Lower Dir District ( ps, ښکته دير ولسوالۍ, 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 ...

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 ...

Timergara Timergara ( ps, تيمرګره, ur, ) is a city and also the district headquarters of Lower Dir District in Pakistan. Timergara City is located on the east bank of the Panjkora River. It lies at an altitude of . The town is the site of excavate ...

is the district's headquarters and largest city. The Lower Dir district was formed in 1996, when Dir District was divided into Upper Dir and

Lower Dir Lower Dir District ( ps, لر / کوز دير ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Timergara city is the district headquarter and largest city. The district was formed in 1996, when Dir District was di ...

districts. On 22 January 2023, both ''Lower Dir and Upper Dir districts'' were further bifurcated to create a new Central Dir District. Lower Dir is famous for its beautiful snow-capped mountains, valleys, and pleasant weather. The primary industry in Lower Dir is tourism, which is now rapidly growing. Lower Dir district borders with Swat District to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Upper Dir to the north and Malakand and Bajaur District to the south.

History

At the time of independence of

, Dir was a princely state ruled by Nawab Shah Jehan Khan. Dir was merged with Pakistan in 1969, declared a district in 1970, and split into Upper and Lower Dir in 1996.

Education

* The University of Malakand is a public university located in Chakdara. * The University of Dir is a newly established university located in Timergara.

Demographics

In the 2023 census, 4,439 (0.27%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians.

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 ...

was the predominant language, spoken by 99.54% of the population.

Administration

National Assembly

NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II) are constituencies of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

of Pakistan from Lower Dir district. These areas were formerly part of NA-34 (Lower Dir) constituency from 1977 to 2018. The delimitation in 2018 split Lower Dir into two separate constituencies, NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II).

NA-34 constituency (2002-2018)

Since 2018: NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II)

Provincial Assembly

Sudivisions

Adenzai Tehsil Adenzai is a tehsil located in Lower Dir District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan, which includes the town of Chakdara. It is listed among: # Adenzai Tehsil # Balambat Tehsil # Khall Tehsil # Lal Qilla Tehsil # Munda Tehsil # Samar Bagh Tehsil # Ti ...

# Balambat Tehsil #

Khall Tehsil Khall is an administrative subdivision (Tehsil) of Lower Dir District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is named after Khal ( Bindi), a decorative dot worn on the centre of the forehead, as it is located in the centre of Dir. It i ...

Lal Qilla Tehsil Lal Qilla is an administrative subdivision (Tehsil) of Lower Dir District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is listed among: # Adenzai Tehsil # Balambat Tehsil # Khall Tehsil # Lal Qilla Tehsil # Munda Tehsil # Samar Bagh Tehsi ...

Munda Tehsil Munda is an administrative subdivision (Tehsil) of Lower Dir District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Munda is an administrative Tehsil under the jurisdiction of Samar Bagh, sub-division of Lower Dir District. It is listed among: ...

# Samar Bagh Tehsil #

Timergara Tehsil Timergara is an administrative subdivision (Tehsil) of Lower Dir District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is listed among: # Adenzai Tehsil # Balambat Tehsil # Khal Tehsil # Lal Qilla Tehsil # Munda Tehsil # Samar Bagh Tehsi ...

Notable people

Nawabzada Shahabuddin Khan Nawabzada Muhammad Shahabuddin Khan (Urdu: شہاب الدین خان‬) was the last Khan of Jandol, a princely state that is now part of Lower Dir District, Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( u ...

, Former Ruler of Lower Dir *

Siraj ul Haq Siraj ul Haq ( ur, سراج الحق; born 5 September 1962) is a Pakistani politician who was elected as the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious political party in Pakistan which seeks to establish an Islamic legal system. He also served as ...

, politician *

Muhammad Bashir Khan Muhammad Bashir Khan is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 till January 2023. Early life He was born at Gambir village, Lower Dir. Political career He was elected to the National A ...

, politician * Naseem Shah, cricketer * Zahid Khan, Ex-Senator *

Abaseen Yousafzai Abaseen Yousafzai ( ur, اباسين يوسفزے) ( ps, اباسین یوسفزے) is a Pashtun poet from Pakistan. He is the chairman of Pashto Department in Islamia College Peshawar. Yousafzai has had his poetry published across the Durand ...

, Pashto poet

Gallery

File:Nadi in maidan,dir.jpg, Maidan Valley, Lower Dir File:Lajbouk Dir Lower.jpg, Lajbouk, Lower Dir File:Chakdara, Lower Dir-KPK, Pakistan.jpg, Chakdara, Lower Dir File:Kalpane lower dir asimmuu.jpg, Kalpani Top, Lower Dir

References

https://senate.gov.pk/en/profile.php?uid=804

External links

Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Government website section on Lower DirKhyber-Pakhtunkhwa news website section on Lower Dir
{{Lower Dir Union Councils Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa