Malakand
Malakand District is one of the districts in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
History
The famous Malakand Pass which connects Mardan to Swat and Dir is located near Dargai, where the local Pushtun tribes fought two fierce battles with the British army in 1895 and 1897.
Before 1970 the area was a Tribal Area known as the Malakand Protected Area, part of the Malakand Agency. In 1970 it became Malakand District, a Provincially Administered Tribal Area, until 2000 part of Malakand Division.
Demography
The total area of Malakand District is 952 square kilometres (368 sq mi) and has a population density of 596 people per square kilometre. The population of Malakand is estimated to be 567,000 in 2004–05. Most of the people are Pashtuns speaking Pashto as their mother tongue. Agriculture is the major source of income, the total cultivatable land being 456,600 hectares (1,763 sq mi). There is also Sakhakot between Shergarh (Mardan) and Malakand district. Batkhela is the main administrative and commercial town and district headquarters. Sakhakot is one of the most famous place in Malakand District. Sakhakot is famous for its arms and ammunition market. Thana is another big town famous for its educational institutions.
