Karak, Pakistan

For other uses, see Karak (disambiguation).

Karak
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Karak
Coordinates:
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Area
• Total	3,372 km2 (1,302 sq mi)
Population (1998)
• Total	430,796 persons
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)

Karak (Pashto: کرك, Urdu: کرک‎) is the headquarters of Karak District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is 123 km from Peshawar on the main Indus Highway between Peshawar and Karachi. It is located at 33°7'12N 71°5'41E. Karak is said to be the single district in Pakistan which is inhabited by only one tribe of Pashtuns — the Khattak.

Language

The predominant language of Karak is Pashto; the dialect is the softer "Kandahari" Pashto as opposed to the harder "Peshawari" dialect. Urdu and English are understood by majority however, they are spoken to a lesser degree.

History

Till 1956, the district was part of the princely state of Teri and was ruled by Nawab of Teri. Teri State was divided into tappas (satrapies)- Teri, Seni-Khurram and Barak. In 1956 Teri State was merged with Kohat Tehsil. Thus between 1956 and 1982, present district of Karak was administratively part of Kohat. Karak was established as a separate district July 1, 1982. The district is predominantly populated by the Pashtun Khattak tribe.

There are several natural resources that have been discovered in Karak. The salt mines were well known in antiquity and a major source of salt for the Indian subcontinent into British imperial times. More recently oil, gas, and uranium have all been discovered. Oil and gas reservoirs have been found in the towns of Makori, Noshpa Banda, Gurguri and Lachi circle Teri is also very important village of Karak .The Nawab of Dist Karak and Khattak Nama etc. was Ghazi Khan son of Darwaish Muhammad the brother of Akor Khan. Then Nawab Jaffar, then Nawab Allah hKhan and Nawab Abdullah Khan wife Mrs. Moran daughter of Nawab Behram Khan Son of Khushal Khattak. Nawab Behram or Nawab Abdullah khan arrested the important Khan of Teri a.k.a. Ashraf khan Hijre, who died in Jail . See The History Book " Tareekh Murassa " but this history book is silent about Nawab Ghazi Khan the brother of Akor Khan and about Nawab Jafar .The father of Akor Khan and Ghazi Khan etc. was Darwaish Muhammad and the father of Darwaish Muhammad Was Taman Baba. The son of Taman was Hassan (Tomb in Lachi on main High way Seddle/Kaye On top of hill(police Check post } and the father of Hassan was Sheikh Ali {Baig} Baba (Shrine in Lachi Bala).God may bless upon all (Syeds} Khattaks, because Syed Karlanr was Syed and we all are from them from mother side. and from father side we are all Khattak. by Umer Khel Khattak

Karak District Khattak District Karak Bahadur Khel salt hill Bahadur Khel salt hill Coordinates: 33°08′N 71°05′ECoordinates: 33°08′N 71°05′E Country Pakistan Established Karak was granted district status in July 1982 Headquarters Karak Government

• District Nazim   Vacant nowadays
• District Naib Nazim   vacant

Area

• Total    3,372 km2 (1,302 sq mi)

Population (2014 (est))

• Total    729,000[citation needed]

Time zone PST (UTC+5) Number of Tehsils 3 Karak (Pashto: کرك, Urdu: کرک) is a district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is situated to the south of Kohat District and on the north side of Bannu and Lakki Marwat districts on the main Indus Highway between Peshawar and Karachi - it is 123 km from the provincial capital Peshawar.

Administrative divisions[edit] The district of Karak is administratively subdivided into three tehsils.

Banda Daud Shah Karak Takht-e-Nasrati See also[edit] Portal icon Khyber Pakhtunkhwa portal Portal icon Pakistan portal Khyber Pakhtunkhwa References[edit] [hide] v t e Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Provincial capital: Peshawar Bannu Bannu Lakki Marwat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Districts.svg Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan Tank Hazara Abbottabad Battagram Haripur Mansehra Tor Ghar Lower Kohistan Upper Kohistan Kohat Hangu Karak Kohat Malakand Buner Chitral Lower Dir Upper Dir Malakand Shangla Swat Mardan Mardan Swabi Rawalpindi Charsadda Nowshera Peshawar

Wildlife

Diverse wild life across the district with annual hunting season of quails, cranes, black and brown pheasants. It is a well known place for hunting quails (batair) and fowl. There are game reserves used for hunting by the VIPs. One such hunting place is Darab o’ Kachch abundant in partridges and quail. Hunting is a popular pastime in the area.

Forestry

Forests cover only 2.1 percent area of the Karak district, which is the lowest figure in the province. The sheen ghar velly of shamshakki palosa sar are full of green forest but facing threat from timber mafia . However, the forest Department has carried out mass forestation throughout the district especially along roads, which will achieve better results in future. There was one good project of Forest Department in Zarki Nasrati (Maree Sam)but due to some reasons Mafias Cut all the forest, now there is nothing, but peoples of the area still hoping that Forest department will start this project with new energy.

Climate

The climate is hot during the summers, with temperature touching 40-45, and sand storms are common in Tehsil Takht-e-Nasratti. However, sawatra(Chountra) regions are the coolest part in summer where people use blankets at night. The best time to visit is between Nov-April with lush green fields of wheat, grams. By the reason of the Khattak nationality is very hard-worker As a highly education ratio with very low crime rate Khattaks of Karak are playing very important role in bureaucracy, Education, health, Army, Corporate organizations etc. in all over Pakistan on very high positions