Bannu

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title: "Bannu" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-bannu-district", "bannu-district", "populated-places-established-in-1848", "cities-in-khyber-pakhtunkhwa", "cities-in-pakistan"] topic_path: "geography" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bannu" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
nameBannu
native_name
other_nameBani Gul
settlement_typeCity
image_skylineBannu, Pakistan.jpg
image_captionA street in Bannu
pushpin_mapKhyber Pakhtunkhwa#Pakistan
pushpin_reliefyes
pushpin_map_captionLocation within Pakistan
coordinates
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_namePakistan
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
subdivision_type2Division
subdivision_name2Bannu
subdivision_type3District
subdivision_name3Bannu
seat_typeHeadquarters
seatBannu
government_footnotes
government_typeMayor-council
governing_bodyDistrict Government
leader_partyJUI-F
unit_prefMetric
area_total_km21,972
population_total41,015
total_typeTown
population_as_of2023
population_footnotes
population_density_km2auto
timezone1PST
utc_offset1+5
established_titleEstablished
leader_titleMayor
leader_nameIrfan Khan Durrani
leader_title1Deputy Commissioner
leader_name1Shah Saud BPS-18(PAS)
leader_title2District Police Officer
leader_name2Dr. Muhammad Iqbal (BPS-18 PSP)
blank_nameMajority ethnicity
blank_infoPashtun
demographics1_title1Main language(s)
demographics1_info1Pashto, Urdu, English, and Punjabi
website
nicknameبنی گل
blank_info_sec1

| | blank_name_sec1 | Highways | | elevation_m | 375.514 | ::

| name = Bannu | official_name = | native_name = | other_name = Bani Gul | settlement_type = City | image_skyline = Bannu, Pakistan.jpg | image_alt = | image_map = | image_caption = A street in Bannu | pushpin_map = Khyber Pakhtunkhwa#Pakistan | pushpin_relief = yes | pushpin_map_caption = Location within Pakistan | coordinates = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Pakistan | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | subdivision_type2 = Division | subdivision_name2 = Bannu | subdivision_type3 = District | subdivision_name3 = Bannu | seat_type = Headquarters | seat = Bannu | government_footnotes = | government_type = Mayor-council | governing_body = District Government | leader_party = JUI-F | unit_pref = Metric | area_total_km2 = 1,972 | population_total = 41,015 | total_type = Town | population_rural = | population_urban = | population_as_of = 2023 | population_footnotes = | population_density_km2 = auto | timezone1 = PST | utc_offset1 = +5 | established_title = Established | established_date = | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Irfan Khan Durrani | leader_title1 = Deputy Commissioner | leader_name1 = Shah Saud BPS-18(PAS) | leader_title2 = District Police Officer | leader_name2 = Dr. Muhammad Iqbal (BPS-18 PSP) | blank_name = Majority ethnicity | blank_info = Pashtun | demographics1_title1 = Main language(s) | demographics1_info1 = Pashto, Urdu, English, and Punjabi | website = | nickname = بنی گل | blank_info_sec1 =

| blank_name_sec1 = Highways | elevation_m = 375.514

Bannu (, ), also called Bani Gul or Bani (, ) is a city located on the Kurram River in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the capital of Bannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of the Banuchi tribe and speak Banuchi (Baniswola), a dialect of Pashto which is similar to the distinct Waziristani dialect. The residents regardless of their tribes are commonly called Banusi, Banuchi or Banisi.

The major industries of Bannu are cloth weaving, sugar mills and the manufacturing of cotton fabrics, machinery and equipment. It is famous for its weekly Jumma fair. The district forms a basin drained by the Kurram and Gambila (or Tochi) rivers.

Etymology

According to the philologist Michael Witzel, the city was originally known in Avestan as Varəna (𐬬𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬀), from which its modern name derives. The ancient Sanskrit grammarian Pāṇini recorded its name as Varṇu (वर्णु). ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/Darius_I_statue_Sattagydia.jpg" caption="Sattagydia (𓐠𓂧𓎼𓍯𓍒𓈉, S-d-g-wꜣ-ḏꜣ), on the Egyptian Statue of Darius I."] ::

During the 6th century BCE, the basin around Bannu was known as Sattagydia (Old Persian: 𐎰𐎫𐎦𐎢𐏁 Thataguš, country of the "hundred cows").

