Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( Urdu خیبر پختونخوا ) 1901-2010 North West Frontier Province (English North-West Frontier Province, NWFP) is a province of Pakistan. It is mainly populated by Pashtuns. Large parts of the province were once part of Afghanistan. The capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Peshawar is. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA ) are called by the Afghans eastern Afghanistan or Pashtunistan.

Geography

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa borders ( clockwise from the north- east) of Gilgit- Baltistan ( the former Northern Areas ), the semi-autonomous Azad Kashmir, the Punjab province - with which it surrounds the capital territory of Islamabad - the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Afghanistan. With an area of ​​74,521 km ² Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the smallest area of ​​province of Pakistan. While the plane around the provincial capital Peshawar to about 340 m above sea level. M. extends, is the highest peak of the province, the Tirich Mir, high on 7750 m. The western region along the border with Afghanistan are very dry with sparse vegetation; the central and eastern mountain areas, however, are already in the sub-tropical continental highlands, with snowy winters, cool summers and winter and summer rain. In the lowlands around Peshawar, however, the temperature reached in June / July to 45 ° C.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the most forested province of Pakistan. According to the Forest Sector Master Plan of 1993, 17 % of the area forested ( Pakistan: 4.8%), while 15 % used for agriculture (Pakistan: 23%). These official figures are doubted by experts, however, since deforestation is proceeding as before quickly. Several reports came as also concluded that the forest in the accessible areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be gone without drastic measures until 2025. Most species are among the conifers Himalayan cedar, tears pine, Pinus roxburghii, Pindrow - fir, Pinus excelsa and pineal smithiana. The most common deciduous tree is the walnut.

In the north of the province of Chitral Gol National Park is located in the rare mountain animals like the Markhor are protected.

Administration

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly NWFP)
• Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA )

In its present form, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has existed since 1901, when she received from the British occupation the name North-West Frontier Province ( which was unpopular especially with the majority of the Pashtuns ). Administratively, the province is divided into 24 districts: Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in.

In addition, the province covers 25,700 km ² so-called Federally Administered Tribal Areas ( Fatas - Federally Administered Tribal Areas), in which neither provincial nor the state government have much impact. This Fatàs be represented against the state by a political agent.

In February 2009, the Administration signed an agreement in Peshawar, allow for the use Sharia is applied in the Malakand District. In April 2009, the Swat district followed.

Population

1998 17.7 million people were living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Since 1950, the population has almost quadrupled. The current growth rate is 2.82% per year, which is the highest rate in the whole of Pakistan. About 83% of all people live in rural areas with a population density of 238 persons / km ² ( by the Punjab of Pakistan, the second highest ). The average household size is 8 persons. The literacy rate for men is 49%, women 81%. Pashtu is spoken by 73.9 % of the population (1998 ), followed by Hindko (18%) in the region of Hazara, with many people also speak the national language Urdu. In 1998, 99.4 % of the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa referred to as Muslims.

History

During the period of British rule, the North-West Frontier introduced the external border of the British Empire; they was formed in November 1901 as a North-West Frontier Province by Lord Curzon. The largest concentration of units of the British Indian Army was here, on the border with Afghanistan. The British feared that Russia would from there, take the offensive for supremacy in Central Asia, the Great Game. For this reason, here began the Anglo-Afghan wars.

The floods in Pakistan in 2010 was for this area the worst flood since 1929. Many houses were washed away bridges and roads badly damaged, livestock is partially drowned and crops were largely destroyed.