Hangu District ضلع ہنگو هنګو ولسوالۍ‎
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Top: Navidhand Valley Bottom: Thal Gambad Masjid
Location of Hangu District (highlighted in red) within the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa map
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Division	Kohat
Headquarters	Hangu
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Deputy Commissioner	Irfan Ullah
• District Police Officer	N/A
• District Health Officer	N/A
Area
• Total	1,097 km2 (424 sq mi)
Population  (2017)[1]
• Total	518,811
• Density	470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
Number of Tehsils	2
Website	hangu.kp.gov.pk

Hangu District (Pashto: هنګو ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع ہنگو) is a district within the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.Hangu basically belongs to the Bangash afghans with majority population of 75% to its total. The district takes its name from the town of Hangu, which is its administrative centre. The name Hangu may also sometimes be applied to the Miranzai Valley which is partly within the district, bordering the Samana Range. Hangu is mentioned in autobiography of Mughal king babur thus "when we reach between the hills of hangu and kohat some 200 bangash afghans had already took their position on hill to confront us".

During the reigns of third Mughal king Akbar Hangu was known as lower bangashat.(kohat,hangu and kurram were collectively called as Bangashaat means bangash province Hangu was strongly supportive to Durrani empire while fierce opponent to Barakzai dynasty.

Hangu was governed by Khan of Hangu for five centuries until the partition of India.

History

From 1540 to 1893, Hangu was ruled by two prominent figures: the Malak Khails and the Khans of Hangu. The Malak Khails were centrally located in the Darsamand and Mammu regions. Historically, nomads from Afghanistan would travel southwards during the winters. However, this free movement was curtailed after the 1970s due to heightened border controls.

On the 30th of June, 1996, Hangu District was carved out from a section of the Kohat District. The demarcation of its territory commences from the village of Khawaja Khizer (Jawzara), a point line between the Kohat and Hangu Districts. The 13th and the final Khan of Hangu was Muzaffar Khan Bangash. Today, his descendants live in various districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including Hangu. Bangash is a vast tribe whose descendants are scattered around different parts of Pakistan; mostly Peshawar and other districts of KPK. They also reside in Afghanistan, from where they had originated, and in some parts of Iran and the Uttar Pradesh State of India. Some have also migrated to western countries seeking better education and improved lives.

Demographics

At the time of the 2017 census, the district had 46,940 households and a population of 518,811. Hangu had a sex ratio of 1083 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 43.59% - 68.15% for males and 22.52% for females. 102,502 (19.76%) lived in urban areas. 32.15% of the population were under 10 years of age. 933 (0.18%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians. Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 98.95% of the population.^[1]

Administrative divisions

Hangu District is divided into two Tehsils:

• Hangu (Urdu: تحصیل ہنگو)(Pashto: هنګو تحصیل‎)
• Thall (Urdu: تحصیل ٹل)(Pashto: ټل تحصیل‎)

Constituencies

The district comprises two constituencies for the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.^[3] The Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML-N) has an overwhelming majority here. NA-9 and now NA-16 have been the stronghold of the party. Maulvi Naimatullah, Syed Ifthikhar Hussain Gilani and Javed Ibrahim Piracha have won consecutively since 1985. In the 2002 elections, PML-N did not run a candidate, but in 2008, Dr. Farooq Bangash, the PML-N NA-16 Candidate, who technically could not contest elections being British Citizen, surrendered to ANP Syed Haider Ali Shah, who won marginally from Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA). Basically it was Bangash's strategy to ensure Pir Haider win. Now the majority and whole control for PTI, In Local body election PTI also gain the main power, and there is still strong opposition of JUI.^[4]

Education

Various public and private schools and colleges exist in district of Hangu. Hangu population is near by 0.8 million people and they demand for university in 2013. Agriculture University campus was to be built in Hangu City but still the project is in pending while funds transfer to Charsada University during ANP government. Recently the government degree college Hangu start BS Hons 4-year program under Kohat University of Science and Technology.

See also

• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
• Dallan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

References

Further reading

• Lou Johnson (2006–2008). "Photo 101101 - Train passes cultivated fields between Kohat at Hangu - Pakistan". Worldwide Photo Essays. Walking Britain. Archived from the original on 2007-03-11. Retrieved 2009-01-11.