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Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the
North West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November 1901 from ...
(NWFP), is a
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
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# ...
. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the fourth largest province of Pakistan by land area and the third-largest province by population. It is bordered by
Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...
to the south;
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 ...
,
Islamabad Capital Territory The Islamabad Capital Territory is a federal territory of Pakistan, centred around Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. It is located on the northern edge of the Pothohar Plateau, at the foot of the Margalla Hills, in the northwest of the ...
, and
Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir ( ), is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger ...
to the east; and
Gilgit-Baltistan Gilgit-Baltistan (; ), formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative units of Pakistan, administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has b ...
to the north and northeast. It shares an
international border Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...
with
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 ...
to the west. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a varied geography of rugged
mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...
s, valleys, rolling foothills, and dense agricultural farms. While it is the third-largest Pakistani province in terms of both its population and its economy, it is geographically the smallest. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's share of Pakistan's GDP has historically comprised 10.5%, amounting to over US$ 30 billion. The population of the province forms 16.9% of Pakistan's total population and is multiethnic, with the main ethnic groups being the
Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...
,
Hindkowans Hindkowans, also known as the Hindki, is a contemporary designation for speakers of Indo-Aryan languages who live among the neighbouring Pashtuns, particularly the speakers of various Hindko dialects of Western Punjabi (Lahnda). The origins ...
,
Saraikis The Saraikis () are an Indo-Aryan community native to central Pakistan, unified by their use of the Saraiki language and a shared regional identity that transcends tribal and ethnic affiliations. Mostly inhabiting southern Punjab as well as mo ...
, and
Chitralis The Kho (, ), or Chitrali people, are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the Chitral District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan and the Gupis-Yasin District, Gupis-Yasin and Ghizer District (2019–), Ghizer dist ...
. Once a stronghold of Buddhism, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the site of the ancient region of
Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
, including the ruins of the Gandharan capital of
Pushkalavati Pushkalavati, was the capital of the ancient region of Gāndhāra, situated in present day's Pakistan. Its ruins are located on the outskirts of the modern city of Charsadda, in Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 35-42 kilometres ...
(located near present-day
Charsadda Chārsadda (; ; ; ) is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (Urdu: درۂ خیبر; ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by tr ...
. Although it is colloquially known by a variety of other names, the name "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" was brought into effect for the
North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...
in April 2010, following the passing of the 18th Constitutional Amendment. On 24 May 2018, the
National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...
voted in favour of the 25th Constitutional Amendment, which merged the
FATA The Federally Administered Tribal Areas, commonly known as FATA, was a autonomous administrative division, semi-autonomous tribal region in north-western Pakistan that existed from Independence Day (Pakistan), 1947 until being merged with the ...
as well as the
Provincially Administered Tribal Areas The Provincially Administered Tribal Area (PATA) was the former administrative subdivision of Pakistan designated in the Article 246(b) of the Constitution of Pakistan. No Act of Provincial Assembly can be applied to PATA whereas the Governor of th ...
into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The
Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is located in Peshawar, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of t ...
subsequently approved the bill on 28 May 2018; it was signed into law on 31 May by erstwhile Pakistani president
Mamnoon Hussain Mamnoon Hussain (; 23 December 1940 – 14 July 2021) was a Pakistani politician and industrialist who served as the 12th president of Pakistan from 2013 to 2018. He was first appointed Governor of Sindh in June 1999 by President Rafiq Tarar ...
, which officially completed the administrative merger process.


Etymology

''Khyber Pakhtunkhwa'' means the " Khyber side of the land of the
Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...
", where the word ''Pakhtunkhwa'' means " Land of the Pashtuns", while according to some scholars, it refers to "Pashtun culture and society". The province has had various names throughout history. Other names used or proposed for the province include Gandhara, Afghania, Pashtunistan, Pathanistan, Sarhad, Abaseen, Khyber, or a combination of names, such as Hazara-Pakhtunkhwa. When the British established it as a province, they called it "North West Frontier Province" (abbreviated as NWFP) due to its relative location being in the northwest of the
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 ...
. After the creation of Pakistan, Pakistan continued with this name but a Pashtun political party,
Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; , ; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Aimal Wali Khan, g ...
based in the province demanded that the province name be changed to "Pakhtunkhwa". Their logic behind that demand was that
Punjabi people The Punjabis (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Pañjābī) are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region, comprising areas of northwestern India and eastern Paki ...
,
Sindhi people Sindhis are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan Ethnicity, ethnic group originating from and native to Sindh, a region of Pakistan, who share a common Sindhi culture, History of Sindh, history, #History, ancestry, and Sindhi language, langua ...
and
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 ...
have their provinces named after their ethnicities but that is not the case for
Pashtun people 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 ...
.
Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...
, the largest opposition party at the time was ready to change the province's name by supporting the ruling
Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...
and ANP, in a constitutional amendment but wanted to name the province something other than which does not carry only the Pashtun identity in it as they argued that there were other minor communities living in the province especially the Hazarewals of the
Hazara region Hazara (Hindko: هزاره; Urdu: ), historically known as Pakhli, is a region in northern Pakistan, falling administratively within the Hazara Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It forms the northernmost portion of Sindh Sagar Doab, ...
who spoke
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 ...
thus the word ''Khyber'' was introduced with the name because it is the name of a major
pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland *Pass, Poland, a village in Poland *El Paso, Texas, a city which translates to "The Pass" * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see Li ...
which connects Pakistan to Afghanistan.


North-West Frontier Province

For over a hundred years after its founding as a province of
British Raj 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 ...
in 1901, it was known as the
North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ) was a province of British India from 1901 to 1947, of the Dominion of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, and of the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1970 to 2010. It was established on 9 November ...
(abbreviated as NWFP) until 2010 due to its relative location being in the northwest of the nation. Unofficially, it was known as ''Sarhad'' (), derived from the province's Urdu name given to it by the Mughals, which means "frontier". For most of the history of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), there were efforts to change its name. The name ''Afghania'' was proposed first by the founding leaders of 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 ...
in 1933 and was at least partly chosen to represent the first "a" in "Pakistan". The need for a change was explained by the man who named Pakistan in his '' Now or Never'' pamphlet,
Choudhary Rahmat Ali Choudhry Rahmat Ali (16 November 1897 – 3 February 1951) was a Muslim nationalist activist who is credited with coining the name "Pakistan" for a separate Muslim homeland in British India and is sometimes regarded as the originator of the Pa ...
Khan, as: Suggestions for new names came and went. Although some of the names were ethnically neutral, most proposals emphasised the province's Pashtun ethnic identity. The renaming issue was an emotional one which often crossed party lines and not all supporters of a renaming agreed on the name Pakhtunkhwa.


20th-century proposals

By the late 20th century, President
Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...
agreed with
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan () was a Pathan activist and formerly an Indian independence activist from the North-West Frontier Province, and founder of the Khudai K ...
to change the name to ''Pashtunistan'' but he contended that the term Pashtunistan had become controversial and was being politicized by Afghanistan. Ghaffar Khan suggested Pakhtunkhwa, but Zia-ul-Haq asked Ghaffar Khan to suggest an alternative. The name Pakhtunkhwa was approved by the democratically elected constitutional assembly of the province in 1997 by majority vote.Abdus Sattar Ghazali
"Pakhtoonkhwa: Renaming of the NWFP."
''Islamic Pakistan: Illusions & Reality.''
However, the PML (N) parliamentary party of NWFP rejected the ANP demand but called for Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif (born 25 December 1949) is a Pakistani politician and businessman who served as the 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan, prime minister of Pakistan for three non-consecutive terms, first serving from 1990 to 1993, then ...
to suggest another "non-controversial" name. PML (N) members noted that Sarhad was a good name for the province but, if a change was needed, then it should be named Khyber or Abasin. The NWFP chief minister, Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, called for a referendum on the issue as a way of determining the name. These offers were rejected by the ANP leadership and the ANP withdrew from both the federal and provincial governments.


21st-century proposals

The lack of support for a name change by the PML (N) was defended as opposition to the nationalistic politics being pursued by the ANP. In May 2008, to accommodate a demand by the people of NWFP who voted for the ANP, the PPP proposed that the name of the North-West Frontier Province be changed to Pakhtunkhwa, however the Muslim League Nawaz which had considerable support in the
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 ...
-speaking Hazara region of the province announced it might oppose the name change because of it "being on ethnic grounds" because of opposition by its provincial leadership. The name ''Pakhtunkhwa'' was mentioned for the first time in the United Nation's General Assembly by Pakistani President
Asif Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the c ...
on 26 September 2008.


Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The Pashtun nationalist
Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; , ; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Aimal Wali Khan, g ...
based in the province demanded that the province name be changed to "Pakhtunkhwa". Their logic behind that demand was that
Punjabi people The Punjabis (Punjabi language, Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Pañjābī) are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region, comprising areas of northwestern India and eastern Paki ...
,
Sindhi people Sindhis are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan Ethnicity, ethnic group originating from and native to Sindh, a region of Pakistan, who share a common Sindhi culture, History of Sindh, history, #History, ancestry, and Sindhi language, langua ...
and
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 ...
have their provinces named after their ethnicities but that is not the case for
Pashtun people 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 ...
.
Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...
, the largest opposition party at the time was ready to change the province's name by supporting the ruling
Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...
and ANP, in a constitutional amendment but wanted to name the province something other than which does not carry only the Pashtun identity in it as they argued that there were other minor communities living in the province especially the Hazarewals of the
Hazara region Hazara (Hindko: هزاره; Urdu: ), historically known as Pakhli, is a region in northern Pakistan, falling administratively within the Hazara Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It forms the northernmost portion of Sindh Sagar Doab, ...
who spoke
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 ...
thus the word ''Khyber'' was introduced with the name because it is the name of a major
pass Pass, PASS, The Pass or Passed may refer to: Places *Pass, County Meath, a townland in Ireland *Pass, Poland, a village in Poland *El Paso, Texas, a city which translates to "The Pass" * Pass, an alternate term for a number of straits: see Li ...
which connects Pakistan to Afghanistan. In early 2010, the process of renaming proceeded and the Pakistani Senate confirmed the name change to ''Khyber Pakhtunkhwa'' in the 18th amendment to the
Constitution of Pakistan The Constitution of Pakistan ( ; ISO 15919, ISO: '' Āīn-ē-Pākistān''), also known as the 1973 Constitution, is the supreme law of Pakistan. The document guides Pakistan's law, political culture, and system. It sets out the state's outlin ...
with a unanimous 90 votes on 15 April 2010.


Renaming controversy

The name change of the province was met with strong opposition from the people of
Hazara region Hazara (Hindko: هزاره; Urdu: ), historically known as Pakhli, is a region in northern Pakistan, falling administratively within the Hazara Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It forms the northernmost portion of Sindh Sagar Doab, ...
and protests erupted in the region with wheel and shutter jam strikes.
Abbottabad Abbottabad is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in the country and 6th largest in the province by population, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district ...
became the nerve center of the movement. On the 10th of April, the
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police (), formerly known as the Frontier Police, is the provincial law enforcement agency of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. History British colonial era In 1849, the land corresponding to modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhw ...
fired at unarmed protesters, leaving 7 dead and dozens injured. Allegedly, the firing was ordered by the coalition government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, led by the
Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; , ; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Aimal Wali Khan, g ...
. This is one of the earliest incidents of
police brutality Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or Public order policing, a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, b ...
in Pakistan in recent years, occurring before the Model Town Lahore incident, whose FIR has not been registered still today. Arif Nizami, former editor of ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'', said, "This has actually opened a Pandora's box, because of Pakistan's very tenuous polity. Now, on one side, there are identity issues and ethnic issues and provincial autonomy issues. The other side is religious issues and terrorism. It's a very explosive situation."Karin Brulliard
"Tensions over renamed Pakistan province overshadow government reforms."
''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
''. 17 April 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2010.


Alternative proposed names

Many alternative names were proposed for the province. Many of these were designed to avoid or balance the ethnic connotations of Pakhtunkhwa.


Gandhara

The name Gandhāra was proposed by
Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...
, as a neutral name for the province.
Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
was an ancient Indo-Aryan civilization centered in the present-day province. The core of the region of Gandhara was the
Peshawar valley The Valley of Peshawar (; ) is a broad area situated in the central part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The valley is in area, and is traversed by the Kabul River. It has a mean elevation of . The valley takes its name from the c ...
and
Swat valley Swat District (), also known as the Swat Valley, is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Known for its stunning natural beauty, the district is a popular tourist destination. With a population of 2,687,384 per th ...
, though the cultural influence of "Greater Gandhara" extended across the Indus river to the
Taxila Taxila or Takshashila () is a city in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the ...
region in
Potohar Plateau The Pothohar Plateau (, : ''Pо̄ṭhoā̀r Paṭhār''; , ''Satāh Murtafā Pо̄ṭhohār''), also spelled Pothwar, is a plateau in the Sind Sagar Doab of northern Punjab, Pakistan, located between the Indus and Jhelum rivers. Etymology A ...
and westwards into the
Kabul valley Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into 22 municipal districts. A 2025 estima ...
in Afghanistan, and northwards up to the
Karakoram The Karakoram () is a mountain range in the Kashmir region spanning the border of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwestern extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range is withi ...
range. It was attested in the
Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
, and it was one of the 16
Mahajanapadas The Mahājanapadas were sixteen Realm, kingdoms and aristocracy, aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE), second urbanis ...
of the
second urbanisation Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; by 4500 B ...
. The region was a major centre for
Greco-Buddhism Greco-Buddhism or Graeco-Buddhism was a cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism developed between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD in Gandhara, which was in present-day Pakistan and parts of north-east Afghanis ...
under the
Indo-Greeks The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic-era Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" loosely describes a number of var ...
and
Gandharan Buddhism Gandhāran Buddhism was the Buddhist culture of ancient Gandhāra, which was a major center of Buddhism in the northwestern Indian subcontinent from the 3rd century BCE to approximately 1200 CE.Kurt Behrendt, Pia Brancaccio, Gandharan Buddhism ...
under later dynasties, including
Indo-Scythians The Indo-Scythians, also known as Indo-Sakas, were a group of nomadic people of Iranic Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into the present-day regions of Afghanistan, Eastern Iran and the northwestern Indian subcontinent: p ...
,
Indo-Parthians The Indo-Parthian kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian s ...
and
Kushans The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan, Eastern Iran, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Kus ...
. Gandhara was also a central location for the spread of Buddhism to Central Asia and East Asia. Gāndhārī, an
Indo-Aryan language The Indo-Aryan languages, or sometimes Indic languages, are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family. As of 2024, there are more than 1.5 billion speakers, primarily concentrated east of the Indus river in Ba ...
written in
Kharosthi script Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient script originally developed in the Gandhara, Gandhara Region of modern-day Pakistan, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. used primarily by the people of Gandhara along ...
, acted as lingua franca of the region. Famed for its unique Gandharan style of art which is influenced by the classical Hellenistic styles, Gandhara attained its height from the 1st century to the 5th century CE under the
Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a Syncretism, syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan, Eastern Iran, India, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbe ...
, who had their capital at
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 ...
('' Puruṣapura'').


Hazara-Pakhtunkhwa

Some Hazara residents said that the new name should be Hazara-Pakhtunkhwa (in reference to the
Hazara region Hazara (Hindko: هزاره; Urdu: ), historically known as Pakhli, is a region in northern Pakistan, falling administratively within the Hazara Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It forms the northernmost portion of Sindh Sagar Doab, ...
where
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 ...
-speakers are dominant as compared to the Pashto-speakers elsewhere in the province), and others said the name should not be changed since the people were accustomed to North-West Frontier Province.


History


Early history

During the times of
Indus Valley civilisation The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation, was a Bronze Age civilisation in the Northwestern South Asia, northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 Common Era, BCE to 1300 BCE, and in i ...
(3300 BCE – 1700 BCE) the Khyber Pass through
Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...
provided a route to other neighbouring empires and was used by merchants on trade excursions. From 1500 BCE, Indo-Iranian peoples started to enter in the region from
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
after having passed the Khyber Pass. The region of
Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
, which was primarily based in the area of modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa features prominently in the
Rigveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
(), as well as the Zoroastrian
Avesta The Avesta (, Book Pahlavi: (), Persian language, Persian: ()) is the text corpus of Zoroastrian literature, religious literature of Zoroastrianism. All its texts are composed in the Avestan language and written in the Avestan alphabet. Mod ...
, which mentions it as ''Vaēkərəta'', the sixth most beautiful place on earth created by
Ahura Mazda Ahura Mazda (; ; or , ),The former is the New Persian rendering of the Avestan form, while the latter derives from Middle Persian. also known as Horomazes (),, is the only creator deity and Sky deity, god of the sky in the ancient Iranian ...
. It was one of the 16
Mahajanapadas The Mahājanapadas were sixteen Realm, kingdoms and aristocracy, aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE), second urbanis ...
of
Vedic era The Vedic period, or the Vedic age (), is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas (–900 BCE), was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent, between the e ...
. It was the centre of
Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...
and later forms of
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
. Gandhara was frequently mentioned in Vedic epics, including
Rig Veda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
,
Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
and
Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...
. It was the home of Gandhari, the princess of
Gandhara Kingdom Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
.


Alexander's conquests

In the spring of 327 BC
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
crossed the Hindu Kush and advanced to
Nicaea Nicaea (also spelled Nicæa or Nicea, ; ), also known as Nikaia (, Attic: , Koine: ), was an ancient Greek city in the north-western Anatolian region of Bithynia. It was the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...
, where Omphis, king of
Taxila Taxila or Takshashila () is a city in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the ...
and other chiefs joined him. Alexander then dispatched part of his force through the valley of the Kabul River, while he himself advanced into Bajaur and Swat with his light troops.
Craterus Craterus, also spelled Krateros (; 370 BC – 321 BC), was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great and one of the Diadochi. Throughout his life, he was a loyal royalist and supporter of Alexander the Great.Anson, Edward M. (2014)p.24 ...
was ordered to fortify and repopulate Arigaion, probably in Bajaur, which its inhabitants had burnt and deserted. Having defeated the Aspasians, from whom he took 40,000 prisoners and 230,000 oxen, Alexander crossed the Gouraios (
Panjkora The Panjkora River () is a river in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in north-west Pakistan. The river runs through the mountainous northern part of the province, and forms the Kumrat Valley. It passes from Dir, Timergara, and joins with Swat R ...
) and entered the territory of the Assakenoi and laid siege to Massaga, which he took by storm. Ora and Bazira (possibly Bazar) soon fell. The people of Bazira fled to the rock Aornos, but Alexander made Embolima (possibly Amb) his base, and attacked the rock from there, which was captured after a desperate resistance. Meanwhile, Peukelaotis (in
Hashtnagar Hashtnagar (, more commonly known as اشنغر in Pashto) is one of the two constituent parts of the Charsadda District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The name Hashtnagar is derived from the Sanskrit अष्टनगरम् ''Aṣṭanagaram'', "ei ...
, north-west of
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 ...
) had submitted, and Nicanor, a Macedonian, was appointed satrap of the country west of the Indus.


Mauryan rule

Mauryan rule began with
Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (Sanskrit: elp:IPA/Sanskrit, t̪͡ɕɐn̪d̪ɾɐgupt̪ɐ mɐʊɾjɐ (reigned 320 BCE – c. 298 BCE) was the founder and the first emperor of the Maurya Empire, based in Magadha (present-day Bihar) in the Indian ...
displacing the
Nanda Empire The Nanda Empire was a vast empire that governed in Magadha and Gangetic plains with an enormous geographical reach in 4th-century BCE northeastern India, with some accounts suggesting existence as far back as the 5th century BCE. The Nandas ...
, establishing the Mauryan Empire. A while after, Alexander's general Seleucus had attempted to once again invade the subcontinent from the Khyber pass hoping to take lands that Alexander had conquered, but never fully absorbed into this empire. Seleucus was defeated and the lands of Aria, Arachosia, Gandhara, and Gedrosia were ceded to the Mauryans in exchange for a matrimonial alliance and 500 elephants. With the defeat of the Greeks, the land was once more under Hindu rule. Chandragupta's son
Bindusara Bindusara (320 BCE – 273 BCE) () was the second Mauryan emperor of Magadha in Ancient India. The ancient Greco-Roman writers called him Amitrochates, a name likely derived from his Sanskrit title ''Amitraghāta'' ("slayer of enemies"). ...
further expanded the empire. However, it was Chandragupta's grandson
Ashoka Ashoka, also known as Asoka or Aśoka ( ; , ; – 232 BCE), and popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was List of Mauryan emperors, Emperor of Magadha from until #Death, his death in 232 BCE, and the third ruler from the Mauryan dynast ...
, who converted to
Buddhism 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 ...
and made it the official state religion in
Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
and also
Pakhli Pakhli or Pakhal (اردو: پکھلی) is a historical de-facto region consisting of Mansehra District and Battagram District located in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtoon Khwa Province, Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republ ...
, the modern Hazara, as evidenced by rock-inscriptions at
Shahbazgarhi Shahbaz Garhi, or Shahbazgarhi, is a village and historic site located in Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is at an altitude of 293 metres (964 feet). It is about 12 km from Mardan city. It has mountains, green trees ...
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, ...
. After Ashoka's death the
Mauryan The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary sourc ...
empire fell to pieces, just as in the west the
Seleucid The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great, a ...
power was waning.


Indo-Greeks

The Indo-Greek king
Menander I Menander I Soter (, ; ), sometimes called Menander the Great, was an Indo-Greek king (reigned /155Bopearachchi (1998) and (1991), respectively. The first date is estimated by Osmund Bopearachchi and R. C. Senior, the other Boperachchi –1 ...
(reigned 155–130 BCE) drove the Greco-Bactrians out of
Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
and beyond the
Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...
, becoming king shortly after his victory. His empire survived him in a fragmented manner until the last independent Greek king,
Strato II Strato II Soter (, ''Strátōn B΄ ho Sotḗr''; epithet means "the Saviour") also known as Stratha, was an Indo-Greek king. He ruled to 10 CE according to Bopearachchi. R. C. Senior suggests that his reign ended perhaps a decade earlier. He ma ...
, disappeared around 10 CE. Around 125 BCE, the Greco-Bactrian king
Heliocles Heliocles I (, meaning "glory of Helios"; reigned c. 145–120 BC) was a Greco-Bactrian king, a son and successor of Eucratides, Eucratides the Great, and considered the last Greek king to reign over the Bactria, Bactrian country. His reign was a ...
, son of Eucratides, fled from the
Yuezhi The Yuezhi were an ancient people first described in China, Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defea ...
invasion of Bactria and relocated to Gandhara, pushing the Indo-Greeks east of the
Jhelum River The Jhelum River is a major river in South Asia, flowing through India and Pakistan, and is the westernmost of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian-administered territory of Jammu ...
. The last known Indo-Greek ruler was Theodamas, from the
Bajaur Bajaur District (, ), formerly Bajaur Agency, is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Prior to 2018, Bajaur Agency was the northernmost component of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), a semi-a ...
area of Gandhara, mentioned on a 1st-century CE signet ring, bearing the Kharoṣṭhī inscription ''"Su Theodamasa"'' (''"Su"'' was the Greek transliteration of the
Kushan ''Kushan'' or Kushana may refer to: * Kushan Empire The Kushan Empire (– CE) was a Syncretism, syncretic empire formed by the Yuezhi in the Bactrian territories in the early 1st century. It spread to encompass much of what is now Afghanistan ...
royal title ''"Shau"'' ("
Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...
" or "King")). It is during this period that the fusion of Hellenistic and South Asian mythological, artistic and religious elements becomes most apparent, especially in the region of Gandhara. Local Greek rulers still exercised a feeble and precarious power along the borderland, but the last vestige of the Greco-Indian rulers were finished by a people known to the old Chinese as the Yeuh-Chi.


Indo-Scythian Kingdom

The
Indo-Scythians The Indo-Scythians, also known as Indo-Sakas, were a group of nomadic people of Iranic Scythian origin who migrated from Central Asia southward into the present-day regions of Afghanistan, Eastern Iran and the northwestern Indian subcontinent: p ...
were descended from the
Sakas The Saka, old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian Steppe and the Tarim Basin from the ...
(Scythians) who migrated from Central Asia into South Asia from the middle of the 2nd century BCE to the 1st century BCE. They displaced the Indo-Greeks and ruled a kingdom that stretched from Gandhara to
Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...
. The first Indo-Scythian king
Maues Maues (Greek language, Greek: ; (epigraphic); Kharosthi: , , called , on the Taxila copper plate; also called , in the Mathura lion capital inscription,) was the first Indo-Scythian king, ruling from 98/85 to 60/57 BCE. He invaded Indi ...
established
Saka The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...
hegemony by conquering
Indo-Greek The Indo-Greek Kingdom, also known as the Yavana Kingdom, was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic-era Ancient Greece, Greek kingdom covering various parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and northwestern India. The term "Indo-Greek Kingdom" ...
territories. The power of the Saka rulers declined after the defeat to
Chandragupta II Chandragupta II (r.c. 375–415), also known by his title Vikramaditya, as well as Chandragupta Vikramaditya, was an emperor of the Gupta Empire. Modern scholars generally identify him with King Chandra of the Iron pillar of Delhi, Delhi iron ...
of the
Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an Indian empire during the classical period of the Indian subcontinent which existed from the mid 3rd century to mid 6th century CE. At its zenith, the dynasty ruled over an empire that spanned much of the northern Indian ...
in the 4th century.


Indo-Parthian Kingdom

The
Indo-Parthian Kingdom The Indo-Parthian kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian ...
was ruled by the Gondopharid dynasty, named after its first ruler
Gondophares Gondophares I ( Greek: Γονδοφαρης ''Gondopharēs'', Υνδοφερρης ''Hyndopherrēs''; Kharosthi: 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨥𐨪 ', '; 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨥𐨪𐨿𐨣 ', '; 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨂𐨵𐨪 ', ') was the founder of the Indo-Parthian K ...
. For most of their history, the leading Gondopharid kings held
Taxila Taxila or Takshashila () is a city in the Pothohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and is just south of the ...
(in the present
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 ...
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# ...
) as their residence, but during their last few years of existence the capital shifted between
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
and
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 ...
. These kings have traditionally been referred to as Indo-Parthians, as their coinage was often inspired by the
Arsacid The Parthian Empire (), also known as the Arsacid Empire (), was a major Iranian political and cultural power centered in ancient Iran from 247 BC to 224 AD. Its latter name comes from its founder, Arsaces I, who led the Parni tribe ...
dynasty, but they probably belonged to a wider groups of
Iranic Iranian peoples, or Iranic peoples, are the collective ethnolinguistic groups who are identified chiefly by their native usage of any of the Iranian languages, which are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages within the Indo-European langu ...
tribes who lived east of
Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...
proper, and there is no evidence that all the kings who assumed the title ''Gondophares'', which means "Holder of Glory", were even related.


