Topi (town)

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Topi city is located in the east of Swabi District of the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. It is the birthplace of Nawab Sir Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Khan, who was a pioneer of modern education in the Province. He founded Islamia College, Peshawar in 1913 and Government High School, Topi in 1935 and also donated Land for the establishment of these educational institutes. Topi city is located at west of Tarbela Dam, the world's largest earth filled dam. Most of the land of Topi has been used in the establishment of Tarbel Dam. Tarbela Dam is also the largest hydroelectric generation project in Pakistan which produces 3400 mega watts electricity.

Topi city along with the other three villages i.e. Kotha, Maini and Batakara constitute the area known as "Uthman". Uthman is the branch of the famous Yousafzai tribe. The town of Topi became well known after the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI), named after (Ghulam Ishaq Khan), a former President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, was established here.

1 =Subdivision and politics

[edit] =Subdivision and politics

Topi town is bifurcated among two union councils, one is called Topi (East) while the other is called Topi (West). Topi is further divided into three parts, Alizo, Akazo and Kanazo. Alizo comprises of Mohalla Booba Khel, Punj Paw, Ismail Khel and Suma Khel. Akazo is composed of Mohalla Urh Ibrahim, Khadar Khan Khel, Painda Khel, Sabi Khel, Pir Azgi and Niki Khel. Kanazo is comprised of Mohalla Musa Khel, Bara Khel, Sana Khel and Ghulam & Muhammad Khan Khel.

Chief Organizer of Peoples Youth Organization of PPPP Mr. Muhammad Shafiq Akhunzada belongs to Topi and also works diligently in the social sector for the upbringing of the people of Topi. Mr. Gul Hayat Khan is the Nazim and Mr. Saleem Javed is the Naib Nazim of the Union Council Topi East while Mr. Humayun Khan is the Nazim and Mr. Muhammad Nawaz is the Naib Nazim of Union Council Topi West. President of Pakistan Peoples Party District Swabi Haji Munfa'at Khan also belongs to Topi. General Usman Shah (R), former Deputy Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is the resident of Topi.

[edit] People

People of Topi are very peaceful and hospitable. Topi is a big business center for the nearby villages including Marghuz, Zaida, Swabi, Gadoon and Amazai areas. Most of the people are having their own business whereas educated community are doing jobs in public as well as private sectors. A large number of people are working abroad i.e. UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, USA, Spain, Belgium, Australia and South Africa etc. About 20 percent of its population are comprising of the people who migrated from various parts of the swabi district and / or N-W.F.P. province in search of livelihood. In the year 2006, Topi became a Tehsil - which is an administrative subdivision of a district.

[edit] Land

Most of the land of the people of Topi have been used in the construction of Tarbela Dam, Ghazi Bharotha Hydro Electric Power, GIK Institute Topi, Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate and STFA irrigation project. It is pertinent to mention that STFA is constructed on the land provided by Topi but Topi has not been given the facility of irrigation for its land / farms.

[edit] Religious scholars

Topi has created religious scholars like late Molana Bacha Gul (Fazle Ameen) and late Molana Gulfam Shah who contributed a lot for the reconciliation among the people for their acrimony. They also played a significant role for preaching the teachings of Islam in this locality.

[edit] Social sector

Mr. Muhammad Rafiq Akhunzada, former General Secretary, Pakistan Peoples Party and dedicated social worker contributed a lot for the establishment of Civil Hospital Topi, GIK Institute Topi, Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate, and the road between Topi and Ghazi by approaching government officials and writing various articles at national and local newspapers. These projects indeed made Topi very prosperous which also paved the way for job creation for the youth. Mr. Muhammad Rafiq helped induction of hundreds of people as employees at various factories at the initial stage. Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate was established as an alternative incentive for ban on poppy cultivation in the Gadoon area by the Government with the help of US Aid. At the very outset i.e. in 1988 the Gadoon Amazai Industrial Estate was in full swing as 400 units were running. Now only 20 of its units are functional.

There are other social workers who are contributing a lot in the social sector named Mr. Saleem Bhadar and Mr. Muhammad Shafiq Akhunzada and Syed Arif Shah etc.

[edit] Sports

Topi has an attractive sports environment. Cricket, badminton and football are the favourite games of its youth. One can not go without being entertained by the local cultural game called, "Makha" which is played by the farmers at the end of April and start of May after harvesting the wheat crops each year. Makha (Shooting) is the traditional game of Swabi, in which different villages take part to compete each other. Makha is kind of shooting using a bow and arrow with a relatively large stick and instead of a tip, it has a flat dish-shaped head called Tobray, The target is hit by arrow with the help of bow.

[edit] Hotels

There is a four star hotel in Topi called Mahaban Hotel which is named after the famous mountain Mahaban. Standard boarding and lodging facilities are available in this Hotel.

[edit] Transport

People from far and near always complain about the short width of the road in the main market and the sub-standard material used in the construction of this road. The other significant problem of this historic city is its drainage system which result in the deterioration of the main road. Water remain on the road till weeks after the rain. The present road is an encroachment to the original map of the road approved in 1952. Some influential have carried out atrocious encroachments in the main market of Topi.