Bannu District (, ) is a district in the Bannu Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Its status as a district was formally recorded in 1861 during the British Raj.
Cloth weaving, sugar mills and the manufacturing of cotton fabrics, machinery and equipment are the major industries in Bannu. It is also known for its weekly Jumma fair.
Geography
District borders North Waziristan to the northwest, Karak to the northeast, Lakki Marwat and Bettani to the southeast, and South Waziristan to the southwest. It is represented in the provincial assembly by four MPAs. which originate in the hills of Waziristan. Extending its reach to the base of the frontier hills, the Bannu Valley unfolds as an asymmetrical oval, spanning 60 miles (97 km) from north to south and 40 miles (64 km) from east to west.
History
The history of Bannu goes back to prehistoric times due to its strategic location. Notably, Sheri Khan Tarakai is an ancient settlement site located in the Bannu District. Here, remnants bear witness to the presence of the most ancient village settlement within the Bannu region. This site witnessed occupation from the late fifth century to the early third millennium BC.
The sacred texts of Zend Avesta and Vendidad mentions Varəna, the Avestan predecessor of the name for Bannu, as one of the sixteen most beautiful and perfect lands created by Ahura Mazda. Bannu is the homeland and birthplace of Fereydun.
Malik Dilasa Khan had also fought a successful battle against the sikh empire. in which he killed one of the prominent Sikh Military commander Jai Singh Atariwala in the Battle of Bannu.
British era (1849–1947)
Bannu District was annexed by the British from its former Sikh rulers after the Second Anglo-Sikh War of 1848–1849. After the British annexation of Punjab, then including parts of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), the valley was administered by Herbert Edwardes.
Pashtun National Jirga (2022)
On 11–14 March 2022, the Pashtun National Jirga was held at Mirakhel in Bannu District in order to defend the rights of the Pashtun people in the country. The critical issues which were faced by the Pashtuns were discussed during the jirga in a bid to suggest solutions to them.
Administrative subdivisions
Bannu District is divided into 6 Tehsils and 46 union councils.
{| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers static-row-header-hash"
!Tehsil
!Name
(Urdu)
!Area
(km²)
!Pop.
(2023)
!Density
(ppl/km²)
(2023)
!Literacy rate
(2023)
!Union Councils
|-
|Baka Khel Tehsil
|()
()
|367
|192,797
|107.84
|28.25%
|
|-
|Bannu Tehsil
|()
()
|228
|644,909
|106.97
|49.46%
|
|-
|Domel Tehsil
|()
()
|425
|224,428
|115.54
|41.38%
|
|-
|Kakki Tehsil
|()
()
|66
|92,021
|109.01
|42.62%
|
|-
|Miryan Tehsil
|()
()
|141
|166,473
|1,180.66
|31.77%
|
|-
|Wazir Tehsil
|
|745
|37,262
|50.02
|16.33%
|
|}
Provincial and National Assembly Seats
The district has 4 Provincial Seats in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly while it has 1 seat in National Assembly.
National Assembly
- NA-39 (Bannu)
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Election!!Member!!Party
|-
|style="background-color: " |
|| 2002 || Maulana Syed Nasib Ali Shah
| MMA
|-
|style="background-color: " |
|| 2008 || Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman
| MMA
|-
|style="background-color: " |
|| 2013 || Akram Khan Durrani
| JUI (F)
|-
|style="background-color: " |
|| 2018 || |Imran Khan
| PTI
|-
| style="background-color: " |
|| 2018 (by-election) || Zahid Akram Durrani
| MMA
|}
Provincial Assembly
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Member of Provincial Assembly
! colspan="2" |Party Affiliation!! Constituency !! Year
|-
| Sher Azam Khan || bgcolor=| ||Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians||Bannu-I||2018
|-
| Pakhtoon Yar Khan || bgcolor= | ||Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf||Bannu-II|| 2018
|-
| Shah Muhammad Khan || bgcolor= | ||Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf||Bannu-III|| 2018
|-
| Akram Khan Durrani || bgcolor= | ||Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal||Bannu-IV||2018
|}