Kushan Empire

The
Yuezhi The Yuezhi were an ancient people first described in China, Chinese histories as nomadic pastoralists living in an arid grassland area in the western part of the modern Chinese province of Gansu, during the 1st millennium BC. After a major defea ...
nomads had driven the
Sakas The Saka, old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian Steppe and the Tarim Basin from the ...
from the highlands of
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
, and were themselves forced southwards by the nomadic
Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...
. One group, known as the Kushan, took the lead, and its chief, Kadphises I, seized vast territories extending south to the
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
valley. His son Kadphises II conquered North-Western India, which he governed through his generals. His immediate successors were the fabled
Hindu king In Hinduism, kingship was a monarchy institution guided by the religious laws of Hinduism, with corresponding complex and hierarchical structure. Hindu monarchies headed by Hindu kings were widespread in South Asia since about 1500 BC and later i ...
s: Kanishka, Huvishka, and Vasushka or Vasudeva, of whom the first reigned over a territory which extended as far east as Benares, far south as Malwa, and also including
Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian language, Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area ...
and the Kabul valley. Their dates are still a matter of dispute, but it is beyond question that they reigned early in the Christian era. To this period may be ascribed the fine statues and bas-reliefs found in
Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...
and Udyana. Under Huvishka's successor, Vasushka, the dominions of the Kushan kings shrank.


Shahi dynasties

The
Turk Shahis The Turk Shahis were a dynasty of Western Turk, or mixed Turco-Hephthalite origin, that ruled from Kabul and Kapisa to Gandhara in the 7th to 9th centuries AD. They may have been of Khalaj ethnicity."The new rulers of Kabul, who according to ...
ruled Gandhara until 870, when they were overthrown by the
Hindu Shahis The Hindu Shahis, also referred to as the Kabul Shahis and Uḍi Śāhis, were a dynasty established between 843 CE and 1026 CE. They endured multiple waves of conquests for nearly two centuries and their core territory was described as having c ...
. The Hindu Shahis are believed to belong to the Uḍi/Oḍi tribe, namely the people of
Oddiyana (also: ''Uḍḍiyāna'', ''Uḍḍāyāna'', ''Udyāna'' or 'Oḍḍiyāna'), a small region in early medieval India, is ascribed importance in the development and dissemination of Vajrayāna Buddhism.‘Uḍḍiyāna and Kashmir’, pp 265-2 ...
(modern Swat) in Gandhara, although they are also variously stated to be Brāhmāns or Kshātriyas. The first king Kallar had moved the capital into Udabandhapura from Kabul, in the modern village of Hund for its new capital. At its zenith, the kingdom stretched over the
Kabul Valley Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into 22 municipal districts. A 2025 estima ...
, Gandhara and western
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 ...
under
Jayapala Jayapala was a ruler of the Hindu Shahi dynasty from 964 to 1001 CE. He ruled over the area which stretched from Laghman in the west, to Kashmir in the east and from Sirhind to Multan. He was the son of Hutpal and the father of Anandapala. ...
. Jayapala saw a danger in the consolidation of the Ghaznavids and invaded their capital city of
Ghazni Ghazni (, ), historically known as Ghaznayn () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana (), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan with a population of around 190,000 people. The city is strategica ...
both in the reign of Sebuktigin and in that of his son
Mahmud Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Given name Mahmood * Mahmood Ali (1928 ...
, which initiated 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 ...
Ghaznavid and Hindu Shahi struggles. Sebuk Tigin, however, defeated him, and he was forced to pay an indemnity. Jayapala defaulted on the payment and took to the battlefield once more. Jayapala however, lost control of the entire region between the Kabul Valley and
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 ...
. In the year 1001, soon after Sultan Mahmud came to power and was occupied with the Qarakhanids north of the
Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...
, Jaipal attacked Ghazni once more and upon suffering yet another defeat by the powerful Ghaznavid forces, near present-day
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 ...
. After the Battle of Peshawar, he died because of regretting as his subjects brought disaster and disgrace to the Shahi dynasty. Jayapala was succeeded by his son
Anandapala The Hindu Shahis, also referred to as the Kabul Shahis and Uḍi Śāhis, were a dynasty established between 843 CE and 1026 CE. They endured multiple waves of conquests for nearly two centuries and their core territory was described as having c ...
, who along with other succeeding generations of the Shahiya dynasty took part in various unsuccessful campaigns against the advancing Ghaznvids but were unsuccessful. The Hindu rulers eventually exiled themselves to the
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 ...
Siwalik The Sivalik Hills, also known as Churia Hills, are a mountain range of the outer Himalayas. The literal translation of "Sivalik" is 'tresses of Shiva'. The hills are known for their numerous fossils, and are also home to the Soanian Middle Pale ...
Hills.


Ghaznavids

After the battle of Peshawar, Mahmud of Ghazni had secured controlled over southern regions of Pakhtunkhwa. He also (1024 and 1025) raided the
Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...
. His descendants reigned till 1179, when Muhammad of Ghor took Peshawar, making it part of his expanding
Ghurid Empire The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; ; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty of eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Tajik people, Tajik origin, which ruled from the 8th-century in the region of Ghor, and became an Emp ...
.


Delhi sultanate

Following the invasion by the Ghurids, five unrelated heterogeneous dynasties ruled over the Delhi Sultanate sequentially: the Mamluk dynasty (1206–1290), the
Khalji dynasty The Khalji or Khilji dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate for three decades between 1290 and 1320. It was the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate which covered large swaths of the Indian subcontinent.
(1290–1320), the
Tughlaq dynasty The Tughlaq dynasty (also known as the Tughluq or Tughluk dynasty; ) was the third dynasty to rule over the Delhi Sultanate in medieval India. Its reign started in 1320 in Delhi when Ghazi Malik assumed the throne under the title of Ghiyath ...
(1320–1414), the
Sayyid dynasty The Sayyid dynasty was the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451 for 37 years.See: * M. Reza Pirbha, Reconsidering Islam in a South Asian Context, , Brill * The Islamic frontier in the east: Expansion ...
(1414–1451), and the
Lodi dynasty The Lodi dynasty was an Afghan royal family that ruled Sultanate of Delhi from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Lodi when he replaced the Sayyid dynasty. Bahlul Lodi Followin ...
(1451–1526). Meanwhile, the
Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...
now appeared as a political factor. At the close of the fourteenth century they were firmly established in their present-day demographics south of Kohat, and in 1451 Bahlol Lodi's accession to the throne of Delhi gave them a dominant position in
Northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...
.
Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai (, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ), or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( Malakand, Dir, Swat, Shangl ...
tribes from the Kabul and Jalalabad valleys began migrating to the
Valley of Peshawar The Valley of Peshawar (; ) is a broad area situated in the central part of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The valley is in area, and is traversed by the Kabul River. It has a mean elevation of . The valley takes its name from the c ...
beginning in the 15th century, and displaced the Swatis of the Bhittani confederation and
Dilazak Dilazak is a Pushtun tribe from Karlani Division of Afghans. History Around 1520, a Pashtun tribe, the Yousafzai, was expelled from Kabul by Mirza Ulugh Beg, a Timurid ruler and paternal uncle of the Mughal Emperor Babur. The Yusufzai migrat ...
Pashtun tribes across 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 ...
to
Hazara Division Hazara Division is an administrative Divisions of Pakistan, division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located along the Indus River and comprises eight districts: Abbottabad District, Abbottabad, Mansehra District, Mansehr ...
.


Mughal empire

Mughal suzerainty over the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region was partially established after Babar, the founder of the Mughal Empire, invaded the region in 1505 CE via the
Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (Urdu: درۂ خیبر; ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by tr ...
. The Mughal Empire noted the importance of the region as a weak point in their empire's defences, and determined to hold Peshawar and Kabul at all cost against any threats from the Uzbek '' Shaybanids''. He was forced to retreat westwards to
Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
but returned to defeat the Lodis in July 1526, when he captured Peshawar from
Daulat Khan Lodi Daulat Khan Lodi ( Persian: دولت خان لودی) was the governor of Lahore during the reign of Sikandar Khan and Ibrahim Lodi, the last rulers of the Lodi dynasty. Due to disaffection with Ibrahim, Daulat invited Babur to invade the emp ...
, though the region was never considered to be fully subjugated to the Mughals. Under the reign of Babar's son,
Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...
, a direct Mughal rule was briefly challenged with the rise of the Pashtun Emperor,
Sher Shah Suri Sher Shah Suri (born Farid al-Din Khan; 1472 or 1486 – 22 May 1545), also known by his title Sultan Adil (), was the ruler of Bihar from 1530 to 1540, and Sultan of Hindustan from 1540 until his death in 1545. He defeated the Mughal Empire, ...
, who began construction of the famous
Grand Trunk Road Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It r ...
– which links Kabul, Afghanistan with
Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...
,
Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
over 2000 miles to the east. Later, local rulers once again pledged loyalty to the Mughal emperor.
Yusufzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai (, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ), or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( Malakand, Dir, Swat, Shangl ...
tribes rose against Mughals during the Yusufzai Revolt of 1667, and engaged in pitched-battles with Mughal battalions in Peshawar and
Attock Attock ( Punjabi, ), formerly known as Campbellpur (Punjabi, ), is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 36th largest city in the Punjab and 61st largest c ...
.
Afridi The Afrīdī ( ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ) are a Pashtun tribe present mostly in tribal areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The Afridis are most dominant in the Spin Ghar range west of Peshawar in Tribal areas of modern-day Khyb ...
tribes resisted Aurangzeb rule during the Afridi Revolt of the 1670s. The Afridis massacred a Mughal battalion in the
Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (Urdu: درۂ خیبر; ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by tr ...
in 1672 and shut the pass to lucrative trade routes. Following another massacre in the winter of 1673, Mughal armies led by Emperor
Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...
himself regained control of the entire area in 1674, and enticed tribal leaders with various awards in order to end the rebellion. Referred to as the "Father of Pashto Literature" and hailing from the city of
Akora Khattak Akora Khattak ( , Urdu: اکوڑہ خٹک ) or Sarai Akora is a town in the Jehangira tehsil of the Nowshera District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Its location is adjacent to the Kabul River, which converges with the Indus Riv ...
, the warrior-poet
Khushal Khan Khattak Khushal Khan Khattak (Pashto: خوشال خان خټک; ; 1613 – 20 February 1689), also known as Khushal Baba (), was a 17th-century Afghan Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them from Pa ...
actively participated in the revolt against the Mughals and became renowned for his poems that celebrated the rebellious Pashtun warriors. On 18 November 1738, Peshawar was captured from the Mughal governor Nawab Nasir Khan by the Afsharid armies during the Persian invasion of the Mughal Empire under
Nader Shah Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...
.


