Battagram Tehsil is an administrative subdivision (

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

) of the

Battagram District Battagram ( ps, بټګرام ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Abaseen Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The headquarter is Battagram, which is about 75-km from Mansehra. Overview and history The district of Battagra ...

in the

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

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

Kashmir Kashmir () is the 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 Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

badly affected the area.

Overview and history

Battagram Tehsil is surrounded by Allai,

Shangla Shangla District ( ps, شانګله ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The district's headquarter is located at Alpuri, while the largest city and commercial center is Besham. The district ...

, and

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

to the north and the east, and by the

Kaghan Valley The Kaghan Valley ( ur, ) is an alpine valley located in the Mansehra District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The valley covers a distance of across northern Pakistan, rising from its lowest elevation of to its highest point at the Babusar ...

and

Mansehra Mansehra is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Mansehra District. It is the 71st largest city of Pakistan and 7th largest city in the province. The name of the city (written in Hindko, Urdu and Goj ...

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

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

border to the Indus above

Thakot Thakot or Takot ( ur, ; ps, ) is a tribal town on the Indus River in Battagram District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is also one of twenty Union Councils of Battagram District, and one of twelve in Battagram Tehsil. Thakot is located mi ...

. The mountain slopes at the eastern end are forested. The total area of Tehsil Battagram is about 300 square miles (780 km²). Wheat, barley, corn, and rice are grown in the area. Cis-Indus known as the Swatis comprise the dominant tribe. Khan culture is dominant in the

Battagram Valley Battagram Valley is a valley in Battagram District, which is located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly known as North-West Frontier Province, northern Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=non ...

. Historically, the Swatis of Hazara drove Hindus out of the upper Hazara, and then settled in

and Battagram. The valley was ruled by Khans (tribal rulers) until they signed the Instrument of Accession with Pakistan in 1949. Battagram Tehsil was later merged into Pakistan in 1971 as an administrative part of the Battagram sub-division. In 1993, Battagram was upgraded to the status of a district and Battagram became one of the Tehsil of Battagram district.

2005 earthquake

The Battagram (Tehsil) valley was badly affected by the

2005 Kashmir earthquake The 2005 Kashmir earthquake occurred at on 8 October in Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir. It was centred near the city of Muzaffarabad, and also affected nearby Balakot in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and some areas of Indian-administered Jammu and ...

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

Administration

The city of

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

serves as the Tehsil headquarters; Tehsil is subdivided into 12 Union Councils:Tehsils & Unions in the District of Battagram – Government of Pakistan

Population

The population of Battagram Tehsil was 296,198, according to the 2007 Pakistan Census.

People

The area is mainly inhabited by Pashto-speaking

Pathan Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

tribes, the Swati and Syed. The

Pashtun tribes The Pashtun tribes ( ps, پښتانه قبايل), historically also known as Afghan tribes, are the tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who use the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali code of conduct. They ar ...

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

Jirga A jirga ( ps, جرګه, ''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 ...

system in villages. People of

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

References