34°01N 71°40E, pop (2000e) 907 000. Capital of North-West Frontier province, Pakistan; 172 km/107 mi W of Islamabad and 16 km/10 mi E of the Khyber Pass; city of the Pathan people; under Sikh rule, early 19th-c; occupied by the British, 1849; birthplace of Mulk Raj Anand; airfield; railway; university (1950); major trade centre on the Afghan frontier; textiles, leather, food processing, copperware; Balahisar fort, Mosque of Mahabat, Qissa Khawani bazaar.
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Peshawar پشاور |
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| General Information | |
| Province | North-West Frontier Province |
| Location | 34°00′″N, 71°30′″E |
| Altitude | 347 m AMSL |
| Area | 1257 km² |
| Calling code | 091 |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
| No. of Towns | |
| Population | 2.019 million 1998 |
| Estimate | 2.242 million 2006 |
| Government | |
| City Mayor (Nazim) | Haji Ghulam Ali |
| No. of Union Councils | 25 |
| Emblem | |
| Website | |
| Peshawar Local Government | |
Peshāwar (Pashto: پښور; Located on the edge of the Khyber Pass, Peshawar is the commercial, economic, political and cultural capital of the Pakistani frontier and, particularly, of the Pashtuns.
History
The History of Peshawar is very relevant to the discussion about Durand Line and Peshawar which seems to occupy a prominent space on the discourse between Pakistanis and Afghans.
Peshawar occupies a region that was dominated by various tribal groups of Indo-Iranian origin and a variety of other groups, possibly of Dravidian origin, maybe prior to invasion of Aryan tribes and their settlement.
It has been argued that an ancient city named Pushkalwati, founded by Bharat's son Pushkal, may have existed in this general area during ancient Indian times before the Persian invasion of the Indian subcontinent. The city that would become Peshawar, called Purushapura, was actually founded by the Kushans, a central asian tribe of Tocharian origin, over 2,000 years ago. Buddhism was introduced into the region at this time and claimed the majority of Peshawar's inhabitants before the coming of Islam.
The area that Peshawar occupies was then seized by the Greco-Bactrian king, Eucratides (c.
Peshawar formed the eastern capital of the empire of Gandhara under the Kushan king Kanishka I who reigned from at least 127 CE and, perhaps, for a few years prior to this. Peshawar also became a great centre of Buddhist learning. Kanishka built what was probably the tallest building in the world at the time, a giant stupa, to house the Buddha's relics, just outside the Ganj Gate of the old city of Peshawar.
Sometime in the 1st millennium BCE, the group that now dominates Peshawar began to arrive from the Suleiman Mountains to the south and southwest, the Pashtuns. Some writers such as Sir Olaf Caroe write that a group that may have been the Pakhtuns existed in the area and were called the Pactycians by Herodotus and the Greeks, which would place the Pakhtuns in the area of Peshawar much earlier along with other Indo-Iranian tribes. Regardless, over the centuries the Pakhtuns would come to dominate the region and Peshawar has emerged as an important center of Pakhtun culture along with Kandahar and Kabul as well as Quetta in more recent times.
Peshawar was taken by Turkic Muslims in 988 and was incorporated into the larger Pakhtun domains by the 16th century. The founder of the Mughul dynasty that would conquer South Asia, Babur who hailed from what is today Uzbekistan, came to Peshawar and found a city called Begram and rebuilt the fort there, in 1530. His grandson, Akbar, formally named the city Peshawar which means "The Place at the Frontier" in Persian and expanded the bazaars and fortifications.
Earlier it had been known as the "City of Flowers" and the "City of Grain".
The Pakhtun conqueror Sher Shah Suri, turned Peshawar's renaissance into a boom when he ran his Delhi-to-Kabul Shahi Road through the Khyber Pass and Peshawar. Thus the Mughals turned Peshawar into a "City of Flowers" by planting trees and laying out gardens similar to those found to the west in Persia. Khushal Khan Khattak, the Pakhtun/Afghan warrior poet, was born near Peshawar and his life was intimately tied to the city. Khattak apparently was an early Pakhtun nationalist, who agitated for an independent Afghanistan including Peshawar.
Peshawar would also join, following a loya jirga) as a Pakhtun region, the Afghan/Pakhtun empire of Ahmad Shah Durrani by 1747. Pakhtuns from Peshawar took part in incursions of South Asia during the rule of Ahmad Shah Durrani and his successors. The Sikhs invaded and conquered Peshawar in 1834 after wresting it from Afghanistan. The following 30 years of Sikh rule saw the destruction of Peshawar's own Shalimar Gardens and not to mention the dwindling of the city's population by almost half.
The city was liberated and reverted to Afghan control following the death of Ranjit Singh.
Being amongst the most ancient cities of the region between Central, South, and West Asia, Peshawar has for centuries been a centre of trade between Afghanistan, the South Asia, and Central Asia as well as the Middle East.
Peshawar would emerge as a centre of Pakhtun intellectuals and culture.
After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 Peshawar served as a political center for anti-Soviet Mujahideen, and was surrounded by huge camps of Afghan refugees. Peshawar would replace Kabul and Qandahar as the center of Pakhtun cultural development during this tumultuous period. Additionally, Peshawar managed to assimilate many of the Pakhtun Afghan refugees with relative ease, while many other Afghan refugees remained in camps awaiting a possible return to Afghanistan.
