Khyber PakhtoonkhwaKhyber Pakhtoonkhwa is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. Neighbouringregions are Afghanistan to the west and north, and Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir to the east. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas stand as a buffer between the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and parts of Afghanistan. Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory are to the south.
Its area is 74,521 km² and its districts include Hazara, home to the town of Havelian, western starting point of the Karakoram Highway. The district of Hazara is not to be confused with the Hazara people of Afghanistan. The capital and main city of the province is Peshawar. The major language spoken in the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa is Pashto, and most of its residents are Pashtuns, especially in the lowlands and the southern areas of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa. The mountainous northern regions of the province are mostly non-Pashtun, being home to diverse ethnic groups and languages, such as Khowar, Kohistani, Shina, Torwali, and Kalami. Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa was traditionally a part of Afghanistan, but was divided during British rule of India.
During the 1950s, Afghanistan supported a secessionist movement in the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa known as the Pakhtunistan movement. There are also numerous Afghan refugee camps in the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, owing to its proximity to Afghanistan. Likewise, it has a major base for supplying mujahideen who fought the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s.
Pashtuns within the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa have sought to rename the province Pakhtunkhwa, which translates to "Land of the Pakhtuns" in Afghan. This has been opposed by the people of the mountainous northern regions of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, who are mainly non-Pashtuns.
The Durand line is a term for the poorly marked 2,450 kilometer (1,519 mile) border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. After being defeated in two wars against Afghans, the British succeeded in 1893 in imposing the Durand line, dividing Afghanistan and what was then British India (now Pakistan). Named for Sir Mortimer Durand, the foreign secretary of the Indian government, it was agreed upon by representatives of both governments. One of the two representatives of the Afghan government was the revered Ahmadi Sahibzada Abdul Latif of Khost. The border was drawn intentionally to cut through the Pashtun tribes.
Afghanistan’s loya jirga of 1949 declared the Durand Line invalid.
Today, the line is often referred to as one drawn on water, symbolizing the porous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. The line has come under special attention of late, as it has become notorious for allowing Taliban fighters and terrorists to freely travel back and forth, finding safety and shelter in the autonomous Pashtun regions of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa continues to have an image problem. Even within Pakistan it is regarded as a "radical state" and a "backwater." In reality the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa has been the most stable and peaceful of Pakistani provinces. The plagues of sectarianism, terrorism and insurrection have not been a problem in the Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa.
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