# Orakzai District

Orakzai District (Pashto: اورکزي ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع اورکزئی) is a district in the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Before 1973, it was part of FR Kohat. Up until 2018, it was an agency within the erstwhile Federally Administered Tribal Areas. However, with the merger of the FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it attained the status of a district.

## History

The Orakzai tribe derives its name, Wrak Zoy ("the lost son" ), in a literal sense, from a romantic legend, Sikandar Shah. This ancestral figure, a prince hailing from Iran, was subjected to exile. After a series of adventures, he married and ruled in the region of Tirah. The tribal area now forming Orakzai District was previously included in the Frontier Region of Kohat district. This status persisted until the 30th of November, 1973.
The Biland Khel or Boland Khel, a small pocket of about 6.5 square kilometers, is part of this district and is two kilometers off Thall, bordering North Waziristan and Kurram agencies. Responding to a long-standing demand of the Orakzais, the then President of Pakistan announced the creation of Orakzai Agency on 3rd of November, 1973 and was formally inaugurated on 1st of December, 1973. Before it gained the status of an agency, this area was administered as a Frontier Region of the Kohat district by the Deputy Commissioner of Kohat.
The Orakzai District consists of two sub-divisions: Upper sub-division and Lower sub-division. The Upper sub-division comprises two Tehsils, Upper Tehsil and Ismailzai Tehsil, and the Lower sub-division also has two Tehsils, Lower Tehsil and Central Tehsil. The land of the Orakzai tribes is between 33° -33' to 33° -54' north latitudes and 70° -36' to 71° -22' east longitudes. It is bordered in the north by Khyber District, in the east by FR Kohat, in the south by the Kohat and Hangu districts, and in the west by Kurram District. The total area of the district is 1,538 square kilometers.
Certain Orakzai tribes like the Masozai and half the Lashkarzai find themselves in Kurram Agency for historical and administrative reasons. An ethnic Pashtun Bangash tribe, the Buland Khel or Beland Khil, is attached to the Orakzai agency also for administrative and historical reasons, although they live some distance from the agency between Thall and Bannu, North Waziristan.
Then Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto announced the creation of the agency at a grand tribal jirga in Samana, and it began functioning on 1 December 1973. Before this, the Orakzai tribes were part of the Kohat and Hangu Frontier region. The headquarters of the agency are at Hangu District, but tehsil-level headquarters are in Kalaya and Ghiljo Bazar.

## Geography

The valley is flanked by mountain ranges 6,000 to 7,000 feet (2,100 m) high. Among the seven tribal agencies, Orakzai Agency is the second smallest in area after Bajaur Agency. It is bounded by Kurram Agency in the west, Khyber in the north, Kohat District on the south and Peshawar in the east. The whole of the territory of Orakzai agency is a mountainous tract dissected by numerous dry water courses, especially in the southwest part of the agency. The two major streams are the Mastura River and Khanki Toi River, both of which originate from the hills to west and run eastwards.
Orakzai Agency is a hilly region with a fertile valley. The elevation of the hills varies from over 10,000 feet (3,000 m) in the west and to less than 6,650 feet (2,030 m) in east. Generally, the elevation of the plain varies from 5,200 to 5,500 feet (1,700 m) above sea level. Important peaks are Sangla (6325 ft) and Chara Kandaco (5643 ft). The height of Kalaya and Sangla is nearly equal.
Orakzai Agency is characterized by intensely cold winters and mild summers. December, January and February are the coldest months and snow falls in these months. Summers are mild and the maximum temperature does not go above 30 degrees Celsius. Surrounding mountains are covered by dense thick forests, which produce a cooling effect in summer. Due to the geographical position of Orakzai and its thick forest cover, it rains throughout the year. In winter, the precipitation is snowfall over the surrounding mountains and the valley. There is no rain gauge, but rainfall is estimated to be around 36 inches (910 mm) per year.

## Demographics

As of the 2023 census, Orakzai district has 52,104 households and a population of 387,561. The district has a sex ratio of 112.14 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 33.57%: 50.70% for males and 14.97% for females. 138,265 (35.68% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. The entire population lives in rural areas. 812 (0.21%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians. Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 99.87% of the population.

## Tourism

Nanawar cave is located in Mani Khel Dara Orakzai Tribal District. It is approx 200 Meters long cave with 2 entrances and is home to thousands of bats & spiders. The cave traces its history back thousands of years with varying opinions and myths: -
•Thousands of years back, lava erupted here and it seems like a bubble trapped in lava which made this cave.
•Second opinion is that it is a limestone cave which ended up on water channel beneath the surface in summer water.
•Other opinion of the historian is that the graves on the ground in the general area are not Muslim graves, and it is believed that this cave was used for meditation in Kanishka times 127 CE.
•The myth that its farther end is unexplored, seems false. It has a farther end with a graduated narrowing/ suffocating effects due to low oxygen.
History of Nanawar Cave compiled by Zakir Ullah Khan.

## Administration

Orakzai District is currently subdivided into four Tehsils.
* Central Orakzai Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل اورکزئی وسطی)(Pashto: منځني اورکزي تحصیل‎)
* Ismail Zai Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل اسماعیل زئی)(Pashto: اسماعیلزي تحصیل‎)
* Lower Orakzai Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل اورکزئی زیریں)(Pashto: ښکته اورکزي تحصیل‎)
* Upper Orakzai Tehsil (Urdu: تحصیل اورکزئی بالا)(Pashto: پورتنۍ اورکزي تحصیل‎)

### Upper Orakzai

Upper Orakzai is a National Assembly constituency in the Orakzai District.
Some of main areas of Upper Orakzai include:
* Ghiljo Bazar
* Sama Bazar
* Ghotak Eisa khel
* Mishti mela
Upper Orakzai is the Sub-Division of Orakzai District. The main office are in Ghiljo Bazar. Upper Orakzai includes four big sections: Ali khel Mola Khel Mamozai Ali Sherzai Eisa khel Ahkhel Shikhan

### Lower Orakzai

The Lower Orakzai agency is a subdivision. The headquarters is in Kalaya, named Kalaya Headquarters, and is a fairly populated area of Orakzai agency. The main sections are: Sepoy, Bar Muhammad Khel, Mani Khel, Feroz Khel, Utman Khel, Bezoti and Stori Khel

### Provincial Assembly

| Member of Provincial Assembly | Party Affiliation | Constituency | Year |
| Syed Ghazi Ghazan Jamal Orakzai | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-94 Orakzai | 2019 |

## Education

According to Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017 published by Alif Ailaan, Orakzai District ranks 125th in Pakistan in terms of primary school infrastructure while it ranks 132nd in Pakistan for middle school infrastructure.
In terms of education score, Orakzai District stands at 103rd number in National Ranking. The retention score is 30.03 whereas the gender parity score is 63.14 from the available data.
Lack of government schools and provision of teachers are among the main issues reported by the residents of Orakzai District using the Taleem Do! App.

## Culture

Culture of the area is dominantly Pashtun, with people adhering strongly to the Pashtun code of conduct also known as "Pakhto or Pashtunwali". Religion is evident in their lifestyle. People are very much social and maintain Hujra culture. Hujra is a community centre, guest house, meeting place, court and shelter. People adhere strongly to the jirga system for peace and justice where saying of the respectable elders is observed.

## Talibanization and Army offensive

Talibanization of the area started back in 2006 when sectarian violence was at a peak. In the beginning, the Taliban were welcome because no one knew their real intentions, they intermingled with the locals in the start and when they were in sufficient numbers, they started to dictate to the people. The local people found themselves helpless and were forced to obey Taliban dictates. In Kalaya village in August 2013, the Taliban attacked and kidnapped 230 Orakzai people. Elderly Orakzai, young men, women and children were arrested. Taliban tortured many, and martyred 80 innocent people. After one week the remaining people founded the Pakistan army's operation against the Talibs. Many people were injured. The Taliban entirely destroyed Kalaya village and Orakzai's business. People migrated to different places and different countries to save their lives. After a humiliating defeat in Waziristan, the Taliban fled to Orakzai Agency. Very soon the area saw intense violence and the Army commenced an unannounced offensive (Orakzai and Kurram offensive). The army cut the Taliban in the west from the Kurram Agency, in the south from Kohat and in the east from Bara and began an attack. Locals supported the army and soon the Taliban were forced to flee and evacuate the lower subdivision. Heavy casualties were also inflicted upon them in the upper subdivision, and their influence in the area was greatly reduced. This resulted in the mass evacuation of the IDPs towards Kohat and Hangu where they were given shelter in camps. The situation has defused greatly in Lower Orakzai division, but an army operation against Taliban militants continues in Central and Upper sub-divisions.