Dera Ismail Khan District

Dera Ismail Khan District (Urdu and, دېره اسماعيل خان ولسوالۍ), often abbreviated as D.I. Khan is a district in the Dera Ismail Khan division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The capital of the district is the town of Dera Ismail Khan. The district has an area of 9334 km2 and a population of 1,627,132 as of the 2017 Census.

Geography
The district of Dera Ismail Khan is bounded on the North east by the Bhakkar (Central Punjab) and Dera Ghazi Khan (South Punjab) districts of Punjab. Eastern portions of the district along the Indus river are characterized by fertile alluvial plains, while lands farther from the river consist of clay soil cut by ravines from rainfall. The district is bounded on the southwest by a thin strip of the South Waziristan district, which separates D.I Khan from the Koh-e-Sulaiman mountain in the neighboring Baluchistan province. In the northwest is the Tank District.

D.I Khan is separated from the Marwat plains of the Lakki Marwat district by a spur of clay and sandstone hills that stretch east from the Sulaiman mountains to the Indus river known as the Sheikh Badin Hills.

The highest peak in the range is the limestone Sheik Badin mountain, which is protected by the Sheikh Badin National Park. Near the Indus River is a spur of limestone hills known as the Kafir Kot hills, where the ancient Hindu complex of Kafir Kot is located. DI Khan is also considered the center of Pakistan because of its location between Bhakkar, Mianwali of North Punjab, Zhob of Balochistan and South Waziristan of Pakistan's tribal belt.

History
It is named after Dodai mercenary Ismail Khan, son of Malik Sohrab Dodai of the Langah Sultanate, who laid the foundation of the area.

Ancient history
The Dera Ismail Khan District is littered with ruins from ancient civilizations. Dera Ismail Khan is home to the collection of Hindu ruins from two separate sites 20 miles apart, jointly known as Kafir Kot.

The region came under the influence of the Nanda empire of the ancient India from 300 BCE. With the rise of Chandragupta Maurya, the region came under the complete control of the Mauryan empire. Afterward, the region was briefly and nominally controlled by the Shunga empire. However, with the decline of the Shungas, the region passed to local Hindu and Buddhist rulers and was interrupted by foreign rulers. Many of these foreign rulers, like the Indo-Parthians, Sakas, and Kushans converted to Hinduism and Buddhism and promoted these Indian religions throughout central and south Asia. The region reached its height under the Buddhist ruler Kanishka. After the fall of the Kushans, the region came under the control of the Gupta empire of the ancient India. During this period, Hindu and Buddhist art and architecture flourished in the area.

With the decline of the imperial Guptas, the Hindu Shahis came to rule the area. The Hindu Shahis built two massive forts in the northern edges of Dera Ismail Khan. The forts were later renamed as "Kafir kots" (forts of the Kuffar (Infidels)). These Hindu Shahi forts were known for high towers and steep defensive walls. The Hindus also built many Hindu temples around the area. However, many of them are now in rubble. The Hindu Shahis remained in control of the area until their defeat by the Turkic Muslim army of Ghaznavids.

The district is part of what was historically territory inhabited by the Baloch people during the medieval India, who were invited to settle in the region by Shah Husseyn of the Langah Sultanate of Multan. These Baloch settlers were displaced by or assimilated into later waves of the Pashtun settlement.

British Era
Dera Ismail Khan was created as an administrative unit of the British India, part of the Derajat Division of the North-West Frontier Province (Now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). It was formerly divided into almost two equal portions by the Indus river which intersected it from north to south. To the west of the Indus, the characteristics of the country resembled those of Dera Ghazi Khan. To the east of the present bed of the river, there is a wide track known as the Kachi, exposed to river action. Beyond this, the country rises abruptly, and a barren, almost desert plain stretches eastwards, sparsely cultivated, and inhabited by nomadic tribes.

In 1901, the trans-Indus tract was allotted to the newly formed North-West Frontier Province, the cis-Indus tract remaining in the Punjab jurisdiction. The cis-Indus portions of the Dera Ismail Khan and the Bannu districts now comprise the new Punjab district of Mianwali. Wheat and wool were exported. In 1901, it contained an area of 3403 sqmi and a population of 252,379. In 1947, it became part of the newly independent State of Pakistan.

In 2016, 191,000 acres in the district were brought under cultivation with completion of the Gomal Zam dam, and a series of irrigation canals partially funded by the United States Government.

Demography
At the time of the 2017 census. the district had 204,722 households and a population of 1,693,594. It had a sex ratio of 940 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 43.34% - 56.55% for males and 29.39% for females. 360,218 (21.27%) lived in urban areas. 32.41% of the population was under 10 years of age.

Language
At the time of the 2017 census, 64.23% of the population spoke Saraiki, 32.97% Pashto and 2.08% Urdu as their first language.

Education
The Dera Ismail Khan district has many schools and colleges, predominantly in the capital of Dera Ismail Khan. Beaconhouse School System
 * University of Agriculture, Dera Ismail Khan
 * Gomal University- Two campuses in Dera Ismail Khan
 * St. Helen's High School & College
 * Qurtuba University
 * Gomal Medical College
 * University Wensam College
 * Shawn School & College Paharpur
 * Punjab College Meraj Campus
 * [[Dar-e-Arqam School Dera Ismail Khan
 * The City School (Pakistan)|The City School]] Dera Ismail Khan
 * Government College of Technology, Dera Ismail Khan campus
 * The Educators Dikhan campus
 * Overseas Pakistan Foundation School
 * Educare School
 * Knowledge Home
 * Islamabad Schools
 * Mufti Mehmood Public School & College

Politics
The district is represented in the National Assembly by two elected MNAs who represent the following constituencies:

Cuisine and food
Sobat is a traditional dish predominantly prepared in the capital of Dera Ismail Khan. It consists of chicken, onions, garlic, tomatoes, khusk dhania, garam masala, turmeric, and other spices. It is usually eaten as dinner. Sobat is known all over Pakistan, and brings a lot of attention to the district and the city.

Sports
Football is a very popular game in Dera Ismail Khan. Other games including cricket, hockey, badminton, and many more are played as well. Ali Amin Khan has also provided a platform for more involvement in sports in this region. In 2017, he introduced a tennis ball cricket league, named Dera Premier League, and the teams from different geographical regions of Pakistan competed. Season two was held in 2018. DPL became Pakistan's biggest tape ball cricket tournament.

Dera Ismail Khan has a cricket team as well: Dera Ismail Khan cricket team. Some cultural games (kabaddi, mailay and kodi, which is played by three sportsmen called pehlwaan where one runs while two other have to catch him in a big circular ground encircled by spectators) are still popular among native Saraiki people and have been for decades.

Administration
The district is subdivided into six Tehsils which contain a total of 47 Union Councils:

Tehsils

 * 1) D.I. Khan
 * 2) Kulachi
 * 3) Paharpur
 * 4) Paroa
 * 5) Daraban
 * 6) Drazanda
 * 7) * formerly Frontier Region Dera Ismail Khan

After the merger of Tribal areas, Darazinda is now also a tehsil of D.I.Khan.