Durrani Empire

The area fell subsequently under the rule of
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 ...
, founder of the
Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...
, following a grand nine-day long assembly of leaders, known as the ''
loya 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 ...
''. In 1749, the Mughal ruler was induced to cede
Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
, the
Punjab region 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 ...
and the important trans
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 ...
to Ahmad Shah in order to save his capital from the Durrani attack. Ahmad Shah invaded the remnants of the Mughal Empire a third time, and then a fourth, consolidating control over the Kashmir and Punjab regions. In 1757, he captured Delhi and sacked Mathura, but permitted the Mughal dynasty to remain in nominal control of the city as long as the ruler acknowledged Ahmad Shah's suzerainty over Punjab, Sindh, and Kashmir. Leaving his second son Timur Shah to safeguard his interests, Ahmad Shah left India to return to Afghanistan. Their rule was interrupted by a brief invasion of the Hindu
Marathas The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
, who ruled over the region following the 1758 Battle of Peshawar for eleven months till early 1759 when the Durrani rule was re-established.Schofield, Victoria, "Afghan Frontier: Feuding and Fighting in Central Asia", London: Tauris Parke Paperbacks (2003), page 47 Under the reign of Timur Shah, the Mughal practice of using Kabul as a summer capital and Peshawar as a winter capital was reintroduced, Peshawar's Bala Hissar Fort served as the residence of Durrani kings during their winter stay in Peshawar.
Mahmud Shah Durrani Mahmud Shah Durrani (Pashto/ Persian: ); 1769 – 18 April 1829) was born prince and later ruler of the Durrani Empire (Afghanistan) between 1801 and 1803, and again between 1809 and 1818. From 1818 to 1829 he was the ruler of Herat. From an eth ...
became king, and quickly sought to seize Peshawar from his half-brother,
Shah Shujah Durrani Shah Shuja Durrani (Pashto/ Persian: ; November 1785 – 5 April 1842) was the ruler of the Durrani Empire from 1803 to 1809. He then ruled from 1839 until his death in 1842. A son of Timur Shah Durrani, Shuja was of the Saddozai line of the A ...
. Shah Shujah was then himself proclaimed king in 1803, and recaptured Peshawar while Mahmud Shah was imprisoned at Bala Hissar fort until his eventual escape. In 1809, the British sent an emissary to the court of Shah Shujah in Peshawar, marking the first diplomatic meeting between the British and Afghans. Mahmud Shah allied himself with the ''Barakzai'' Pashtuns, and amassed an army in 1809, and captured Peshawar from his half-brother, Shah Shujah, establishing Mahmud Shah's second reign, which lasted under 1818.


Sikh Empire

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...
invaded Peshawar in 1818 and captured it from the Durrani Empire. 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 ...
based in Lahore did not immediately secure direct control of the Peshawar region, but rather paid nominal
tribute A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...
to Jehandad Khan of Khattak, who was nominated by Ranjit Singh to be ruler of the region. After Ranjit Singh's departure from the region, Khattak's rule was undermined and power seized by Yar Muhammad Khan. In 1823, Ranjit Singh returned to capture Peshawar, and was met by the armies of Azim Khan at Nowshera. Following the Sikh victory at the Battle of Nowshera, Ranjit Singh re-captured Peshawar. Rather than re-appointing Jehandad Khan of Khattak, Ranjit Singh selected Yar Muhammad Khan to once again rule the region. The Sikh Empire annexed the lower parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region following advances from the armies of
Hari Singh Nalwa Hari Singh Nalwa (29 April 1791 – 30 April 1837) was the commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army, Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshaw ...
. An 1835 attempt by
Dost Muhammad Khan Dost Mohammad Khan Barakzai (Pashto/; 23 December 1792 – 8 June 1863), nicknamed the Amir-i Kabir, was the founder of the Barakzai dynasty and one of the prominent rulers of Afghanistan during the First Anglo-Afghan War. With the decline of ...
to re-occupy Peshawar failed when his army declined to engage in combat with the Dal Khalsa. Dost Muhammad Khan's son, Mohammad Akbar Khan engaged with Sikh forces the
Battle of Jamrud The Battle of Jamrud was fought between the forces of the Emirate of Afghanistan under Wazir Akbar Khan, and the Sikh Empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh on 30 April 1837. The Afghans confronted the Sikh forces at Jamrud. The garrisoned army was ...
of 1837, in which prominent sikh commander Hari Singh was killed. During Sikh rule, an Italian named Paolo Avitabile was appointed an administrator of Peshawar in 1838, and is remembered for having unleashed a reign of fear there. The city's famous Mahabat Khan, built in 1630 in the Jeweller's Bazaar, was badly damaged and desecrated by the Sikhs, who also rebuilt the Bala Hissar fort during their occupation of Peshawar.


