Peshawar – Wikipedia

Peshawar ( ; [ 9 ] Pashto : پېښور [ peˈxəwər ] ( ) ; Hindko : پشور ; [ pɪˈʃɔːɾ ] ( ) ; Urdu : پشاور [ peˈʃaːʋər ] ( ) ) is the capital of the Pakistani state of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and its largest city. [ 10 ] It is the sixth-largest city in Pakistan, [ 11 ] and the largest Pashtun -majority city in the area. [ 12 ] [ 13 ] Situated in the broad Valley of Peshawar east of the historic Khyber Pass, close to the bound with Afghanistan, Peshawar ‘s record history dates back to at least 539 BCE, making it the oldest city in Pakistan and one of the oldest cities in South Asia. [ 14 ] In Ancient India, the city was known as Purushpura and served as the capital of the Kushan Empire under the rule of Kanishka ; [ 15 ] [ 16 ] [ 17 ] and was home to the Kanishka stupa, which was among the tallest buildings in the ancient world. [ 18 ] Peshawar was then ruled by the Hephthalites, followed by the Hindu Shahis, before the arrival of Muslim empires. The city was an important trade center during the Mughal era, before becoming partially of the Pashtun Durrani Empire in 1747, and serving as their winter capital from 1776 until the capture of the city by the Sikh Empire in March 1823, who were followed by the british indian empire in 1846 .

etymology [edit ]

The advanced name of the city “ Peshawar ” is derived from the Sanskrit word “ Purushapura ” ( Sanskrit : पुरूषपुर Puruṣapura, meaning “City of Men “ or “City of Purusha” ). [ 19 ] [ 20 ] [ 21 ] It was named sol by Mughal Emperor Akbar from its old name Parashawar, the meaning of which Akbar did n’t understand. [ 22 ] [ 23 ] The rule of the city during its establish may have been a Hindu raja ( King ) named Purush ; the word pur means “ city ” in Sanskrit. [ 24 ] [ 25 ] [ 26 ] Sanskrit, written in the Kharosthi handwriting, was the literary terminology employed by the Buddhist kingdoms which ruled over the area during its earliest commemorate period. [ 27 ] The city ’ s name may besides be derived from the Sanskrit identify for “ City of Flowers, ” Poshapura, a name found in an ancient Kharosthi inscription that may refer to Peshawar . [ 28 ] chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang ’ s seventh hundred account of a city in Gandhara called the city Po-la-sha-pu-lo ( chinese : 布路沙布邏, bùlùshābùló ) , and an earlier fifth hundred account by Fa-Hien records the city ’ sulfur name as Fou-lou-sha ( taiwanese : 弗樓沙, fùlóshā ) , the taiwanese equivalent of the Sanskrit name of the city, Purushapura. [ 29 ] [ 30 ] An ancient dedication from the Shapur earned run average identifies a city in the Gandhara valley by the name pskbvr, which may be a address to Peshawar. [ 31 ] The arab historian and geographer Al-Masudi noted that by the mid tenth hundred, the city was known as Parashāwar. The diagnose was noted to be Purshawar and Purushavar by Al-Biruni. [ 32 ] The city began to be known as Peshāwar by the era of Emperor Akbar. [ 33 ] The current name is said by some to have been based upon the Persian for “ frontier town ” [ 33 ] or, more literally, “ ahead city, ” though transcription errors and linguistic shifts may account for the city ‘s raw name. One theory suggests that the city ‘s name is derived from the Persian diagnose “ Pesh Awardan ”, meaning “ station of first arrival ” or “ frontier city, ” as Peshawar was the first base city in the indian subcontinent after crossing the Khyber Pass. [ 34 ] [ 35 ] Akbar ‘s bibliographer, Abu’l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, lists the city ‘s name as both Parashāwar, transcribed in Persian as پَرَشَاوَر, [ 36 ] and Peshāwar ( پشاور ). [ 37 ]

history [edit ]

In ancient India, the city of Purushapura ( which became Peshawar ), was established near the Gandharan capital city of Pushkalavati

ancient [edit ]

Founding [edit ]

Peshawar was founded as the ancient indian city of Puruṣapura, [ 19 ] [ 38 ] [ 39 ] on the Gandhara Plains in the broad Valley of Peshawar in 100 CE. [ 40 ] [ 41 ] It may have been named after a Hindu raja who ruled the city who was known as Purush. [ 24 ] The city probable first existed as a belittled greenwich village in the fifth hundred BCE, [ 42 ] within the cultural sphere of ancient India. [ 43 ] Puruṣapura was founded near the ancient Gandharan capital city of Pushkalavati, near contemporary Charsadda. [ 44 ] [ 21 ]

greek [edit ]

In the winter of 327–26 BCE, Alexander the Great subdued the Valley of Peshawar during his invasion of Indus Valley, [ 45 ] equally well as the nearby Swat and Buner valleys. [ 46 ] Following Alexander ‘s conquest, the Valley of Peshawar came under the suzerainty of Seleucus I Nicator, founder of the Seleucid Empire. A locally-made vase break up that was found in Peshawar depicts a setting from Sophocles ‘ bet Antigone. [ 47 ]

Mauryan [edit ]

[48] and was once a major centre of Buddhist learning. The nearby Takht-i-Bahi monastery was established in 46 CE, and was once a major center of Buddhist memorize. Following the Seleucid–Mauryan war, the area was ceded to the Mauryan Empire in 303 BCE. [ 49 ] Around 300 BCE, the greek diplomat and historian Megasthenes noted that Purushapura ( ancient Peshawar ) was the western terminus of a Mauryan road that connected the city to the empire ‘s capital at Pataliputra, near the city of Patna in the contemporary amerind state of Bihar. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] As Mauryan power declined, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom based in modern Afghanistan declared its independence from the Seleucid Empire, and promptly seized ancient Peshawar around 190 BCE. [ 49 ] The city was then captured by Gondophares, founder of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. Gondophares established the nearby Takht-i-Bahi monastery in 46 CE. [ 48 ]

Kushan [edit ]

In the first century of the Common era, Purushapura came under restraint of Kujula Kadphises, founder of the Kushan Empire. [ 52 ] The city was made the empire ‘s winter capital. [ 53 ] The Kushan ‘s summer das kapital at Kapisi ( mod Bagram, Afghanistan [ 54 ] was seen as the secondary coil capital of the empire, [ 53 ] while Puruṣapura was considered to be the conglomerate ‘s elementary capital. [ 53 ] Ancient Peshawar ‘s population was estimated to be 120,000, which would make it the seventh-most populous city in the world at the fourth dimension. [ 55 ] [ 42 ] As a dear Buddhist, the emperor built the thousand Kanishka Mahavihara monastery. [ 56 ] After his death, the brilliant Kanishka stupa was built in Peshawar to family Buddhist relics. The golden senesce of Kushan empire in Peshawar ended in 232 CE with the death of the last great Kushan king, Vasudeva I. Around 260 CE, the armies of the Sasanid Emperor Shapur I launched an attack against Peshawar, [ 57 ] and hard damage Buddhist monuments and monasteries throughout the Valley of Peshawar. [ 42 ] Shapur ‘s campaign besides resulted in damage to the city ‘s massive stupa and monastery. [ 42 ] The Kushans were made subordinate to the Sasanids and their ability quickly dwindled, [ 58 ] as the Sasanids blocked lucrative trade routes westward out of the city. [ 42 ] Kushan Emperor Kanishka III was able to temporarily reestablish control over the entire Valley of Peshawar after Shapur ‘s invasion, [ 42 ] but the city was then captured by the Central Asian Kidarite kingdom in the early 400s CE. [ 59 ]

White Huns [edit ]

The White Huns devastated ancient Peshawar in the 460s CE, [ 60 ] and ravaged the entire region of Gandhara, destroying its numerous monasteries. [ 61 ] The Kanishka stupa was rebuilt during the White Hun era with the construction of a tall wooden superstructure, built atop a stone base, [ 53 ] and crowned with a 13-layer copper- gilded chatra. [ 53 ] In the 400s CE, the chinese Buddhist pilgrim Faxian visited the structure and described it as “ the highest of all the towers ” in the “ terrestrial universe ”, [ 53 ] which ancient travelers claimed was up to 560 feet ( 170 meter ) tall, [ 53 ] though modern estimates suggest a altitude of 400 feet ( 120 molarity ). [ 53 ] In 520 CE the Chinese monk Song Yun visited Gandhara and ancient Peshawar during the White Hun era, and noted that it was in conflict with nearby Kapisa. [ 62 ] [ 63 ] The chinese monk and traveler Xuanzang visited ancient Peshawar around 630 CE, [ 64 ] after Kapisa victory, and expressed deplore that the city and its big buddhist monuments had decayed to ruin [ 65 ] —although some monks studying Hinayana Buddhism continued to study at the monastery ‘s ruins. [ 66 ] Xuanzang estimated that only about 1,000 families continued in a small quarter among the ruins of the erstwhile thousand capital. [ 61 ]

early Islamic [edit ]

Clock Tower Peshawar Until the mid seventh century, the residents of ancient Peshawar had a ruling elite of Central Asian Scythian descent, [ 62 ] who were then displaced by the Hindu Shahis of Kabul. [ 62 ] Islam is believed to have been first introduced to the Buddhist, Hindu and other autochthonal inhabitants of Puruṣapura in the subsequently seventh century. As the first Pashtun tribe to settle the region, the Dilazak Pashtuns began settling in the Valley of Peshawar, [ 67 ] and are believed to have settled regions up to the Indus River by the eleventh hundred. [ 67 ] The arab historian and geographer Al-Masudi noted that by the mid tenth century, the city had become known as Parashāwar. In 986–87 CE, Peshawar ‘s first base meet with Muslim armies occurred when Sabuktigin invaded the area and fought the Hindu Shahis under their king, Anandpal. [ 33 ]

medieval [edit ]

On 28 November 1001, Sabuktigin ‘s son Mahmud Ghazni decisively defeated the united states army of Raja Jayapala, son of Anandpal, at the Battle of Peshawar, [ 68 ] and established govern of the Ghaznavid Empire in the Peshawar region. During the Ghaznavid era, Peshawar served as an important break between the Afghan tableland, and the Ghaznavid garrison city of Lahore. [ 33 ] During the 10th–12th hundred, Peshawar served as a headquarters for Hindu Nath Panthi Yogis, [ 54 ] who in turn are believed to have extensively interacted with Muslim Sufi mystics. [ 54 ] In 1179–80, Muhammad Ghori captured Peshawar, though the city was then destroyed in the early 1200s at the hands of the Mongols. [ 33 ] Peshawar was an significant regional kernel under the Lodi Empire. The Ghoryakhel Pashtuns Khalil, Muhmands, Daudzai, Chamkani tribe and some Khashi Khel Pashtuns, ancestors of contemporary Yusufzai and Gigyani Pashtuns, began settling rural regions around Peshawar in the late 15th and 16th centuries. [ 69 ] The Ghoryakhel and Khashi Khel tribe pushed the Dilazak Pashtun tribes east of the Indus River following a struggle in 1515 near the city of Mardan. [ 69 ]

Mughal [edit ]

The inside of the Mohabbat Khan Mosque is elaborately fresco with elegant and elaborately detailed floral and geometric motifs. Peshawar remained an important center on trade routes between India and Central Asia. The Peshawar region was a cosmopolitan region in which goods, peoples, and ideas would pass along trade routes. [ 70 ] Its importance as a trade center is highlighted by the destruction of over one thousand camel-loads of trade following an accidental ardor at Bala Hissar fortify in 1586. [ 70 ] Mughal rule in the area was tenuous, as Mughal suzerainty was entirely hard exercised in the Peshawar valley, while the neighbor valley of Swat was under Mughal convention only during the predominate of Akbar. [ 71 ] In July 1526, Emperor Babur captured Peshawar from Daulat Khan Lodi. [ 72 ] During Babur ‘s rule, the city was known as Begram, and he rebuilt the city ‘s fortify. [ 73 ] Babur used the city as a free-base for expeditions to early nearby towns in Pashtunistan. [ 33 ] Under the reign of Babur ‘s son, Humayun, direct Mughal predominate over the city was briefly challenged with the rise of the Pashtun king, Sher Shah Suri, who began construction of the celebrated Grand Trunk Road in the sixteenth century. Peshawar was an important trade centre on Sher Shah Suri ‘s Grand Trunk Road. [ 51 ] During Akbar ‘s rule, the diagnose of the city changed from Begram to Peshawar. [ 33 ] In 1586, Pashtuns rose against Mughal predominate during the Roshani Revolt under the leadership of Bayazid Pir Roshan, [ 74 ] laminitis of the classless Roshani movement, who assembled Pashtun armies in an undertake rebellion against the Mughals. The Roshani followers laid siege to the city until 1587. [ 74 ] Peshawar was bestowed with its own place of Shalimar Gardens during the reign of Shah Jahan, [ 75 ] which no longer exist .
Peshawar ‘s Sunehri Mosque dates from the Mughal earned run average. Emperor Aurangzeb ‘s Governor of Kabul, Mohabbat Khan bin Ali Mardan Khan used Peshawar as his winter capital during the seventeenth century, and bestowed the city with its celebrated Mohabbat Khan Mosque in 1630. [ 33 ] Yusufzai tribes rose against Mughal rule during the Yusufzai Revolt of 1667, [ 70 ] and engaged in pitched-battles with Mughal battalions nearby Attock. [ 70 ] Afridi kin resisted Mughal rule during the Afridi Revolt of the 1670s. [ 70 ] The Afridis massacred a Mughal battalion in the nearby Khyber Pass in 1672 and shut the pass to lucrative trade routes. [ 76 ] Mughal armies led by Emperor Aurangzeb himself regained control of the entire area in 1674. [ 70 ] Following Aurangzeb ‘s death in 1707, his son Bahadur Shah I, early Governor of Peshawar and Kabul, was selected to be the Mughal Emperor. As Mughal exponent declined following the death of Emperor Aurangzeb, the empire ‘s defenses were weakened. [ 77 ]

irani [edit ]

On 18 November 1738, Peshawar was captured from the Mughal governor Nawab Nasir Khan by the Afsharid armies during the persian invasion of the Mughal Empire under Nader Shah. [ 78 ] [ 79 ]

Durranis [edit ]

Peshawar ‘s Bala Hissar fort was once the royal residence of the Durrani Afghan kings. In 1747, Peshawar was taken by Ahmad Shah Durrani, founder of the Afghan Durrani Empire. [ 80 ] Under the reign of his son Timur Shah, the Mughal practice of using Kabul as a summer das kapital and Peshawar as a winter das kapital was reintroduced, [ 33 ] [ 81 ] with the practice maintained until the Sikh invasion. [ 82 ] Peshawar ‘s Bala Hissar Fort served as the residency of Afghan kings during their winter stay in Peshawar, and it was noted to be the main concentrate of trade between Bukhara and India by british internet explorer William Moorcroft during the late 1700s. [ 83 ] Peshawar was at the center of a productive agricultural region that provided much of union India ‘s dried fruit. [ 83 ] Timur Shah ‘s grandson, Mahmud Shah Durrani, became baron, and promptly seized Peshawar from his stepbrother, Shah Shujah Durrani. [ 84 ] Shah Shujah was then himself proclaimed king in 1803, and recaptured Peshawar while Mahmud Shah was imprisoned at Bala Hissar fort until his eventual escape. [ 84 ] In 1809, the british sent an emissary to the motor hotel of Shah Shujah in Peshawar, marking the first diplomatic meeting between the british and Afghans. [ 84 ] His stepbrother Mahmud Shah then allied himself with the Barakzai Pashtuns, and captured Peshawar once again and reigned until the Battle of Nowshera in March 1823. [ 84 ]

sikh [edit ]

Ranjit Singh invaded Peshawar in 1818 but soon lost it to the Afghans. [ 85 ] Following the Sikh victory against Azim Khan at the Battle of Nowshera in March 1823, Ranjit Singh captured Peshawar. [ 85 ] By 1830, Peshawar ‘s economy was noted by scots internet explorer Alexander Burnes to have precipitously declined, [ 83 ] with Ranjit Singh ‘s forces having destroyed the city ‘s palace and agrarian fields. [ 83 ] much of Peshawar ‘s van deal from Kabul ceased on bill of skirmishes between Afghan and Sikh forces, [ 83 ] angstrom well as a punitive tax levied on merchants by Ranjit Singh ‘s forces. [ 83 ] Singh ‘s government besides required Peshawar to forfeit a lot of its leftover agrarian output signal to the Sikhs as tribute, [ 83 ] while agribusiness was farther decimated by a crumble of the dry fruit commercialize in north India. [ 83 ] Singh appointed Neapolitan materialistic Paolo Avitabile as administrator of Peshawar, who is remembered for having unleashed a reign of terror. His clock in Peshawar is known as a time of “ gallows and gibbets. ” The city ‘s celebrated Mahabat Khan, built in 1630 in the Jeweler ‘s Bazaar, was badly damaged and desecrated by the Sikh conquerors. [ 86 ] The Sikh Empire formally annexed Peshawar in 1834 following advances from the armies of Hari Singh Nalwa [ 85 ] —bringing the city under direct control condition of the Sikh Empire ‘s Lahore Durbar. [ 85 ] An 1835 undertake by Dost Muhammad Khan to re-occupy the city failed when his army refused to engage in combat with the Dal Khalsa. [ 85 ] Sikh settlers from Punjab were settled in the city during Sikh principle. The city ‘s merely remaining Gurdwaras were built by Hari Singh Nalwa to accommodate the newly-settle Sikhs. [ 87 ] The Sikhs besides rebuilt the Bala Hissar fort during their occupation of the city. [ 84 ]

