Chitral District edit
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Chitral District edit
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| Chitral District | |
 Location of Chitral District (highlighted in red) within the North West Frontier Province. |
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| Area | 14,850 km² km² |
| Population (2004) • Density |
378,000 • 25/km²/km² |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
| Established • District Nazim • District Naib Nazim • District Council • Number of Tehsils |
1970 • Haji Maghfirat Shah • Sultan Shah • x seats • 6 |
| Main language(s) | Khowar Kalash Pashto |
| Website | http://www.nwfp.gov.pk/ |
Chitral is a district in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan that contains the town of Chitral. It has an area of 14,850 km² and a population of 318,689 at the 1998 Census, which had subsequently risen to about 378,000 people by 2004. It has one of the highest mountains of the world, Tirich Mir. It is the largest district in NWFP covering an area of 14,850 sq. kilometres.
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Chitral District is the most northern district in the North West Frontier Province, to the west and north is Afghanistan - in the north the Wakhan Corridor, a narrow strip of Afghanistan, separates Pakistan from Tajikstan. To the east of Chitral are the Northern Areas and to the south are the districts of Upper Dir and Swat.
The terrain of Chitral is quite mountainous, part of the Pamir Mountains are situated here. Tirich Mir which at 7,708 m or 25,289 ft (7,708 m) is the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, rises in the north of the District.
Chitral is connected to the rest of Pakistan by only two road routes, the Lowari Pass (el. 10,230 ft.) from Dir and Shandur Top (el. 12,200 ft.) from Gilgit. Both routes are closed in winter. The Lowari Tunnel is being constructed under the Lowari Pass.
It was reported in 2004 that Afghanistan had agreed to allow access from Pakistan to Chitral though Afghan territory and the Kunar Valley, by passing Lowari Pass.1
Two other passes give access on foot to Chitral, the Broghol Pass and the Dorah Pass, both from Afghanistan. Both are closed in winter.
The general population is mainly of the Kho people, who speak the Khowar language (or Chitrali), which is also spoken in parts of Yasin, Gilgit and Swat. Chitral is also home to the Kalash tribe who reside in three remote valleys southwest of Chitral Town.
The Norwegian Linguist Georg Morgenstierne wrote that Chitral is the area of the greatest linguistic diversity in the world. Although Khowar is the predominant language of Chitral, more than ten other languages are spoken here. These include Kalasha-mun, Palula, Dameli, Gawar-Bati, Nuristani, Yidgha, Burushaski, Gujar, Wakhi, Kyrgyz, Persian and Pashto. Since many of these languages have no written form, letters are usually written in Urdu or Persian.
Until 1969, Chitral was a princely state.
The district of Chitral is divided into six tehsils 2
The district is represented in the provincial assembly by two elected MPAs who represent the following constituencies: 3
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