British Raj

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
defeated the Sikhs during the
Second Anglo-Sikh War The Second Anglo-Sikh War was a military conflict between the Sikh Empire and the East India Company which took place from 1848 to 1849. It resulted in the fall of the Sikh Empire, and the annexation of the Punjab region, Punjab and what sub ...
in 1849, and incorporated small parts of the region into the Province of Punjab. While Peshawar was the site of a small revolt against British during the Mutiny of 1857, local Pashtun tribes throughout the region generally remained neutral or supportive of the British as they detested the Sikhs, in contrast to other parts of
British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
which rose up in revolt against the British. However, British control of parts of the region was routinely challenged by Wazir tribesmen in
Waziristan Waziristan (Persian language, Persian, Pashto, Ormuri, , ) is a mountainous region of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan Dis ...
and other Pashtun tribes, who resisted any foreign occupation until Pakistan was created. By the late 19th century, the official boundaries of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region still had not been defined as the region was still claimed by the Kingdom of Afghanistan. It was only in 1893 The British demarcated the boundary with Afghanistan under a treaty agreed to by the Afghan king,
Abdur Rahman Khan Abdur Rahman Khan (Pashto: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) also known by his epithet, The Iron Amir, was Amir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for perpetrating the Hazara genocide, but also uniting the ...
, following the
Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...
. Several princely states within the boundaries of the region were allowed to maintain their autonomy under the terms of maintaining friendly ties with the British. As the British war effort during
World War One World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting took place mainly in Europe and th ...
demanded the reallocation of resources from British India to the European war fronts, some tribesmen from Afghanistan crossed the Durand Line in 1917 to attack British posts in an attempt to gain territory and weaken the legitimacy of the border. The validity of the Durand Line, however, was re-affirmed in 1919 by the Afghan government with the signing of the
Treaty of Rawalpindi The Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919, also known as the Treaty of Rawalpindi, was a treaty which brought the Third Anglo-Afghan War to an end. Background The war had begun on 3rd May 1919 when the new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Kha ...
, which ended the
Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War was a short war which began on 3 May and ended on 8 August 1919. The new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan declared a Jihad against the British in the hope to proclaim full independence, as well as ...
– a war in which Waziri tribesmen allied themselves with the forces of Afghanistan's King Amanullah in their resistance to British rule. The Wazirs and other tribes, taking advantage of instability on the frontier, continued to resist British occupation until 1920 – even after Afghanistan had signed a peace treaty with the British. British campaigns to subdue tribesmen along the Durand Line, as well as three Anglo-Afghan wars, made travel between Afghanistan and the densely populated heartlands of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa increasingly difficult. The two regions were largely isolated from one another from the start of the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1878 until the start of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in 1939 when conflict along the Afghan frontier largely dissipated. Concurrently, the British continued their large public works projects in the region, and extended the
Great Indian Peninsula Railway The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminu ...
into the region, which connected the modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region to the plains of India to the east. Other projects, such as the
Attock Bridge Attock Bridge () is situated between Attock Khurd and Khairabad Kund on Indus River in Pakistan. It is commonly known as "Old Attock Bridge". This bridge is one of the most important strategic and commercial crossing on the Indus River between ...
,
Islamia College University Islamia College Peshawar (ICP) () is a public university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.Khyber Railway, and establishment of
cantonments 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 ...
in
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
Mardan Mardān is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). ...
, and Nowshera further cemented British rule in the region. In 1901, the British carved out the northwest portions of Punjab Province to create the Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), which was renamed "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" in 2010. During this period, North-West Frontier Province was a "scene of repeated outrages on Hindus." During the independence period there was a
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
-led ministry in the province, which was led by secular
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 ...
leaders, including Bacha Khan, who preferred joining
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
instead of Pakistan. The
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin , or or ), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. The origins of secularity can be traced to the Bible itself. The concept was fleshed out through Christian hi ...
Pashtun leadership was also of the view that if joining India was not an option then they should espouse the cause of an independent ethnic Pashtun state rather than Pakistan. In June 1947,
Mirzali Khan Haji Mirzali Khan Wazir (), commonly known as the Faqir of Ipi (), was a tribal chief and adversary to the British Raj from North Waziristan in what is now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. After performing his ''Hajj'' pilgrimage in 1923, Mirzali ...
,
Bacha Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan () was a Pathan activist and formerly an Indian independence activist from the North-West Frontier Province, and founder of the Khudai K ...
, and other
Khudai Khidmatgars Khudai Khidmatgar () was an Indian, predominantly Pashtun, nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-West Frontier Province (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkh ...
declared the Bannu Resolution, demanding that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan composing all Pashtun majority territories of British India, instead of being made to join the new state 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# ...
. However, the
British Raj 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 ...
refused to comply with the demand of this resolution, as their departure from the region required regions under their control to choose either to join India or Pakistan, with no third option. By 1947 Pashtun nationalists were advocating for a united India, and no prominent voices advocated for a union with Afghanistan. The secular stance of Bacha Khan had driven a wedge between the ulama of the otherwise pro-
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
(and pro-Indian unity) Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind, Jamiat Ulema Hind (JUH) and Bacha Khan's Khudai Khidmatgars. There were other tensions in the area as well, particularly those that involved agitations by Pashtun tribesmen against the Imperial government. For example, in 1936, a British Indian court ruled against the marriage of a Hindu girl allegedly converted to Islam in Bannu, after the girl's family filed a case of abduction and forced conversion. The ruling was based on the fact that the girl was a minor and was asked to make her decision of conversion and marriage after she reaches the age of majority, till then she was asked to live with a third party. After the girl's family filed a case, the court ruled in the family's favour, angering the local Muslims who had later gone on to lead attacks against the Bannu Brigade. Such controversies stirred up anti-Hindu sentiments amongst the province's Muslim population. By 1947 the majority of the ulama in the province began supporting 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 ...
's idea of Pakistan. Immediately prior to 1947 Partition of India, the British held a 1947 North-West Frontier Province referendum, referendum in the NWFP to allow voters to choose between joining India or Pakistan. The polling began on 6 July 1947 and the referendum results were made public on 20 July 1947. According to the official results, there were 572,798 registered voters, out of which 289,244 (99.02%) votes were cast in favour of Pakistan, while 2,874 (0.98%) were cast in favour of India. The Muslim League declared the results as valid since over half of all eligible voters backed the merger with Pakistan. The then List of Chief Ministers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chief Minister Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan, Dr. Khan Sahib, along with his brother
Bacha Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan () was a Pathan activist and formerly an Indian independence activist from the North-West Frontier Province, and founder of the Khudai K ...
and the Khudai Khidmatgars, boycotted the referendum, citing that it did not have the options of the NWFP becoming independent or joining Afghanistan. Their appeal for boycott had an effect, as according to an estimate, the total turnout for the referendum was 15% lower than the total turnout in the 1946 elections, although over half of all eligible voters backed merger with Pakistan. Bacha Khan pledged allegiance to the new state of Pakistan in 1947, and thereafter abandoned his goals of an independent Pashtunistan and a united India in favour of supporting increased autonomy for the NWFP within Pakistan. He was subsequently arrested several times for his opposition to the strong centralized rule. He later claimed that "Pashtunistan was never a reality". The idea of Pashtunistan never helped Pashtuns and it only caused suffering for them. He further claimed that the "successive governments of Afghanistan only exploited the idea for their own political goals".


Post-independence

There had been tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan ever since Afghanistan voted against Pakistan's inclusion in the United Nations in 1948. After the creation 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# ...
in 1947, Afghanistan was the sole member of the United Nations to vote against Pakistan's accession to the UN because of Kabul's claim to the Pashtun territories on the Pakistani side of the Durand Line. Afghanistan's
loya 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 ...
of 1949 declared the Durand Line invalid. This led to border tensions with Pakistan. Afghanistan's governments have periodically refused to recognize Pakistan's inheritance of British treaties regarding the region. As had been agreed to by the Afghan governments following the
Second Anglo-Afghan War The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the latter was ruled by Sher Ali Khan of the Barakzai dy ...
, and after the treaty ending
Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War was a short war which began on 3 May and ended on 8 August 1919. The new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan declared a Jihad against the British in the hope to proclaim full independence, as well as ...
, no option was available to cede the territory to the Afghans, even though Afghanistan continued to claim the entire region as it was part of the Durrani Empire prior the conquest of the region by the Sikhs in 1818. During the 1950s, Afghanistan supported the Pushtunistan Movement, a secessionist movement that failed to gain substantial support amongst the tribes of the North-West Frontier Province. Afghanistan's refusal to recognize the Durrand Line, and its subsequent support for the Pashtunistan Movement has been cited as the main cause of tensions between the two countries that have existed since Pakistan's independence. After the Afghan-Soviet War, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has become one of the areas of top focus for the War on terror, War against Terror. The province has been reported to struggle with the issues of crumbling schools, non-existent healthcare, and lack of any sound infrastructure while areas such as Islamabad and Rawalpindi receive priority funding. In 2010, the name of the province changed to "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa". Protests arose among the locals of the Hazara division due to this name change, as they began to demand their own province. Seven people were killed and 100 injured in protests on 11 April 2011.


Geography

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sits primarily on the Iranian plateau and comprises the junction where the slopes of the
Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...
mountains on the Eurasian Plate give way to the Indus-watered hills approaching South Asia. This situation has led to seismic activity in the past. The famous
Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (Urdu: درۂ خیبر; ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by tr ...
links the province to Afghanistan, while the Kohalla Bridge in Circle Bakote Abbottabad is a major crossing point over the
Jhelum River The Jhelum River is a major river in South Asia, flowing through India and Pakistan, and is the westernmost of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It originates at Verinag and flows through the Indian-administered territory of Jammu ...
in the east. Geographically the province could be divided into two zones: the northern zone extending from the ranges of the
Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...
to the borders of the Peshawar basin and the southern zone extending from Peshawar to the Derajat basin. The northern zone is cold and snowy in winters with heavy rainfall and pleasant summers with the exception of the Peshawar basin, which is hot in summer and cold in winter. It has moderate rainfall. The southern zone is arid with hot summers and relatively cold winters and scanty rainfall. The Sheikh Badin Hills, a spur of clay and sandstone hills that stretch east from the Sulaiman Mountains to 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 ...
, separates Dera Ismail Khan District from the ''Marwat'' plains of the Lakki Marwat District, Lakki Marwat. The highest peak in the range is the limestone Sheikh Badin Mountain, which is protected by the Sheikh Badin National Park. Near the Indus River, the terminus of the Sheikh Badin Hills is a spur of limestone hills known as the ''Kafir Kot'' hills, where the ancient Hindu complex of Kafir Kot is located. The major rivers that criss-cross the province are Kabul, Swat, Chitral, Kunar, Siran, Panjkora, Bara, Kurram, Dor, Haroo, Gomal, and Zhob. Its snow-capped peaks and lush green valleys of unusual beauty have enormous potential for tourism.


Climate

The climate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa varies immensely for a region of its size, encompassing most of the many climate types found in Pakistan. The province stretching southwards from the Baroghil Pass in the
Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...
covers almost six degrees of latitude; it is mainly a mountainous region. Dera Ismail Khan is one of the hottest places in South Asia while in the mountains to the north the weather is mild in the summer and intensely cold in the winter. The air is generally very dry; consequently, the daily and annual range of temperature is quite large. Rainfall also varies widely. Although large parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are typically dry, the province also contains the wettest parts of Pakistan in its eastern fringe especially in monsoon season from mid-June to mid-September.


Upper and Lower Chitral Districts

Upper Chitral District and Lower Chitral District, due to their location, are completely sheltered from the monsoon that controls the weather in eastern Pakistan, owing to its relatively westerly location and the shielding effect of the Nanga Parbat massif. In many ways, they have more in common regarding climate with
Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
than South Asia.Mock, John and O'Neil, Kimberley; ''Trekking in the Karakoram and Hindukush''; p. 15 The winters are generally cold even in the valleys, and heavy snow during the winter blocks passes and isolates the region. In the valleys, however, summers can be hotter than on the windward side of the mountains due to lower cloud cover: Chitral can reach frequently during this period. However, the humidity is extremely low during these hot spells and, as a result, the summer climate is less torrid than in the rest of the Indian subcontinent. Most precipitation falls as thunderstorms or snow during winter and spring, so that the climate at the lowest elevations is Köppen climate classification, classed as Mediterranean climate, Mediterranean (''Csa''), continental Mediterranean climate, continental Mediterranean (''Dsa'') or semi-arid climate, semi-arid (''BSk''). Summers are extremely dry in the north of Chitral district and receive only a little rain in the south around Drosh. At elevations above , as much as a third of the snow which feeds the large Karakoram and Hindukush glaciers comes from the monsoon since these elevations are too high to be shielded from its moisture.


