Dera Ismail Khan District

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Dera Ismail Khan District
District
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's location in the Pakistan
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's location in the Pakistan
Country Pakistan
Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Language Seraiki, Pashto
Headquarters Dera Ismail Khan
Area
 • Total 7,326 km2 (2,829 sq mi)
Population (2014)
 • Total 1,939,000
 • Density 116/km2 (300/sq mi)
Time zone PST (UTC+5)

Dera Ismail Khan (Urdu: ضلع دېره اسماعیل خان‎, Pashto: ډېره اسماعيل خان‎; often abbreviated as D.I. Khan) is one of the 26 districts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The capital of the district is the town of Dera Ismail Khan. The district has an area of 7,326 km2 (2,829 sq mi) and a population of 852,995 as of the 1998 Census.

Location

The district of Dera Ismail Khan is bounded on the east by the Bhakkar and Dera Ghazi Khan districts of Punjab, to the southwest by South Waziristan district, and to the northwest by Tank and Lakki Marwat districts.

History

In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over the Ghaznavid dynasty empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin, In 1005 he conquered the Shahis in Kabul in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of northern Punjab region. The Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire ruled the region. The Punjab region became predominantly Muslim due to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape of Punjab region. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikh Empire invaded and occupied Jhang District. The Muslims faced restrictions during the Sikh rule.[citation needed]

Dera Ismail Khan was created as an administrative unit of British India, part of the Derajat Division of the North-West Frontier Province, because it is and has historicaly been Pashtun land. It was formerly divided into two almost equal portions by the Indus River, which intersected it from north to south. To the west of the Indus the characteristics of the country resembled those of Dera Ghazi Khan. This region is inhabited by ethnic Pashtuns. To the east of the present bed of the river there is a wide tract known as the Kachi, exposed to river action. Beyond this, the country rises abruptly, and a barren, almost desert plain stretches eastwards, sparsely cultivated, and inhabited by nomadic tribes of Pashtun herdsmen. In 1901 the trans-Indus tract was allotted to the newly formed North-West Frontier Province, the cis-Indus tract remaining in the Punjab jurisdiction. The cis-Indus portions of the Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu districts now comprise the new Punjab district of Mianwali which is inhabited primarily by Saraikies. Wheat and wool were exported. In 1901 it contained an area of 8,814 km2 (3,403 sq mi) and a population of 252,379, claimed to be majority Pashtun Muslims because it is originally a Balouch territory. In 1947 it became part of the newly independent Pakistan(By Nisar Chishti). The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority immigrant Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India.

Politics

The district is represented in the National assembly by Two elected MNAs who represent the following constituencies:[1]

Constituency MNA Party
NA-24 DERA ISMAIL KHAN-CUM-TANK Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman JUI(F)
NA-25 DERA ISMAIL KHAN(Tank) Dawar kundi PTI

The district is represented in the provincial assembly by five elected MPAs who represent the following constituencies:[1]

Constituency MPA Party
PK-64 (Dera Ismail Khan-1) Ali Amin Khan PTI
PK-65 (Dera Ismail Khan-2) Sami Ullah Khan Alazai AZAD
PK-66 (Dera Ismail Khan-3) Maulana Lutf Ur Rehman JUI
PK-67 (Dera Ismail Khan-4) Ikram ullah Khan Gandapur PTI
PK-68 (Dera Ismail Khan-5) Ehtsham Javeed Akber Khan PTI

Administration

Map of Dera Ismail Khan district

The district is subdivided into five tehsils which contain a total of 47 Union Councils:[2]

Name of tehsil No. of Unions
Dera Ismail Khan 21
Kulachi 4
Darabin 4
Paroa 7
Paharpur 11

See also

References


Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.