Peshawar District ( ps, پېښور ولسوالۍ, hnd, , ur, ) is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

Peshawar Division Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

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 in

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 is located about 160 km west of the Pakistan's capital

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

. The district headquarter is

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

, which is also the capital of Khyber Paktunkhwa.

History

Peshawar is located in geo-strategically important location and has an enriched history. This district and city has seen the rise and fall of many civilisations. It was once the centre of Gandhara and has subsequently been ruled by Persians, Greeks, Buddhists, Kushans, Afghans, Mughals,

Marathas The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

, Sikhs and the British. The original district of Peshawar was a district of the

North-West Frontier Province The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; ps, شمال لویدیځ سرحدي ولایت, ) was a Chief Commissioner's Province of British India, established on 9 November 1901 from the north-western districts of the Punjab Province. Followi ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. After independence in 1947, the old Peshawar District became

containing the current districts of Peshawar District, Charsadda District and Nowshera District. In July 1988, the former Charsadda tehsil was separated and became Charsadda District while former Nowshera tehsil became Nowshera District in 1990. Under the latest revision of Pakistan's administrative structure, promulgated in 2001, Peshawar was also given the status of a city district.

Demographics

Population

At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 4,331,959, of which 2,229,681 were males and 2,101,649 females. The population of the district over the years is shown in the table below. Rural population was 2,362,136 (54.53%) while the urban population was 1,969,823 (45.47%). The literacy rate was 55.01% - the male literacy rate was 68.78% while the female literacy rate was 40.47%.

Language

Religion

1897 Report

According to 1897 records during

British Raj 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 ...

, most people living in Peshawar valley were

Pathans 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 ...

and belonged to an agriculture community but there was also large Punjabi and Hindkowan communities living in the valley; all three ethnolinguistic groups religiously belonged to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

and

Sikhism Sikhism (), also known as Sikhi ( pa, ਸਿੱਖੀ ', , from pa, ਸਿੱਖ, lit=disciple', 'seeker', or 'learner, translit=Sikh, label=none),''Sikhism'' (commonly known as ''Sikhī'') originated from the word ''Sikh'', which comes fro ...

. Most people in

city spoke and understood

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Khan families, traders and almost all of

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

also spoke

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

was also spoken by elites of

city and by traders from

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) 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; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

. Majority of the population of the district especially the agriculturists and Pathans only spoke

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

. 92% of the total population of Peshawar valley practiced religion of Islam and remainder 8% practiced Hinduism,

and other religions. People belonging to these minority religions primarily lived in major cities such as

Charsadda Chārsadda ( ps, چارسده; ; ur, ; ) is a town and headquarters of Charsadda District, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

(now in Charsadda District) and Hoti (now in Mardan District) and mostly in cantonment areas of these cities. 97% of the population living in rural towns practiced Islam.

Education

Peshawar district is the home of excellent education institutes both in public and private sectors. It has universities for all major disciplines starting from

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

General Sciences A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

Engineering Science Engineering physics, or engineering science, refers to the study of the combined disciplines of physics, mathematics, chemistry, biology, and engineering, particularly computer, nuclear, electrical, electronic, aerospace, materials or mechanical en ...

Medical Sciences Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pract ...

Agriculture Sciences Agricultural science (or agriscience for short) is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Profession ...

and

Management Sciences Management science (or managerial science) is a wide and interdisciplinary study of solving complex problems and making strategic decisions as it pertains to institutions, corporations, governments and other types of organizational entities. It is ...

. Currently, there are 9 Medical Colleges of which 2 in public sector and 7 in private sector, which are recognised and approved by Pakistan medical and dental association plus a medical university,

Khyber Medical University Khyber Medical University ( ur, , ps, د خیبر طبي پوهنتون, abbreviated as KMU), is a public research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.University of Peshawar The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a public research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pa ...

was established in 1950. In 1980,

University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar The University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar (UET Peshawar), formerly known as NWFP University of Engineering and Technology, is a public university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Formerly known as ''NWFP University ...

was established while

University of Agriculture, Peshawar The University of Agriculture, Peshawar (UAP; ur, جامعہ زرعیہ پشاور، یا زرعی یونیورسٹی پشاور; ps, د کرنې پوهنتون، پېښور), is a research university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pa ...

was inaugurated in 1981. The first private sector university CECOS University of IT and Emerging Sciences, started working in 1986.Soon after another university by name o
BrainsInstitute and post graduate college
was established. In 1995, a public sector management institute named as Institute of Management Sciences was established, which became degree awarding institute in 2005. In 2001, four (4) new private sector universities started working in Peshawar. The name of these universities are Qurtuba University, Sarhad University of Science and IT, Fast University, Peshawar Campus and City University of Science and IT. Gandhara University was established in 2002 while Abasyn University was created in 2007. City University Peshawar

In 2007,

Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa The Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( ur, ; ps, د خیبر پښتونخوا حکومت), is the provincial government of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Its powers and structure are set out in the provisions of the 1973 Consti ...

established first public sector medical university,

Khyber Medical College Khyber Medical College ( ur, , abbreviated as KMC) was established in 1954, is a public sector medical college located in Peshawar. Khyber Medical College is the oldest medical college of the province, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is considered as one o ...

and one for girls named as

Khyber Girls Medical College Khyber Girls Medical College ( ur, , ps, د خیبر ښځو طب پوهنځی) (KGMC) is the first public sector medical college for girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which came into existence in May 2004 as a female Campus of KMC Peshawar. It was d ...

