The Swat River irrigates large areas of Swat District and contributes to the fishing industry of the region. Ayub Bridge is one of the attractions for visitors. The scenery attracts many tourists from all over Pakistan during the summer.
There are two main hydro-electric power projects on canals from the Swat River which generate electricity for local usage.
The Lower Swat Valley is rich in archaeological sites.
The Swat River is mentioned in Rig Veda 8.19.37 as the Suvastu river. It is said[where that Alexander the Great crossed the Swat River with part of his army before turning south to subdue the locals at what are now Bari koot and Odegram.
West Pakistan
The administrative units as of 2010 derived from the administrative units inherited from British India. From independence in 1947 to 1971 Pakistan comprised two wings separated by 1600 kilometres of Indian territory. The eastern wing comprised the single province of East Bengal which included the Sylhet District from the former British Raj province of Assam. The western wing was formed from three full provinces North-West Frontier Province NWFP West Punjab and Sind one Chief Commissioner's Province Baluchistan thirteen princely states, and parts of Kashmir. In 1948 the area around Karachi was separated from Sind province to form the Federal Capital Territory. In 1950 NWFP was expanded to include the small states of Amb and Phulra and the name of West Punjab was changed to Punjab. The four princely states of southwest Pakistan formed the Baluchistan States Union in 1952.
The One Unit policy was enforced in 1955 whereby the all the provinces and princely states of the western wing were merged to form the new single province of West Pakistan with Lahore as the provincial capital. Simultaneously East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan with Dhaka as the provincial capital. In 1960 the federal capital was moved from Karachi to Rawalpindi and later Islamabad when construction was finished. In 1961 the Federal Capital Territory was merged into West Pakistan.
The One Unit policy was intended to reduce expenditure and eliminate provincial prejudices but the military coup of 1958 signaled difficulties when the first military President, Ayub Khan abolished the office of Chief Minister of West Pakistan in favour of Governor's rule. West Pakistan was dissolved in 1970 by the second military President, Yahya Khan, and four new provinces were created. East Pakistan became independent in December 1971 as the new country of Bangladesh. In 1974 the last of the princely states Hunza and Nagar were finally abolished and their territory merged with the Gilgit Agency to form the Northern Areas now known as Gilgit Baltistan. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas were formed from parts of Hazara, districts of Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan in 1975. The status of the Islamabad area was changed to a capital territory in 1981. Gilgit-Baltistan is now a de-fact province and NWFP has been renamed as Khyber Pukhtunkhwa.
In August 2000 the divisions were abolished as part of a plan to restructure local government, followed by elections in 2001. Many of the functions previously handled by the provinces have been transferred to the districts and tehsils. In 2008 the new civilian government restored the former tier of divisions and appointed commissioners for each one. The administrative units as of 2010 derived from the administrative units inherited from British India. From independence in 1947 to 1971 Pakistan comprised two wings separated by 1600 kilometres of Indian territory. The eastern wing comprised the single province of East Bengal which included the Sylhet District from the former British Raj province of Assam. The western wing was formed from three full provinces North-West Frontier Province NWFP West Punjab and Sind one Chief Commissioner's Province Baluchistan thirteen princely states, and parts of Kashmir. In 1948 the area around Karachi was separated from Sind province to form the Federal Capital Territory. In 1950 NWFP was expanded to include the small states of Amb and Phulra and the name of West Punjab was changed to Punjab. The four princely states of southwest Pakistan formed the Baluchistan States Union in 1952.
The One Unit policy was enforced in 1955 whereby the all the provinces and princely states of the western wing were merged to form the new single province of West Pakistan with Lahore as the provincial capital. Simultaneously East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan with Dhaka as the provincial capital. In 1960 the federal capital was moved from Karachi to Rawalpindi and later Islamabad when construction was finished. In 1961 the Federal Capital Territory was merged into West Pakistan.
The One Unit policy was intended to reduce expenditure and eliminate provincial prejudices but the military coup of 1958 signaled difficulties when the first military President, Ayub Khan abolished the office of Chief Minister of West Pakistan in favour of Governor's rule. West Pakistan was dissolved in 1970 by the second military President, Yahya Khan, and four new provinces were created. East Pakistan became independent in December 1971 as the new country of Bangladesh. In 1974 the last of the princely states Hunza and Nagar were finally abolished and their territory merged with the Gilgit Agency to form the Northern Areas now known as Gilgit Baltistan. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas were formed from parts of Hazara, districts of Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan in 1975. The status of the Islamabad area was changed to a capital territory in 1981. Gilgit-Baltistan is now a de-fact province and NWFP has been renamed as Khyber Pukhtunkhwa.
In August 2000 the divisions were abolished as part of a plan to restructure local government, followed by elections in 2001. Many of the functions previously handled by the provinces have been transferred to the districts and tehsils. In 2008 the new civilian government restored the former tier of divisions and appointed commissioners for each one.
Pakistan Islami
Pakistan officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Islami Jumhuriyah yi Pakistan Urdu is a sovereign country in South Asia. With a population exceeding 180 million people, it is the sixth most populous country and with an area covering 796,095 km2 307-374 sq. miles it is the 36th largest country in the world in terms of area. Located at the crossroads of the strategically important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and Western Asia Pakistan has a 1,046 kilometre 650 mi coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west and north, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north and also shares a marine border with Oman.The territory of modern Pakistan was home to several ancient cultures, including the Neolithic Mehrgarh and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation. The territory has been the home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including Hindus, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, Afghan and Sikh. The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Alexander the Great the Arab Umayyad Caliphate the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire and the British Empire. As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and India's struggle for independence, Pakistan was independent in 1947 as an independent nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of India where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of four provinces and four federal territories. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. A regional and middle power Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed forces in the world and is also a nuclear power as well as a declared nuclear weapons state, being the only nation in the Muslim world, and the second in South Asia, to have that status. It has a semi-industrialised economy which is the 26th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power and 45th largest in terms of nominal GDP.Pakistan's post-independence history has been characterised by periods of military rule, political instability and conflicts with neighbouring India. The country continues to face challenging problems, including overpopulation, terrorism, poverty illiteracy and corruption. It is a founding member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (now the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) and is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Next Eleven Economies SAARC ECO D8 and the G20 developing nations.
Peshawar Pishāwar
Peshawar Pishāwar Urdu About this sound pronunciation help•info also known as Pekhawar, is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and the administrative centre and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.
Peshawar is situated in a large valley near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass close to the Pak Afghan border. Known as City on the Frontier Peshawar's strategic location on the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia has made it one of the most culturally vibrant and lively cities in the greater region. Peshawar is irrigated by various canals of the Kabul River and by its right tributary, the Bara River.
Peshawar has now evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities. In the last three decades, there has been a significant increase in urban population, in part due to internal migration of people in search of better employment opportunities, education, and services, and in part because of the influx of Afghans and other people displaced by military operations and civil unrest in neighboring regions. Peshawar is the major educational, political and business center of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Being among the most ancient cities of the region between Central, South and West AsiaPeshawar has for centuries been a centre of trade between Afghanistan, South Asia Central Asia and the Middle East As an ancient centre of learning the 2nd century BC. Bakhshali Manuscript used in the Bakhshali approximation was found nearby.
Vedic mythology refers to an ancient settlement called Pushkalavati in the area after Pushkala, the son of King Bharata in the epic Ramayana citation needed] but this settlement's existence remains speculative and unverifiable In recorded history, the earliest major city established in the general area of Peshawar was called Purushapura Sanskrit for City of Men, from which the current name Peshawar is likely derived the city was invaded and made capital of the Kushans, a Central Asian tribe of Tocharian origin, during their brief rule in the 2nd century AD.
The area that Peshawar occupies was then seized by the Greco-Bactrian king, Eucratides 170 – 159 BC and was controlled by a series of Greco-Bactrian, and later, Indo-Greek kings, who ruled an empire that geographically spanned from the area of present-day Pakistan to North India. According to the historian, Tertius Chandler Peshawar consisted of a population of 120,000 in the year 100 AD, making it the seventh most populous city in the world at the time Later the city was ruled by several Parthian and Indo-Parthian kings another group of Iranian peoples germane to the region, the most famous of whom Gondophares Gandapur in Pashto ruled the city and its environs, starting in circa 46 AD the period of rule by Gondophares was briefly followed by two or three of his descendants, before they were displaced by the first of the Great Kushans Kujula Kadphises around
