Parachinar
Encyclopedia
Parachinar is the capital of Kurram Agency, FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

. It is about 290 km west of the capital, Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...

. It is situated on a neck of Pakistani territory south of Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....

, that juts into Paktia Province
Paktia Province
Paktia , is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, in the east of the country. Its capital is Gardez. The population is predominantly Pashtun.- History:...

 in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 and is the closest point in Pakistan to Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...

 and borders on the Tora Bora
Tora Bora
Tora Bora , known locally as Spīn Ghar , is a cave complex situated in the White Mountains of eastern Afghanistan, in the Pachir Wa Agam District of Nangarhar province, approximately west of the Khyber Pass and north of the border of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in Pakistan...

 region in Afghanistan.

History

The name of the town Parachinar comes from a big tree of Chinar (Maple tree) at a place which now is encompassed by the headquarter offices of Kurram Agency. Also in Kurram Agency there is a tribe known as the Para Chamkani,which used to convene their meetings under this Chinar tree to resolve their social matters So that's how this city named as Parachinar.. The old name of Parachinar is Tutki, when Kurram was apart of Afghanistan. And the inhabitant of Tutki are called Tutkiwal, even still the Afghan people called it Tutki.

Parachinar originated as a summer residence for nomadic tribes who wintered their livestock at lower altitudes, and the district had originally been a summer residence for Moghul emperors from Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...

. The Parachinar region was part of Afghanistan before the Second Afghan War of 1878-79, but was not firmly annexed by the British due to resistance from local tribes until 1892. During the colonial era between then and 1947 Parachinar became a hill station
Hill station
A hill station is a town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The term was used mostly in colonial Asia , but also in Africa , for towns founded by European colonial rulers as refuges from the summer heat, up where temperatures are cooler...

 for people from Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....

 as it is relatively cool in the summer and very easy to reach from the plains despite its high altitude since there are no steep ascents on the route from Peshawar.

Because of its proximity to the border of Afghanistan, in recent years, the economy of Parachinar has been adversely affected, with tourism in steep decline.

Climate

Parachinar has a moderate humid subtropical climate
Humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a climate zone characterized by hot, humid summers and mild to cool winters...

 with much higher rainfall than most areas of Pakistan adjacent to Afghanistan. Although the city’s southeasterly aspect relative the the valley in which it is situated allows it to receive on occasions significant monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...

al rainfall, the most frequent source of rain is western depressions and related thunderstorms. During the winter, snow may fall but seldom lies on the ground, but frosts occur on most mornings and snow does close the Khyber Pass near the town for up to five months per year.

Durand Line Agreement at Parachinar

In the year 1893 during the rule of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901.The third son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan, Abdur Rahman Khan was considered a strong ruler who re-established the writ of the Afghan government in Kabul after the disarray that followed the second...

 of Afghanistan, a Royal Commission for demarcating a Boundary between Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

 and the territory of British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 governed India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 negotiated terms which agreed to the Durand line
Durand Line
The Durand Line refers to the porous international border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which has divided the ethnic Pashtuns . This poorly marked line is approximately long...

. Two parties camped at Parachinar, now part of FATA
Fata
The FATA or FC-ATA is a type of computer hard disk drive. FATA is simply the low cost ATA or SATA disk drive equipped with a small external converter, that changes the interface to Fibre Channel...

 Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, which is near Khost
Khost
Khost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...

 Afghanistan. From the British side the camp was attended by Sir Mortimer Durand
Mortimer Durand
Sir Henry Mortimer Durand was a British diplomat and civil servant of colonial British India.-Background:Born at Sehore, Bhopal, India, he was the son of Sir Henry Marion Durand, the Resident of Baroda and he was educated at Blackheath Proprietary School, and Tonbridge School.-Career:Durand...

 and Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum, Political Agent Khyber
Khyber
The term Khyber may refer to:*The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province of Pakistan*The Khyber Pass, a mountain pass that links Pakistan and Afghanistan.*The Khyber Agency, part of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....

. The Afghanistan interest was represented by Sahibzada Abdul Latif
Sahibzada Abdul Latif
Sahibzada Abdul Latif was an Afghan of Khost. He was born in Sayed Ga of Tani District in Khost Province, Afghanistan in 1853, to Sahibzada Mohmmad Shareef. He had two brothers, Sahibzada Abdul Aziz and Sahibzada Abdul Haleef...

 and the Governor Khost
Khost
Khost or Khowst is a city in eastern Afghanistan. It is the capital of Khost province, which is a mountainous region near Afghanistan's border with Pakistan...

 Sardar Shireendil Khan
Sardar Shireendil Khan
In the year 1893 during rule of Amir Abdur Rahman Khan of Afghanistan a Royal Commission for setting up of Boundary the Durand line between Afghanistan and the British governed India was set up to negotiate terms with the British, for the agreeing to the Durand line, and the two parties camped at...

, representing King Amir Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901.The third son of Mohammad Afzal Khan, and grandson of Dost Mohammad Khan, Abdur Rahman Khan was considered a strong ruler who re-established the writ of the Afghan government in Kabul after the disarray that followed the second...

.

Demography

The population consisted of largely Turi, Bangash, Mangal, Para Chamkani, Sobary, Jaji, Malekhel, Khilji, Muqbal, Hazarahs,Shinwari, khoshi and as well as a Sikh community.

Health Department

Agency surgeon is the head of local health department, which is also an 18 grade officer. Medical superintendent is the head of Agency head quarter hospital, who is a 19 grade officer.

Education

The notable public schools in Parachinar are Chinar Public High school, pilot model high school, Kurram public high school, Oxford public school, Islamia public school, Kohisar Public School, Allama Iqbal Public High School, Uswa Public High School and two government high schools, Government High School No. 1 and Government High School No 2. There are three government colleges: Government Post Graduate College Parachinar, Government College of Management Sciences Parachinar, and Benezir College for Girls Parachinar.

Rest Houses in Parachinar

  • Circuit House
  • Chapri Rest House (Approx 9,941 feet High)
  • Malana dam rest house

See also

  • Parachinar Airport
    Parachinar Airport
    Parachinar Airport is an airport located in Parachinar, FATA, Pakistan. Located at about a 25 minute drive from the center of Parachinar, it is the only airport in FATA that is served by any passenger airline, namely Pakistan International Airlines...

  • List of airports in Pakistan
  • Battle of Tora Bora
    Battle of Tora Bora
    The Battle of Tora Bora was a military engagement that took place in Afghanistan in December 2001, during the opening stages of the war in that country launched following the 9/11 attacks on the United States. The U.S...

  • Kurram Agency War April 2007
    Kurram Agency War April 2007
    The Kurram Agency War began on 6 April 2007 in Kurram Agency, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan. The conflict is said to be on a procession in Parachinar city. The incident left more than 40 people dead and more than 150 people wounded by 9 April 2007...

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