british Raj [edit ]

Built for affluent local merchants in a cardinal asian architectural style, the Sethi Mohallah features several homes dating from the british era. Following the frustration of the Sikhs in the first gear Anglo-Sikh War in 1845-46 and the second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849, some of their territories were captured by the british East India Company. The british re-established constancy in the wake of catastrophic Sikh rule. [ 83 ] During the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857, the 4,000 members of the native garrison were disarmed without bloodshed ; [ 88 ] the absence of ferociousness meant that Peshawar was not affected by the widespread devastation that was experienced throughout the respite of British India and local chieftains sided with the british after the incidental. [ 89 ] The british lay out the huge Peshawar Cantonment to the west of the city in 1868, and made the city its frontier headquarters. [ 90 ] Additionally, several projects were initiated in Peshawar, including linkage of the city by railroad track to the perch of British India and renovation of the Mohabbat Khan mosque that had been desecrated by the Sikhs. [ 86 ] british suzerainty over regions west of Peshawar was cemented in 1893 by Sir Mortimer Durand, alien secretary of the british indian government, who collaboratively demarcated the surround between British controlled territories in India and Afghanistan. The british built Cunningham clock tower in celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, and in 1906 built the Victoria Hall ( now home of the Peshawar Museum ) in memory of Queen Victoria. [ 86 ] The british introduced Western-style department of education into Peshawar with the establishment of Edwardes College and Islamia College in 1901 and 1913, along with several schools run by the Anglican Church. [ 86 ] For better government of the area, Peshawar and the touch districts were separated from the Punjab Province in 1901, [ 91 ] after which Peshawar became capital of the new state. [ 33 ]
Edwardes College was built during the British-era, and is now one of Peshawar’s most prestigious educational institutions. Peshawar emerged as a kernel for both Hindko and Pashtun intellectuals during the british era. Hindko speakers, besides referred to as Khaarian ( “ city dwellers ” in Pashto ), were creditworthy for the dominant allele acculturation for most of the time that Peshawar was under british rule. [ 92 ] Peshawar was besides home to a non-violent resistance motion led by Ghaffar Khan, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. In April 1930, Khan led a large group of Khan ‘s followers protested in Qissa Khawani Bazaar against prejudiced laws that had been enacted by the british rulers—hundreds were killed when british troops opened fire on the demonstrators. [ 93 ]

Modern era [edit ]

In 1947, Peshawar became separate of the newly created state of Pakistan, and emerged as a cultural center in the state ‘s northwest. The partition of India saw the departure of many Hindko-speaking Hindus and Sikhs who held key positions in the economy of Peshawar. [ 94 ] [ 95 ] The University of Peshawar was established in the city in 1950, and augmented by the amalgamation of nearby British-era institutions into the university. [ 96 ] Until the mid-1950s, Peshawar was enclosed within a city wall and sixteen gates. In the 1960s, Peshawar was a basal for a CIA operation to spy on the Soviet Union, with the 1960 U-2 incident resulting in an aircraft stroke down by the Soviets that flew from Peshawar. From the 1960s until the recently 1970s, Peshawar was a major stop on the celebrated Hippie trail. [ 97 ] During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, Peshawar served as a political concentrate for the CIA and the Inter-Services Intelligence -trained mujahidin groups based in the camps of Afghan refugees. It besides served as the chief finish for big numbers of Afghan refugees. By 1980, 100,000 refugees a calendar month were entering the state, [ 98 ] with 25 % of all refugees living in Peshawar zone in 1981. [ 98 ] The arrival of boastfully numbers of Afghan refugees strained Peshawar ‘s infrastructure, [ 99 ] and drastically altered the city ‘s demography. [ 99 ] Like a lot of northwest Pakistan, Peshawar has been hard affected by ferocity from the attacks by the Islamist Taliban. Local poets ‘ shrines have been targeted by the Pakistani Taliban, [ 100 ] a suicide fail attack targeted the historic All Saints Church in 2013, and most notably the 2014 Peshawar school massacre in which Taliban militants killed 132 school children. Peshawar suffered 111 acts of terror in 2010, [ 101 ] which had declined to 18 in 2014, [ 101 ] before the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, which far reduced acts of violence throughout Pakistan. More civilians died in acts of ferocity in 2014 compared to 2010 – largely a result of the Peshawar school slaughter .

geography [edit ]

The city serves as a gateway to the Khyber Pass, whose begin is marked by the Khyber Gate .

topography [edit ]

Peshawar sits at the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, which has been used as a trade wind path since the Kushan era approximately 2,000 years ago. Peshawar is located in the wide Valley of Peshawar, which is surrounded by batch ranges on three sides, with the fourth opening to the Punjab plains. The city is located in the by and large level root of the valley, known as the Gandhara Plains. [ 54 ]

climate [edit ]