Central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

On the southern flanks of Nanga Parbat and in Upper Dir District, Upper and Lower Dir Districts, rainfall is much heavier than further north because moist winds from the Arabian Sea are able to penetrate the region. When they collide with the mountain slopes, winter depressions provide heavy precipitation. The monsoon, although short, is generally powerful. As a result, the southern slopes of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are the wettest part of Pakistan. Annual rainfall ranges from around in the most sheltered areas to as much as in parts of Abbottabad and Mansehra Districts. This region's climate is classed at lower elevations as humid subtropical climate, humid subtropical (''Cfa'' in the west; ''Cwa'' in the east); whilst at higher elevations with a southerly aspect, it becomes classed as humid continental climate, humid continental (''Dfb''). However, accurate data for altitudes above are practically nonexistent here, in Chitral, or in the south of the province. The seasonality of rainfall in central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shows very marked gradients from east to west. At Dir, March remains the wettest month due to frequent frontal cloud bands, whereas in Hazara more than half the rainfall comes from the monsoon.See Wernsted, Frederick L.; ''World Climatic Data''; published 1972 by Climatic Data Press; 522 pp. 31 cm. This creates a unique situation characterized by a bimodal rainfall regime, which extends into the southern part of the province described below. Since cold air from the Siberian High loses its chilling capacity upon crossing the vast Karakoram and Himalaya ranges, winters in central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are somewhat milder than in Chitral. Snow remains very frequent at high altitudes but rarely lasts long on the ground in the major towns and agricultural valleys. Outside of winter, temperatures in central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are not so hot as in Chitral. Significantly higher humidity when the monsoon is active means that heat discomfort can be greater. However, even during the most humid periods the high altitudes typically allow for some relief from the heat overnight.


Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

As one moves further away from the foothills of the Himalaya and Karakoram ranges, the climate changes from the humid subtropical climate of the foothills to the typically arid climate of Sindh,
Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...
and southern
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 ...
. As in central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the seasonality of precipitation shows a very sharp gradient from west to east, but the whole region very rarely receives significant monsoon rainfall. Even at high elevations, annual rainfall is less than and in some places as little as . Temperatures in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are extremely hot: Dera Ismail Khan in the southernmost district of the province is known as one of the hottest places in the world with temperatures known to have reached . In the cooler months, nights can be cold and frosts remain frequent; snow is very rare, and daytime temperatures remain comfortably warm with abundant sunshine.


National parks

There are about 37 List of national parks of Pakistan, national parks in Pakistan, 8 out of these are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.


Demographics

The province is home to 16.9 percent of Demographics of Pakistan, Pakistan's total population. It had a population of 40.9 million at the time of the 2023 Census of Pakistan. About 85% of the population lived in rural areas.


Ethnicity

The largest ethnic group are the
Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...
, who have been living in the region for centuries. It has been estimated that up to one-third of the province's population is non-Pashtun, mainly concentrated in the northern areas. Notable minority ethnic groups include
Hindkowans Hindkowans, also known as the Hindki, is a contemporary designation for speakers of Indo-Aryan languages who live among the neighbouring Pashtuns, particularly the speakers of various Hindko dialects of Western Punjabi (Lahnda). The origins ...
in Hazara, Indus Kohistanis, Kohistanis in Kohistan region, Pakistan, Kohistan and Chitralis and Kalashas in Chitral District, Chitral. The southern district of Dera Ismail Khan District, Dera Ismail Khan has a Saraiki people, Saraiki majority. Around 1.5 million Afghans in Pakistan, Afghan refugees also remain in the province, the majority of whom are Pashtuns followed by Tajiks, Hazaras, Gurjar, Gujjar, and other smaller groups. Despite having lived in the province for over two decades, they are registered as demographics of Afghanistan, citizens of Afghanistan. The Pashtuns of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa observe tribal code of conduct called Pashtunwali which has four high value components called ''nang'' (honour), ''badal'' (revenge), ''melmastiya'' (hospitality) and ''nanawata'' (rights to refuge).


Language

Urdu, being the national and official language, serves as a lingua franca for inter-ethnic communications, and sometimes Pashto and Urdu are the second and third languages among communities that speak other ethnic languages. According to the 2023 Pakistani census, 2023 census, the most widely spoken language is Pashto, native to 81% of the population and spoken throughout the province. Other languages with significant numbers of speakers include
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 ...
(9.39%), Saraiki language, Saraiki (3.17%) and Kohistani languages (2.45%). Hindko is primarily spoken in the Hazara Division, Hazara division in the northeast, and Saraiki-speakers are found in Dera Ismail Khan District, Dera Ismail Khan district in the far south of the province. Kohistani languages is an umbrella term encompassing several languages spoken in the north of the province, including Indus Kohistani, Bateri language, Bateri, Chilisso language, Chilisso, Gawri language, Gawri, Gowro language, Gawro, Torwali language, Torwali, and Mankiyali language, Mankiyali. Around 1 million of the population selected "Other" category, largely referring to Khowar language, Khowar in the mountainous northwest Chitral. In 2011 the provincial government approved in principle the introduction of Pashto, Saraiki, Hindko, Khowar and Kohistani as compulsory subjects for schools in the areas where they are spoken.


Religion

The overwhelming majority of the residents of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa follows and professes the Sunni Islam while there is a significant amount of shia Muslims in areas such as Kurram, Kohat, Hangu, Orakzai, Dera Ismail khan, Mardan, and many other districts throughout central-southern kpk. Apart from Twelver Shias there are Ismaili Islam, Isma'ilis in the Chitral district. The tribe of Kalash people, Kalasha in southern Chitral still retain an ancient form of Polytheism mixed with Animism, a faith once dominant in the mountainous upper northeast of the district. There are very small numbers of residents who are the adherents of Catholic Church in Pakistan, Roman Catholicism Christian denomination, denomination of Christianity, Hinduism in Pakistan, Hinduism and Sikhism, mainly living in Peshawar and other urban centres.


Government and politics


Political leanings and the legislative branch

The Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Provincial Assembly is a Unicameralism, unicameral legislature, which consists of 145 members elected to serve for a constitutionally bounded term of five years. Historically, the province perceived to be a stronghold of the
Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; , ; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Aimal Wali Khan, g ...
(ANP); a pro-Russian, by Procommunism, procommunist, Socialism in Pakistan, left-wing and nationalist party. Since the 1970s, the
Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...
(PPP) also enjoyed considerable support in the province due to its Socialism in Pakistan, socialist agenda. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was thought to be another leftist region of the country after Sindh. After the nationwide 2002 Pakistani general election, general elections held in 2002, a plurality voting Swing (politics), swing in the province elected one of Pakistan's only religiously based provincial governments led by the Conservative Islam, ultra-conservative Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) during the administration of President Pervez Musharraf. The United States invasion of Afghanistan, American involvement in neighbouring
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 ...
contributed towards the electoral victory of the Islamic coalition led by Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JeI) whose social policies made the province a ground-swell of Anti-American sentiment in Pakistan, anti-Americanism. The electoral victory of MMA was also in context of guided democracy in the Musharraff administration that barred the mainstream political parties, the leftist
Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...
and the centre-right
Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (N) or (PML(N)) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right, Conservatism in Pakistan, conservative political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third-largest party in the Senate of Pakistan, Senate and the larges ...
(PML(N)), whose chairmen and presidents having been barred from participation in the elections. Policy enforcement of a range of social restrictions, though the implementation of strict Shariah was introduced by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal government the law was never fully enacted due to objections of the Governor of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa backed by the President Pervez Musharaff, Musharraff administration. Restrictions on public musical performances were introduced, as well as a ban prohibiting music to be played in public places as part of the "Prohibition of Dancing and Music Bill, 2005" – which led to the creation of a thriving underground music scene in Peshawar. The Islamist government also attempted to enforce compulsory ''hijab'' on women, and wished to enforce gender segregation in the province's educational institutions. The coalition further tried to prohibit male doctors from performing ultrasounds on women, and tried to close the province's cinemas. In 2005, the coalition successfully passed the "Prohibition of Use of Women in Photograph Bill, 2005," leading to the removal of all public advertisements that featured women. At the height of Taliban insurgency in Pakistan, the religious coalition lost its grip in the 2008 Pakistani general election, general elections held in 2008, and the religious coalition was swept out of power by the leftist
Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; , ; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Aimal Wali Khan, g ...
which also witnessed the resignation of President Musharraf in 2008. The ANP government eventually led the initiatives to repeal the major Islamist's social programs, with the backing of the Government of Pakistan, federal government led by Pakistan Peoples Party, PPP in Islamabad. Public disapproval of Awami National Party, ANP's leftist program integrated in Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, civil administration with the sounded allegations of corruption as well as popular opposition against Religious Conservatism, religious program promoted by the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, MMA swiftly shifted the province's leniency away from the left in 2012. In 2013, the provincial politics shifted towards populism and nationalism when the PTI, led by Imran Khan, was able to form the minority government in coalition with the Jamaat-e-Islami, JeI; the province now serves as the stronghold of the PTI and is perceived as one of the more right wing areas of the country. After the 2018 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election, 2018 election, PTI increased their seat share and formed a majority government. In non-Pashtun areas, such as Abbottabad District, Abbottabad, and
Hazara Division Hazara Division is an administrative Divisions of Pakistan, division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located along the Indus River and comprises eight districts: Abbottabad District, Abbottabad, Mansehra District, Mansehr ...
, the Pakistan Muslim League (N), PML(N), the centre-right party, enjoys considerable public support over economical and public policy issues and has a substantial vote bank.


