Abbottabad District
ضلع ایبٹ آباد
ايبټ اباد ولسوالۍ‎
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Top: View of Abbottabad
Bottom: Thandiani in winter
A map showing the location of Abbottabad District within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province
A map showing the location of Abbottabad District within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province
Coordinates: 34°00′N 73°00′E / 34.000°N 73.000°E / 34.000; 73.000
CountryPakistan Pakistan
ProvinceKhyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
DivisionHazara
Established1853 (1853)
HeadquartersAbbottabad
Government
 • TypeDistrict Administration
 • Deputy CommissionerNadeem Nasir[1]
 • District Police OfficerUmar Tufail
 • District Health OfficerShah Faisal Khanzada
Area
[2]
 • Total1,967 km2 (759 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[3]
 • Total1,419,072
 • Density720/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+5 (PKT)
Area code0992
Number of Tehsils4
Websiteabbotabad.kp.gov.pk

Abbottabad District (Hindko, Urdu: ضِلع ایبٹ آباد) is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is part of the Hazara Division and Hazara region covers an area of 1,969 km2, with the city of Abbottabad being the principal town.[4] Neighbouring districts include Mansehra to the north and Haripur to the west in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Muzaffarabad to the east in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Rawalpindi to the south in Punjab.[5]

History

Origin of name

The district is named after Major James Abbott, the first deputy commissioner of Hazara (1849–1853).[5]

Hazara

During British rule Abbottabad became the capital of Hazara division, which was named after and contained the Hazara valley, a small valley in the outermost Himalayas, between the Indus in the west and Kashmir in the east.[6]

The current Abbottabad District was originally a tehsil of Hazara, the Imperial Gazetteer of India described it as follows:

Tahsīl of Hazāra District, North-West Frontier Province, lying between 33°49' and 34° 22' N. and 72°55' and 73° 31' E., with an area of 715 square miles (1,850 km2). It is bounded on the east by the Jhelum, which divides it from Pūnch and the Punjab District of Rawalpindi; and it comprises part of the mountain valleys drained by the Dor and Harroh rivers, together with the hill country eastward. The hill-sides to the north and north-east are covered with timber forest. The population in 1901 was 194,632, compared with 175,735 in 1891. It contains the towns of ABBOTTABAD (population, 7,764), the tahsil and District headquarters, and NAWASHAHR (4,114); and 359 villages. The land revenue and cesses amounted in 1903-4 to Rs. 97,000.[7]

In 1976 the tehsils of Mansehra and Battagram were separated into the new Mansehra District, while the tehsil of Haripur became a separate district in 1991.[8]: 8 

Administration

Provincial Assembly

Member of Provincial AssemblyParty AffiliationConstituencyYear
Nazir Ahmed AbbasiPakistan Tehreek-e-InsafPK-36 Abbottabad-I2018
Sardar AurangzebPakistan Muslim League (N)PK-37 Abbottabad-II2018
Qalandar Khan LodhiPakistan Tehreek-e-InsafPK-38 Abbottabad-III2018
Mushtaq Ahmed GhaniPakistan Tehreek-e-InsafPK-39 Abbottabad-IV2018

Demography

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1951 318,775—    
1961 354,452+1.07%
1972 524,826+3.63%
1981 647,635+2.36%
1998 880,666+1.82%
2017 1,333,089+2.21%
2023 1,419,072+1.05%
Sources:[9]

At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 1,333,089, of which 677,857 were males and 655,196 females. Rural population was 1,039,104 (77.95%) while the urban population was 293,985 (22.05%). The literacy rate was 76.20% - the male literacy rate was 86.40% while the female literacy rate was 65.76%. 3,172 (0.24%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians.[3]

Languages of Abbottabad district (2017)

  Hindko (86.59%)
  Pashto (5.97%)
  Urdu (2.48%)
  'Others' (mainly Kohistani) (1.91%)
  Punjabi (1.22%)
  Others (1.83%)

At the time of the 2017 census, 86.59% of the population spoke Hindko, 5.97% Pashto, 2.48% Urdu and 1.22% Punjabi as their first language. 1.91% of the population spoke languages classified as 'Others', mainly Kohistani languages.[3]

The major language of the area is Hindko, which in the 1981 census was the mother tongue of 95% of households.[10] The variety spoken in the city of Abbottabad has formed the basis of a literary language.[11] It is very close to the Hindko varieties of Mansehra: the two share 86% of their basic vocabulary.[12] In the Galliat region in the southeast of the district, the language is still known as Hindko but becomes more distinct and gradually transitions into the dialects of Pahari.[13]

Other languages, such as Pashto, Urdu and Punjabi, are found more in urban than rural areas.

