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INTRODUCTION
The administration of the tribal area is looked after by the district
coordination officer Dear Ismail Khan district. It is also known as Argha
Shirani Area. As a whole it is located between 31˚30’ and 31˚34’ north latitudes
and 69˚55’ and 70˚24’ west longitudes. The total area is 2,008 square
kilometers. It is bounded on the north by South Waziristan Agency, on the east
by Kulachi Tehsil of D.I. Khan district, on the south by Dera Ghazi Khan and
Musa Khel districts of
Punjab and on the west by Zhob district of Balochistan. The total
population of FR D.I. Khan was 38,990 in 1998. There are no urban localities in
the tribal area.
PHYSICAL
FEATURES
It is composed of the Sulaiman mountains in the west which are of considerable
height and comparatively lower hills on the entire eastern side. A number of
peaks in this range are over 2,750 meters high. Takht-e-Sulaiman is the highest
point of the Sulaiman range with a height of 3,441 meters. This range is covered
by coniferous forest. Average height of the hills along the eastern border is
around 700 meters. Important streams in this part are Tangi khwar and Rangharar
Kwar. They are the main tributaries of the Khora river.
WEATHER
It experiences hot summers and cold winters. Summer season starts in April and
continues till October. June, July and August are the hottest months. Winter
season starts in November and lasts till March December, January and February
are the coldest months.
RACE AND TRIBES
The most important of the trans-border tribes under the political control of the
district coordination officer, Dera Ismail Khan, are the two of the three
Bhitanni clans; certain
Ghilzai
nomads and semi-permanent settlers: and the Largha Shiranis.
The two Bhittanis clans under the political control of the DCO, D.I. Khan, are
the Tatta and Waraspun. Besides the permanent settlements of Dotannis and
Sulaiman Khel Ghilzai in the South Waziristan Agency, both these clans have
semi-permanent settlements, during their passage between Afghanistan and India,
in D.I. Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan districts in winter, and in Balochistan in the
Summer: and Mian khel, or Miani, inhibit a portion of the Gomal Valley.
The
Shiranis are divided into the Largha, or eastern, and the Bargha, or western,
Shiranis. The Largha Shiranis are under the political control of the DCO, D.I.
Khan: the Bargha Shiranis are included in the Zhob political agency, Balochistan.
They are divided into three clans- Hassan Khel, Oba Khel and Chuhar Khel.
PLACES
OF INTEREST
Takht-i-Sulaiman
Soloman’s throne, a shrine on the mountain of the Sulaiman range, known as the
Kaisargarh or Kasi Ghar, but usually called by the name of Takh-i-Sulaiman. It
has an elevation of 11,295 feet. Tradition say that Solomon halted on a ledge
some distance below the crest of the mountain to take a last look over India,
when he was carrying off an Indian bride to Jerusalem. The shrine marks the
spot.
NIKAT:
It is distribution system through which all the benefits and losses are shared
among the tribesmen. It is evaluated on the basis their ancestral positions.
MAJAB/MAWAJIB:
It is an allowance paid to a tribe (as a whole) in lieu of its cooperation and
loyalties shown by that very tribe to the then British Government during the
agreements/treaties accorded during 19th-20th centuries.
MALIK:
A malik is a tribesman who represents his tribe, clan or section of tribe. He is
paid an allowance according to his status on yearly basis. It is very meager
amount but considered as honor in tribal society. A Malik is a bridge between
Political Administration and the general public in tribal areas.
LUNGI
HOLDERS:
A Lungi Holder is a person who is given a type of allowance by government in
lieu of his loyalty to the Political Administration. It is not inherited like
Malik’s allowance.
SUFAIDRESH:
It is a specific term used for lungiholders in Khyber agency.
MASHAR:
It is term used for a tribesman who is neither malik, lungiholders nor
sufaidresh but has an influential status to support the political administration
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