Executive branch

The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, executive branch of the Kyber Pakhtunkhwa is led by the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Chief Minister elected by popular vote in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Provincial assembly while the Governor, a ceremonial figure representing the Government of Pakistan, federal government in Islamabad, is appointed from the necessary advice of the Prime Minister of Pakistan by the President of Pakistan. The provincial cabinet is then appointed by the Chief Minister who takes the Oath of office from the Governor. In matters of civil administration, the Chief Secretary (Pakistan), Chief Secretary assists the Chief Minister on executing its right to ensure the writ of the government and the constitution.


Judicial branch

The Peshawar High Court is the province's High Court, highest court of law whose judges are appointed by the approval of the Supreme Judicial Council of Pakistan, Supreme Judicial Council in Islamabad, interpreting the laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.


Administrative divisions and districts

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is divided into seven divisions – Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Hazara, Kohat, Malakand, Mardan, and Peshawar. Each division is split up into anywhere between two and nine districts, and there are 38 districts in the entire province. Following is a list showing each district ordered by alphabetical order. A full list showing different characteristics of each district, such as their population, area, and a map showing their location can be found at the main article. * Abbottabad District * Allai District * Bajaur District * Bannu District * Battagram District * Buner District * Charsadda District, Pakistan, Charsadda District * Central Dir District * Dera Ismail Khan District * Hangu District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Hangu District * Haripur District * Karak District * Khyber District * Kohat District * Kolai-Palas District * Kurram District * Lakki Marwat District * Lower Chitral District * Lower Dir District * Lower Kohistan District * Lower South Waziristan District * Malakand District * Mansehra District * Mardan District * Mohmand District * North Waziristan District * Nowshera District * Orakzai District * Peshawar District * Shangla District * Swabi District * Swat District * Tank District * Tor Ghar District * Upper South Waziristan District * Upper Chitral District * Upper Dir District * Upper Kohistan District


Major cities

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 ...
is the capital and largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The city is the most populous and comprises more than one-eighth of the province's population.


Economy

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the List of Pakistani provinces by GDP, third largest provincial economy in Pakistan. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's share of Pakistan's GDP has historically comprised 10.5%, although the province accounts for 11.9% of Pakistan's total population. The part of the economy that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa dominates is forestry, where its share has historically ranged from a low of 34.9% to a high of 81%, giving an average of 61.56%. Currently, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounts for 10% of Pakistan's GDP, 20% of Pakistan's mining output and, since 1972, it has seen its economy grow in size by 3.6 times. Agriculture remains important and the main cash crops include wheat, maize, tobacco (in Swabi), rice, sugar beets, as well as fruits are grown in the province. Some manufacturing and high-tech investments in Peshawar have helped improve job prospects for many locals, while trade in the province involves nearly every product. The bazaars in the province are renowned throughout Pakistan. Unemployment has been reduced due to the establishment of industrial zones. Workshops throughout the province support the manufacture of small arms and weapons. The province accounts for at least 78% of the marble production in Pakistan.


Infrastructure

The Sharmai Hydropower Project is a proposed power generation project located in the Upper Dir District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the Panjkora River with an installed capacity of 150MW.


Social issues

The
Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; , ; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Aimal Wali Khan, g ...
sought to rename the province "Pakhtunkhwa", which translates to "Land of Pakhtuns" in the Pashto language. This was opposed by some non-Pashtuns in the province and political parties such as the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), due to the PML-N deriving its support in the province from primarily non-Pashtun Hazara people, Hazara regions. In 2010, the announcement that the province would have a new name led to a wave of protests in the Hazara region. On 15 April 2010, Senate of Pakistan, Pakistan's senate officially named the province "Khyber Pakhtunkhwa" with 80 senators in favour and 12 opposed. The MMA, who until the elections of 2008 had a majority in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, had proposed "Afghania" as a compromise name. After the 2008 Pakistani general election, 2008 general election, the Awami National Party formed a coalition provincial government with the
Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a political party in Pakistan and one of the three major List of political parties in Pakistan, Pakistani political parties alongside the Pakistan Muslim League (N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. With a Cent ...
. The Awami National Party has its strongholds in the Pashtun areas of Pakistan, particularly in the Peshawar valley, while Karachi in Sindh has one of the largest Pashtun populations in the world—around 7 million by some estimates. In the 2008 election, the ANP won two Sindh assembly seats in Karachi. The Awami National Party has been instrumental in fighting the Taliban. In 2013 Pakistani general election, the 2013 general election Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won a majority in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, provincial assembly and has now formed their government in coalition with Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan.


Non-government organisations

The following is a list of some of the major NGOs working in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: * Alkhidmat Foundation * Aurat Foundation * Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre * Sarhad Rural Support Programme * Human Rights Commission of Pakistan * Frontier Education Foundation


Folk music and culture


Music

Pashto folk music is popular in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and has a rich tradition going back hundreds of years. The main instruments are the rubab (instrument), rubab, mangey and Harmonium (hand-pumped), harmonium. Khowar folk music is popular in Chitral and northern Swat. The tunes of Khowar music are very different from those of Pashto, and the main instrument is the Chitrali sitar. A form of band music composed of clarinets (Surnai) and drums is popular in Chitral. It is played at polo matches and dances. The same form of band music is played in the neighbouring Northern Areas.


Literature

There's an important literature produced in the province, mainly in Pashto but also in Urdu and in Hindko, and in 2022 more than 25,000 books were published in these three languages.


Education

As FATA became part of KPK, all the literacy rates are recalculated by combining literacy rates of both regions. Sources: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has traditionally had a very low literacy rate, although this is changing in recent times. As of the 2017 census, the literacy rate for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (including FATA) is 51.66%. In rural areas, the literacy rate is 48.44% of the population while in urban areas it is 66.86%. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has a huge gap in literacy rate between sexes – for men it is 66.67% while the female literacy rate is 34.58%, just over half the male literacy rate. This gap is particularly prominent in the overwhelmingly-Pashto rural areas, where traditional gender norms have generally limited education of women. As of 2021, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has the highest literacy growth rate in the whole country (
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# ...
). This is a chart of the education market of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa estimated by the government in 1998.


List of universities


List of medical colleges


Engineering universities

* CECOS University of Information Technology and Emerging Science, Peshawar * National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad- College of Aeronautical Engineering, Risalpur Campus * COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad (Abbottabad Campus) * City University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar * Gandhara Institute of Science & Technology, PGS Engineering College (University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar) * Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, Topi-Swabi * Iqra University Peshawar (Formerly Iqra University, Karachi (Peshawar Campus) * National University of Sciences and Technology, Islamabad- Military College of Engineering (Pakistan), Military College of Engineering, Risalpur Campus * National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences, Islamabad (Peshawar Campus) * University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar (Main Campus) * University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar (Mardan Campus) * University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar (Bannu Campus) * University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar (Abbottabad Campus) * University of Engineering & Technology, Peshawar (Kohat Campus) * Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar * Abasyn University, Peshawar * University of Science and Technology, Bannu * IMSciences,
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 ...
*Gomal University, Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan


Major educational establishments

*Cadet College Razmak, North Waziristan District. * Abbottabad Public School, Abbottabad * Army Burn Hall College, Abbottabad * University of Science and Technology Bannu, Bannu * Cadet College Kohat, Kohat * Edwardes College, Peshawar * Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan, Mardan * Gomal University, Dera Ismail Khan *
Islamia College University Islamia College Peshawar (ICP) () is a public university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.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 ...
* Forward Degree College,
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 ...
* Khyber Medical University,
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 ...
* Khyber Girls Medical College,
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 ...
* Khyber Medical College,
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 ...


Sports

Cricket (sport), Cricket is the main sport played in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It has produced world-class sportsmen like Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Khushdil Shah, Fakhar Zaman (cricketer), Fakhar Zaman, Naseem Shah and Umar Gul. Besides producing cricket players, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the honour of being the birthplace of many world-class squash (sport), squash players, including greats like Hashim Khan, Qamar Zaman, Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan.


Tourism


CNIC Codes

* Bannu Division (11XXX) * Dera Ismail Khan Division (12XXX) *
Hazara Division Hazara Division is an administrative Divisions of Pakistan, division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located along the Indus River and comprises eight districts: Abbottabad District, Abbottabad, Mansehra District, Mansehr ...
(13XXX) * Kohat Division (14XXX) * Malakand Division (15XXX) * Mardan Division (16XXX) * Peshawar Division (17XXX)


See also

* Northern Pakistan * List of cultural heritage sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa * List of hospitals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa


Notes


References


Works cited

* * * *


External links

*
Planning & Development Department

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Culture and Tourism Authority
{{Authority control Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2005 Kashmir earthquake Durand Line Geographical naming disputes, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Geography of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Historical geography of Pakistan History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Names of places in Asia, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pashto-speaking countries and territories Pashto words and phrases Place name etymologies, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Political history of Pakistan Provinces of Pakistan Provincial disputes in Pakistan States and territories established in 1970