| Tank | |
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Tank
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province | Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
| Number of towns | 1 |
| Number of Union Councils | 16 |
Tank or Tonk (Urdu: ٹانک), is the capital city of Tank District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The city's location near Waziristan.[1]
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It is located at 32º13' N. and 70º32' E[2] and is situated to the north-west of the Indus River and close to the Takht-i-Sulaiman Range. Tank is hot and humid in summer. It's a minor yet thriving city at the west bank of the Indus river.
To the far western side of the city lies the Federally Administered Tribal Areas abbreviated to FATA making Tank the gateway to the no-mans land as the FATA is commonly perceived. The mainly Pashtun tribes that inhabit the area are fiercely independent, but until recently the tribes had very friendly relations with Pakistan.
In the book Tank: Crossroads to the Frontier Tribes by Molly Pont, an English Missionary surgeon who came to Tank in 1983 the town was described as follows:
| “ | ...unknown, unloved, and lost to the world in the wastes edging Waziristan... not one in a hundred Pakistanis beyond the River Indus has heard of this strategic little town | ” |
In 1972, 14,306 inhabitants; 1981, 25,003; 1998, 33,930.
Tank politics is dominated by tribal affiliations rather than national or regional issues. This paternalistic approach to politics has not served the region well as basic amenities of life like health, education, jobs and security has not improved in last sixty years. The lack of education has served the politics of maliks to keep the people under their influence.
The current incumbent of Tank National Assembly seat (NA24) is Maulana Atta ur Rehman of JUI (F) who is also the brother of Maulana Fazlur Rehman. But Maulana Attaur Rehman has not visited the area even once in last four years. This has considerably eroded the political base of JUI F.
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is very active in the area and lost last elections with a very slim margin. Faisal Karim Kundi has announced his plans to contest next elections from Tank. On the other hand Dawar Khan Kundi is giving him a tough time by forming alliances with local tribal leaders.
Pakistan Tehrike Insaaf (PTI) is making inroads in the area despite no previous track record of contesting elections in this area. Many notable people of the area including Abdul Quayyum Khan Kundi has joined the party which has provided them a considerable clout. Ahmed Kundi son of Babu Khan has also joined the party and expected to contest elections from Tank area.
The city was situated inside a fort, a trench was dug around it and filled with water. When the British came they called it Tank. The town was founded by Katal Khan, the first Nawab of Tank, the Imperial Gazetteer of India (written in the early 20th century) describes the town as follows:
"It stands on the left batik of a ravine which issues from the Tank Larn pass, 40 miles north-west of Dera Ismail Khan town. A mud wall surrounds the town, 12 feet in height and 7 feet thick, with numerous towers and two or three gates, but it is in bad repair. The fort, now in ruins, is an enormous pile of mud about 250 yards square. The walls, faced with back, enclose a citadel 40 feet high[2]". It was the residence of a Nawab of Tank (Shah Nawaz Khan) from Katti Khel family, who formerly exercised semi-independent powers.
After defeating the Sikhs, Tank came under British control, here Sir Henry Durand, lieutenant-governor of the Punjab, was killed in 1870 when passing on an elephant under a gateway.[3] Dubbed as the Little England, this town is a staging point for most of the tribes of the region
During British rule, Tank was the Headquarters of Tank Tehsil which was then a subdivision of Dera Ismail Khan District. The population of the town according to the 1901 census of India was 4,402.[2]
Tank was declared a 'notified area' in 1893. The municipal income in 1903-4 was Rs. 11,500,' chiefly derived from octroi; and the expenditure was Rs. 9,100. Timber and ghi were brought down from the hills of Waziristan in considerable quantities, while the exports included grain, cloth, tobacco, and other luxuries. Sir Henry Durand, Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, lost his life here in 1870, from injuries received while passing on an elephant under a gateway. He was buried at Dera Ismail Khan.[2]
The British negotiated with the tribes through their agents in the border towns and Tank was a centre of negotiation with the Mahsud tribe - the Nawab of Tank having married a Mahsud wife. For the Britishers the Mahsud tribe was the most difficult to control, and in 1860 when the Mahsuds attacked the British with a 3000 strong Lashkar the British were forced to penetrate into the territory of Tank to control them. In 1925 the British used Tank as a base to conduct air operations against the Mahsud tribe.
In the last few years, Taliban influence has grown in the area, lately the Taliban has fractured into rivals groups, on 24 June violence broke between the rival factions in Tank Bazar.In Tang Bazar They Broke Out The Computer Shop Nice Internet Cafe and Theft the all Computer Systems and Cash Money of the shop.[4]
People in the region speak native languages like Hindko and other languages such as:
The climate in Tank reaches 110-120 °F, however in the cold, harsh winters of the mountains, people come to Tank to enjoy a pleasant stay and then resort back during the summer.