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cf/Xerxes_detail_Sattagydian.jpg" caption="[[Tomb of Xerxes I]], Sattagydian soldier of the [[Achaemenid army]], c. 480 BCE"] ::

The history of Bannu goes back to prehistoric time, due to its strategic location along the Kurram and Tochi routes which lead into the Indus Valley. Sheri Khan Tarakai is an ancient settlement site located in the Bannu District with ruins of the oldest known village settlement in the Bannu region, which was occupied from the late fifth until the early third millennium BCE. Recent archaeological excavations at Akra, Bannu showed that it was a large urban site that existed throughout the Iron Age and had trade relations with Central Asia.

The sacred texts of Zend Avesta and Vendidad mentions Varəna, the Avestan predecessor of the name for Bannu, as the 14th in the list of the "16 perfect lands" created by Ahura Mazda. According to the Avesta, Varəna was the homeland and birthplace of the legendary King Fereydun (known in Avestan as Θraētaona, and also known as Āθβiiāni, "of the house of Abtin").

In the 6th century BCE, the region around Bannu was known as Sattagydia (lit. "country of 100 cows") and constituted the southern part of the greater region of Paropamisadae. Under the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Sattagydia became part of the Empire's 7th taxation district, which also included the Gandāra, Dadicae, and Aparytae regions. Sattagydia was mentioned in the Behistun inscription of Darius the Great as one of the satrapies in revolt while the king was in Babylon. The revolt was presumably suppressed in 515 BCE. ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Akra_(A)_Mound,_Bannu.jpg" caption="Achaemenid rule" alt="Akra (A) Mound, Bannu"] ::

After being conquered by Alexander in the 4th century BCE, the region became part of the Greek Seleucid Empire for a short while until the Mauryan Empire took control over the region around 305 BCE, as the entire region of North-West India constituting Paropamisadae, Arachosia and Gedrosia was transferred to Mauryan Empire by the Seleucids.

After the decline of Mauryan Empire, the region fell under the administrative and political control of Indo-Greeks, Indo-Scythian and Indo-Parthians successively. Kushan emperor Kujula Kadphises defeated the Indo-Parthians and incorporated the region under the Kushan Empire. In the Tochi Valley of North Waziristan near Bannu, Bactrian language inscriptions originally written in the 9th century have been discovered. This shows that after the collapse of the Kushan Empire, its official language continued in use for at least six more centuries.

After the decline of the Kushan Empire, the region subsequently came under the control of Gupta Empire. The Kidarites began invading the North-West regions of Gupta Empire during the reign of Emperor Kumaragupta. The Gupta Empire ended up losing its control over the region around the early 5th century CE.

The Kidarites then too came under the attack from Hephthalites who defeated the Kidarites and appointed sub-rulers and kings to rule over the region. Hūṇa King Mihirakula was the most famous ruler from the Alchon Hun dynasty.

Aulikara ruler, Yashodharman defeated the Hūṇa King Toramana and took control over most of North-West India. The remnants of the Hepthalite Empire continued to rule over the region until the 9th century CE when the Hindu Shahis came to power and established their rule over the region for over 150 years.

In the late 10th and early 11th century CE, the Ghaznavids conquered the area. Mahmud of Ghazni used the Bannu route for several of his raids deeper into Northern India.

British rule

The city was renamed in 1848 by Herbert Benjamin Edwardes, a lieutenant in the 1st Bengal European Fusiliers Regiment of the East India Company's private army. He ordered the construction of the fort – named Dhulipgarh (Dalipgarh) in honour of the Maharajah of Lahore – at the same time. At the time of its founding, the town was named Dhulipnagar (Dalipnagar). Its name was later changed to Edwardesabad in 1869. In 1903, it received its current name, Bannu.

Bannu was used as the base of operations for all punitive expeditions undertaken by detachments of the British Indian Army to the Tochi Valley and the Waziristan frontier. A military road led from the town of Bannu toward Dera Ismail Khan. This road was built by military engineers under the supervision of a Bannu engineer, Ram N. Mullick. Mullick graduated from Banaras Engineering College and had served in Iraq and Lahore as an expert in heavy earth-moving equipment before the independence of Pakistan in 1947.

