Chitral District


Chitral District was a district in the Malakand Division of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from 14 August 1947 to 2018. It was the northernmost and the largest district of the province, covering an area of 14,850 km2, before the district was split in two forming the new districts of Upper Chitral and Lower Chitral.
It shared district borders with Swat and Dir to the south, a provincial border with Gilgit-Baltistan to the east and the Durand Line as international border with Afghanistan to the north and west. Afghanistan's narrow strip of Wakhan Corridor separated Chitral from Tajikistan in the north.

History

Chitral shared much of its history and culture with the neighbouring Hindu Kush territories of Gilgit-Baltistan, a region sometimes called "Peristan" because of the common belief in fairies inhabiting the high mountains.
The entire region that formed the Chitral District was an independent monarchical state until 1895, when the British negotiated a treaty with its hereditary ruler, the Mehtar, under which Chitral became a semi-autonomous princely state within the Indian Empire. The princely state of Chitral retained this status even after its accession to Pakistan in 1947, finally being made an administrative district of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, disestablishing the Princely State.

Topography and access

Chitral was counted amongst the highest regions of the world, sweeping from 1,094 metres at Arandu to 7,726 metres at Tirichmir and packing over 40 peaks more than 6,100 metres in height. The terrain of Chitral was very mountainous, and Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, rises in the north of the former district. Around 4.8 percent of the land was covered by forest, and 76 percent was mountains and glaciers.
Chitral was connected to the rest of Pakistan by two major road routes, the Lowari Pass from Dir and Shandur Top from Gilgit. Both routes used to be closed in winter, but circa 2017 the highway Lowari Tunnel under the Lowari Pass opened to vehicular traffic for at least ten hours per day. A number of other high passes, including Darkot Pass, Thoi Pass, and Zagaran Pass, provided access on foot to Chitral from Gilgit-Baltistan.
  • Arandu Pass, on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan
  • Broghol Pass, on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan
  • Dorah Pass, on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan
  • Darkot Pass, on the border between Chitral and Gupis-Yasin District
  • Shandur Pass, on the border between Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan
  • Lowari Pass, on the border between Chitral and upper Dir
  • Lowari Tunnel, highway under Lowari Pass
  • Thoi Pass, on the border between Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan
  • Zagaran Pass, on the border between Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan

    Demographics

The district had a population of about 414,000. The general population was mainly made up of Kho people, who speak Khowar, which is also spoken in parts of Yasin, Gilgit, Dir, and Swat. Chitral was also home to the Kalash tribe, who live in Bumburet and two other remote valleys southwest of Chitral town. A few thousand Nuristani people were also known to live in Chitral.
The main language of the region is Khowar. There are also smaller communities of speakers of Dameli, Gawar-Bati, Gujari, Kalasha, Kyrgyz, Katë, Madaklashti, Palula, Sarikoli, Wakhi, and Yidgha. Urdu has official status.

Chitral town

The town of Chitral in the district is served as capital. It is situated on the west bank of the Chitral River at the foot of Tirich Mir, which at 7,708 m is the highest peak of the Hindu Kush. Formerly it served as the capital of the princely state of Chitral and now it has this role for the succeeding Lower Chitral district.

Administration

The district of Chitral was divided into twenty-four union councils and two tehsils:
  • Chitral
  • Mastuj

    National Assembly

This district was represented by one elected MNA in Pakistan National Assembly. Its constituency was NA-1.
Member of National AssemblyParty affiliationYear
Abdul Akbar KhanMuttahida Majlis-e-Amal2002
Shahzada MohiuddinPakistan Muslim League2008
Shahzada Iftikhar UddinAll Pakistan Muslim League2013

Provincial Assembly

The district was represented by two elected MPAs in the provincial assembly, who represented the following constituencies:
  • PK-2
  • PK-1

    Valleys

Chitral District is divided into over 35 small valleys