. The first women university was established in 2012, when

Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, previously known as the Frontier Women University, is located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It was formed as result of an order from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government in 2004 and the university ha ...

started working while private sector IQRA National University was also established in 2012. Apart from excellent range of universities, Peshawar district also has huge numbers of

further education Further education (often abbreviated FE) in the United Kingdom and Ireland is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. I ...

(Post School) institutes both in public and private sectors. The most renowned are

Islamia College Peshawar Islamia College Peshawar (ICP) ( ur, اسلامیہ کالج پشاور) is a public university located in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.Edwardes College Peshawar Edwardes College Peshawar is a semi-government degree The college's undergraduate and graduate degree programs lead to the Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), 4 year BS Programme in English and Computer Science, Master of Bus ...

, which is the oldest of all institutions in the district started functioning in 1900.

State of Education in Peshawar

According to Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017 published by

Alif Ailaan Alif Ailaan ( ur, ) was a nonprofit organization working in the field of education in Pakistan from 2013 to 2018. Launched by a team of media and communications specialists, the program aimed to highlight education on priority basis in Pakistan ...

, Peshawar ranks 4th in Pakistan in terms of primary school infrastructure while it ranks 52nd in Pakistan for middle school infrastructure. In terms of education score, Peshawar ranks 64th in Pakistan with having a relatively low retention score. Beyond Primary Readiness in Peshawar is on the lower side as it ranks 62nd in Pakistan. The main issues reported i
Taleem Do! App
for district Peshawar are overcrowded class rooms and lack of class rooms in schools. Girls’ education is also one of the most reported issues in the app, with main focus on lesser number of Girls schools and also schools located at long distances. Issues of lack of teachers, non-availability of science labs and lack of High Schools were also reported. Issues regarding the high fee collections in private schools was also reported on multiple occasions.

Administration

The district Peshawar, was divided into 8

Tehsils 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 ...

(1 City Local Government, 6 Tehsil Local Government and 1 Sub Division), which are Peshawar City Tehsil, Shah Alam Tehsil, Mathra Tehsil, Chamkani Tehsil, Badbher Tehsil, Peshtakhara Tehsil, Hassan Kheil Tehsil and Kalakhel.

Tehsil of Peshawar District

# Peshawar City Tehsil # Shah Alam Tehsil # Mathra Tehsil # Chamkani Tehsil # Badbher Tehsil # Peshtakhara Tehsil # Hassan Kheil Tehsil #

Kalakhel Kala Khel is a clan of Tirah Adam Khel.Kala Khel Area adjacent to FR Peshawar and FR Kohat is a part of Khyber Agency administratively whereas on the Topo - Sheet of Survey of Pakistan, it has been shown as the part of Peshawar Division and Kohat D ...

(formerly

Frontier Region Peshawar Peshawar Subdivision formerly Frontier Region Peshawar is a subdivision in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The region is named after Peshawar District which lies to the north and west and also borders Nowshera District to the east an ...

)

Taluks and Village Councils

There are 30 police stations in the district...There are 357 Neighbourhood or Village Councils , out of which 227 are Village Councils (rural) and 130 are Neighbourhood Councils (urban). Tehsil wise Neighbourhood and Village Councils Details, 1. Peshawar City Village Councils = 9 Neighbourhood Councils =121 Total Councils = 130. 2. Badhaber Village Councils = 37 Neighbourhood Councils = 0 Total Councils = 37. 3. Chamkani Village Councils = 42 Neighbourhood Councils = 4 Total Councils = 46. 4. Shah Alam Village Councils = 41 Neighbourhood Councils = 2 Total Councils = 43. 5. Pishtakhara Village Councils = 34 Neighbourhood Councils = 2 Total Councils = 36. 6. Mathura Village Councils = 53 Neighbourhood Councils = 1 Total Councils = 54. 7. Hassan Khel Village Councils = 11 Neighbourhood Councils = 0 Total Councils = 11.

Provincial Assembly Seats

The district is represented in the

provincial assembly Provincial may refer to: Government & Administration * Provincial capitals, an administrative sub-national capital of a country * Provincial city (disambiguation) * Provincial minister (disambiguation) * Provincial Secretary, a position in Can ...

by eleven elected MPAs who represent the following constituencies:Constituencies and MPAs - Website of the Provincial Assembly of the NWFP
* PK-1 (Peshawar-1) * PK-2 (Peshawar-2) * PK-3 (Peshawar-3) * PK-4 (Peshawar-4) * PK-5 (Peshawar-5) * PK-6 (Peshawar-6) * PK-7 (Peshawar-7) * PK-8 (Peshawar-8) * PK-9 (Peshawar-9) * PK-10 (Peshawar-10) * PK-11 (Peshawar-11)

Provincial Assembly

National Assembly Seats