With an influence from the local steppe climate, Peshawar features a hot semi-arid climate ( Köppen BSh ), with very hot, prolong summers and brief, mild to cool winters. winter in Peshawar starts in November and ends in late March, though it sometimes extends into mid-april, while the summer months are from mid-may to mid-September. The mean maximum summer temperature surpasses 40 °C ( 104 °F ) during the hottest month, and the beggarly minimum temperature is 25 °C ( 77 °F ). The intend minimum temperature during the coolest month is 4 °C ( 39 °F ), while the maximal is 18.3 °C ( 64.9 °F ). Peshawar is not a monsoon area, unlike other parts of Pakistan ; however, rain occur in both winter and summer. Due to westerly disturbances, the winter rain shows a higher record between the months of February and April. The highest sum of winter rain, measuring 236 millimetres ( 9.3 in ), was recorded in February 2007, [ 102 ] while the highest summer rain of 402 millimetres ( 15.8 in ) was recorded in July 2010 ; [ 103 ] during this month, a record-breaking rain degree of 274 millimetres ( 10.8 in ) fell within a 24-hour period on 29 July 2010 [ 103 ] —the former record was 187 millimetres ( 7.4 in ) of rain, recorded in April 2009. [ 102 ] The average winter rain levels are higher than those of summer. Based on a 30-year commemorate, the modal annual haste degree was recorded as 400 millimetres ( 16 in ) and the highest annual rain grade of 904.5 millimetres ( 35.61 in ) was recorded in 2003. [ 102 ] Wind speeds vary during the year, from 5 knots ( 5.8 miles per hour ; 9.3 kilometers per hour ) in December to 24 knots ( 28 miles per hour ; 44 kilometers per hour ) in June. The relative humidity varies from 46 % in June to 76 % in August. The highest temperature of 50 °C ( 122 °F ) was recorded on 18 June 1995, [ 102 ] while the lowest −3.9 °C ( 25.0 °F ) occurred on 7 January 1970. [ 102 ]

cityscape [edit ]

much of Peshawar ‘s honest-to-god city still features examples of traditional stylus architecture . Some buildings in the old city feature carved wooden balconies. historically, the old city of Peshawar was a heavily guarded bastion that consisted of high gear walls. In the twenty-first century, merely remnants of the walls remain, but the houses and havelis continue to be structures of meaning. Most of the houses are constructed of unbaked bricks, with the internalization of wooden structures for protection against earthquakes, with many composed of wooden doors and latticed wooden balconies. numerous examples of the city ‘s old architecture can distillery be seen in areas such as Sethi Mohallah. In the old city, located in inner-Peshawar, many historic monuments and bazaars exist in the twenty-first century, including the Mohabbat Khan Mosque, Kotla Mohsin Khan, Chowk Yadgar and the Qissa Khawani Bazaar. Due to the wrong caused by rapid emergence and development, the old wall city has been identified as an area that urgently requires restitution and protection. The wall city was surrounded by several main gates that served as the main submission points into the city — in January 2012, an announcement was made that the government plans to address the damage that has left the gates largely non-existent over fourth dimension, with all of the gates targeted for restitution. [ 106 ]

Demographics [edit ]

population [edit ]

The population of Peshawar district in 1998 was 2,026,851. [ 109 ] The city ‘s annual growth rate is estimated at 3.29 % per class, [ 110 ] and the 2016 population of Peshawar district is estimated to be 3,405,414. [ 111 ] With a population of 1,970,042 according to the 2017 census, Peshawar is the sixth-largest city of Pakistan. [ 11 ] and the largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with a population five times higher than the second-largest city in the state .

language [edit ]

The basal native languages spoken in Peshawar are Pashto and Hindko, [ 112 ] though English is used in the city ‘s educational institutions, while Urdu is silent throughout the city. [ 113 ] The district of Peshawar is overwhelmingly Pashto-speaking, though the Hindko-speaking minority is concentrated in Peshawar ‘s honest-to-god city, [ 114 ] Hindko speakers in Peshawar increasingly assimilate elements of Pashto and Urdu into their speech. [ 115 ]

religion [edit ]

Peshawar is overwhelmingly Muslim, with Muslims making up 98.5 % of the city ‘s population in the 1998 census. [ 116 ] Christians make up the irregular largest religious group with around 20,000 adherents, while over 7,000 members of the Ahmadiyya Community live in Peshawar. [ 116 ] Hindus and Sikhs are besides found in the city − though most of the city ‘s Hindu and Sikh community migrated en masse to India following the Partition of British India in 1947. Though the city ‘s Sikh population drastically declined after Partition, the Sikh community has been bolstered in Peshawar by the arrival of approximately 4,000 Sikh refugees from conflict in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas ; [ 117 ] In 2008, the largest sikh population in Pakistan was located in Peshawar. [ 118 ] Sikhs in Peshawar self-identify as Pashtuns and talk Pashto as their mother tongue. [ 119 ] There was a little, but, thriving Jewish community until the deep 1940s. After the division and the egress of the State of Israel, Jews left for Israel. [ 120 ]

Afghan refugees [edit ]

Peshawar has hosted Afghan refugees since the start of the Afghan civil war in 1978, though the pace of migration drastically increased following the soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. By 1980, 100,000 refugees a calendar month were entering the state, [ 98 ] with 25 % of all refugees living in Peshawar zone in 1981. [ 98 ] The arrival of big numbers of Afghan refugees strained Peshawar ‘s infrastructure, [ 99 ] and drastically altered the city ‘s demography. [ 99 ] During the 1988 national elections, an estimated 100,000 Afghans refugees were illegally registered to vote in Peshawar. [ 121 ] With the inflow of Afghan refugees into Peshawar, the city became a hub for Afghan musicians and artists, [ 122 ] a well as a major kernel of Pashto literature. [ 123 ] Some Afghan refugees have established successful businesses in Peshawar, and play an crucial character in the city ‘s economy. [ 124 ] In holocene years, Peshawar zone hosts up to 20 % of all Afghan refugees in Pakistan. [ 98 ] In 2005, Peshawar district was home to 611,501 Afghan refugees — who constituted 19.7 % of the district ‘s total population. [ 98 ] Peshawar ‘s immediate environs were home to boastfully Afghan refugee camps, with Jalozai camp hosting up to 300,000 refugees in 2001 [ 125 ] – making it the largest refugee camp in Asia at the time. [ 125 ] Afghan refugees began to be frequently accused of participation with terrorist attacks that occurred during Pakistan ‘s war against radical Islamists. [ 126 ] By 2015 the Pakistani government adopted a policy to repatriate Afghan refugees, including many who had spent their entire life in Pakistan. [ 126 ] The policy of repatriation was besides encouraged by the government of Afghanistan, [ 127 ] though many refugees had not registered themselves in Pakistan. Unregistered refugees returning to Afghanistan without their old Afghan identification documents now have no official condition in Afghanistan either. [ 127 ]

economy [edit ]

City Center Road is the major craft zone in Peshawar. Peshawar ‘s economic importance has historically been linked to its inside position at the entrance to the Khyber Pass – the ancient travel route by which most deal between Central Asia and the indian Subcontinent passed. Peshawar ‘s economy besides benefited from tourism in the mid-20th hundred, as the city formed a all-important character of the Hippie chase. Peshawar ‘s estimated monthly per caput income was ₨55,246 in 2015, [ 101 ] compared to ₨117,924 in Islamabad, [ 101 ] and ₨66,359 in Karachi. [ 101 ] Peshawar ‘s surrounding region is besides relatively poor − Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ‘s cities on average have an urban per caput income that is 20 % less than Pakistan ‘s national average for urban residents. [ 101 ] Peshawar was noted by the World Bank in 2014 to be at the helm of a nationally campaign to create an ecosystem for entrepreneurship, freelance jobs, and engineering. [ 128 ] The city has been host to the World Bank assisted Digital Youth Summit — an annual event to connect the city and state ‘s youths to opportunities in the digital economy. The 2017 event hosted 100 speakers including respective external speakers, and approximately 3,000 delegates in attendance. [ 129 ]

diligence [edit ]

Peshawar ‘s Industrial Estate on Jamrud Road is an industrial zone established in the 1960s on 868 acres. The industrial estate hosts furniture, marble industries, and food action industries, though many of its plots remain underutilized. [ 130 ] The Hayatabad Industrial Estate hosts 646 industrial units in Peshawar ‘s western suburbs, though respective of the units are no long in use. [ 131 ] As partially of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, 4 limited economic zones are to be established in the province, with roads, electricity, flatulence, water, and security system to be provided by the politics. [ 131 ] The nearby Hattar SEZ is envisioned to provide use to 30,000 people, [ 131 ] and is being developed at a cost of approximately $ 200 million with completion expected in 2017. [ 131 ]

employment [edit ]

As a consequence of big numbers of move persons in the city, alone 12 % of Peshawar ‘s residents were employed in the formalized economy in 2012. [ 124 ] approximately 41 % of residents in 2012 were employed in personal services, [ 124 ] while 55 % of Afghan refugees in the city in 2012 were daily wage earners. [ 124 ] By 2016, Pakistan adopted a policy to repatriate Afghan refugees. Wages for amateurish workers in Peshawar grew on average 9.1 % per year between 2002 and 2008. [ 101 ] Following the outbreak of far-flung Islamist ferocity in 2007, wages rose only 1.5 % between 2008 and 2014. [ 101 ] Real wages dropped for some skilled craftsmen during the period between 2008 and 2014. [ 101 ]

Constraints [edit ]

Peshawar ‘s economy has been negatively impacted by political imbalance since 1979 resulting from the War in Afghanistan and subsequent tune on Peshawar ‘s infrastructure from the inflow of refugees. [ 124 ] The poor security environment resulting from Islamist ferocity besides impacted the city ‘s economy. With the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014, the state ‘s security environment has drastically improved. [ 132 ] The metropolitan economy suffers from poor infrastructure. The city ‘s economy has besides been adversely impacted by shortages of electricity and natural flatulence. [ 133 ] The $ 54 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor will generate over 10,000 MW by 2018 [ 134 ] – greater than the current electricity deficit of approximately 4,500 MW. [ 135 ] Peshawar will besides be linked to ports in Karachi by continuous expressway access, while passenger and freight railroad track tracks will be upgraded between Peshawar and Karachi. [ citation needed ] Poor transportation is estimated to cause a loss of 4–6 % of the Pakistani GDP. [ 136 ] Peshawar for decades has suffered from chaotic, mismanaged, and inadequate public department of transportation and the poor populace department of transportation besides has been damaging to the city ‘s economy. [ 137 ] Therefore, the government has since a new rapid bus service called BRT Peshawar covering the entire Peshawar. [ 138 ]

transportation [edit ]

road [edit ]

New flyovers, such as this one near the suburb of Hayatabad, have been constructed in holocene years to improve traffic run. Peshawar ‘s east–west increase axis is centred on the historic Grand Trunk Road that connects Peshawar to Islamabad and Lahore. The road is roughly paralleled by the M-1 Motorway between Peshawar and Islamabad, while the M-2 Motorway provides an understudy route to Lahore from Islamabad. The Grand Trunk Road besides provides access to the Afghan edge via the Khyber Pass, with onwards connections to Kabul and Central Asia via the Salang Pass. Peshawar is to be wholly encircled by the Peshawar Ring Road in order to divert dealings off from the city ‘s congested center. The road is presently under construction, with some portions open to traffic. The Karakoram Highway provides access between the Peshawar region and western China, and an alternate route to Central Asia via Kashgar in the chinese region of Xinjiang. The Indus Highway provides access to points south of Peshawar, with a terminus in the southerly port city of Karachi via Dera Ismail Khan and northerly Sindh. The 1.9 kilometres ( 1.2 security service ) Kohat Tunnel south of Peshawar provides access to the city of Kohat along the Indus Highway .

