Shaheed Benazirabad District ضلع شہید بینظیر آباد شهيد بينظيرآباد ضلعو‎ Nawabshah District ضلع نوابشاہ نوابشاھ ضلعو‎
District of Sindh
Sunset on Nawabshah-Sarhari road
Map of Sindh with Shaheed Benazirabad District
Country	Pakistan
Province	Sindh
Division	Shaheed Benazir Abad
Established	1st November 1912
Founded by	British government
Headquarters	Nawabshah
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Deputy Commissioner	Miss Kanwal Nizam Shaikh
• District Police Officer	N/A
• District Health Officer	N/A
Area
• Total	4,502 km2 (1,738 sq mi)
Population  (2017)[1]
• Total	1,613,506
• Density	360/km2 (930/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
Number of Tehsils	4

Shaheed Benazirabad District (Sindhi: شهيد بينظيرآباد ضلعو, Urdu: ضلع شہید بینظیر آباد) previously known as Nawabshah District, is one of the districts in the province of Sindh, Pakistan.

Renaming

The district was renamed in September 2008 when most of MPAs of Nawabshah demanded the district be renamed to honour the late party leader.^[2]

The renaming of the district was criticised by the family of Syed Nawabshah and others who, while saddened at the death of Bhutto, felt that Nawabshah was a historic district and ought to have kept its name.^[2]

History

At the establishment of the district in 1 November 1912, seven talukas were included in this district:

1. Kandiaro
2. Naushero Feroze
3. Moro
4. Sakrand
5. Nawabshah
6. Sinjhoro
7. Shahdadpur

The district was divided into two Sub-divisions, namely Nawabshah Sub-division and Naushahro Feroze Sub-division. The former comprised the three talukas Shahdadpur, Sinjhoro and Nawabshah, while the later comprise the four talukas of Kandiaro, Naushahro Feroze, Moro and Sakrand.

In 1953 the talukas of Shahdadpur and Sinjhoro became part of the newly established Sanghar District. This left Nawabshah Sub-division with only one taluka, so Sakrand taluka was moved from Naushahro Feroze Sub-division to Nawabshah Sub-division. In 1989, another part of the district, the talukas of Nausehro Feroz, Kandiaro and half of the taluka of Moro, was cleaved from it to form the new Naushahro Feroze District.^[3] A new taluka, Daulatpur, was created, from half of the Moro and some of Sakrand taluka in Nawabshah district. The district then contained three talukas:

1. Nawabshah
2. Sakrand
3. Daulatpur

In 2005, after the local government election, a new taluka named Daur was cleaved from Nawabshah taluka and Daulatpur taluka renamed to Kazi Ahmed.

The district then comprised four talukas:

1. Nawabshah
2. Sakrand
3. Daulatpur (now Kazi Ahmed)
4. Daur

In May 2014, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck the district, killing one person and injuring 70.^[4]

Administrative

Shaheed_Benazirabad_District

Shaheed Benazir Abad formerly Nawabshah District. The Deputy Commissioner is responsible for overall administration of the district. Miss Kanwal Nizam Shaikh is currently the Deputy Commissioner of Shaheed Benazirabad since May 2023. She is the first female officer in history of Shaheed Benazirabad to serve as DC. The district is sub-divided into four Tehsils:

• Sakrand
• Nawabshah
• Qazi Ahmed
• Daur

Demographics

At the time of the 2017 census, Shaheed Benazirabad district had a population of 1,613,506, of which 833,235 were males and 780,089 females. The rural population was 1,123,696 (69.64%) and urban 489,810 (30.36%). The literacy rate is 46.86%: 59.42% for males and 33.85% for females.^[1]

The majority religion is Islam, with 95.82% of the population. Hinduism (including those from Scheduled Castes) is practiced by 3.86% of the population.^[1]

At the time of the 2017 census, 82.70% of the population spoke Sindhi, 6.86% Urdu, 5.61% Punjabi, 1.57% Brahui and 1.40% Balochi as their first language.^[1]

Education

District Shaheed Benazirabad is ranked at the 125th position in the education score index of the Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017 published by Alif Ailaan.

Low learning outcome issues remain a hindrance for district Shaheed Benazirabad. Issues reported by the residents via the Taleem Do! App complain of the lack of primary schools in the area. The debate on whether basic education should be provided in the regional, national or official languages has been a point of debate in Pakistan for several years.

Events

The H. M. Khoja Annual Flower Show was introduced by H. M. Khoja in 1954 at Khoja Garden. The celebrations take place for three or four days.^[5]

Major educational institutes

Educational institutions in district Benazirabad include:

Major Health Centres

• Benazir Institute Urology and Transplantation
• Civil Hospital Nawabshah
• Maternity And Child Health Care Institute Benazirabad Nawabshah
• Taluka Hospital Sakrand, Shaheed Benazirabad

• Animal Hospital Nawabshah, Shaheed Benazirabad
• EWRO Eye Center Nawabshah, Shaheed Benazirabad
• Medical Center Daulatpur, Shaheed Benazirabad
• NORIN Cancer Hospital Nawabshah, Shaheed Benazirabad
• Taluka Hospital Daur, Shaheed Benazirabad
• Taluka Hospital Kazi Ahmed, Shaheed Benazirabad
• Trauma Center Nawabshah, Shaheed Benazirabad

Union Councils

There are 62 Union Councils in Shaheed Benazirabad District: Union Councils are given below:

List of Dehs

The following is a list of Dadu District's 351 dehs, organised by taluka:^[6]

• Nawabshah taluka (51 dehs)

• Daur taluka (169 dehs)

• Qazi Ahmed taluka (65 dehs)

• Sakrand taluka (64 dehs)

See also

• Bilawal Stadium
• Mayor of Benazirabad
• Municipal Corporation Shaheed Benazirabad

References

Sources

• 1998 District census report of Nawabshah. Census publication. Vol. 63. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.
• Website of the Election Commission of Pakistan (Election Results National Assembly)
• The book Aeena Zila Nawabshah compiled and written by Muhammad Ayub Shad

26°35′N 68°10′E / 26.583°N 68.167°E / 26.583; 68.167