Bannu District
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bannu is a town in northern Pakistan. The major industries are cloth weaving and the manufacture of cotton fabrics, machinery, and equipment. Bannu is famous for its weekly Jumma fair. Bannu is very green amidst rugged and dry mountains and has very fertile land. Early English visitors called it a "paradise".
It has one engineering and technology university, the Bannu Institute of Education, Science & Technology (BEST), a distance education centre of Sarhad University of Science & IT, two post graduate colleges, an engineering college affiliated with Peshawar University, two degree colleges for girls, and more then 300 primary, middle, high and higher secondary schools for girls and boys.
[edit] Residents
On account of her strategic importance, the history of Bannu spreads over the years, dating back to the 2nd Century BC. The Akra mounds tell the Onlookers with a dumb tongue, the enchanting story of how it had lulled in its lap the Ancient Indus Civilization. The foot prints of the Central Asian Invaders on the sand of time has captured for us the whole picture of how Bannu served as the Gateway for them to have an access to the riches of the Sub-Continent. Myriad of theories are propounded about the origin of the word “Bannu”. But the most widely recognized view is that the word “Bannu” is derived from “Bano.” “Bano” was the wife of Shah Farid alias “Shitak- the founder of the present day Bannu and the founder of Banouchi Tribes. “Bano” was the sister of “Rustum” and the daughter of Zalizar and when she was married to Shah Farid, Rustum conferred upon her as dowry. The region of Bannu, approximately hundred and ninety two kilo meters in the south of Peshawar in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan, lies in a sedimentary basin.
Nature has been gracious enough to confer upon it the most wonderful castle-like scenery. If it is flanked and guarded on all sides by the hard and dried mountain ranges of Koh-e-Safed and Koh-e-Suleiman, She herself is a paradise in the whole Southern Region. That is why the biased English “Edward” could not help saying, “Bannu is a piece of Paradise” while referring to her greenery. But what she is, she owes it all to the Legendary River, “The Kurrum” and her tributaries. They have made it a land of meadows, corps and orchards. Every kind of corps and fruit can be grown in it but her Banana, Dates, Figs and Rice are unique in their taste, smell and shape. Geographically, the modern day Bannu is located in the heart of the southern region with its boundaries touching the districts of Karak, Lakki Marwat and the North, South Wazirestan Agencies. It has huge economic importance as it is the central market of the whole “Southern Region”, and furthermore it provides a safe and short route to the “Central Asian Markets”. As is fertile the land of Bannu, so is fertile the genius of her sons. In spite of being constantly neglected, her children engraved their names on the sands of time. Among them may be mentioned the names of Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the ex-president of the Islamic republic of Pakistan, Muhammad Akram Khan Durrani, the present day Chief Minister of NWFP, the great Hockey Olympians like Brigadier Hamidee, Rashid Junior, Saeed Khan and Qazi Muhib, Gulnar Begum, the “Nightingale of NWFP”, and Ghazi Siyal the recipient of presidential award for Pashto literature in 2006. Besides, Bannu has even more striking features viz; it has pure drinking water provided to all the segments of society. Baran Dam, as a unique source of irrigation is deemed to be the only dam in Pakistan, situated in a natural low basin area and has never needed reconstruction since its initiation. [[''''University of Science & Technology Bannu'''']] Since almost 1974, the people of Bannu were continuously requesting the Federal as well as Provincial Governments to establish a University in Bannu. But this dream of having a University remained merely a yearning and never changed into reality in the last decades. Thanks Allah, who created a brave politician and a Sincere Hero, Akram Khan Durrani Chief Minister of the NWFP who melt the ice and announced a University in Bannu. Luckily an education loving Governor/Chancellor Commander Khalil-ur-Rehman substantiated the idea and issued an ordinance regarding the establishment of the University of Science and Technology Bannu and appointed a renowned Scholar, Prof. Dr. Asmatullah Khan as the founder Vice Chancellor. Both the honourable Chief Minister Muhammad Akram Khan Durrani and the Governor Commander Khalil-ur-Rehman work hard and extend every co-operation for the success of the University. Their efforts would certainly revolutionarize the Socio-economic and political conditions of Bannu in particular and of NWFP in general. This University will bring social change and will enhance literacy rate of the neglected and ignored Southern Region of the NWFP. More over, all the adjacent tribal areas of Bannu, Lakki and North Wazirestan Agency will be equally benefited in terms of literacy enhancement, and cultural and traditional changes. Initially the University has been started in the newly constructed building of the Government Higher Secondary School for girls. The University has 10 programmes; BBA (Hons), BBA-IT, B.Ed, B.LIS and BS(CS) at Bachelor Level while MCS, MBA, MBA (Exec), M.Ed and MIT at Master level and almost 500 students have been enrolled in the Morning and Evening Programmes.
[edit] Statistics
- Area: 1,227 km²
- Sub-divisions: Bannu
- Population: 677,346
- Population density: 552 persons per km²
- Annual growth rate: 2.81%
- Urban ratio: 7%
- Main clans: Bannochis(Bannochies), Wazirs and Marwats. Small tribes include Bhittaan, Syeds and Awans
- Religion: Muslims 99.5%; Qadianis 0.3%; Christian 0.19 and Hindus 0.03%.
- Main Languages: Pushto 98.3%; Punjabi 1.03% and Others
- Literacy rate: 32.11%
- Economically active population: 18.97% of the total population
- Main occupations: Professionals 5.7%; Agriculture workers 39%; Elementary occupations 23.7%; Service and shop workers 9.23%; Craft and related trade workers 6%; Others 16.2%
