and Jatta. The "Civil Lines" neighborhood was built to the south. The town possessed a civil hospital; its chief educational institutions were two aided Anglo-vernacular high schools, one maintained by the Church Missionary Society and the other by the Bharatri Sabha, and an Anglo-vernacular middle school maintained by the municipality. According to the 1901 census, the population of Dera Ismail Khan was 31,737, of whom 18,662 were Muslims, 11,486 Hindus, and 1,420 Sikhs. Of the total, 3,450 lived in the cantonment. The predominantly Muslim population (which accounted for more than 80 % of the local population of Dera Ismail Khan) supported the

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties British India *All-India Muslim League, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan ** Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organization above **Unionist Muslim L ...

and the

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

. After the

Partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

and independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

s and

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

s migrated to India, while the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

migrants from India settled in Dera Ismail Khan. In India, Model Town, Vijay Nagar and Derawal Nagar colony in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

absorbed many Hindu former residents of D. I. Khan.

After Independence of 1947

Following an influx of refugees following the 1979

Soviet invasion of Afghanistan The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until it dissolved in 1991. During its existence, it was the largest country by are ...

, D. I. Khan's population tripled. During the November 2008 Dera Ismail Khan bombing, Shia religious leader Allama Nazir Hussain Shah was shot dead in a sectarian killing with Shah Iqbal Hussain. During his funeral prayers, a suicide bomber blew himself up, killing nine people and injuring 39. In the January 2009 bombings, 52 people were injured while 16 were killed as three explosions took place in the city. In May 2009, three explosions caused the deaths of five people while nine were injured. On 14 June 2009, eight people were killed while 27 injured in an explosion in Pir Market near a bus stand. On 29 July 2009, two people were killed and four injured when a bomb planted in car detonated near the district court. On May 18, 2010, a bomb planted on a motorcycle exploded near a police van killing 13 people while injuring 14. On 25 June 2011, between 10 and 12 militants of

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current ...

attacked a police station in the nearby town of

Kulachi Kulachi (کلاچی) is a city named after the Kulachi tribe, and is the headquarter of Kulachi Tehsil (an administrative subdivision) of Dera Ismail Khan District in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at at an altitude o ...

, killing 10 police officers. The

Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, its current ...

claimed the responsibility of these attacks. In 2014, the wide-scale

Operation Zarb-e-Azb Operation Zarb-e-Azb (Pashto/ ALA-LC: ; ) was a joint military offensive conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the East Tu ...

was launched against militants throughout Pakistan, which resulted in a greatly improved security environment by 2016, although on January 4, 2017 15 people including five policemen were killed when a remote control planted bomb exploded on Bannu Road. On 17 February 2017, another five people, including four police officers, were killed after unidentified suspects opened fire on a police van near Mission Mor. As part of the 2015 China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, it was announced that D. I. Khan would be the terminus of the

Hakla–Dera Ismail Khan Motorway The M-14 Motorway, also known as the Islamabad–Dera Ismail Khan Motorway () and the Hakla–Yarik Motorway, is a four-lane north–south motorway in Pakistan. The motorway is a part of the Western Alignment of the China–Pakistan Economic C ...

— a four-lane

controlled access A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

motorway, 280 km in length, that is to begin at the M1 near

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

and serve as part of the Western Alignment of the economic corridor. On 3 November 2023, a bomb blast occurred in Dera Ismail Khan, in which a number of people were killed and injured.

Geography

Climate

Dera Ismail Khan has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...

''BWh''), bordering on a hot

steppe climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...

(Koppen: BSh), with sweltering summers and warm winters. Rain mainly falls in two distinct periods: in the late winter and early spring from February to April, and in the monsoon in July and September. D. I Khan is situated at an altitude of 177 metres above sea level.

Demographics

Population

According to 2023 census, Saraiki are main ethnic groups in

in simple majority. Total population of D.I. Khan District is 1,822,916 consists of Males 956,098 & females 866,667 as of

2023 Pakistani census The 2023 Census of Pakistan was the detailed enumeration of the Pakistani population and the seventh national census in the country. It was conducted by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. It was also the first ever digital census to be held in ...

. There are 1,198,862 Saraiki, 582,703

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 ...

, 31,152

, 4,765

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabis, Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a ...

, 863 Sindhi, 791 Balochi, 490

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, the language of the Kashmiris ethnic group People with the nam ...

, 2,738

Hindko Hindko (, , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Pun ...

, 5 Brahui, 18 Shina, 2 Balti, 3

Kalasha A kalasha, also called Pūrṇa-Kalaśa, Pūrṇa-Kumbha, Pūrṇa-Ghaṭa, also called ghat or ghot or kumbh ( , Telugu: కలశము Kannada: ಕಳಶ literally "pitcher, pot"), is a metal (brass, copper, silver or gold) pot with a large ...

& 524 others of total 1,822,916

Transportation

Road

. The city is connected to

via the highway, which further connects it to the provincial capital of

via

Kohat Kohat (; ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. With a population o ...

and

Darra Adam Khel Darra Adam Khel () is the main town of Dara Adam Khel Tehsil (formerly known as "Frontier Region Kohat") in the Kohat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It has gained fame and notoriety for its bazaars packed with gunsmiths and weapons me ...

. Another road connects D. I. Khan to

Mianwali Mianwali (Saraiki language, Saraiki, ) city in Mianwali Tehsil is the capital city of Mianwali District in Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. The Largest cities of Pakistan, 81st most populous city of Pakistan, it is known for its diverse popu ...

through

Chashma Barrage Chashma Barrage is a barrage on the River Indus in the Mianwali District of the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is 304 km northwest of Lahore and 56 km downstream of Jinnah Barrage. The contract for Chashma Barrage works was awarde ...

, and another connects the city to

Zhob Zhob (; ), formerly known as Fort Sandeman is a city and district headquarters of the Zhob District in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Zhob is located on the banks of the Zhob river. It lies 337 kilometres away from Quetta, the capital ...

. The third major road connects it to

Bhakkar Bhakkar () is the principal city of Bhakkar District, Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of the Indus River. It is the 86th most populous city in Pakistan. Administration Bhakkar is the administrative centre of Bhakkar Tehsil, which ...

, situated on the eastern bank of the

. A bridge on the

was constructed in the early 1980s, before which the approach to Bhakkar was made through a boat bridge. Another road connect it to district

Tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...

which further leads towards

Jandola Jandola () is the main town of Jandola Tehsil (formerly known as "Frontier Region Tank") in Tank District, southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is located at the boundary of South Waziristan South Mahsud Waziristan District () was a ...

-AngoorAdda areas of South

South Waziristan South Mahsud Waziristan District () was a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Dera Ismail Khan Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, before splitting into the Lower South Waziristan District and the Upper South Waziristan D ...

district at North west and

Pezu Darra Pezu is a town and union council of Lakki Marwat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located at 32°19'22N 70°44'4E. Darra Pezu is home to Sheikh Badin Sheikh Badin is a famous tourist place in mid of Lakki Marwat and ...

on eastern side. D. I. Khan is at the terminus of the

— a 280-km, four-lane

motorway that is to extend from the Hakla Interchange on the

M1 Motorway The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...

, near

to D. I. Khan.

Air

The city is served by

Dera Ismail Khan Airport Dera Ismail Khan Airport or D. I. Khan Airport is situated 10 km away from the city centre of Dera Ismail Khan, a city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. This is the only airport besides Bannu Airport that connects the southern dist ...

, though no commercial flights operate to the airport.

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control Dera Ismail Khan Populated places established in the 15th century ! Cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa