Lower Dir District (Pashto: ښکته دير ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع دیر زیریں) is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Timergara is the district's headquarters and largest city. The Lower Dir district was formed in 1996, when Dir District was divided into Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts. On 22 January 2023, both Lower Dir and Upper Dir districts were further bifurcated to create a new Central Dir District.

Lower Dir district borders with Swat District to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Upper Dir to the north and Malakand and Bajaur District to the south.

History

At the time of independence of Pakistan, Dir was a princely state ruled by Nawab Shah Jehan Khan. Dir was merged with Pakistan in 1969, declared a district in 1970, and split into Upper and Lower Dir in 1996.

Education

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1972277,481—
1981404,844+4.29%
1998717,649+3.42%
20171,436,082+3.72%
20231,650,183+2.34%
Sources:

As of the 2023 census, Lower Dir district has 202,836 households and a population of 1,650,183. The district has a sex ratio of 97.24 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 57.36%: 72.57% for males and 43.16% for females. 542,074 (32.88% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 47,860 (2.90%) live in urban areas. 4,439 (0.27%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians. Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 99.54% of the population.

Administration

National Assembly

NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II) are constituencies of the National Assembly of Pakistan from Lower Dir district. These areas were formerly part of NA-34 (Lower Dir) constituency from 1977 to 2018. The delimitation in 2018 split Lower Dir into two separate constituencies, NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II).

NA-34 constituency (2002-2018)

Member of National AssemblyParty affiliationYear
Qazi Hussain AhmadMuttahida Majlis-e-Amal2002
Maulana Ahmad Ghafoor GhawasMuttahida Majlis-e-Amal2003
Malak Azmat KhanPakistan Peoples Party2008
Shahib Zada Muhammad YaqubJamaat-e-Islami Pakistan2013

Since 2018: NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II)

Member of National AssemblyParty affiliationConstituencyYear
Mehboob ShahPTINA-6 (Lower Dir-I)2018
Muhammad Bashir KhanPTINA-7 (Lower Dir-II)2018

Provincial Assembly

Member of Provincial AssemblyParty affiliationConstituencyYear
Muhammad Azam KhanPakistan Tehreek-e-InsafPK-13 (Lower Dir-I)2018
Humayun KhanPakistan Tehreek-e-InsafPK-14 (Lower Dir-II)2018
Shafi ullahPakistan Tehreek-e-InsafPK-15 (Lower Dir-III)2018
Bahdur KhanAwami National PartyPK-16 (Lower Dir-IV)2018
Liaqat Ali KhanPakistan Tehreek-e-InsafPK-17 (Lower Dir-V)2018

Tehsils

TehsilArea (km²)Pop. (2023)Density (ppl/km²)(2023)Literacy rate (2023)Union Councils
Adenzai Tehsil372378,9151,018.5962.19%
Balambat Tehsil............
Khal Tehsil............
Lal Qilla Tehsil216247,3811,145.2853.29%
Munda Tehsil............
Samar Bagh Tehsil419427,7141,020.8045.75%
Timergara Tehsil576596,1731,035.0264.06%

Notable people

Gallery

  • Maidan Valley, Lower Dir
  • Lajbouk, Lower Dir
  • Chakdara, Lower Dir
  • Kalpani Top, Lower Dir

See also

External links