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, subdivision ...

in Peshawar Division of

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

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 ...

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

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 Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Val ...

and has subsequently been ruled by Persians, Greeks, Buddhists, Kushans, Afghans, Mughals, Marathas, 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 Peshawar Division 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 Nowshera District ( ps, نوښار ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Peshawar Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The capital and district headquarter is Nowshera city. Overview and history Nowshera was a tehsil (sub d ...

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 him ...

, most people living in Peshawar valley were Pathans and belonged to an agriculture community but there was also large

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

and

Hindkowan Hindkowans (lit. "Indian-speakers"), 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 Lahnda. The ori ...

communities living in the valley; all three ethnolinguistic groups religiously belonged to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

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 Khan may refer to: *Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan *Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name *Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...

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 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 #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

. 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 langua ...

. 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 (now in Charsadda District) and Hoti (now in

Mardan District Mardan District ( ps, مردان ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Mardan Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The district is named after Mardan city, which is also the headquarters of the district. The district is fam ...

) 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 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 On ...

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 ...

s, Engineering Sciences,

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 pr ...

, Agriculture Sciences and Management Sciences. 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 ...

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 Univers ...

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, ...

was inaugurated in 1981. The first private sector university

CECOS University of IT and Emerging Sciences CECOS University of IT and Emerging Sciences is a private university in Peshawar, Pakistan. It was established in 1986 by Engr. Muhammad Tanveer Javed as a small private sector institute named CECOS Data Institute with limited resources. Current ...

, 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 Qurtuba University (QU) was established in 2001. Qurtuba is Arabic variation of name of Córdoba, Spain, in Al-Andalus nowadays Spain.It has two campuses in Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar Pakistan from Both are separately recognized and are placed i ...

, 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 The Abasyn University is a private university located in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It was founded in 2007. Overview Abasyn university is chartered by the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and recognized by the Higher Education Comm ...

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 Const ...

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 ...

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 ...

. The first women university was established in 2012, when Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University 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. It ...

(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, 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 Pakist ...

, 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 administ ...

(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 (formerly Frontier Region Peshawar)

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 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

The district is represented in the Pakistan National Assembly by four (4) members. * NA-1 (Peshawar-1) * NA-2 (Peshawar-2) * NA-3 (Peshawar-3) * NA-4 (Peshawar-4)

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{coord, 34, 00, N, 71, 45, E, region:PK_type:adm3rd_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa