Dera Ismail Khan District (Urdu and , ), often abbreviated as D.I. Khan is a district in the Dera Ismail Khan Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The capital of the district is the town of Dera Ismail Khan. The district has an area of and a population of 1,822,916 as of the 2023 Census.
After the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 the district (which was then part of the Punjab) was annexed by
the East India Company and then became part of British India. In 1901 the district became part of the North-West Frontier Province when the province was created from the North-western territories of the Punjab. This province was later renamed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Dera Ismail Khan is now one of its 38 districts.
Geography
The district of Dera Ismail Khan is bounded on the North east by the Bhakkar and Dera Ghazi Khan districts of Punjab. Eastern portions of the district along the Indus river are characterized by fertile alluvial plains, while lands farther from the river consist of clay soil cut by ravines from rainfall. The district is bounded on the southwest by a thin strip of the South Waziristan district, which separates D.I Khan from the Koh-e-Sulaiman mountain in the neighboring Baluchistan province. In the northwest is the Tank District.
D.I Khan is separated from the Marwat plains of the Lakki Marwat district by a spur of clay and sandstone hills that stretch east from the Sulaiman mountains to the Indus river known as the Sheikh Badin Hills.
The highest peak in the range is the limestone Sheik Badin mountain, which is protected by the Sheikh Badin National Park. Near the Indus River is a spur of limestone hills known as the Kafir Kot hills, where the ancient Hindu complex of Kafir Kot is located.
Ancient history
The Dera Ismail Khan District is littered with ruins from ancient civilizations. Dera Ismail Khan is home to the collection of Hindu ruins from two separate sites 20 miles apart,
The district is part of what was historically territory inhabited by the Baloch people during the medieval India, who were invited to settle in the region by Shah Husseyn of the Langah Sultanate of Multan. These Baloch settlers were displaced by or assimilated into later waves of the Pashtun settlement. Dera Ismail Khan was created as an administrative unit of the British India, part of the Derajat Division of the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). It was formerly divided into almost two equal portions by the Indus river which intersected it from north to south. To the west of the Indus, the characteristics of the country resembled those of Dera Ghazi Khan. To the east of the present bed of the river, there is a wide track known as the Kachi, exposed to river action. Beyond this, the country rises abruptly, and a barren, almost desert plain stretches eastwards, sparsely cultivated, and inhabited by nomadic tribes.
In 1901, the trans-Indus tract was allotted to the newly formed North-West Frontier Province, the cis-Indus tract remaining in the Punjab jurisdiction. The cis-Indus portions of the Dera Ismail Khan and the Bannu districts now comprise the new Punjab district of Mianwali. Wheat and wool were exported. In 1901, it contained an area of and a population of 252,379. In 1947, it became part of the newly independent State of Pakistan.
Modern era
In 2016, 191,000 acres in the district were brought under cultivation with completion of the Gomal Zam dam, and a series of irrigation canals partially funded by the United States Government.
In 2026, a bombing at a wedding left seven dead, and 25 others injured.
Demography
Population
As of the 2023 census, Dera Ismail Khan district has 270,021 households and a population of 1,829,811. The district has a sex ratio of 110.24 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 46.58%: 58.14% for males and 33.71% for females. 559,401 (30.69% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 374,757 (20.48%) live in urban areas.
Language
Saraiki are main ethnic groups in Dera Ismail Khan District in simple majority. Total population of DI Khan District is 1,822,916 consists of Males 956,098 & females 866,667 as of 2023 Pakistani census.
There are 1,198,862 Saraiki, 582,703 Pashto, 31,152 Urdu, 4,765 Punjabi, 863 Sindhi, 791 Balochi, 490 Kashmiri, 2,738 Hindko, 5 Brahui, 18 Shina, 2 Balti, 3 Kalasha & 524 others of total 1,822,916 speakers
Religion
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Religion in contemporary Dera Ismail Khan District
! rowspan="2" |Religious<br>group
! colspan="2" |1941
! colspan="2" |2023
|-
!
!
!
!
!
!
|-
|Islam 15px
|205,910
|84.92%
|1,690,436
|
|1,816,418
|99.64%
|-
|Hinduism 15px
|33,888
|13.98%
|642
|
|717
|0.04%
|-
|Sikhism 15px
|2,000
|0.82%
|
|
|58
|~0%
|-
|Christianity 15px
|195
|0.08%
|2,278
|
|5,645
|0.31%
|-
|Other
|474
|0.20%
|238
|0.02%
|78
|0.01%
|-
!Total Population
!242,467
!100%
!1,693,594
!
!1,822,916
!100%
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="7" |
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Religious groups in Dera Ismail Khan District (British North-West Frontier Province era)
! rowspan="2" |Religious<br>group
! colspan="2" |1881
! colspan="2" |1891
! colspan="2" |1901
! colspan="2" |1911
! colspan="2" |1921
! colspan="2" |1931
! colspan="2" |1941
|-
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
|-
! Islam 15px
| 385,244
|
| 420,189
|
| 218,338
|
| 224,992
|
| 218,315
|
| 235,707
|
| 255,757
|
|-
! Hinduism 15px
| 54,446
|
| 62,961
|
| 29,434
|
| 28,617
|
| 39,311
|
| 35,822
|
| 39,167
|
|-
! Sikhism 15px
| 1,691
|
| 2,840
|
| 4,362
|
| 2,175
|
| 1,904
|
| 1,878
|
| 2,390
|
|-
! Christianity 15px
| 253
|
| 204
|
| 230
|
| 336
|
| 1,237
|
| 657
|
| 810
|
|-
! Zoroastrianism 15px
| 13
|
| 7
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
|-
! Jainism 15px
| 2
|
| 0
|
| 15
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 1
|
|-
! Buddhism 15px
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 5
|
|-
! Judaism 15px
|
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 1
|
|-
! Others
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
| 0
|
|-
! Total population
! 441,649
!
! 486,201
!
! 252,379
!
! 256,120
!
! 260,767
!
! 274,064
!
! 298,131
!
|- class="sortbottom"
| colspan="15" |
|}
Education
The Dera Ismail Khan district has many schools and colleges, predominantly in the capital of Dera Ismail Khan.
- University of Agriculture, Dera Ismail Khan
- Gomal University- Two campuses in Dera Ismail Khan
- Qurtuba University
- Gomal Medical College
- University Wensam College
- Dar-e-Arqam School, Dera Ismail Khan
- The City School, Dera Ismail Khan
- Beaconhouse School System
- Overseas Pakistan Foundation School]
- Educare School
- Knowledge Home
- Islamabad Schools
- Mufti Mehmood Public School & College
- Elite Education System, Haleemia Colony, Eid Gah Kalan, Dera Ismail Khan
- St. Helen's High School & College
- Shawn School & College Paharpur
- Punjab College Meraj Campus
- Government College of Technology, Dera Ismail Khan campus
- The Educators Dikhan campus
Politics
The district is represented in the National Assembly by two elected MNAs who represent the following constituencies:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Constituency
! MNA
! Party
|-
|NA-24
|Fazal-ur-Rehman
| Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam (F)
|-
|NA-39
|Muhammad Yaqoob Shiekh
| PTI
|}
----
Provincial Assembly
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Member of Provincial Assembly !! Party affiliation !! Constituency !! Year
!Area
|-
| Ehtisham Javed ||Independent ||PK-95 Dera Ismail Khan-I||2018
|Paharpur/Paniyala
|-
| Ahmad Kundi ||Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians||PK-96 Dera Ismail Khan-II|| 2018
|D.I.Khan North
|-
| Faisal Amin Khan||Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf||PK-97 Dera Ismail Khan-III|| 2018
|D.I.Khan city
|-
| Lutf ur Rahman||Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal ||PK-98 Dera Ismail Khan-IV||2018
|Paroa Tehsil
|-
| Aghaz Ikram Ullah Gandapur ||Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf ||PK-99 Dera Ismail Khan-V||2018
|Kulachi, Draban, FR DIK
|}
Cuisine and food
Sobat is a traditional dish predominantly prepared in the capital of Dera Ismail Khan. It consists of chicken, onions, garlic, tomatoes, khusk dhania, garam masala, turmeric, and other spices. It is usually eaten as dinner. Sobat is known all over Pakistan, and brings a lot of attention to the district and the city.
Sports
Football is a very popular game in Dera Ismail Khan. Other games including cricket, hockey, badminton, and many more are played as well. Ali Amin Khan has also provided a platform for more involvement in sports in this region. In 2017, he introduced a tennis ball cricket league, named Dera Premier League, and the teams from different geographical regions of Pakistan competed. Season two was held in 2018. DPL became Pakistan's biggest tape ball cricket tournament.
Dera Ismail Khan has a cricket team as well: Dera Ismail Khan cricket team. Some cultural games (, and , which is played by three sportsmen called where one runs while two other have to catch him in a big circular ground encircled by spectators) are still popular among native Saraiki people and have been for decades.
Administration
The district is subdivided into five Tehsils which are divided into Union Councils:
{| class="wikitable sortable static-row-numbers static-row-header-hash"
!Tehsil
!Name
(Urdu)
!Name
(Pashto)
!Area
(km²)
!Pop.
(2023)
!Density
(ppl/km²)
(2023)
!Literacy rate
(2023)
!Union Councils
|-
|Daraban Tehsil
|تحصیل درابن
|درابن تحصیل
|1,540
|149,447
|97.04
|26.89%
|
|-
|Drazanda Tehsil
|()
|()
|2,008
|82,386
|41.03
|28.67%
|
|-
|Dera Ismail Khan Tehsil
|()
|()
|1,167
|767,979
|658.08
|56.97%
|
|-
|Kulachi Tehsil
|()
|()