Swat District

Swat ( Pashto / Urdu: سوات ) is a district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It is 5337 km ² and has about 1.26 million inhabitants. Capital of the district of Swat is Saidu Sharif, the place, however, largest city is Mingaora.

Geography

The district is located in north -west Pakistan. In the east it borders the districts of Kohistan and Shangla, to the south by the districts of Buner and Malakand, in the west on the Lower Dir and Chitral. In the north it borders the region of Gilgit -Baltistan, the former Northern Areas of Pakistan.

The district encompasses the valley of the River Swat. The region is because of the lush green fields in the valley and the light coniferous forests that grow on the hills of medium altitude, known as the " Switzerland of Pakistan ".

History

The river, which flows through the district, and the name of Swat was mentioned in the Hindu scripture Rig Veda as Suvastu over 3000 years ago.

In the region lasted until 1969, the princely state of Swat.

The Taliban have taken control of the area in February 2009 and since then provide battles with the government. This led in May of the same year to a counter-offensive by the Pakistani army and large waves of refugees.

In August 2010, the Swat valley was flooded during the flood disaster. As a result of the ongoing flooding occurred there on the first case of cholera.