Malakand District
Malakand District (Pashto: ملاکنډ ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع ملاکنڈ) is a district in the Malakand Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
Malakand
ضلع ملاکنڈ ملاکنډ ولسوالۍ | |
|---|---|
Top: View from top of Malakand Pass Bottom: River Swat near Jalawanan | |
Location in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Division | Malakand |
| Headquarters | Batkhela |
| Government | |
| • Type | District Administration |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Shahid Khan Mohmand |
| • District Police Officer | N/A |
| • District Health Officer | N/A |
| Area | |
| • Total | 952 km2 (368 sq mi) |
| Population (2017) | |
| • Total | 717,806 |
| • Density | 750/km2 (2,000/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 67,686 |
| • Rural | 650,120 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Number of Tehsils | 2 |
| Main language | Pashto (98.2%) |
| Website | malakand |
Until 1970, it was a part of the Malakand Protected Area of the erstwhile Provincially Administered Tribal Area(PATA) of Pakistan. In 1970, the district became part of the Malakand Division.
Malakand District lies at a strategically important position as it acts as a gateway to the Bajaur, Lower Dir, Swat and Bunair districts. It is surrounded by mountains that were covered with the varieties of trees, though they have a barren appearance nowadays. The Malakand Pass which connects Mardan to Swat and Dir is located near a region of Malakand called Dargai, a site where the local Pushtun tribes fought two fierce battles with the Imperial British Army in 1895 and 1897 (Siege of Malakand).
The Swat River flows downwards through the district towards the Charsadda District where it falls into the Kabul River. Malakand District is bounded in the north by the Lower Dir District, in the east by the Swat District, in the west by Mohmand and Bajaur districts and in the southeast and southwest by the Mardan and Charsadda districts respectively. The area of Malakand protected area is 952 km2.