# Shangla District

Shangla District (Pashto: شنګله ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع شانگلہ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The district's headquarters are located at Alpuri, while the largest city and commercial center is Besham. The district was established in 1995, having previously been a subdivision of Swat District. The total area of the district is 1,586 square kilometers. Shangla comprises five subdivisions, Alpuri, Puran, Chakesar, Martung and Besham tehsils. Shangla is famous for its touring spot, Yakhtangay

## Location

The district is bounded in the north by Kohistan District, in the east by Battagram District and Torghar District, in the west by Swat District, and in the south by Buner District.

## Administrative divisions

* Alpuri (Urdu: تحصیل الپوری)(Pashto: الپوري تحصیل‎)
* Bisham (Urdu: تحصیل بشام)(Pashto: بشام تحصیل‎)
* Chakesar (Urdu: تحصیل چکیسر)(Pashto: چکېسر تحصیل‎)
* Martung (Urdu: تحصیل مارتونگ)(Pashto: مارتونګ تحصیل‎)
* Puran (Urdu: تحصیل پورَن)(Pashto: پورَن تحصیل‎)

## History

Shangla was a sub-division of the Swat district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan until it was granted the status of a separate district in 1995. This was primarily due to the efforts of Haji Badi uz Zaman, a political leader and community figure who was assassinated in 1994, and his son, Afsar ul Mulk.
There are relics of the ancient Greek period at Pirsar, Chakesar and Daut. It is believed that Alexander the Great camped at Pirsar for a few days. There are also relics of the Hindu Shahi in Olandar-Ajmair.
A number of Buddha sculptures are also found in Shangla district which indicate that Shangla was also a part of the previous Buddhist civilization.
The district was hit by the 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake in which more than 18 people were killed.

## Geography

Shangla district consists of small valleys and is situated between the hillocks and is surrounded by high mountains full of forests comprising Pindrow Fir, Morinda Spruce, Blue Pine (Kail), Chir Pine and Deodar Cedar trees. The average elevation of the district is 2000 to 3000 meters above sea level. The highest point (3,440 m) is near Kuz Ganrshal in the north of the district. Shangla District is connected to the Swat District by the Shangla Pass.

## Demographics

As of the 2023 census, Shangla district has 125,540 households and a population of 891,252. The district has a sex ratio of 106.65 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 33.74%: 48.82% for males and 17.82% for females. 307,444 (34.51% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. The entire population lives in rural areas. 2,410 (0.27%) people in the district are from religious minorities, mainly Christians.
* Pashto (95.4%)
* Kohistani (1.03%)
* Others (3.57%)
Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 95.40% of the population. 1.03% of the population spoke Kohistani languages.
The main tribe of Shangla is Yusufzai, that contribute more than half of the district population, the dense and well populated area of Shangla is Alpuri tehsil (Gwarband) that contributes to more than 253000+ of the district population. Shangla is one of the unique districts of Pakistan that contains more than 80% of forest land. The youngest noble laurate Malala Yousafzai's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was born in Shangla, however, she herself was born in Mingora, Swat.

## Education

In November 2022, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mahmood Khan, inaugurated University of Shangla. The university was earlier a campus of University of Swat.

## National and provincial assembly

This district is represented by one elected MNA (Member of National Assembly) in Pakistan National Assembly. Its constituency is NA-31.

## Since 2002: NA-11 (Shangla)

| Election | Member | Party |
| 2002 | Engr Amir Muqam | MMA |
| 2008 | Engr Amir Muqam | PML |
| 2013 | Dr Ibadullah Khan | PML (N) |
| 2018 | Dr Ibadullah Khan | PML (N) |
2024 Amir muqam pakistan muslim league N

## Provincial Assembly

| Member of Provincial Assembly | Party affiliation | Constituency | Year |
| Sher Muhammad Khan | Pakistan People's Party | PF-71 previously Swat | 1977 |
| Haji Badiu zaman khan | Pakistan People's Party | PF-73 Previously Swat | 1988 |
| Haji Badiu zaman khan | Pakistan People's Party | PF-73 Previously Swat | 1993 |
| Dr.Afsar ul mulk | Pakistan People's Party | PF-73 Previously Swat | 1995 |
| Engr.Hamid Iqbal | Pakistan People's Party | PK-87 Shangla-I | 2002 | Abdul Munim | Independent | PK-88 Shangla-II | - | Shaukat Ali Yousafzai | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-23 Shangla-I | 2018 |
| Faisal Zeb | Awami National Party | PK-24 Shangla-II | 2018 |

## Animal diversity

Shangla is highly diverse in terms of animal fauna. Various studies have been carried out for documentation of Animal fauna in Shangla.
Birds
A study was carried out by Ahmad et al (2023) and reported 38 birds species from Chakesar Valley.
Insect
In recent research article, new distribution record for Idricerus decrepitus from Chakesar Shangla. It was a provincial record for the said species.
Fish fauna