| Shangla District | |
| Native Name: | Urdu: {{nq|ضلع شانگلہ Pushto; Pashto: {{script/Arabic|شنګله ولسوالۍ |
| Native Name Lang: | Pashto, |
| Settlement Type: | District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  Pakistan |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | Division |
| Subdivision Name2: | Malakand |
| Seat Type: | Headquarters |
| Seat: | Alpuri |
| Government Type: | District Administration |
| Leader Title: | Deputy Commissioner |
| Leader Name: | N/A |
| Leader Title1: | District Police Officer |
| Leader Name1: | N/A |
| Leader Title2: | District Health Officer |
| Leader Name2: | N/A |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 1586 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population As Of: | 2023 |
| Population Total: | 891252 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | PST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5 |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Blank Name Sec1: | District Council |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 28 seats |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Number of Tehsils |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 5 |
Shangla District (Pushto; Pashto: شنګله ولسوالۍ, Urdu: {{nq|ضلع شانگلہ) is a district in Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The district's headquarters are located at Alpuri, while the largest city and commercial center is Besham. The district was established in 1995, having previously been a subdivision of Swat District. The total area of the district is 1,586 square kilometers.Shangla comprises three subdivisions, Alpuri, Puran, Chakesar, Martung and Besham tehsils. Shangla is famous for its touring spot, Yakhtangay
The district is bounded in the north by Kohistan District, in the east by Battagram District and Torghar District, in the west by Swat District, and in the south by Buner District.
Shangla was a sub-division of the Swat district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan until it was granted the status of a separate district in 1995. This was primarily due to the efforts of Haji Badi uz Zaman, a political leader and community figure who was assassinated in 1994, and his son, Afsar ul Mulk.
There are relics of the ancient Greek period at Pirsar, Chakesar and Daut. It is believed that Alexander the Great camped at Pirsar for a few days.[2] [3] [4] There are also relics of the Hindu Shahi in Olandar-Ajmair.[5] [6]
A number of Buddha sculptures are also found in Shangla district which indicate that Shangla was also a part of the previous Buddhist civilization.[7] [8] [9]
The district was hit by the 2015 Hindu Kush earthquake in which more than 18 people were killed.[10]
Shangla district consists of small valleys and is situated between the hillocks and is surrounded by high mountains full of forests comprising Pindrow Fir, Morinda Spruce, Blue Pine (Kail), Chir Pine and Deodar Cedar trees. The average elevation of the district is 2000 to 3000 meters above sea level. The highest point (3,440 m) is near Kuz Ganrshal in the north of the district. The Shangla District is connected to the Swat District by the Shangla Pass.
In the 2023 census, 2,410 (0.27%) people in the district were from religious minorities, mainly Christians.[11]
Pashto was the predominant language, spoken by 95.4% of the population. 1.03% of the population spoke Kohistani languages.[12]
The main tribe of Shangla is Yusufzai, that contribute more than half of the district population, the dense and well populated area of Shangla is Alpuri tehsil (Gwarband) that contributes to more than 253000+ of the district population. Shangla is one of the unique districts of Pakistan that contains more than 80% of forest land. The youngest noble laurate Malala Yousafzai's father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was born in Shangla, however, she herself was born in Mingora, Swat.[13]
In November 2022, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mahmood Khan, inaugurated University of Shangla.[14] The university was earlier a campus of University of Swat.[15]
This district is represented by one elected MNA (Member of National Assembly) in Pakistan National Assembly. Its constituency is NA-31.[16]
| Election | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Engr Amir Muqam | MMA | |||
| Engr Amir Muqam | PML | |||
| Dr Ibadullah Khan | PML (N) | |||
| Dr Ibadullah Khan | PML (N) | |||
| Member of Provincial Assembly | Party Affiliation | Constituency | Year | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sher Muhammad Khan | PF-71 previously Swat | 1977 | ||||||||||||
| Haji Badiu zaman khan | PF-73 Previously Swat | 1988 | ||||||||||||
| Haji Badiu zaman khan | PF-73 Previously Swat | 1993 | ||||||||||||
| Dr.Afsar ul mulk | PF-73 Previously Swat | 1995 | ||||||||||||
| Engr.Hamid Iqbal | PK-87 Shangla-I | 2002 | Abdul Munim | PK-88 Shangla-II | 2013 | - | Shaukat Ali Yousafzai | PK-23 Shangla-I | 2018 | |||||
| Faisal Zeb | Awami National Party | PK-24 Shangla-II | 2018 |
Shangla is highly diverse in terms of animal fauna. Various studies have been carried out for documentation of Animal fauna in Shangla.
Birds A study was carried out by Ahmad et al (2023) and reported 38 birds species from Chakesar Valley.[17]
Insect
In recent research article, new distribution record for Idricerus decrepitus from Chakesar Shangla. It was a provincial record for the said species.[18]
Fish fauna