Swabi District (Pashto: سوابۍ ولسوالۍ) is a district in the Mardan Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It lies between the Indus and Kabul Rivers. Before becoming a district in 1988, it was a tehsil within the Mardan District. 96% of the population speaks Pashto as their first language.
Swabi District ضلع صوابی سوابۍ ولسوالۍ | |
|---|---|
  | |
 Swabi District (red) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Division | Mardan |
| Headquarters | Swabi |
| Government | |
| • Type | District Administration |
| • Deputy Commissioner | N/A |
| • District Police Officer | N/A |
| • District Health Officer | N/A |
| Area | |
| • Total | 1,543 km2 (596 sq mi) |
| Population (2023) | |
| • Total | 1,894,600 |
| • Density | 1,200/km2 (3,200/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 275,964 |
| • Rural | 1,349,513 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Number of Tehsils | 4 |
| Website | swabi |
The dominating tribe of Swabi is the Yusufzai, followed by the minor Utmankhel, Ghilzai, Tarakai, Jadoon and Khattak.
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 272,279 | — |
| 1961 | 332,543 | +2.02% |
| 1972 | 507,631 | +3.92% |
| 1981 | 625,035 | +2.34% |
| 1998 | 1,026,804 | +2.96% |
| 2017 | 1,625,477 | +2.45% |
| Sources: | ||
At the time of the 2017 census the district had 211,328 households and a population of 1,625,477. Swabi had a sex ratio of 992 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 59.06% - 73.99% for males and 44.35% for females. 275,964 (16.98%) lived in urban areas. 28.05% of the population was under 10 years of age. 1,086 (0.07%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians and Ahmadis.
At the time of the 2017 census, 95.49% of the population spoke Pashto and 2.93% Hindko as their first language.
Education
Swabi District is now home to many excellent educational institutes. But there was no public sector university until 2012. The only degree awarding institution then was private sector Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology, which was inaugurated in 1993. In 2012, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhawa established the first public sector university in Swabi, when it upgraded Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan Swabi campus into full-flege University of Swabi while Women University Swabi was established in 2016. Swabi district also has a public sector medical college Gajju Khan Medical College Swabi, which was established in 2014.
The district also has 2 public sector Postgraduate degree colleges: Government Postgraduate College Swabi and Govt Girls Post Graduate College Maneri Swabi.
Administration
Swabi District is currently subdivided into 4 Tehsils.
- Swabi Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل صوابی)(Pashto: سوابۍ تحصیل)
- Topi Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل ٹوپی)(Pashto: ټوپۍ تحصیل)
- Lahor Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل لاہور)(Pashto: لاهور تحصیل)
- Razar Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل رزار)(Pashto: رزار تحصیل)
Provincial Assembly
| Member of Provincial Assembly | Party Affiliation | Constituency | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rangez Ahmad | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-46 Swabi-I | 2018 |
| Aqibullah Khan | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-47 Swabi-II | 2018 |
| Abdul Karim Khan | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-48 Swabi-III | 2018 |
| Muhammad Ali Tarakai | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-49 Swabi-IV | 2018 |
| Shahram Khan Tarakai | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-50 Swabi-V | 2018 |
Newspaper in Swabi
Currently there are couple of newspaper publishing in Swabi under the supervision of the Swabi Group of Newspapers.
- Swabi Times, a weekly publishing newspaper in Urdu.
- Swabi News, a daily publishing newspaper in Urdu.
Notable people
- Najib ad-Dawlah - A main combatant of Third Battle of Panipat
- Mir Azam, first-class cricketer of the Abbottabad team, also known as the falcons
- Haroon Bacha - Pashtun singer, musician, and composer
- Muhammad Fareed – Islamic scholar
- Ali Gohar - scholar and restorative justice expert and founder of Just Peace Initiatives
- Bushra Gohar - Politician and Pashtun human rights activist
- Fazal Ali Haqqani - Minister of Education and member of the NWFP Assembly (then) now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly from 2002 to 2007
- Sardar Ali Haqqani - Islamic scholar
- Gulalai Ismail - Pashtun human rights activist
- Nigar Johar - Only Female General in Pakistan Army History
- Abdul Aziz Khan Kaka, Khudai Khidmatgar Politician who defeated the Imperial Crown's Political Agent, Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Khan in the elections of 1936
- Gaju Khan - A historical Pashtun rebel chief and general
- Meraj Hamayun Khan, Pashtun social worker and educationist
- Muhammad Farooq Khan, Vice-Chancellor of Swat University
- Junaid Khan - Cricketer
- Karnal Sher Khan - Military officer
- Khan Roshan Khan - Historian
- Muhammad Arshad Khan - Artist
- Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, Member of the Senate of Pakistan
- Taskeen Manerwal, Pashto poet
- Abdul Qadir, founder of Pashto Academy at Peshawar University and ambassador in Kabul.
- Asad Qaiser - Speaker of National Assembly
- Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum - First Chief Minister of the North-West Frontier Province (in 1937) and founder of Islamia College University
- Mohammed Sadiq, Political Scientist, Diplomat and Ambassador of Pakistan to Afghanistan
- Yasir Shah - Cricketer
- Shahram Khan Tarakai, former Provincial Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Usman Khan Tarakai, former Member of National Assembly who contested the 2008 Pakistani general election
- Kalu Khan Yousafzai, Afghan Warrior Chief who crushed the army of Akbar the Great of the Mughal Empire at the Karakar Pass
- Nisar Muhammad Yousafzai, Afghan Revolutionary War Hero of the Anglo-Afghan War of 1919 and a founding father of Tajikistan
References
Bibliography
- 1998 District Census report of Swabi. Census publication. Vol. 83. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.