According to 1941 Census, Bannu was a Hindu majority city.

According to the Imperial British Gazetteer, Bannu was described by the following: ::quote [The population in 1901 was] 14,291, including cantonment and civil lines (4,349). It was founded in 1848 by Lieutenant (afterwards Sir Herbert) Edwardes, 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 moved there from Bazar Ahmad Khan, which had formed the commercial center of the Bannu valley prior to annexation. The Church Missionary Society supports a small church and a high school founded in 1865. The cantonment centers 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 1903–1904 averaged Rs. 46,000. In 1903–1904 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. ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/22/Hindus_and_Sikhs_Migration_to_India.jpg" caption="partition of 1947"] ::

1947 Bannu Jirga

Main article: Bannu Resolution

On 21 June 1947 in Bannu, a jirga was held by Pashtun leaders including Bacha Khan, his brother Chief Minister Dr Khan Sahib, the Khudai Khidmatgars, members of the Provincial Assembly, Mirzali Khan (Faqir of Ipi), and other tribal chiefs, just seven weeks before the Partition of India. The jirga declared the Bannu Resolution, which demanded that the Pashtuns be given a choice to have an independent state of Pashtunistan composing all Pashtun territories of British India, instead of being made to join either India or Pakistan. However, the British Raj refused to comply with the demand of this resolution, in response to which the Khudai Khidmatgars boycotted the 1947 North-West Frontier Province referendum for merging the province into Pakistan.

2022 Pashtun National Jirga

Main article: Pashtun National Jirga

On 11–14 March 2022, the Pashtun National Jirga was held at Mirakhel in Bannu in order to defend the rights of the Pashtun people in the country. The critical issues which were faced by the Pashtuns were discussed during the jirga in a bid to suggest solutions to them.

Geography

Climate

Bannu has a hot semi-arid climate (Köppen BSh) with extremely hot summers and mild winters. The average annual temperature is 24.8 °C (76.6 °F), with the hottest month being June with an average high of 42.2 °C (108.0 °F) and the coolest month being January with an average low of 5.9 °C (42.6 °F). The average annual precipitation is 311.8 mm (12.28 in), with the majority falling in the monsoon season from July to September.

| width = auto | location = Bannu | metric first = Yes | single line = Yes

| Jan high C = 17.5 | Feb high C = 20.0 | Mar high C = 25.5 | Apr high C = 32.5 | May high C = 39.3 | Jun high C = 41.5 | Jul high C = 37.5 | Aug high C = 36.0 | Sep high C = 35.0 | Oct high C = 31.0 | Nov high C = 24.5 | Dec high C = 18.5

| Jan mean C = 10.0 | Feb mean C = 12.2 | Mar mean C = 17.0 | Apr mean C = 23.8 | May mean C = 30.6 | Jun mean C = 34.8 | Jul mean C = 32.6 | Aug mean C = 31.2 | Sep mean C = 28.6 | Oct mean C = 22.3 | Nov mean C = 14.9 | Dec mean C = 9.8

| Jan low C = 2.5 | Feb low C = 4.5 | Mar low C = 8.5 | Apr low C = 15.0 | May low C = 22.0 | Jun low C = 27.5 | Jul low C = 25.5 | Aug low C = 24.5 | Sep low C = 19.5 | Oct low C = 12.0 | Nov low C = 5.5 | Dec low C = 2.0

| precipitation colour = green | Jan precipitation mm = 45 | Feb precipitation mm = 50 | Mar precipitation mm = 60 | Apr precipitation mm = 20 | May precipitation mm = 10 | Jun precipitation mm = 10 | Jul precipitation mm = 95 | Aug precipitation mm = 85 | Sep precipitation mm = 15 | Oct precipitation mm = 5 | Nov precipitation mm = 10 | Dec precipitation mm = 30

| source 1 = Climate-Data.org | source 2 = World Weather Online

Demographics

Population

| title = Historical Population | shading = off | percentages = pagr | align = center | 1881 |8960 | 1891 |8817 | 1901 |14291 | 1911 |16865 | 1921 |22261 | 1931 |30539 | 1941 |38504 | 1951 |27199 | 1961 |31623 | 1972 |43757 | 1981 |43210 | 1998 |47676 | 2017 |49965 |source = |2023|41,015}} As of the 2023 census, Bannu had a population of 41,015.

Religion

::data[format=table title="Religious groups in Bannu City (1881−2023){{efn|1881-1941: Data for the entirety of the town of Bannu, which included Bannu Municipality and Bannu Cantonment.{{rp|19}}

2017-2023: Urban population of Bannu Tehsil.|name="BannuCity1881to2023"}}"] | Religious group | 1881 | 1891 | 1901 | 1911 | 1921 | 1931 | 1941 | 2017 | 2023 | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Total population | 8,960 | 8,817 | 14,291 | 16,865 | 22,261 | 30,539 | 38,504 | 49,948 | 48,096 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Hinduism [[File:Om.svg|15px]] | 4,284 | | 4,519 | | 7,080 | | 7,714 | | 13,222 | | 15,036 | | 22,175 | | 208 | | 116 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Islam [[File:Star and Crescent.svg|15px]] | 4,110 | | 3,720 | | 5,730 | | 6,340 | | 6,376 | | 10,607 | | 10,696 | | 48,434 | | 46,675 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Sikhism [[File:Khanda.svg|15px]] | 503 | | 537 | | 1,354 | | 2,585 | | 2,421 | | 3,947 | | 4,894 | | | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Jainism [[File:Jain_Prateek_Chihna.svg|15px]] | 0 | | 8 | | 2 | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Christianity [[File:Christian cross.svg|15px]] | | | 33 | | 125 | | 226 | | 242 | | 949 | | 467 | | 1,264 | | 1,272 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Zoroastrianism [[File:Faravahar.svg|15px]] | | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Judaism [[File:Star_of_David.svg|15px]] | | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Buddhism [[File:Dharma_Wheel_(2).svg|15px]] | | | | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Ahmadiyya [[File:Liwa-e-Ahmadiyya_1-2.svg|15px]] | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 27 | | 0 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Others | 63 | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | 0 | | 232 | | 15 | | 33 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ::

Language

| thumb = right | caption = Languages by number of speakers in the Bannu district, 1881{{Cite book|title=Report on the census of the Panjáb taken on the 17th of February 1881 |jstor=saoa.crl.25057657 |last1=Denzil Ibbetson |first1=Sir |last2=(India) |first2=Punjab |date=1881 |volume=2 | label1 = Pashto | value1 = 52.79 | color1 = green | label2 = Banuwali | value2 = 46.69 | color2 = red | value3 = 0.33 | color3 = orange | label3 = Hindustani | label4 = Other | value4 = 0.19 | color4 = yellow

Tribes

The following Pashtun and non-Pashtun tribes are settled in Bannu, with Banusi and Wazir being the major ones:

Education

The first public sector university, University of Science and Technology, Bannu, opened in 2005. Bannu also has a medical college, Bannu Medical College, and a campus of University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar. The oldest and most renowned public sector institution is Government Post-Graduate College Bannu, which started operating in 1951.

The following is a list of some of the public and private universities and colleges in Bannu:

Notable people

Notes

References

References

  1. "District Bannu".
  2. (2023). "POPULATION AND HOUSEHOLD DETAIL FROM BLOCK TO DISTRICT LEVEL KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA (BANNU DISTRICT)".
  3. "Bannu City Council - KPK Local Body Election Result 2021". [[Geo News]].
  4. "Deputy Commissioner Bannu".
  5. (2003). "South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka". Taylor & Francis.
  6. ''Bannu; or our Afghan Frontier''. S.S. Thorbourne, 1883. Trűbner & Co., London, pp. 3, 5.
  7. "Bannu {{!}} Pakistan {{!}} Britannica".
  8. "Lawyers continue protest".
  9. Yunas, S. Fida. (2015). "Bannu: Its History and Culture". Oxford University Press.
  10. Petrie, C.A., Thomas, K.D. & Morris, J.C. 2010. Chronology of Sheri Khan Tarakai, in Petrie, C.A. (ed.). ''Sheri Khan Tarakai and early village life in the borderlands of north-west Pakistan'', Bannu Archaeological Project Monographs – Volume 1, Oxbow Books, Oxford: 343–352.
  11. (1982). "Achaemenid Sattagydia and the geography of Vivana's campaigns (DB III, 54–75)". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland.
  12. [http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~witzel/AryanHome.pdf Michael Witzel, "The Home of the Aryans"] people.fas.harvard.edu.
  13. Gherardo Gnoli. Zoroaster's Time and Homeland: a study on the origins of Mazdeism.Published by Istituto Universitario Orientale (1980), ASIN: B0018NEFO0.
  14. (1994). "History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The Development of Sedentary and Nomadic Civilizations, 700 B. C. to A, Part 250". [[UNESCO]].
  15. {{Cite EB1911
  16. "Bannu Town – Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 6, p. 02". Dsal.uchicago.edu.
  17. "Bannu {{!}} Pakistan".
  18. {{Cite EB1911
  19. "Clone of ITBHUGlobal.org: The Chronicle: Early Pioneers of IT-BHU".
  20. "Bannu Town – Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 6, p. 02". Dsal.uchicago.edu.
  21. Ali Shah, Sayyid Vaqar. (1993). "Afghanistan and the Frontier". Emjay Books International.
  22. (2014). "Culture, Conflict, and Counterinsurgency". [[Stanford University Press]].
  23. (March 12, 2022). "Nationalist parties convene jirga on Pakhtun issues".
  24. "په بنو کې درې ورځنۍ "پښتون قامي جرګه" روانه ده".
  25. "Climate: Bannu - Climate-Data.org".
  26. "Bannu Weather Forecast".
  27. "TABLE-1: AREA & POPULATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS BY RURAL/URBAN: 1951–1998 CENSUSES". Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  28. (3 January 2018). "POPULATION AND HOUSEHOLD DETAIL FROM BLOCK TO DISTRICT LEVEL KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA (BANNU DISTRICT)". Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  29. "URBAN LOCALITIES BY POPULATION SIZE AND THEIR POPULATION BY SEX, ANNUAL GROWTH RATE AND HOUSEHOLD SIZE : CENSUS-2023, KPK".
  30. (1881). "Census of India, 1881 Report on the Census of the Panjáb Taken on the 17th of February 1881".
  31. (1881). "Census of India, 1881 Report on the Census of the Panjáb Taken on the 17th of February 1881".
  32. (1881). "Census of India, 1881 Report on the Census of the Panjáb Taken on the 17th of February 1881".
  33. (1891). "Census of India, 1891 The Punjab and its feudatories, part I--The report on the census".
  34. (1891). "Census of India, 1891 The Punjab and its feudatories, part II--Imperial Tables and Supplementary Returns for the British Territory".
  35. (1891). "Census of India, 1891 The Punjab and its feudatories, part III--Imperial Tables and Supplementary Returns for the Native States, Together with a Caste Index".
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  37. (1901). "Census of India 1901".
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  39. Edward Albert Gait. (1913). "Census of India, 1911". Supt. Govt. Print..
  40. (1911). "Census of India 1911".
  41. (1921). "Census of India 1921".
  42. (1921). "Census of India 1921".
  43. (1933). "Census of India, 1931". Government stationery and printing.
  44. (1941). "Census of India, 1941".
  45. "Final Results (Census-2017)".
  46. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results Table-9 Population by sex, religion and rural/urban".
  47. Junaidi, Ikram. (2013-07-06). "HEC announces ranking of universities". DAWN.COM.
  48. "RECOGNIZED MEDICAL COLLEGES IN PAKISTAN".
  49. (2002-05-19). "PESHAWAR: Engineering varsity campus opens". DAWN.COM.
  50. "Another four-year term for UET VC". The News.
  51. "Government Post Graduate College Bannu - Online College Admission System, Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa".
  52. (2023-04-05). "NA approves bill to set up Kalam Bibi varisity in Bannu".
  53. "GCN Bannu – Provincial Health Services Academy".
  54. News Desk. (2023-03-15). "NA Deputy Speaker inaugurates law college".

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