Bannu

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Location of Bannu District (highlighted in red) within the North West Frontier Province.

Bannu (Urdu: بنوں ), the principal city of Bannu District in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, is an important road junction and market city. Bannu is a very old city, founded in the same time period as Dera Ismail Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan; however, the present location of the downtown Bannu was founded by Sir Herbert Edwardes in 1848, and was formerly called Edwardesabad and Dhulipnagar. It lies in the north-west corner of the district, in the valley of the Kurram River and was a leading British military base, especially in actions against Afghan border tribes^[1]. The town is located at 33º 0' N. and 70º 36' E., one mile south of the Kurram river, 79 south of Kohat, and 89 north of Dera Ismail Khan^[2].

1 History
- 1.1 British Era
2 University of Engineering and Technology
3 Demography
4 Noteworthy People
5 Religion
6 Sports
7 Economy
8 Health
9 Bannu Medical College
10 External links

[edit] History

[edit] British Era

Bannu was a town and district of British India, in the Derajat Division of the North-West Frontier Province. The population according to the 1901 census of India was 14,291. It formed the base for all punitive expeditions by troops of the British empire to the Tochi Valley and the Waziristan frontier. A military road led from Bannu town towards Dera Ismail Khan^[1]

According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India

“

The population in 1901 was 14,291, including cantonment and civil lines (4,349). It was founded in 1848 by Lieutenant (afterwards Sir Herbert) Edwardes, who selected the site for political reasons. The fort, erected at the same time, bore the name of Dhulipgarh (Dalipgarh), in honour of the Maharaja of Lahore; and the bazar was also known as Dhulipnagar (Dalipnagar). A town gradually grew up around the bazar, and many Hindu traders removed hither from Bazar Ahmad Khan, which had formed the commercial centre of the Bannu valley prior to annexation. The Church Missionary Society supports a small church and a high school founded in 1865. The cantonment centres in the fort of Dhulipgarh. Its garrison consists of a mountain battery, a regiment of native cavalry, and two regiments of infantry. The municipality was constituted in 1867. The municipal receipts and expenditure during the ten years ending 1903-4 averaged Rs. 46,000. In 1903-4

the income was Rs. 47,000, chiefly derived from octroi; and the expenditure was Rs. 55,000. The receipts and expenditure of cantonment funds during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 4,200 and Rs. 3,700. The profuse irrigation and insufficient drainage of the surrounding fields render Bannu an unhealthy station. The town has a considerable trade, embracing the whole traffic in local produce of the Bannu valley. The nearest railway station is at Kohat on the Khushalgarh-Thal branch of the North-Western Railway, 79 miles distant by road. A weekly fair collects an average number of 8,000 buyers and sellers. The chief articles of trade are cloth, live-stock, wool, cotton, tobacco, and grain. Bannu possesses a dispensary and two high schools, a public library, and a town hall known as the Nicholson Memorial.^[2]

”

[edit] University of Engineering and Technology

The University of Engineering and Technology (UET) has a campus in Bannu. The UET Bannu campus was founded in 2002 by Air Vice Marshal Sardar Ali Khan and is now one of the best institutes of the area, providing high class engineering students whose students after study have gone into different parts of the country and have shown their skills. Many achievements have been done in this fields. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC) has recognized this campus and now the registration with Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) is in progress.

[edit] Demography

The people of Bannu are known as the Banisee (Bani Zee, Bani Zai), the main language of Bannu is Pashto. Nearly 99% of the population are ethnic Pashtuns. There are also members of the Awan tribe in this area. Bannu is called Bana and Bani Gul in the local Pashto language. The population consists of native-born called Banisees, Wazirs that have migrated from Waziristan, Marwats, and Khattaks. The word Banisee is incorrect for those who are living in Bannu. There are many people living in Bannu who are called immigrant like Khattak, Afridi, Marwat, Kashmiris living in Bannu. Bannu has no its own inhabitant. All people living in Bannu are immigrant called pusaani like Suranis, Darazkhel in Mandan area.

[edit] Noteworthy People

Bannu has been fortunate enough to be a homeland for some very famous personalities, who were duly respected by all and were kept at high esteem by many. Many of these famous personalities have deceased but their memory still echoes in the minds of Bannu’s inhabitants. Following are few of those great people;

Col (Late) Aman Ullah Khan
Col (Late) Sallahudin Khan
Col (Late) Dr Mohd Tariq Khan
Mr. (Late) Hafiz Ullah Khan
Mr. (Late) Qazi Muhib
Mr. (Late) Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Maj.(Retd) Safi Ullah Khan
Mr. (Late) Khan Mohammad Zafar Khan
Mr. (Late) Abdullah Jan Khan
Mr. Mamoon Tariq Khan
Brig (Retd) Hamidi
Mr. Rashid Jr
Mr. Malik umer khyam wazir

[edit] Religion

Over 99% of the population of Bannu is Muslim. Bannu is predominantly Sunni with significant Shia population. There is a small Christian (Kothani) group settled during the British colonial period.

[edit] Sports

In the afternoon groups of young men, often wearing garlands of flowers, gather in the roads and parks. Favourite activities of the people in Bannu include swimming, dancing, cricket, football and volleyball as well as some local games such as kabaddi and yenda. Bannu has produced various famous names in the field of hockey, such as Hamidi, Rasheed Junior, Qazi Muhib, Saeed Khan and also players like Zakir Khan in the game of Cricket. Bannu also has a golf course which is controlled by the army base.

[edit] Economy

The economy is mainly based on agriculture. There is a famous Wollen Mill and some small-scale industrial enterprises. The living standard is very low, many of the local people have gone to the Middle East to earn their livelihoods as their are very few job opportunities in the area because of a lack of commercial activities that the big cities can offer. The main bazaar is concentrated in what is called Bannu city. A recently built Fazle Qadir Park provides a good place for amusement seekers.

[edit] Health

There are a lot of hospitals and a good amount of clinics in this area with reasonable charges; thus many people can afford to go to hospitals and clinics. Also, with the construction of Khlifa Gul Nawaz Medical Complex, things would get even better.

Akram Durrani, The Chief Minister of NWFP announced that an Institute of Nuclear Medicine will be constructed very soon. In the Cantonment area a well facilitated military hospital “CMH” also serves people of Bannu.

[edit] Bannu Medical College

The Government announced 100 seats (open merit) for Bannu Medical College (BMC) will be available. The basic aim of BMC is to produce medical graduates locally. Four other medical colleges exist (government based), but it was felt that Bannu needed its own medical college.

Presently, the principal of Bannu Medical College is Mr. Omer Ali Khan (former principal of KMC Peshawar). BMC is located near the Women's Hospital, Bannu. Currently, classes are taken in the newly constructed building of Govt High School No. 3. Work on the College's own building is expected to start in Bannu Township very soon.

[edit] External links

Administrative Divisions of North-West Frontier Province
Capital	Peshawar
Districts	Abbottabad \| Bannu \| Batagram \| Buner \| Charsadda \| Chitral \| Dera Ismail Khan \| Hangu \| Haripur \| Karak \| Kohat \| Kohistan \| Lakki Marwat \| Lower Dir \| Malakand \| Mansehra \| Mardan \| Nowshera \| Peshawar \| Shangla District \| Swabi \| Swat \| Tank \| Upper Dir