Area:             952 km²

Headquarters:     Malakand

Malakand agency lies at a strategically important position as it acts as a Gateway to Swat, Dir, Chitral and Bajaur. It is in the lower Swat region amidst high mountains thick with evergreen olive and pine trees. It stands at the exit of a pass known as Malakand Pass or Darrah Malakand; now much less difficult to cross than before as one travels from Peshawar to Swat.

In history the name has appeared as Malakhand or Mulah Khandao. The name is stated to have been derived from the words Mullah Khandao. It is the combination of two words; Mullah and Khandao. Mullah means a religious saint and Kandao means a lofty place. Nowadays it is known as Malakand, and the name has been adopted in the same form by many other villages in the Swat and Dir districts.

The area surrounded by Malakand -- on the south till Sakhakot board, on the north Chakdara bridge and towards the east till Landakay comes in the limits of Malakand. In papers the area is still an agency known as Malakand Agency but full fledged district government has been established which is headed by the District Nazim Engineer Mohammad Hamayun Khan.

A part of Malakand is occupied by the Uthmankhel clan of Pukhntoons (Pathans), while towards the south, at the bottom of Malakand Pass, live the Ranizais known as Sam Ranizai. Those living beyond the pass towards Swat are Swat Ranizai. This is also evident in the administration division; where one is called the Swat Ranizai and the other as Sam Ranizai.

The road in the pass has many turns and zigzags and appears to have been scientifically designed. Being a key route to Swat, Dir, Buner, Shangla and Chitral districts the Malakand pass has remained for years the target of foreign invasions. Before the British occupation, it represented Pukhtoon grandure. It was inhabited by prominent Pukhtoon Sardars particularly Ranizais division of the Yousafzai Pathans. The chief town of Ranizais was Dheri Allahdand, where there is the tomb of a holy man, Mian Allahdad, a dervish, held in great reverence by the Pukhtoons of these parts.

Malakand today is vastly different from the land of yore. After partition major changes have taken place. The distinctive characteristic of the land is that it serves as a gateway for trade to the other districts in the Malakand Division. (Now divisional status has been abolished and district governments are set up in all the districts coming in the limits of Malakand Division). The Malakand Pass is the shortest and safest route for trade caravans going towards Swat, Dir, Bajaur, Buner, Shangla and Chitral Districts.

The soil of Malakand is loamy and moist, and is irrigated by the Swat River which flows from Swat, through Kohistan and joins the river Kabul near Peshawar. The average rainfall is not enough, therefore the soil requires artificial irrigation.

There are rare scenic places and tourist resorts in Malakand like Jabban and Malakand hydro-electric project. Water passes through a three-mile long tunnel, and has a natural fall of 350 feet. The main income- generating source in Malakand is the two power houses at Dargai and Malakand Khas. There are about 11 other suitable sites for construction of Small Hydel Power Projects that needed investors attention.

Malakand as already mentioned is surrounded by high mountains rich with mineral resources which are yet to be exploited. However, deposits of chromite iron, china clay and fuller earth have been found in Malakand. There are vast chances of mineral exploration but due to poor status of the local denizens they are not in a position to invest and exploit the mineral resources in Malakand. If investors from the other districts and provinces diverted their attention towards mineral wealth they can find and get vast mineral treasures.

Archaeologically, Malakand has a separate history. The land had remained a seat of Gandhara art culture. It has a large number of ancient relics still unexplored. Buddhism also has roots in this land and places like Penjon, Magoshah, Haryankot, Hati Darrah, Sakhakot, Batkhela etc.

After the imposition of Devolution Plan in the country, District Government has been established in Malakand. Engineer Mohammad Hamayun Khan, son of the former federal minister Mohammad Hanif Khan (Late) is the District Nazim of Malakand. With him Syed Ahmad Ali Shah Bacha works as Naib District Nazim and Abdul Jalil Khan is the existing District Coordination Officer of Malakand.

The High court extended its jurisdiction to this area in 1974 and district and civil judges work here ever since.

Brief History:

Historic ruins, founded at different places in the agency, indicate that this area was part of Ghandara civilization and Buddist peoples lived here. The last Buddist ruler, Raja Gira, seems to have ruled over here about 900 (Nine Hindered) years ago. Sultan Mahmood of Ghazni, a Muslim ruler, came here from Afghanistan through Bajaur and defeated the Buddist ruler, Raja gira.

Later, another Afghan ruler, Muhammad Ghauri, invaded this area and Islam began to spread here. The Yousafzai Pathan tribe came to inhabit this area is the wake of the invasion. About 400 years ago, successive Mughal rulers attemped in vain to capture this area. After the fall of the Mughals, Sikh rulers tried to conquer this area but we repulsed. The British had always looked at this area with covetous eyes but dared no venture to flirt with it openly. In 1882, The British approached to the elders of Malakand Agency with the request to allow the passage of post to Chitral, which was then in the Administrative sphere of Gilgit. With the common consent of Aslam Khan and Inayat Khan of Thana, Saadat khan of Alladand and Sarbiland Khan of Palai, the postal runners were allowed through the Agency in exchange for a considerable amount of money to be paid yearly to each. In 1885, the Chitral relief expedition however necessitated the British intervention in this area. British officer and troops had been besieged in Chitral by Chitralis under Sher Afzal in association with Umara Khan of jandol. To reinforce their forces there, they needed a route to Chitral as the Gilgit-Chitral road, the only route at that time, was covered with snow and they had no option left except to pass through Malakand Agency. The British therefore, laid siege of the Malakand pass. The people fought bravely and offered stubborn resistance to the enemy. The British artillery particularly proving more than a match for the old and rusty guns and swords of the natives. To fortify their position and ensure the safety of the strategically Important Chitral road, they constructed two forts at Malakand and Chakdara with many piquet overhead the surrounding hills. One of them Churchill piquet, was name after Lt. Churchill who later on became the Prime Minister of Britain. Since then the British intervened in the politics of the area. A political Agent was stationed at Malakand to mediate between the British and the people of the Area.

Swat Valley:

Swat is the most accessible of all the valleys of northern Pakistan, the most interesting historically and one of the most beautiful. Its capital of Saidu Sharif can be reached in 4/12 hours by car from Islamabad, or 30 minutes by air. In all seasons you can drive half way up the valley, and from April to November right to the head of the valley, in an ordinary saloon car. Its scenery is gentler and the land more fertile than the other northern valleys. Everywhere in lower Swat you can see terraced fields, startlingly green rice paddies, abundant fruit orchards, and views of snow-capped peaks. In upper Swat the river narrows into turbulent gorges, the mountains tower above and pine forests cling defiantly to the slopes. Swat offers the best walking in Pakistan, and excellent fishing and climbing. For the historian and amateur archaeologist it is paradise; it has several thousand archaeological sites spanning 5,000 years of history waiting to be explored.

Many of the archaeological and historical sites will of little interest to the general tourist, for much imagination is required to envisage Swat as an important Buddhist centre or the scene of fierce battles between the tribesmen and such diverse characters as Alexander the Great and Winston Churchill. Nevertheless, for the dedicated explorer in the tracks of history, we have given an account of most of the sites. As at Taxila and Vale of Peshawar, no single published work on Swat is available, and many reports on the excavations in the valley are either unavailable or have not been published.

Swat's history goes back to at least 3,000 BC when Stone Age people lived there. In 1,700 BC a wave of Aryans arrived from Central Asia. They were the forerunners of the Hindus. They composed the Rigveda, the oldest religious text in the world. In one of the 1028 hymns still existing, a chief sings of a victory won on the banks of the river Suvastu, the Swat.

In 327 BC Alexander the Great invaded Swat on his way from Afghanistan to the Indus, and fought four battles there. From the 2nd century BC to the 9th century AD Buddhism flourished in the valley, leaving behind a legacy of beautiful sculpture and more than 1,400 monasteries. Tantric Buddhism was developed in lingered on in Swat until the 16th century.

From the 8th to 10th centuries the Hindu kings built their fortified cities on the tops of many of the hills in lower Swat. You can still see massive stone walls crowning the peaks on every side.

Mahmud of Ghazni took the valley in the 11th century after a fierce battle at Udegram, where his commanders Khushal Khan was killed and buried. The Moghuls came to Swat in the 16th century but failed to add it to their dominions. Babur took a wife from Swat, and Akbar suffered a disastrous defeat in the Karakar Pass.

In the 19th century the Akund of Swat rose to power. He was a Sufi ascetic with a highly charismatic and warlike personality who united the Swatis and made his capital at Saidu Sharif. He became known in the west because of the poem by Edward Lear.

Who or why, or which, or what,Is the Akond of Swat?

Is the tall or short, or dark or fair?

Does he sit on a stool or a sofa or chair, or squat,

The Akond of Swat?

Is he wise or foolish, young or old? etc, etc

Churchill Piquet:

If it is not too hot, a climb up to the Churchill Piquet on Damkot Hill is rewarding. You can park opposite the main gate of Chakdara fort. This fort was built in 1896 by the British on the foundation of the Emperor Akbar's 16th century fort, and is still occupied by the Pakistan army. The footpath up the hill to Churchill Piquet takes about 15 minutes to climb. The view from the top of the hill is magnificent. On a clear day the whole of the lower Swat valley is spread out before you, against a backdrop of snow-clad mountains receding into the distance.

Here the young Winston Churchill, reporting for the London Daily Telegraph, covered the Pathan uprising in 1897. There was a ragged volley from the rocks; shouts, exclamations, and a scream. One man was shot through the breast and pouring with blood; another lay on his back kicking and twisting. The British officer was spinning round just behind me, his face a mass of blood, his right eye cut out. Yes, it was certainly an adventure.

It is a point of honour on the Indian frontier not to leave wounded men behind. Death by inches and hideous mutilation are the invariable measure meted out to all who fall in battle into the hands of the Pathan tribesmen. We all laid hands on the wounds and began to carry and drag them away down the hill.

I looked around to my left. Out from the edge of the houses rushed half a dozen Pathan swordsmen. The bearers of the poor Adjutant let him fall and fled at their approach. The leading tribesmen rushed upon the prostrate figure and slashed at it there or four times with his sword. I forgot everything else at this moment except a desire to kill this man. I wore my long cavalry sword well sharpened. After all, I had won the public school facing medal. I resolved on personal combat a lame blanche. The savage saw me coming, I was not more than twenty yards away. He picked up a big stone and hurled it at me with his left hand, and then awaited me, brandishing his sword. There were others waiting not far behind him. I changed my mind about the cold steel. I pulled out my revolver, took, as I thought, most careful aim, and fired. No result. I fired again. No result. Whether I hit him or not I cannot tell. I looked around. I was all alone with the enemy. I ran as fast as I could. I got to the first knoll. Hurrah, there were the Sikhs holding the lower one.

We fetched up at the bottom of the spur little better than a mob, but still with our wounded, while the tribesmen, who must have now numbered two or three thousand, gathered in a wide and spreading half-moon around our flanks. The Colonel said to me, The Buffs are not more than half a mile away. Go and tell them to hurry or we shall be wiped out.

But meanwhile I heard an order: Volley firing. Ready. Present. Crash! At least a dozen tribesmen fell. Another volley, and they wavered. A third, and they began to withdraw up the hillside. The bugler began to sound Charge. Everyone shouted. The crisis was over, and here, praise be to God, were the leading files of the Buffs.

(Churchill was getting a column, so it paid him to spin it out a bit). The door to Churchill Piquet is usually open. A shaky ladder inside leads to the roof. From the ramparts you can see why the position was so important; not only does it guard the river crossing, but it is high enough to overlook the Malakand Pass to the west: the Shah Kot and Mura Passes (from Thana to the Peshawar basin) to the south: Barikot, gateway to Buner and to Swat proper, to the east: and the Chakdara plain and the ancient trade route to the north.

The foundations of the Churchill Piquet rest on an 8th century Hindu Shahi wall. But the history of all the hill goes back to 1,700 BC, when a wave of Aryans swept inform Afghanistan and settled in the area. They lived in stone houses, made elegant grey and black pottery on a slow wheel, and cultivated the land using stone and wooden implements. At first their only use of metal was copper and gold for jewellery. But later a knowledge of iron spread into the area, and they made knife blades, hoes, sheep shears, and needles.

One of the many Aryans graveyards that have been excavated in Swat is Samlai, at the foot of the north side of Damkot Hill. The graveyard is still used by the villagers of Chakdara. The Aryans buried the partially cremated body, surrounded by the necessary utensils of daily life, in graves lined and sealed with large stone slabs. Five graves were excavated at Samlai, but were filled in again, so nothing of interest remains to be seen.

Damkot Hill was then abandoned until the Buddhist community resettled it at the beginning of the 1st century AD. The excavated remains of their stupa and monastery can be seen just below the top of the hill on the south side. The community came to a catastrophic end in the late 5th century.

The Hindu Shahi (the Turkish Hindu kings) were the next to occupy the hill in the 8th century. They built a large fort surrounded by a strong defensive wall that extended down to the river, thus ensuring a safe water supply. The houses, rubbish pits, shops, stables and the remains of smithy on the north-eastern side of the excavated citadel are fun to explore. The Hindu Shahi fort was destroyed by fire at the end of the 10th century, probably by Mahmaud of Ghazni, who invaded Swat in 1001 AD, and the hill was not occupied again until the British came in the late 19th century.

At the foot of the hill, to the west, is a local bathing place, near which stand six boulders with Buddhist carvings on them. The figures shown are mostly of Padmapani, the Lotus Bearer Bodhisa-ttva, with his slim body and diaphanous robes. The carving date from the 6th or 7th century AD, when Bhddhism, though on the decline, was still active in Swat, despite the White Huns.

It is possible to drive a jeep round the north side of Damkot Hill, past Samlai graveyard, to a point fairly close to these carvings. The jeep road continues on this side of the river for another 15 km past more unexcavated Buddhist stupas, to a bridge across the Swat river below Batkhela.

Chat Pat: Chat Pat is a Buddhist monastery. To get there from the bridge drive 1.6 km and park just before the road to Dir enters the ford. The footpath to Chat Pat runs left (west) for about 1 km through the fields, past the village, and up the stream. A guide can be found at the museum if necessary.

Chat Pat is a typical Buddhist monastery site, nestled into a fold in the hills beside a small stream, where the monks could retreat and mediate with a peaceful view down the glen, yet within easy reach of the alms-giving travellers on the main road. We recommend it here because it is a reasonably easy, and very pleasant, walk, and the site itself, though small, is refreshingly well maintained.

It dates from the last 1st to the 4th century AD. There is no main stupa, and a landslide has buried the monastery on the east. The site is important because the excavators found there a quantity of Buddhist Gandharan sculpture decorating its 38 stupas and chapels. These were chronologically dated and showed a surprising decline in style from the 1st to 4th century AD.

Kaghan Valley:

The Kaghan Valley is one of the most beautiful in Pakistan. Parts of it recall the alpine scenery of Europe. It follows the Kunhar river, which flows down from high in the Indus Kohistan to join the Jhelum at Muzaffarabad. The valley is over 160 km (100 miles) long, and climbes from about 900 metres (3,000 ft) to 4,150 metres (13,600 ft) at Babusar Pass. The road through the valley and up over the Babusar Pass to Chilas on the Indus opened in 1898. It was always a very uncertain one because of the heavy snows; it was only jeepable for the short summer months, and then landslides frequently blocked it. The advent of the Karakoram Highway has meant that it is no longer strategically necessary to keep the road open. It has sadly been allowed to deteriorate, so that a tourist hoping to up the Babusar Pass by jeep faces difficulties.

The great attraction of the Kaghan valley is that it is completely unspoilt. There is no industry except forestry and no great centre of population. It is supremely peaceful. The other great draw is the fishing, particularly at Naran, half way up the valley, and in the lakes. Although some parts of the Kaghan have become fairly popular, it is easy to get off the beaten track.

The disadvantage of the Kaghan valley is that in most places it is very narrow and constricted and views of the higher mountains are relatively rare. There are only two or three points where you can climb up to the higher levels and the summer grazing plateau; at the bottom of the valley you can feel claustrophobic and uncomfor-tably hot. Walking, except on the plateau and in the higher reaches, is rather unrewarding. A fine road is now built and tourists can easily enjoy comfortable travelling.

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