Until the mid-fifties Peshawar was enclosed within a city wall and sixteen gates. Peshawar has not grown as much in size or capacity as the population has. Peshawar needs to expand considerably in order to prevent overcrowding. However, despite turmoil in Pakistan and intense turmoil in Afghanistan, Peshawar has remained a relatively quiet and peaceful city, as compared to violence in Karachi or Balochistan, and civil war in Afghanistan.
Peshawar continues to be a city that links Pakistan to Afghanistan and has emerged as an important regional city in Pakistan and remains a focal point for Pakhtun culture. Also, Peshawar Nights uses this Peshawar as the setting.
Geography and climate
Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass and sits mainly on the Iranian plateau along with the rest of the NWFP. Peshawar is literally a frontier city of South-Central Asia and was historically part of the Silk Road.
The Peshawar valley is covered with consolidated deposits of silt, sands and gravel of recent geological times. On entering the Peshawar Plain, the Kabul River is divided into several channels.
Winter in Peshawar starts from mid November to the end of March.
Demographics
Peshawar is a rapidly growing city with a population of 982,816 according to 1998.
Peshawar's inhabitants consist mainly of two groups, namely; majority Pakhtuns (including recent Afghan Pakhtun refugees) and minority Peshawaris (Hindko-speakers who are often referred to as "Khaarian" which means city dwellers). Peshawar District covers a large area extending over 50 km from north to south and over 30 km from east to west. The Peshawar valley is nearly circular, extending from the Indus to the Khyber Hills. The lower portion of this branch separates the district of Peshawar and Kohat.
Over 99% of the Peshawar population is Muslim. Peshawar and the rest of the Pakhtun areas of Pakistan remain the Islamic heartland of the nation. Despite the overwhelmingly Islamic nature of modern Peshawar, the city was previously home to other smaller communities such as Afghan Jews, Hindus and Sikhs. The Partition of India and the creation of Israel resulted in the virtual disappearance of these groups from Peshawar, however there still are Christian and Sikh communities present in the region.
Culture
Peshawar is the center of Pashtun culture and arts as well as a major centre of Hindko culture. With the Russian invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and the influx of millions Afghan refugess into Pakistan, Peshawar became the home for Afghan musicians and artists as well.
Educational institutions
With the level of higher eduation on the rise, there has been a surge of educational institutions numbers in Peshawar. A list of premier education institutions in the city of Peshawar include: University of Peshawar, NWFP Agricultural University, Institute of Management Studies, University of Engineering and Technology (NWFP), Quaid-e-Azam College of Commerce, Islamia College, Khyber Medical College, Edwardes College,Institute of Computer and Management Sciencs (ICMS), Home Economics College for women, Government College,NWFP Post-Graduate Medical Institute, Jinnah Institue of Medical Sciences, Iqra University (Peshawar Campus), Cecos University, Jinnah College for women, Gandhara University and Khyber College of Dentistry,
Sites of interest
General Governor's House Mattani Dean Center Peshawar Garrison Club Aviator's Station - The site where freedom fighters of 1857 independence movement were blown from guns. Called Ghanta Ghar Avitabile's Pavillion Edwardes School - The residence of Yar Mohammad Khan, the last Durrani Governor of Peshawar Buddhist Gor Khuttree - An ancient site of Buddha's alms or begging bowl. Headquarter of Syed Ahmad Shaheed, Governor Avitabile Pakhtu Academy - Tthe site of an ancient Buddhist University Shah Ji Ki Dheri - he site of Kanishka's famous Buddhist monastery. Mosques Mohabbat Khan Mosque Ganj Ali Khan Mosque Qasim Ali Khan Mosque Sethi Mohallah Sonehri Masjid Museums Peshawar Museum (Victoria Memorial Hall) Shopping Qissa Khawani Bazaar Karkhano Market Hotels Green Hotel Khan Klub Pearl Continental The Grand HotelShopping
Peshawar become a traditional city with such great tradition and rich history has everything from Goldsmiths and Silversmiths, traditional carpets (one of the big exports out of Pakistan today), pottery, clothing, copper/silverwear etc.
Famous people
Shahid Afridi - famous crickter Dr. Alif Khan - Famous Physician Dr. Amjad - Famous cardio thoracic surgeon Dr. Bakht Biland - Famous Physician Dilip Kumar (Yusuf Khan)- Indian film actor Ahmad Faraz - Pakistani Urdu poet Gul Jee Jahangir Khan - Pakistani Squash Player Janas Khan - Singer (Pashto) Jansher Khan - Pakistani Squash Player Syed Ahmed Shah Patras Bokhari - Pakistani Urdu writer & humourist Qavi Khan - Pakistani Actor Raheem Shah - Pakistani pop singer Dr. Rahim Gul - Famous Surgeon Rahman Baba Raj Kapoor - Indian film actor Rangeela - Pakistani Film Actor Dr. Rehman - Famous cardio thoracic surgeon Karnal Sher Khan Shaheed - Pakistan Army Nishan-e-Haider Umer Gul - Pakistani Fast Bowler (Cricketer) Yasir Hamid - Pakistani CricketerTransport
The Peshawar International Airport serves the city and the province of the North-West Frontier as the main international airport in the region. The city is linked to the main motorway as well as the Karakorum Highway from which it is connected to all of the major cities of Pakistan including Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Multan. In the city, there are all sorts of methods to travel around the city, from coaches, buses, rickshaws (Auto rickshaws), yellow and black taxis as well as traditional methods such as horse and carts.
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