Upper Chitral District
ضلع چترال بالا
توری ݯھیترارو ضلع پورتنۍ چترال ولسوالۍ | |
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Location in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
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| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Division | Malakand |
| Established | 2018 |
| Headquarters | Buni |
| Government | |
| • Type | District Administration |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Mr. Muhammad Irfan Uddin PMS (BPS-18)[1] |
| • District Police Officer | Shah Jahan (BPS-18 PSP) |
| • District Health Officer | N/A |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8,392 km2 (3,240 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 195,528[2] |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Numbers of Tehsils | 2 |
| Website | upperchitral |
Upper Chitral District (Urdu: ضلع چترال بالا)(Khowar: توری ݯھیترارو ضلع)(Pashto: پورتنۍ چترال ولسوالۍ) is a district in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Chitral River flows across the length of the district. Upper Chitral District along with Lower Chitral District were part of the erstwhile Chitral District which was the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, covering an area of 14,850 km2. Previously, it served as the Chitral princely state that encompassed the region until its incorporation into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan in 14 August 1947.[4] The erstwhile Chitral District was bifurcated into Upper Chitral District and Lower Chitral District in November, 2018.[5]
The town of Buni is the headquarters of the Chitral Upper District.[citation needed] It shares a border with Gilgit-Baltistan to the east, with Badakshan province of Afghanistan to the north and with the Upper Dir District to the southwest and with Swat District to the southeast. A narrow strip of Wakhan Corridor separates Chitral from Tajikistan in the north.
Chitral has a warm steppe climate influenced by the Hindu Kush mountain range. Summers are pleasantly warm without ever getting too hot. Winters are extremely cold; longer periods with subzero temperatures are not uncommon. Precipitation figures here are higher than in other regions in Pakistan.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 58,213 | — |
| 1972 | 71,383 | +1.87% |
| 1981 | 86,919 | +2.21% |
| 1998 | 133,815 | +2.57% |
| 2017 | 169,297 | +1.25% |
| 2023 | 195,528 | +2.43% |
| Sources:[6] | ||
At the time of the 2017 census, the district had 22,546 households and a population of 169,297. Upper Chitral district had a sex ratio of 1064 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 67.31% - 80.50% for males and 55.31% for females. The population was entirely rural. 24.20% of the population were under 10 years of age. 16 (0.01%) people were from religious minorities.[3]
99.09% of the population spoke languages recorded as 'Other' on the census. The main language is Khowar, sometimes called Chitrali, spoken by the Dardi Kho. Wakhi is spoken in the northern regions along the Afghan border.[3]
The district along with Lower Chitral District is represented by one elected MNA (Member of National Assembly) in Pakistan National Assembly. Its constituency is NA-1.
| Member of National Assembly | Party Affiliation | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Abdul Akbar Khan | Muttahida Majlis e-Amal | 2018 |
The district along with Lower Chitral District is represented by one elected MPA in the provincial assembly who represent the following constituencies:PK-1
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Provincial capital: Peshawar | ||
| Bannu |
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| Dera Ismail Khan |
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| Hazara |
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| Kohat |
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| Malakand |
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| Mardan |
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| Peshawar |
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| Former |
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