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Shangla District

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"Shangla" redirects here. For other uses, see Shangla (disambiguation).
Shangla District
ضلع شانگلہ
شنګله ولسوالۍ‎
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Top: Shangla Top
Bottom: Road near Besham
Shangla District (red) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Shangla District (red) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Country Pakistan
Province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
DivisionMalakand
HeadquartersAlpuri
Government
 • TypeDistrict Administration
 • Deputy CommissionerN/A
 • District Police OfficerN/A
 • District Health OfficerN/A
Area
1,586 km2 (612 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[1]
891,252
 • Density560/km2 (1,500/sq mi)
 • Urban
0
 • Rural
891,252
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
District Council28 seats
Number of Tehsils5
Websiteshangla.kp.gov.pk

Shangla District (Pashto: شنګله ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع شانگلہ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The district's headquarters are located at Alpuri,[2] while the largest city and commercial center is Besham.[citation needed] The district was established in 1995, having previously been a subdivision of Swat District.[3] The total area of the district is 1,586 square kilometers.[3] Shangla comprises five subdivisions, Alpuri, Puran, Chakesar, Martung and Besham tehsils. Shangla is famous for its touring spot, Yakhtangay

Location

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The district is bounded in the north by Kohistan District, in the east by Battagram District and Torghar District, in the west by Swat District, and in the south by Buner District.[3]

Administrative divisions

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History

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Shangla was a sub-division of the Swat district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan until it was granted the status of a separate district in 1995. This was primarily due to the efforts of Haji Badi uz Zaman, a political leader and community figure who was assassinated in 1994, and his son, Afsar ul Mulk.

There are relics of the ancient Greek period at Pirsar, Chakesar and Daut. It is believed that Alexander the Great camped at Pirsar for a few days.[4][5][6] There are also relics of the Hindu Shahi in Olandar-Ajmair.[7][better source needed] [8]

A number of Buddha sculptures are also found in Shangla district which indicate that Shangla was also a part of the previous Buddhist civilization.[9][10][11]

The district was hit by the 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake in which more than 18 people were killed.[12]

Geography

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Shangla district consists of small valleys and is situated between the hillocks and is surrounded by high mountains full of forests comprising Pindrow Fir, Morinda Spruce, Blue Pine (Kail), Chir Pine and Deodar Cedar trees. The average elevation of the district is 2000 to 3000 meters above sea level.[3] The highest point (3,440 m) is near Kuz Ganrshal in the north of the district.[3] Shangla District is connected to the Swat District by the Shangla Pass.

Demographics

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1951 107,731—    
1961 121,528+1.21%
1972 179,813+3.63%
1981 251,546+3.80%
1998 434,563+3.27%
2017 759,609+2.98%
2023 891,252+2.70%
Sources:[13]

As of the 2023 census, Shangla district has 125,540 households and a population of 891,252. The district has a sex ratio of 106.65 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 33.74%: 48.82% for males and 17.82% for females. 307,444 (34.51% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. The entire population lives in rural areas.[1] 2,410 (0.27%) people in the district are from religious minorities, mainly Christians.[14]

Languages of Shangla district (2023)[15]

  Pashto (95.4%)
  Kohistani (1.03%)
  Others (3.57%)

Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 95.40% of the population. 1.03% of the population spoke Kohistani languages.[15]

The main tribe of Shangla is Yusufzai, that contribute more than half of the district population, the dense and well populated area of Shangla is Alpuri tehsil (Gwarband) that contributes to more than 253000+ of the district population. Shangla is one of the unique districts of Pakistan that contains more than 80% of forest land. The youngest noble laurate Malala Yousafzai's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was born in Shangla, however, she herself was born in Mingora, Swat.[16]

Education

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In November 2022, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mahmood Khan, inaugurated University of Shangla.[17] The university was earlier a campus of University of Swat.[18]

National and provincial assembly

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This district is represented by one elected MNA (Member of National Assembly) in Pakistan National Assembly. Its constituency is NA-31.[19]

Since 2002: NA-11 (Shangla)

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Election Member Party
2002 Engr Amir Muqam MMA
2008 Engr Amir Muqam PML
2013 Dr Ibadullah Khan PML (N)
2018 Dr Ibadullah Khan PML (N)

2024 Amir muqam pakistan muslim league N

Provincial Assembly

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Member of Provincial Assembly Party affiliation Constituency Year
Sher Muhammad Khan Pakistan People's Party PF-71 previously Swat 1977
Haji Badiu zaman khan Pakistan People's Party PF-73 Previously Swat 1988
Haji Badiu zaman khan Pakistan People's Party PF-73 Previously Swat 1993
Dr.Afsar ul mulk Pakistan People's Party PF-73 Previously Swat 1995
Engr.Hamid Iqbal Pakistan People's Party PK-87 Shangla-I 2002 Abdul Munim Independent PK-88 Shangla-II - Shaukat Ali Yousafzai Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PK-23 Shangla-I 2018
Faisal Zeb Awami National Party PK-24 Shangla-II 2018

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Animal diversity

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Shangla is highly diverse in terms of animal fauna. Various studies have been carried out for documentation of Animal fauna in Shangla.

Birds

A study was carried out by Ahmad et al (2023) and reported 38 birds species from Chakesar Valley.[20]

Insect

In recent research article, new distribution record for Idricerus decrepitus from Chakesar Shangla. It was a provincial record for the said species.[21]

Fish fauna

References

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  1. ^ a b "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 1" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  2. ^ PCO 1998, p. 8.
  3. ^ a b c d e PCO 1998, p. 1.
  4. ^ Zahir, Muhammad (2018-12-28). "Alexander the Great at Aornos (Mount Pir-Sar), District Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan: Report on Historical and Archaeological Field Investigations (2017 – 2018)". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ Kunwar, Ripu M.; Sher, Hassan; Bussmann, Rainer W. (2021-07-29). Ethnobotany of the Himalayas. Springer Nature. p. 1645. ISBN 978-3-030-57408-6.
  6. ^ Pakistan Quarterly. Pakistan Publications. 1965. p. 62.
  7. ^ Shangla – Government of Pakistan tourism site
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ "Attempt to steal Shangla Buddhist sculpture fails". The Express Tribune. 2021-03-07. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  10. ^ Bacha, Umar (2018-11-16). "Stone-carved Buddha defaced by Shangla people". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  11. ^ Pakistan Affairs. Information Division, Embassy of Pakistan. 1980.
  12. ^ "Earthquake death toll rises to 363 in Pakistan - SAMAA".
  13. ^ "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  14. ^ "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 9" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  15. ^ a b "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 11" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  16. ^ "Malala Fund".
  17. ^ "CM inaugurates university in Shangla". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  18. ^ "Shangla Campus (Alpuri) – UNIVERSITY OF SWAT". Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  19. ^ "Election Commission of Pakistan". Archived from the original on 2015-11-10. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
  20. ^ Ahmad, Waqas; Khan, Jalal Hayat; Ullah, Qudrat; Qasim, Muhammad; Rafi, Muhammad Ather (2023-10-05). "Exploring the Avian Diversity of Chakesar Valley, Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan". University of Sindh Journal of Animal Sciences. 7 (3). doi:10.57038/usjas.v7i03.6503. ISSN 2523-6067.
  21. ^ Ahmad, Waqas (2023-11-01). "New Distributional Record of Idricerus decreptius (Myrmeleontidae, Neuroptera) from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan". Indian Journal of Entomology: 1–3. doi:10.55446/IJE.2023.1488. ISSN 0974-8172.

Bibliography

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  • 1998 District Census report of Shangla. Census publication. Vol. 106. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.

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