Parks and protected areas

Under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management) Act of 1975, two areas have been designated with the district: Ayubia National Park and Qalandarabad game reserve.[14] Both areas cover only 6% of the landed area of the district.[14]

The Ayubia National Park was established in 1984, this park covers an area of over 3,312 ha.[14]

The Qalandarabad game reserve was established in 1980 with an area of 8,940ha.[14]

Subdivisions

Map showing the administrative subdivisions of Abbottabad District, the Union Councils of Havelian Tehsil are highlighted in green, whilst those of Abbottabad Tehsil are highlighted in red (the names neighbouring districts to Abbottabad are also shown).

Abbottabad district is divided into three tehsils, Abbottabad Tehsil, Havelian Tehsil and Tehsil Lower Tanawal as well as one urban administration area – Nawanshehr. There are fifty-one Union Councils in the district, 38 in Abbottabad tehsil and 13 in Havelian.

Election 2008

With the announcement by the Election commission of Pakistan that elections would be held on 8 January 2008[15] more than a dozen candidates filed their nomination papers in Abbottabad.[16]

Political campaigns

Abbottabad was the centre of the Sooba Hazara movement that started after national assembly passed 18th amendment to change the name of province from North West Frontier Province (NWFP) to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The former governor of the province has been vocal in this opposition to the new name[17]

Provincial assembly

The district is represented in the provincial assembly by four elected MPAs (PK-36 to PK-39):[18]

Education

According to the Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings 2015, Abbottabad is ranked 31 out of 148 districts in terms of education. For facilities and infrastructure, the district is ranked 72 out of 148.The literacy rate of Abbottabad is 69%. [19]

Notable people

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Abbottabad District.
  1. ↑ "Capt. (R).Nadeem Nasir, Deputy Commissioner Abbottabad".
  2. ↑ "Abbottabad District at a Glance". Islamabad: Population Census Organization. Archived from the original on January 2, 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2017)". www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  4. ↑ Geography of District Abbottabad Archived November 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  5. 1 2 IUCN Pakistan (2004). Abbottabad – State of the environment and Development. IUCN Pakistan and Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa: Karachi, p. 2.
  6. ↑ Hazara – Nordisk familjebok
  7. ↑ Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 5, p. 1
  8. ↑ 1998 District census report of Abbottabad. Census publication. Vol. 32. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 1999.
  9. ↑ "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  10. ↑ 1981 District Census report of Abbottabad. District Census Report. Vol. 24. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 1983. p. 76. The data is specifically for Abbottabad Tehsil; the only other tehsil of the district has since been promoted into the separate district of Haripur.
  11. ↑ Rahman, Tariq (1996). Language and politics in Pakistan. Oxford University Press. pp. 211–14. ISBN 978-0-19-577692-8.
  12. ↑ The figure is from: The relative homogeneity of the Hindko dialects of Abbottabad and Manshehra is mentioned in:
    • Rensch, Calvin R. (1992). "The Language Environment of Hindko-Speaking People". In O'Leary, Clare F.; Rensch, Calvin R.; Hallberg, Calinda E. (eds.). Hindko and Gujari. Sociolinguistic Survey of Northern Pakistan. Islamabad: National Institute of Pakistan Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University and Summer Institute of Linguistics. p. 56. ISBN 969-8023-13-5.
  13. ↑ Lothers & Lothers 2010, pp. 2, 5, 24ff.
  14. 1 2 3 4 IUCN Pakistan (2004). Abbottabad – State of the environment and Development. IUCN Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Karachi, p. 50.
  15. ↑ 2008 Elections – ELECTION COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN Archived 2008-01-17 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ↑ Election campaign starts in Abbottabad – Associated press of Pakistan
  17. ↑ Complete strike on riots anniversary: Hazara to get separate identity soon: Baba
  18. ↑ PF-48 (Abbottabad-V) Result: Announced Archived 2012-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ "Individual district profile link, 2015". Alif Ailaan. Archived from the original on 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
  20. ↑ "Newly released White House photos capture the day bin Laden was killed". Washington Post. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
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