Motorways [edit ]

Peshawar is connected to Islamabad and Rawalpindi by the 155 kilometre long garand rifle Motorway. The expressway besides links Peshawar to major cities in the province, such as Charsadda and Mardan. The garand rifle expressway continues onwards to Lahore as part of the M-2 expressway. Pakistan ‘s expressway network links Peshawar to Faisalabad by the M-4 Motorway, while a raw expressway network to Karachi is being built as separate of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor. The Hazara Motorway is being constructed as separate of CPEC, and is providing control-access motorway travel all the way to Mansehra and Thakot via the M-1 and Hazara Motorways .

rail [edit ]

Peshawar Cantonment railway station serves as the terminus for Pakistan ‘s 1,687 kilometer ( 1,048 nautical mile ) -long Main Line-1 railway that connects the city to the port city of Karachi and passes through the Peshawar City railway station. The Peshawar to Karachi route is served by the Awam Express, Khushhal Khan Khattak Express, and the Khyber Mail services. The stallion Main Line-1 railway track between Karachi and Peshawar is to be overhauled at a monetary value of $ 3.65 billion for the first phase of the project, [ 139 ] with completion by 2021. [ 140 ] Upgrading the railroad track line will permit train travel at speeds of 160 kilometres per hour, versus the average 60 to 105 km/h ( 37 to 65 miles per hour ) speed presently potential on existing tracks. [ 141 ] Peshawar was besides once the end point of the Khyber Train Safari, a tourist-oriented prepare that provided rail access to Landi Kotal. The service was discontinued as the security site west of Peshawar deteriorated with the beginning of the region ‘s Taliban insurgency .

Air [edit ]

Peshawar is served by the Bacha Khan International Airport, located in the Peshawar Cantonment. The airport served 1,255,303 passengers between 2014 and 2015, [ 142 ] the huge majority of whom were international travelers. [ 142 ] The airport offers direct flights throughout Pakistan, angstrom well as to Bahrain, Malaysia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates .

Public transit [edit ]

BRT Peshawar is a modern & 3rd generation rapid bus service of Peshawar, which has started its overhaul on 13 August 2020. [ 143 ] It has 32 stations and 220 buses, which covers sphere from Chamkani to Karkhano Market. BRT Peshawar has replaced Peshawar ‘s old, chaotic, dilapidated, and inadequate transportation system. The organization has 32 stations and is by and large at mark, with four kilometres of elevated sections. [ 144 ] The system besides contains 3.5 kilometres of underpasses. [ 144 ] BRT Peshawar is besides complemented by a feeder system, with an extra 100 stations along those self-feeder lines. [ 138 ]
One of Peshawar ‘s privately run intercity bus terminals .

Intercity bus [edit ]

Peshawar is well-served by private buses ( locally referred to as “ flying coaches ” ) and vans that offer frequent connections to throughout Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, american samoa well as all major cities of Pakistan. The city ‘s Daewoo Express bus topology concluding is located along the G.T. Road adjacent to the deviation points for several other transportation system companies. [ 145 ]

administration [edit ]

civic government [edit ]

Politics [edit ]

Peshawar has historically served as the political kernel of the region, and is presently the capital city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa state. The city and province have been historically regarded to be strongholds of the Awami National Party – a secular leftist and moderate-nationalist party. [ 146 ] [ 147 ] The Pakistan Peoples Party had besides enjoyed considerable support in the state due to its socialist agenda. [ 146 ] Despite being a center for collectivist politics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar is however generally known throughout Pakistan for its social conservatism. [ 148 ] Sunni Muslims in the city are regarded to be socially conservative, [ 148 ] while the city ‘s Shia population is considered to be more socially broad. [ 148 ] A battalion of voters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the capital, elected one of Pakistan ‘s lone religiously-based provincial governments during the menstruation of military dictatorship of Pervez Musharraf. A ground-swell of anti-american sentiment after the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan contributed to the Islamist coalition ‘s victory. [ 149 ] The Islamists introduced a image of social restrictions following the election of the Islamist Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal coalescence in 2002, though Islamic Shariah law was never amply enacted. [ 149 ] Restrictions on public melodious performances were introduced, deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as a bachelor of arts in nursing prohibiting music to be played in any populace places, including on public transportation – which lead to the creation of a booming underground music scene in Peshawar. [ 150 ] In 2005, the coalition successfully passed the “ Prohibition of Use of Women in Photograph Bill, 2005, ” [ 151 ] leading to the removal of all public advertisements in Peshawar that featured women. [ 152 ] The religious alliance was swept out of power by the laic and leftist Awami National Party in elections after the fall of Musharraf in 2008, [ 149 ] leading to the removal of the MMA ‘s socially bourgeois laws. [ 153 ] 62 % of eligible voters voted in the election. [ 101 ] The Awami National Party was targeted by Taliban militants, with hundreds of its members having been assassinated by the Pakistani Taliban. [ 154 ] In 2013, the centrist Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was elected to power in the province on an anti-corruption platform. Peshawar city recorded a voter outfit of 80 % for the 2013 elections. [ 101 ]

municipal services [edit ]

86 % of Peshawar ‘s households have access to municipal worst water as of 2015, [ 101 ] though 39 % of Peshawar ‘s households purchase water from secret companies in 2015. [ 101 ] 42 % of Peshawar households are connected to municipal sewage as of 2015. [ 101 ]

acculturation [edit ]

music [edit ]

After the 2002 islamist politics implemented restrictions on public musical performances, a boom metro music view took rout in Peshawar. [ 150 ] After the begin of Pakistan ‘s Taliban insurgency in 2007–2008, militants began targeting members of Peshawar ‘s cultural establishment. By 2007, Taliban militants began a widespread crusade of bombings against music and video recording shops across the Peshawar region, leading to the blockage of many others. [ 155 ] In 2009, Pashto musical artist Ayman Udas was assassinated by Taliban militants on the city ‘s outskirts. In June 2012, a Pashto singer, Ghazala Javed, and her don were killed in Peshawar, after they had fled rural Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for the proportional security of Peshawar. [ 156 ] Musicians began to return to the city by 2016, [ 157 ] with a security environment greatly improved following the Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014 to eradicate combativeness in the state. The peasant government in 2016 announced a monthly income of $ 300 to 500 musicians in decree to help support their bring, [ 157 ] american samoa well as a $ 5 million investment company to “ revive the rich people cultural inheritance of the province ”. [ 157 ]

Museums [edit ]

The Peshawar Museum was founded in 1907 in memory of Queen Victoria. The construction features an amalgamation of British, South Asian, Hindu, Buddhist and Mughal Islamic architectural styles. The museum ‘s collection has about 14,000 items, and is well known for its solicitation of Greco-Buddhist art. The museum ‘s ancient collection features pieces from the Gandharan, Kushan, Parthian, and Indo-Scythian periods .

noteworthy people [edit ]

department of education [edit ]

Iqra National University museum of Peshawar University FAST Peshawar Campus numerous educational institutes — schools, colleges and universities — are located in Peshawar. 21.6 % of children between the ages of 5 and 9 were not enrolled in any school in 2013, [ 101 ] while 16.6 % of children in the 10 to 14 age range were out of school. [ 101 ] presently, Peshawar has universities for all major disciplines ranging from Humanities, General Sciences, Sciences, Engineering, Medical, Agriculture and Management Sciences. The first public sector university, University of Peshawar [ 158 ] ( UOP ) was established in October 1950 by the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar [ 159 ] was established in 1980 while Agriculture University Peshawar [ 160 ] started working in 1981. The foremost individual sector university CECOS University of IT and Emerging Sciences [ 161 ] was established in 1986. Institute of Management Sciences started functioning in 1995, which become academic degree awarding institution in 2005. [ 162 ] There are presently 9 medical colleges in Peshawar, 2 in public sector while 7 in individual sector. [ 163 ] The first Medical College, Khyber Medical College, [ 164 ] was established in 1954 as separate of University of Peshawar. The first Medical University, Khyber Medical University [ 165 ] [ 164 ] while a women only Medical college, Khyber Girls Medical College was established in 2007. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, a master of ceremonies of modern private sector universities started working in Peshawar. Qurtuba University, [ 166 ] Sarhad University of Science and IT, [ 167 ] Fast University, Peshawar Campus [ 168 ] and City University of Science and IT [ 169 ] were established in 2001 while Gandhara University [ 170 ] was inaugurated in 2002 and Abasyn University [ 171 ] in 2007. Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, [ 172 ] [ 173 ] the first women university of Peshawar, started working in 2009 while private sector IQRA National University [ 174 ] was established in 2012. aside from good range of universities, Peshawar has host of high choice far department of education ( Post School ) educational establish. The most celebrated are, Edwardes College founded in 1900 by Herbert Edwardes, is the oldest college in the state and Islamia College Peshawar, which was established in 1913. Islamia College became university and named as Islamia College University in 2008. [ 175 ] The keep up is a number of some of the public and private universities in Peshawar :

Landmarks [edit ]

Bhittani Plaza BBQ shop on Food Street The pursue is a number of other significant landmarks in the city that distillery exist in the twenty-first century :

Sports [edit ]

Peshawar Gymkhana Cricket Ground There are hosts of sporting facilities in Peshawar. The most celebrated are Arbab Niaz Stadium, [ 178 ] which is the International cricket ground of Peshawar and Qayyum Stadium, [ 179 ] which is the multi sports facilities located in Peshawar camp. cricket is the most popular sports in Peshawar [ 180 ] with Arbab Niaz Stadium as the chief prime coupled with Cricket Academy. There is besides small cricket anchor, Peshawar Gymkhana grind, [ 181 ] which is located adjacent to Arbab Niaz Stadium, a popular club cricket grind. The oldest international cricket ground in Peshawar however is peshawar Club Ground, which hosted the first ever test couple between Pakistan and India in 1955. [ 182 ] Peshawar ‘s domestic cricket team is Peshawar Panthers, while Peshawar Zalmi represents the city in the Pakistan Super League. [ 183 ] In 1975, the first sports complex, Qayyum Stadium was built in Peshawar [ 179 ] while Hayatabad Sports Complex was built in early 1990s. [ 184 ] Both Qayyum Stadium and Hayatabad Sports Complexes are multiple sports complexes with facilities for all major indoor and outdoor sports such as football, [ 185 ] Field Hockey ground, [ 186 ] Squash, Swimming, Gymnasium, Board Games segment, Wrestling, Boxing and Badminton. In 1991, Qayyum Stadium hosted Barcelona Olympics Qualifier Football match between Pakistan and Qatar [ 185 ] plus it besides hosted National Games in 2010. [ 187 ] Hockey and squash are besides popular in Peshawar .

Professional sports teams from Peshawar

sister cities [edit ]

Peshawar is twinned with :

See besides [edit ]

References [edit ]

bibliography [edit ]

• Peshawar travel guide from Wikivoyage
• Peshawar at Curlie