Malakand Division

Until 1970, the area was known as the Malakand Agency.[http://www.jamestown.org/programs/gta/single/?tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=891&tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=181&no_cache=1 Profile of Pakistan's Tribal Areas] In 1970, Malakand Division was formed from the princely states of Chitral, Dir and Swat (incorporated into West Pakistan in 1969) and an area around the Malakand Fort known as the Malakand Protected Area. The capital of Malakand Division is Saidu Sharif, with the largest city being Mingora. In late 2018, former Chitral District was bifurcated into Upper Chitral District, from Mastuj Tehsil, and Lower Chitral District, from Chitral Tehsil.{{cite web |date=21 December 2018 |title=Chitral bifurcated into two districts |url=https://www.chitraltoday.net/2018/12/chitral-bifurcated-into-two-districts/ |access-date=15 June 2020 |website=Chitral bifurcated into two districts - Chitral Today |publisher=Chitral Today}}

{{Historical populations|1951|...|1961|...|1972|...|1981|2,466,767|1998|4,262,700|2017|7,514,694|2023|9,959,399|align=center|percentages=pagr|footnote=Sources:{{cite web |title=Population by administrative units 1951-1998 |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/1998/administrative_units.pdf |publisher = Pakistan Bureau of Statistics}}}}

According to 2023 census, Malakand division had a population of 9,959,399https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/punjab/pcr/table_1.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}} roughly equal to the country of Greece{{cite web |author=US Directorate of Intelligence |title=Country Comparison:Population |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613004507/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2119rank.html |archive-date=13 June 2007 |access-date=2011-10-01 |quote=Latvia 2,204,708, July 2011 est.}} or the US state of Michigan{{cite web |title=2010 Resident Population Data |url=http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019160532/http://2010.census.gov/2010census/data/apportionment-pop-text.php |archive-date=19 October 2013 |access-date=2011-09-30 |publisher=U. S. Census Bureau |quote=New Mexico - 2,059,179}} or Chinese province of Hainan.

{{Malakand Division is comprising 09 districts i.e. Swat, Shangla, Buner, Malakand, Dir Upper & Lower, Chitral Upper & Lower and Bajaur Tribal District with a total area of 32007Kms having population of 8.7 million. Formerly, the districts were princely states of Swat, Dir, Chitral and Malakand Protected Area (Malakand Agency). The States were merged in Pakistan by the Government of Pakistan in 1969 and were declared as Malakand Division. The area consists of snow-capped mountains, singing rivers, fruits laden orchards, flower decked slops and green meadows which attract tourists both at national as well as international level. It lies in the north of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa touching Karakuram Highway at Besham, Afghan border with Dir & Chitral and the strategic Wakhan strip is bordering Chitral. The mentioning of this area is found in the ancient Greek accounts & by other historians. It was a center of Aryan and later on rich Ghandhara civilizations before the Muslim rulers. Alexander the Great, king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia passed through this route to India in 327 B.C, attacking the biggest cities of the area, Massaga (Chakdara), Bazira (Barikot) & Ora (Odigram) and faced tough resistance. However, he could not survive for longer. This area also witnessed the invasion of Sakas(nomadic Iranian people), Kushans (syncretic empire) & white Huns (a race of largely nomadic peoples who were a part of the Hunnic tribes of Central Asia), this region also remained under the influence of Ashoka of Maurian dynasty. The flourishing of Buddhism had genesis in the reign of Ashoka as he adopted Buddhism in the later part of his life. The area then had more than 1400 monasteries and 18000 monks in different parts and was a prominent center of Ghandhara civilization.{{cite web |title=About Malakand Division |url=https://cmd.kp.gov.pk/page/about_malakand_division/page_type/message#sthash.TV9aWqpB.dpuf |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=cmd.kp.gov.pk}}

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Category:Divisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Category:History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa