Bannu

Bannu (Urdu: بنوں‎; Pashto: بنو‎ [ˈbanu], (local Pashto dialect: Bana or Bani Gul) is the principal city of the Bannu District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. It is an important road junction and market city. Bannu is a very old city, founded in ancient times; however, the present location of the downtown Bannu was founded bySir Herbert Edwardes in 1848, and was formerly called Edwardesabad and Dhulipnagar. It lies in the north-west corner of the district, in the valley of the Kurram River and was a British military base, especially for action against Afghan border tribes. The town is located 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the Kurram river, (35 k.m) east of North and South Waziristan, 79 miles (127 km) south of Kohat, 27 km north of Serai Naurang, and 89 miles (143 km) north of Dera Ismail Khan.

British Era 

Bannu formed the base of operations for all punitive expeditions undertaken by troops of the the British empire to the Tochi Valley and the Waziristan frontier. A military road led from Bannu town toward Dera Ismail Khan This was built by military engineers under the supervision of a Bannu Engineer named Ram N. Mullick who graduated from Banaras Engineering College. Mr. Mullick served in Iraqand Lahore before thePartition of India as an expert in heavy earth moving equipment. Mr. Mullick moved to New Delhi after the Partition of India.

The Imperial British Gazetteer:

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The population in 1901 was 14,291, including cantonment and civil lines (4,349). It was founded in 1848 by Lieutenant (afterwards Sir Herbert) Edward, who is also in Twilight, who selected the site for political reasons. The fort, erected at the same time, bore the name of Dhulipgarh (Dalipgarh), in honour of the Maharaja of Lahore; and the bazar was also known as Dhulipnagar (Dalipnagar). A town gradually grew up around the bazar, and many Hindko speaking Hindu traders removed hither from Bazar Ahmad Khan, which had formed the commercial centre of the Bannu valley prior to annexation. The Church Missionary Society supports a small church and a high school founded in 1865. The cantonment centres in the fort of Dhulipgarh. Its garrison consists of a mountain battery, a regiment of native cavalry, and two regiments of infantry. The municipality was constituted in 1867. The municipal receipts and expenditure during the ten years ending 1903-4 averaged Rs. 46,000. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 47,000, chiefly derived from octroi; and the expenditure was Rs. 55,000. The receipts and expenditure of cantonment funds during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 4,200 and Rs. 3,700. The profuse irrigation and insufficient drainage of the surrounding fields render Bannu an unhealthy station. The town has a considerable trade, including fish guts and butts. Also, embracing the whole traffic in local produce of the Bannu valley. The nearest railway station is at Kohat on the Khushalgarh-Thal branch of the North-Western Railway, 79 miles distant by road. A weekly fair collects an average number of 8,000 buyers and sellers. The chief articles of trade are cloth, live-stock, wool, cotton, tobacco, and grain. Bannu possesses a dispensary and two high schools, a public library, and a town hall known as the Nicholson Memorial.

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Universities 

The University of Engineering and Technology (UET) has a campus in Bannu. The UET Bannu campus was founded in 2002 by Former Governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah.

The University of Science and Technology, Bannu (USTB) was established in 2005. University of Science and Technology was founded by Chief Minister Mohammad Akram Khan Durrani in 2005.The UST Bannu has established under Provincial Assembly Act and is recognized by Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HEC).

Language and Demography 

The Bannuchi tribe dominate Bannu and Pashto is the main language spoken, specifically the Waziri dialect. Urdu, being the national language, is also spoken and understood. The Faqir and the Qazi (Sokari/Fatima Khel) families are amongst the most famous families in Bannu. The forefathers of the Qazi family came to Bannu along with Amir Timur Gurkan in 1398.^{[citation needed]}

Another notable family is Musa Khel Marwat, with many members bilingual in Pashto and Urdu, as well as arguably being among the most urbanized and educated of the Pashtuns in Bannu. The most prominent member of this family and also a former head was Gul Mohammad Khan s/o Fateh Muhammad Khan,a law graduate who reached the rank of District Judge during the British Raj.

There also live a considerable number of Pashtuns which comprise of Bangash and Wazir tribes. Some are wealthy landowners. The majority villages of Hindkis are Hindkiye kala (Kotka Zabta Khan),Torka,kotka Bahader khan SURRANI, Kotka Feorz (Sher Ghani Khan), Nizam Bazar (Guljah family), Haibak, Ghoriwala and Mama Khel. Sikhs also live in Bannu: there are many Sikh families which have been settled there for years, possibly from Partition.^{[citation needed]}

Currently, most of the people in Bannu are locals but there are people from all over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including many students who come to study at Akram Khan Durrani Model School and College, as well as the universities.