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Abbottabad District

Coordinates: 34°00′N 73°00′E / 34.000°N 73.000°E / 34.000; 73.000
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Abbottabad District
ضلع ایبٹ آباد
ايبټ اباد ولسوالۍ‎
District
Top: Thandiani in winter
Bottom: View of Abbottabad
Abbottabad District (red) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Abbottabad District (red) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
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; 171 years ago (1853)
HeadquartersAbbottabad
Administrative Subdivisions
04
  • Abbottabad Tehsil
    Havelian Tehsil
    Lora Tehsil
    Lower Tanawal Tehsil
Government
 • TypeDistrict Administration
 • Deputy CommissionerKhalid Iqbal
 • ConstituensyNA-16 Abbottabad-I
NA-17 Abbottabad-II
Area
[1]
 • District
1,967 km2 (759 sq mi)
Elevation
1,363 m (4,472 ft)
Highest elevation
2,924 m (9,593 ft)
Lowest elevation
554 m (1,818 ft)
Population
 (2023)[2]
 • District
1,419,072
 • Density720/km2 (1,900/sq mi)
 • Urban
332,315 (23.42%)
 • Rural
1,086,757
DemonymHazarewal
Time zoneUTC+05:00 (PKT)
 • Summer (DST)DST is not observed
ZIP Code
22020
NWD (area) code0992
ISO 3166 codePK-KP
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.[3] 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 the Punjab province.[4] According to 2023 Pakistani census population of Abbottabad district is 1,397,587 (1.39 million).

History

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Origin of name

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The district is named after Major James Abbott, the first deputy commissioner of Hazara (1849–1853).[4]

Hazara

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During British rule, Abbottabad became the capital of the 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.[5]

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.[6]

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.[7]: 8 

Administration

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Provincial Assembly

[edit]
Member of Provincial Assembly Party Affiliation Constituency Year
Nazir Ahmed Abbasi Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PK-36 Abbottabad-I 2018
Sardar Aurangzeb Pakistan Muslim League (N) PK-37 Abbottabad-II 2018
Qalandar Khan Lodhi Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PK-38 Abbottabad-III 2018
Mushtaq Ahmed Ghani Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf PK-39 Abbottabad-IV 2018

Demography

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Languages of Abbottabad district (2023 Pakistani census)[8]

  Hindko (87.43%)
  Pashto (5.84%)
  Urdu (3.05%)
  Kohistani (0.84%)
  Punjabi (0.74%)
  Others (2.07%)

At the time of the 2023 census, 87.43% (1,221,957) of the population spoke Hindko, 5.85% (81,731) Pashto, 3.06% (42,734) Urdu, 11,744 Kohistani, 10,401 Punjabi, 1,971 Shina, 1,722 Saraiki, 1,080 Kashmiri as their first language. Other languages, namely the Kohistani (11,744), are also spoken in this district.[8]

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]

As of the 2023 census, Abbottabad district has 236,789 households and a population of 1,419,072. The district has a sex ratio of 100.77 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 77.34%: 86.20% for males and 68.42% for females. 334,274 (23.92% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 332,315 (23.42%) live in urban areas.[2]

Religion

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Religions in Abbottabad district (2023)[10]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 99.56%
Christianity
 
 0.42%
Other or not stated
 
 0.02%
Religion in Abbottabad District
Religion 1941[11]: 22 [a] 2017[12] 2023[10]
Pop. % Pop. % Pop. %
Islam 284,228 92.13% 1,329,917 99.76% 1,391,394 99.56%
Hinduism 17,558 5.69% 80 0.01% 114 0.01%
Sikhism 6,035 1.96% — — 43 ~0%
Christianity 278 0.09% 2,605 0.20% 5,818 0.42%
Other 419 0.13% 487 0.03% 218 0.01%
Total Population 308,518 100% 1,333,089 100% 1,397,587[b] 100%

The major language of the area is Hindko, which in the 1981 census, was the mother tongue of 95% of households.[13] The variety spoken in the city of Abbottabad has formed the basis of a literary language.[14] It is very close to the Hindko varieties of Mansehra: the two share 86% of their basic vocabulary.[15] 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.[16]

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

Parks and protected areas

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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.[17] Both areas cover only 6% of the landed area of the district.[17]

The Ayubia National Park was established in 1984, this park covers an area of over 3,312 ha.[17]

The Qalandarabad game reserve was established in 1980 with an area of 8,940ha.[17]

Subdivisions

[edit]
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 four tehsils, Abbottabad Tehsil, Havelian Tehsil, Lora Tehsil and Lower Tanawal Tehsil 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

[edit]

With the announcement by the Election commission of Pakistan that elections would be held on 8 January 2008,[18] more than a dozen candidates filed their nomination papers in Abbottabad.[19]

Political campaigns

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Abbottabad was the centre of the Sooba Hazara movement that started after the national assembly passed the 18th amendment to change the name of the 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[20]

Provincial assembly

[edit]

The district is represented in the provincial assembly by four elected MPAs (PK-36 to PK-39):[21]

Education

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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%.[22]

See also

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References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Abbottabad District.
  1. ^ "Abbottabad District at a Glance". Islamabad: Population Census Organization. Archived from the original on January 2, 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
  2. ^ a b "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 1" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  3. ^ Geography of District Abbottabad Archived November 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ a b IUCN Pakistan (2004). Abbottabad – State of the environment and Development. IUCN Pakistan and Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa: Karachi, p. 2.
  5. ^ Hazara – Nordisk familjebok
  6. ^ Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 5, p. 1
  7. ^ 1998 District census report of Abbottabad. Census publication. Vol. 32. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 1999.
  8. ^ a b "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 11" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  9. ^ "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  10. ^ a b "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 9" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  11. ^ "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 10, North-West Frontier Province". 1941. p. 22. JSTOR saoa.crl.28215543. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Pakistan Census 2017 District-Wise Tables: Haripur District". Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ Rahman, Tariq (1996). Language and politics in Pakistan. Oxford University Press. pp. 211–14. ISBN 978-0-19-577692-8.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ Lothers & Lothers 2010, pp. 2, 5, 24ff.
  17. ^ a b c d IUCN Pakistan (2004). Abbottabad – State of the environment and Development. IUCN Pakistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Karachi, p. 50.
  18. ^ 2008 Elections – ELECTION COMMISSION OF PAKISTAN Archived 2008-01-17 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Election campaign starts in Abbottabad – Associated press of Pakistan
  20. ^ Complete strike on riots anniversary: Hazara to get separate identity soon: Baba
  21. ^ PF-48 (Abbottabad-V) Result: Announced Archived 2012-11-15 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Individual district profile link, 2015". Alif Ailaan. Archived from the original on 2016-01-08. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
  1. ^ Abbottabad tehsil of erstwhile Hazara district, which roughly corresponds to the present district.
  2. ^ Different from official population figure since it excludes sensitive areas where religion was not asked
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