Nowshera District is a district in the Peshawar Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The capital and district headquarter is Nowshera city.

Overview and history

Nowshera was previously a tehsil (subdivision) of Peshawar. In 1988, it received the elevated status of district. It is bordered by Peshawar District to the west, Mardan District to the north, Charsadda District to the northwest, Swabi District to the northeast, Kohat District to the south, Orakzai Agency to the southwest and Attock District to the east. Previously, it was known as Nowkhaar Province until it was annexed into British India via the Durand Line Agreement. Prior to its establishment as a separate district between 1988-1990, Nowshera was part of Peshawar District. The district was also part of the Peshawar Division until the reforms of The Government of Pakistan. The total area of Nowshera is 1,748 km2. The population density is 608 persons per square kilometre. The total agricultural area is 52,540 hectares. The main source of income of the region is agriculture.

Demographics

As of the 2023 census, Nowshera district has 259,774 households and a population of 1,740,705. The district has a sex ratio of 103.78 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 56.78%: 68.53% for males and 44.49% for females. 478,985 (27.6% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 341,959 (19.64%) live in urban areas.

Tribes

The major tribes of the district are the Pashtuns of the Durrani, Khattak, Yousafzai, Kakakhel and Babar tribes. The most dominant being the Khattak tribe and their largest subclan, the Akora Khattak.

Languages

At the time of the 2023 census, 95.04% of the population spoke Pashto, 2.25% Hindko, 1.08% Punjabi and 0.99% Urdu as their first language.

Education

Nowshera district is home to many educational institutions. This includes the University of Technology, Nowshera, Northern University, Nowshera, a campus of the Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan in Pabbi town, and also a campus of the University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar in Jalozai town. The district also has a public sector medical college: Nowshera Medical College. It is also home to many degree colleges which include Government Post Graduate College Nowshera, Government Home Economics College Nowshera, Government College Akbarpura, Government Degree College Pabbi and Government Girls Degree College Pabbi. According to the Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings of 2017, Nowshera district was ranked 71 out of 155 districts in Pakistan in the quality of education while for facilities and infrastructure, the district was ranked 14 out of 155. A vast improvement from the rankings of 2016: the quality of education was ranked 71 out of 151, while facilities and infrastructure were ranked 42 out of 151.

Administration and politics

The district is administratively divided into 3 Tehsils.

Union councils

The district is divided into 47 Union Councils. The largest by area is Nizampur & the smallest by area is Pabbi.

Towns and villages

The main towns in Nowshera District are Nowshera city (Capital), Badrashi, Pabbi, Jalozai, Akora Khattak, Jehangira, Risalpur, Khairabad and Nizampur. The main villages are below.

Cantonments

These cantonments were created by the British Raj. There are three cantonments in Nowshera District:

Provincial and National Assembly seats

Provincial Assembly

The district has 5 Provincial Seats in The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.

National Assembly

The district has 2 National Assembly Seats in The National Assembly of Pakistan.

Since 2002: NA-5 (Nowshera-I)

Since 2002: NA-6 (Nowshera-II)

The District is currently represented by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf who won all 7 Seats in the recent elections.

Geography

The following are the rivers which flow through the Nowshera District. Some of the most famous parks are as follows: After the launch of CPEC project, Rashakai village of Nowshera is now an Economic Zone of KPK.

Highways and motorways

Military history

Military installations

Buildings and institutions

Shrines

Nowshera District is the home of many Sufi shrines.

Shrine of Kastir Gul (Kaka Sahib)

The shrine of 16th century’s most popular Sufi saint Sayyid Kastir Gul alias Hazrat Kaka Sahib is located in a rugged mountainous area around 12 km south of Nowshera district. It is considered one of the most frequently visited religious heritage sites in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Born on the first of Ramazan in 1576, Kaka Sahib had received religious education from his Sufi father, Hazrat Sheikh Syed Bahadur Baba, and few Islamic scholars of his time. He used to practice all four Sufi orders – Naqshbandia, Suharwardia, Chistia and Qadria. Kaka Sahib also fondly called as Ziaree Kaka used to deliver lessons to his devotees.

Shrine of Sheikh Syed Nadir Shah (Mast Baba)

The shrine of Syed Nadir Shah (Mast Baba) He was the father of Syed Sheikh Bahadur Baba (Abbak Sahib) and grand father of Syed Kasteer Gul (Kaka Sahib). He died on (02 Safar 969 Hijri) 1561-62 AD. The Shrine is located at Khawara village Khatak Territory Nowshera.

Shrine of Sheikh Bahadur Baba (Abbak Sahib)

The shrine of Sheikh Bahadur Baba is named after Sheikh Bahadur Baba. He was born at Khawara Village Khatak territory, on (15 Ramadan 941 Hijri) 1524 AD. After a life of full struggle for the prosperity of Islam and spreading of spiritual light in the region, he died on (14 Shaban 1027 Hijri) 1627 AD. He married once and had four Sons one died as an infant, and the remaining three are Syed Sheikh Afan Sahib and Syed Sheikh Hayat Sahib(Alias Sheikh Attaan Sahib) Syed Sheikh Kasteer Gul (Sheikh Rahamkar, Kaka Sahib). His descendants are known as Abbak Kheil and Kakakheil scattered all over Kpk province. The Shrine is located near(1.5 km) the village of Kana Khel.

Maslak Bahadur Baba

Bahadur Baba was follower of his father Mast Baba's maslak in Chishtiyyah and Suharwardiyah orders. Main Wali Sahib, Main Shadi Sahib, sheikh Afan sahib, Sheikh Syed Kasteer Gul Sahib(Kaka Sahib), Akhund Mian Dad, Akhund Shareef Bali, Sheikh Allah Dad Khatak, Sheikh Nask, Faqeer Malik Meer.

Shrine of Akhund Panju Baba

The shrine of Akhund Pangu Baba is named after Syed Abdul Wahab commonly known as Akhund Panju Baba and Baba Sahib. It is located in Akbarpura town in Pabbi Tehsil of Nowshera. The shrine was attacked by Taliban militants in 2011 killing 11 people.

Shrine of Sheikh Baba

The shrine of Sheikh Shahbaz Baba is named after Sheikh Shahbaz Baba commonly known as Sheikh Baba. The shrine is located in Pabbi town near Grand Trunk (GT), Nowshera.

Shrine of Pir Sabaq Baba jee

The shrine of Pir sabaq baba jee named Sheikh Abdus Salam sahib commonly known as Sahib Mubarak is located in (Pir Sabaq Sharif) 5 km from Nowshera Cantt on left side of Peshawar-Pindi GT road (after crossing Kabul river at Pirsabaq bridge 1.5 km).

Notable people

A list of some of the most prominent people from Nowshera District: