| Upper Dir District | |
| Native Name: | Urdu: {{nq|ضلع دیر بالا Pushto; Pashto: {{script/Arabic|پورتنۍ دیر 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 |
| Established Date: | 1996 |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Dir |
| Government Type: | District Administration |
| Leader Title: | Deputy Commissioner |
| Leader Name: | Gohar Zaman Wazir (BPS-18 PAS) |
| Leader Title1: | District Police Officer |
| Leader Name1: | Mushtaq Ahmad (BPS-18 PSP) |
| Leader Title2: | District Health Officer |
| Leader Name2: | N/A |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 3699 |
| Population Total: | 1083566 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Main language(s) |
| Timezone1: | PST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | District Council |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Number of Tehsils |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | 6 |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Main language(s) |
| Blank1 Info Sec2: | Pashto,[2] Gawri |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Pashto, Gawri-Kohistani, Khowar, Gujri. |
Upper Dir District (Pushto; Pashto: پورتنۍ دیر ولسوالۍ, Urdu: {{nq|ضلع دیر بالا) is a district located in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The city of Dir is its district headquarter. Geographically, it is located in the northern part of Pakistan. It borders with the Chitral district on the north, Afghanistan on the northwest, the Swat district on the east, and the Lower Dir district on the south. It shares 40 to 50 kilometers border with Afghanistan.
Dir was home to various popular civilizations. It has been the place where the Aryans, the Budhists, and the Mughals survived. It was also a home to the Gandhara civilization. It was invaded by Alexander The Great.
In the sixteenth century, it was invaded by the Yousafzai tribe of the Pashtuns.
In 1898, Yousafzai Pashtun Muhammad Sharif Khan was declared the Nawab of Dir. He was succeeded by his son Nawab Aurang Zeb Khan in 1904, who ruled until his death in 1925. Subsequently, his son Shah Jehan Khan succeeded him and ruled the state for almost 35 years. At the time of the independence of Pakistan, in 1947, Dir was still a princely state, separated from Pakistan. It was no later than 1969, when it was annexed with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. [3] Till 1996, Dir was a unit combined district. But in 1996, the Dir District was divided into Upper and Lower Dir districts.
In the 2023 census, 2,415 (0.22%) of the people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians.[4]
Pashto is the predominant language, spoken by 91.02% of the population. Other languages, mainly various Kohistani languages, are spoken by 5.11% of the population.[5]
The people groups of the district are various Pashtun tribes of Afghan origin among other clans that settled in the region. These include the following tribes[6]
Upper Dir District has 4 Tehsils.[7]
Wari and Larjam tehsils are part of newly created District Central Dir District.
This district is represented by one elected MNA (Member of National Assembly) in Pakistan National Assembly. Its constituency is NA-5 (Upper Dir).[8]
| Member of National Assembly | Party Affiliation | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Molana Asad Ullah | 2002 | ||
| Najum-din Khan | Pakistan Peoples Party | 2008 | |
| Sahibzada Sebgat Ullah | 2018 |
In the provincial assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there are three seats for the Upper Dir district. Its constituency is PK-10, PK-11 and PK-12.
| Member of Provincial Assembly | Party Affiliation | Constituency | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malak Badsha Saleh | PK-10 Upper Dir-I | 2018 | ||
| Sahibzada Sanaullah | Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians | PK-11 Upper Dir-II | 2018 | |
| Inayat Ullah | Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal | PK-12 Upper Dir-III | 2018 |
Except for the town of Dir and a number of rapidly growing towns along the main road, the population is rural, scattered in more than 1200 villages in the deep narrow valleys of the Panjkora and its tributaries.
Of these, notable villages are
Popular places[9]