| Lower Dir District | |
| Native Name: | Urdu: {{nq|ضلع دیر زیریں Pushto; Pashto: {{script/Arabic|ښکته دير ولسوالۍ |
| Settlement Type: | District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Pakistan |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Malakand |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Timergara |
| Government Type: | District Administration |
| Leader Title: | Deputy Commissioner |
| Leader Name: | Muhammad Fawad (BPS-20 PCS) |
| Leader Title1: | District Police Officer |
| Leader Name1: | Ikramullah Khan (BPS-18 PSP) |
| Leader Title2: | District Health Officer |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 1583 |
| Population Total: | 1650183 |
| Population Rural: | 1,602,327 |
| Population Urban: | 47,855 |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Main language(s) |
| Timezone1: | PST |
| Blank Name Sec1: | District Council |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Number of Tehsils |
| Blank1 Info Sec2: | 5 |
| Total Type: | Total |
| Coordinates: | 34.85°N 122°W |
Lower Dir District (Pushto; Pashto: ښکته دير ولسوالۍ, Urdu: {{nq|ضلع دیر زیریں) is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.[1] Timergara is the district's headquarters and largest city. The Lower Dir district was formed in 1996, when Dir District was divided into Upper Dir and Lower Dir districts. On 22 January 2023, both Lower Dir and Upper Dir districts were further bifurcated to create a new Central Dir District.[2] Lower Dir is famous for its beautiful snow-capped mountains, valleys, and pleasant weather. The primary industry in Lower Dir is tourism, which is now rapidly growing.
Lower Dir district borders with Swat District to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Upper Dir to the north and Malakand and Bajaur District to the south.
At the time of independence of Pakistan, Dir was a princely state ruled by Nawab Shah Jehan Khan. Dir was merged with Pakistan in 1969, declared a district in 1970, and split into Upper and Lower Dir in 1996.
As of the 2023 census, Lower Dir district has 202,836 households and a population of 1,650,183. The district has a sex ratio of 97.24 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 57.36%: 72.57% for males and 43.16% for females. 542,074 (32.88% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 47,860 (2.90%) live in urban areas.[3] 4,439 (0.27%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians.[4] Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 99.54% of the population.[5]
NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II) are constituencies of the National Assembly of Pakistan from Lower Dir district. These areas were formerly part of NA-34 (Lower Dir) constituency from 1977 to 2018. The delimitation in 2018 split Lower Dir into two separate constituencies, NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) and NA-7 (Lower Dir-II).
| Member of National Assembly | Party Affiliation | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | |||
| Maulana Ahmad Ghafoor Ghawas | Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal | 2003 | |
| Malak Azmat Khan | Pakistan Peoples Party | 2008 | |
| Shahib Zada Muhammad Yaqub | 2013 |
| Member of National Assembly | Party Affiliation | Constituency | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mehboob Shah | PTI | NA-6 (Lower Dir-I) | 2018 | |
| NA-7 (Lower Dir-II) | 2018 |
| Member of Provincial Assembly | Party Affiliation | Constituency | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muhammad Azam Khan | PK-13 (Lower Dir-I) | 2018 | ||
| Humayun Khan | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-14 (Lower Dir-II) | 2018 | |
| Shafi ullah | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-15 (Lower Dir-III) | 2018 | |
| Bahdur Khan | PK-16 (Lower Dir-IV) | 2018 | ||
| Liaqat Ali Khan | Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf | PK-17 (Lower Dir-V) | 2018 |
https://senate.gov.pk/en/profile.php?uid=804