Lower Dir District

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Lower Dir District" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (February 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Lower Dir District (Pashto: ښکته دير ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع دیر زیریں) is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.^[3] Timergara is the district's headquarters and largest city.^[3] The Lower Dir district was formed in 1996, when Dir District was divided into Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts.^[3] On 22 January 2023, both Lower Dir and Upper Dir districts were further bifurcated to create a new Central Dir District.^[4] Lower Dir is famous for its beautiful snow-capped mountains, valleys, and pleasant weather.^{[citation needed]} The primary industry in Lower Dir is tourism, which is now rapidly growing.^{[citation needed]}

Key Information

Lower Dir District ضلع دیر زیریں ښکته دير ولسوالۍ‎
District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Timergara, the district headquarters
Lower Dir District (red) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Coordinates: 34°51′N 71°51′E / 34.850°N 71.850°E / 34.850; 71.850
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Division	Malakand
Headquarters	Timergara
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Deputy Commissioner	Muhammad Fawad (BPS-20 PCS)
• District Police Officer	Ikramullah Khan (BPS-18 PSP)
Area
• Total	1,583 km2 (611 sq mi)
Population  (2023)[1]
• Total	1,650,183
• Density	1,000/km2 (2,700/sq mi)
• Urban	47,855 (2.90%)
• Rural	1,602,327
Literacy [2]
• Literacy rate	Total: 57.36% Male: 72.57% Female: 43.16%
Time zone	PST
Number of Tehsils	5
Website	dirlower.kp.gov.pk
Show more

Lower Dir district borders with Swat District to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Upper Dir to the north and Malakand and Bajaur District to the south.

At the time of independence of Pakistan, Dir was a princely state ruled by Nawab Shah Jehan Khan. Dir was merged with Pakistan in 1969, declared a district in 1970, and split into Upper and Lower Dir in 1996.^[3]

• The University of Malakand is a public university located in Chakdara.
• The University of Dir is a newly established university located in Timergara.

As of the 2023 census, Lower Dir district has 202,836 households and a population of 1,650,183. The district has a sex ratio of 97.24 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 57.36%: 72.57% for males and 43.16% for females. 542,074 (32.88% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 47,860 (2.90%) live in urban areas.^[1] 4,439 (0.27%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians.^[6] Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 99.54% of the population.^[7]

NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II) are constituencies of the National Assembly of Pakistan from Lower Dir district. These areas were formerly part of NA-34 (Lower Dir) constituency from 1977 to 2018. The delimitation in 2018 split Lower Dir into two separate constituencies, NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II).

• Nawabzada Shahabuddin Khan, Former Ruler of Lower Dir^[10][11]
• Siraj ul Haq, politician
• Muhammad Bashir Khan, politician
• Jehan Alam Khan, President / Head of World Yousafzai Jirga (WYJ)
• Naseem Shah, cricketer
• Zahid Khan, Ex-Senator
• Abaseen Yousafzai, Pashto poet
• Noorena Shams , squash player

• 
  Maidan Valley, Lower Dir
• 
  Lajbouk, Lower Dir
• 
  Chakdara, Lower Dir
• 
  Kalpani Top, Lower Dir

• Constituency NA-6 (Lower Dir-I)
• Constituency NA-7 (Lower Dir-II)
• Education in Lower Dir District
• Upper Dir District

https://senate.gov.pk/en/profile.php?uid=804

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1276499-yousafzai-jirga-chief-vows-to-work-for-pakhtuns-unity

• Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Government website section on Lower Dir
• Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa news website section on Lower Dir