Khyber Pakhtoonkha Shangla:

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Shangla:

Location of Shangla District (highlighted in yellow) within the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan

Shangla District (Pashto: شنګله) is located in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. The district headquarters are located at Alpuri. It was previously a subdivision of Swat District, but was upgraded to the status of a district on July 1, 1995 by the then Chief Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao. The total area of the district is 1,586 square kilometres.. Pashto is spoken by most of the population.

A view of ShanglaShangla comprises two sub division, Alpuri and Puran. There are three sub tehsils i.e. Besham, Chakesar, Martung.

Shangla has the lowest Human Development Index in the province and second lowest in the country.

Location:
The district is bounded in the north by Kohistan District, in the east by Battagram District and the tribal area of Kala Dhaka (Black Mountain of Hazara), in the west by Swat District and in the south by Buner District.

History:
There are relics of the ancient Greek period at Pirsar, Chakesar and Daut. it is believed that Alexander the Great camped at Pirsar for a few days. There are also relics of the Hindu Shahi in Qlandar-Ajmair

Geography:
The only means of communications with Swat, is Shangla pass (Shangla top)

Shangla district, consists of small valleys, is situated between the hillocks and surrounded by high mountains full of forests comprising Pindrow Fir, Morinda Spruce, Blue Pine (Kail), Chir Pine and Deodar Cedar trees. The average elevation of the district is 2000 to 3000 meters above sea level. The highest point (3,440 m) is near Kuz Ganrshal in the north of the district. There are beautiful isolated valleys most suitable for seed production of highly demanded cross pollinated vegetable crops. Moreover Shangla has got pretty enough potential for hydel power generation, one such project underway is at Khan Khwar

Administrative divisions:
Under the devolved local government system Shangla is divided into five tehsils, namely​
  • Alpuri​
  • Puran​
  • Besham​
  • Chakesar​
  • Martung​

Population:
According to the 1998 census, the district had a population of 435,563 with an average annual growth rate of 3.3% and population density of 274 persons per square kilometre. The total number of households is 64,391 with an average household size of 8.1. Almost the entire population of Shangla belongs to the Pathan tribe Yousafzai. Major subtribes of Yousafzai living in Shangla are Azikhel and Babozai. Azikhel live mainly in Chakesar, Martung and Shahpur while Babozai live in Puran. The People of Shangla are known for their hospitality and great moral values. Almost the entire population is Muslim (99.8%) with very small numbers of Christians, Hindus, and Ahmadis.

Demographics:
Most of the local inhabitants are agriculturists. Though the agricultural area of the district is fertile but the agricultural holdings are very small as compared to the number of owners. The total cultivated area of the district is 423.6 square kilometres (104,700 acres) out of which only 30.75 square kilometres (7,600 acres) is irrigated and the remaining 392.85 square kilometres (97,080 acres) is non-irrigated. Shangla District is full of natural resources, having a vast scope for investment and development.

It was severely hit during the October 8, 2005 earthquake and many people were left homeless.

A view of Shangla Road

Flora:
A number of medicinal plants are found in the area including the following:​
  • Tarkha (Artemizia species)​
  • Unab (Zizyphus Sativa)​
  • Althea (Althaca Officinalis)​
  • Banafsha (Viola serpens)​
  • Mushki Bala (Valeriana species)​
  • Musli Sufed (Aspargus species)​

Fauna:
The district is home to a variety of fauna including deer, bears, pheasants and leopards.​
  • Markhur (Capre falconeri)​
  • Himalayan ibex (Capre ibex sibirica)​
  • Urial (Ovis orientalis)​
  • Himalyan black bear (Selenaretos thibetanus)​
  • Brown bear (Ursus arctos)​
  • Bear (Lepus nigricollis)​
  • Leopard (Panthera pardus)​
  • Snow leopard (Panthera Uncia)​
  • Wolf (Canis lupus pallipes)​
  • Rhesus Monkey (Maaca mulatta)​
  • Blue rock pigeon (Columba livia)​
  • Spotted dove (Streptopelia chinensis)​
  • Little brown dove (s. senegalensis)​
  • Chakor (Alectoris chukar)​
  • Himalayan snow cock (Tetracollus himalayensis)​
  • Red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus)​
  • Monal pheasant (Lphororus impejanus)​
  • Koklas pheasant (Pucrasis macrolopha)​
  • Satyr tragopan (Tragopan satyra)​
  • Hoopoe (Lupupa epops)​
  • White breasted kingfisher (Halcyon smyrensis)​
  • Indian robin (Saxicoloides fullicota)​
 

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