Shangla District

Shangla District شانگه
District
ضلع شانگه
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Headquarters	Alpuri
Area
• Total	1,586 km2 (612 sq mi)
Population  (2014 (est))
• Total	733,000
• Density	274/km2 (710/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
District Council	28 seats
Number of Tehsils	2 Alpuri&Puran

Shangla District (Urdu: ضلع شانگه) is located in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The district headquarters are located at Alpuri. It was previously a subdivision of Swat District, but was upgraded to the status of a district on July 10, 1995 by the then Chief Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao. The total area of the district is 1,586 square kilometres. Shangla comprises two sub division, Alpuri and Puran Tehsil. There are four (4) sub tehsils i.e. Besham, Chakesar, Martung and Makhuzai. Shangla has the lowest Human Development Index in the province and second lowest in the country.

Languages

Pashto speakers are in majority but Hindko,Gujri and Kohistani are also spoken. Urdu being National language is also spoken and understood. Kohistan in shina not Pashto as wrongly shown in map here in red.

Location

The district is bounded in the north by Kohistan District, in the east by Battagram District and the tribal area of Kala Dhaka (Black Mountain of Hazara), in the west by Swat District and in the south by Buner District.

History

A view of Shangla

There are relics of the ancient Greek period at Pirsar, Chakesar and Daut. it is believed that Alexander the Great camped at Pirsar for a few days. There are also relics of the Hindu Shahi in Qlandar-Ajmair.

Alexander the great visied Persar Dandai and then went back from the place without further conquering.

Geography

Map of Shangla district

The communications with Swat are Shangla pass (Shangla top).

Shangla district consists of small valleys, and is situated between the hillocks and surrounded by high mountains full of forests comprising Pindrow Fir, Morinda Spruce, Blue Pine (Kail), Chir Pine and Deodar Cedar trees. The average elevation of the district is 2000 to 3000 meters above sea level. The highest point (3,440 m) is near Kuz Ganrshal in the north of the district. There are beautiful isolated valleys most suitable for seed production of highly demanded cross pollinated vegetable crops. Moreover Shangla has got pretty enough potential for hydel power generation, one such project underway is at Khan Khwar.

Administrative divisions

Under the devolved local government system Shangla is divided into two Sub-Divisions/Tehsils namely:-

• Alpuri

Lilownai

• Puran Tehsil

and four (4) Sub-Tehsils, namely

• Besham
• Chakesar
• Martung
• Makhuzai

There are 28 Union Councils. Alpuri Tehsil (Sub division) consists of 19 Union Councils and Puran Tehsil (Sub-division) consists of 9 Union Councils.

A view of Shangla Road

Population

According to the 1998 census, the district had a population of 435,563 with an average annual growth rate of 3.3% and population density of 274 persons per square kilometre. The total number of households is 64,391 with an average household size of 8.1.

Almost the entire population is Muslim (99.8%) with very small numbers of Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadis.

Demographics

Most of the local inhabitants are agriculturists. Though the agricultural area of the district is fertile but the agricultural holdings are very small as compared to the number of owners. The total cultivated area of the district is 423.6 square kilometres (104,700 acres) out of which only 30.75 square kilometres (7,600 acres) is irrigated and the remaining 392.85 square kilometres (97,080 acres) is non-irrigated. Shangla District is full of natural resources, having a vast scope for investment and development.

It was severely hit during the October 8, 2005 earthquake and many people were left homeless.

Flora

A number of medicinal plants are found in the area including the following:

• Tarkha (Artemizia species)
• Unab (Zizyphus Sativa)
• Althea (Althaca Officinalis)
• Banafsha (Viola serpens)
• Mushki Bala (Valeriana species)
• Musli Sufed (Aspargus species)

Fauna

The district is home to a variety of fauna including deer, bears, pheasants and leopards.

• Markhor (Capra falconeri)
• Himalayan ibex (Capre ibex sibirica)
• Urial (Ovis orientalis)
• Himalayan black bear (Selenaretos thibetanus)
• Brown bear (Ursus arctos)
• Indian Hare (Lepus nigricollis)
• Leopard (Panthera pardus)
• Snow leopard (Panthera Uncia)
• Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes)
• Rhesus Monkey (Maaca mulatta)
• Blue rock pigeon (Columba livia)
• Spotted dove (Streptopelia chinensis)
• Little brown dove (s. senegalensis)
• Chakor (Alectoris chukar)
• Himalayan snow cock (Tetracollus himalayensis)
• Red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus)
• Monal pheasant (Lphororus impejanus)
• Koklas pheasant (Pucrasis macrolopha)
• Satyr tragopan (Tragopan satyra)
• Hoopoe (Lupupa epops)
• White breasted kingfisher (Halcyon smyrensis)
• Indian robin (Saxicoloides fullicota)

Well-known sites

Shangla is also a historical place in South Asia: home to several Buddhist hermits, as well as a small but thriving Hindu community in the Chakesar region. It is said that the region known as Ghorband in the north west of Shangla was visited by Alexander the Great's Army in 326 B.C. where it fought a battle with the locals at the mount Pir Sar. Later on in the 15th century Shangla witnessed a population shift from neighbouring Afghanistan (Pakhtun tribe Yousafzais) with locals migrating into Hazara.

Politics

Shangla was given District status by the then Chief Minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao in 1995, on the demand of Lawyer's Community of Shangla. The chief minister Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao upgraded Shangla to the status of district on July 10, 1995 in a public meeting in Alpuri.