Dera Ismail Khan Tehsil is a

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 ...

located in

Dera Ismail Khan District Dera Ismail Khan District ( ps, ډېره اسماعیل خان ولسوالي, bal, ڈیرہ عِسمائیل خان, ur, , skr, ; often abbreviated as D.I. Khan) is a district in Dera Ismail Khan Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in P ...

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, ...

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 ...

.Tehsils & Unions in the District of D.I. Khan - Government of Pakistan

Administration

The tehsil is administratively subdivided into 21 Union Councils, four of which form the headquarters -

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakistan ...

History

It is named after Baloch mercenary Ismail Khan, son of

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

, who laid the foundation of the area. The Dera Ismail Khan Tehsil is littered with ruins from ancient civilizations. DI Khan is home to the collection of Hindu ruins at two separate sites 20 miles apart, jointly known as

Kafir Kot Kafir Kot or Kafirkot (; ) is an ancient Hindu Temple complex in the Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It consists of the ruins of five temples and a large fort. The Kafir Kot complex in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is often referr ...

. The region came under the influence of the

Nanda Empire The Nanda dynasty ruled in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent during the fourth century BCE, and possibly during the fifth century BCE. The Nandas overthrew the Shaishunaga dynasty in the Magadha region of eastern India, and expanded ...

of ancient India from 300 BCE, and with the rise of

Chandragupta Maurya Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an empi ...

, the region came under the complete control of the

Mauryan Empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...

. Afterward, the region was briefly and nominally controlled by the

Shunga Empire The Shunga Empire (IAST: ') was an ancient Indian dynasty from Magadha that controlled areas of the most of the northern Indian subcontinent from around 185 to 73 BCE. The dynasty was established by Pushyamitra Shunga, Pushyamitra, after taking ...

. However, with the decline of the Shungas, the region passed to local Hindu and Buddhist rulers, and interrupted by foreign rulers. Many of these foreign rulers, like the Indo-Parthians, Sakas, and Kushans converted to Hinduism and Buddhism, and promoted these

Indian religions Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions that originated in the Indian subcontinent. These religions, which include Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Sikhism,Adams, C. J."Classification of ...

throughout Central and South Asia. The region reached its height under the Buddhist ruler

Kanishka the Great Kanishka I (Sanskrit: कनिष्क, '; Greco-Bactrian: Κανηϸκε ''Kanēške''; Kharosthi: 𐨐𐨞𐨁𐨮𐨿𐨐 '; Brahmi: '), or Kanishka, was an emperor of the Kushan dynasty, under whose reign (c. 127–150 CE) the empire r ...

. After the fall of the Kushans, the region came under the control of the

Gupta Empire The Gupta Empire was an ancient Indian empire which existed from the early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE. At its zenith, from approximately 319 to 467 CE, it covered much of the Indian subcontinent. This period is considered as the Gol ...

of ancient India. During the period, Hindu and Buddhist art and architecture flourished in the area. With the decline of the imperial Guptas, the

Hindu Shahi The Hindu Shahis (also known as Oddiyana, Odi Shahis, Uḍi Śāhis, or Brahman Shahis, 822–1026 CE) were a dynasty that held sway over the Kabul Valley, Gandhara and western Punjab region, Punjab during the early medieval period in the Indian ...

s came to rule the area. The Hindu Shahis built two massive forts in the northern edges of Dera Ismail Khan. The forts were later renamed as "Kafirkots" (forts of the infidel). These Hindu Shahi forts were known for high towers and steep defensive walls. The Hindus also built many

Hindu temples A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

around the area, however, much of them are now in rubble. The Hindu Shahis remained in control of the area until their defeat by the Turkic Muslim army of Ghaznavids. The Tehsil is part of what was historically territory inhabited by the

Baluch people The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There a ...

during medieval India, who were invited to settle the region by Shah Husseyn, of the Langah Sultanate of

Multan Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab. Multan is one of the List ...

. These Baluch settlers were displaced by, or assimilated into, later waves of Pashtun settlement. During

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spices. The search for the wealth and prosper ...

, Dera Ismail Khan was the chief tehsil of the old

. The population was 144,337 according to the 1901 census an increase of almost 11,000 since the 1891 census (133,809) - it was headquartered at the town of Dera Ismail Khan and contained 250 villages.Dera Ismail Khān Tahsīl - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 11, p. 268.
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Politics

Dera Ismail Khan is represented in the National Assembly of Pakistan through two seats which are NA-24 (D I Khan) and NA-25 (D I Khan cum Tank). The incumbent on these seats are Moulana Fazul Rehman of JUI-F from NA-24 and Dawer Khan Kundi Of PTI from NA-25. Traditionally Dera politics has been dominated by Jamiat Ullema Islam because of the charismatic and dynamic personality of Maulana Mufti Mahmood. After his death his son Fazlur Rehman became the Chairman of JUI-F. The people of D I Khan feel let down by the two dominant parties PPP and JUI-F as they have not done any significant efforts to improve the quality of life, build the city infrastructure or create jobs. People want change in the status quo which has provided a room for new leadership to emerge under the banner of Pakistan Tehrike Insaf (PTI). PTI has quickly gained ground in the city as many notables including Faqeer Jamshed Ahmed, Abdul Quayyum Khan Kundi, Khalid Awan, Humayon Khan Gandapur has joined the party. The youthwing of PTI in the leadership of Irfan Mallick has established district level wings to reach out to the voters. It is expected that in the next elections PTI will emerge as a leading party in the city.

References

{{Tehsils of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Dera Ismail Khan District Tehsils of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa