Chitral

This article is about the town of Chitral. For the former princely state, see Chitral (princely state). For the district, see Chitral District.

Chitral چترا ل Chetrar
View of valley and river View of valley and river
Chitral Location in Pakistan
Coordinates:
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
District	Chitral District
First mention	325 BC
Government
• Type	MPA
• Body	Shahzada Iftikharuddin
Area
• Total	57 km2 (22 sq mi)
Elevation	1,517 m (4,977 ft)
Population (2003)
• Total	20,000
• Density	350/km2 (910/sq mi)
Languages
• Official	Urdu, Khowar
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
PIN	1720 - 0xx
Area code(s)	+943-7
Website	chitral.gov.pk

Chitral (Urdu: چترال‎, Khowar: چھترار), also spelled Chetrar, translated as field, is the capital of the Chitral District, situated on the western bank of the Chitral River (also called Kunar River), Now in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It also served as the capital of the princely state of Chitral until 1969. The town is at the foot of Tirich Mir, the highest peak of the Hindu Kush, which is 25,289 ft (7,708 m) high. It has a population of 20,000. The elevation of the valley is 3,700 ft (1,100 m).

History

The entire region that now forms the Chitral District was a fully independent monarchy until 1895, when the British negotiated a subsidiary alliance with its hereditary ruler, the Mehtar, under which Chitral became a princely state, still sovereign but subject to the suzerainty of the British Raj. Chitral retained a similar status even after its accession to Pakistan in 1969, but was completely incorporated into Pakistan and became an administrative district of Pakistan in 1969.

Nothing definitive is recorded about the town’s first settlers. In the 3rd century, Kanishka, the Buddhist ruler of the Kushan empire, occupied Chitral. In the 4th century, the Chinese overran the valley. Raees rule over Chitral began in 1320 and came to an end in the 15th century. From 1571 onwards Chitral was the dominion of the Kator Dynasty until 1969.

Geography and access

The City has an average elevation of 1,500 m (4,921 ft). The easiest access to Chitral, other than by air, is from the southwest along the Kunar Valley. However the Afghan-Pakistan border (Durand Line) and cross border tensions prevent this from being used as an internal route to the rest of Pakistan. There are other routes are over high mountain passes; to the south, the 3,200-metre (10,500 ft) Lowari Pass leads 365 kilometres (227 mi) to Peshawar. In the north, the easiest route during summer runs over the 3,798-metre (12,461 ft) Broghol pass. To the east, there is a 405 kilometres (252 mi) route to Gilgit over the 3,719-metre (12,201 ft) Shandur Pass. The territory is cut off by snow from the rest of the country for up to six months a year, a problem soon to be relieved by the completion of the Lowari Tunnel.

Climate

The climate is considered to be a local steppe climate. During the year there is little rainfall. This climate is considered to be BSK according to the Köppen-Geiger climate classification. The average annual temperature in Chitral is 15.6 °C. About 418 mm of precipitation falls annually.

Climate data for Chitral
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	8.3 (46.9)	9.5 (49.1)	14.9 (58.8)	21.0 (69.8)	25.6 (78.1)	31.8 (89.2)	32.8 (91)	32.0 (89.6)	28.7 (83.7)	23.7 (74.7)	17.4 (63.3)	10.9 (51.6)	32.8 (91)
Daily mean °C (°F)	4.1 (39.4)	5.0 (41)	9.8 (49.6)	15.3 (59.5)	19.4 (66.9)	24.9 (76.8)	26.1 (79)	25.4 (77.7)	21.9 (71.4)	17.0 (62.6)	11.5 (52.7)	6.5 (43.7)	26.1 (79)
Average low °C (°F)	0.0 (32)	0.6 (33.1)	4.8 (40.6)	9.7 (49.5)	13.3 (55.9)	18.0 (64.4)	19.5 (67.1)	18.8 (65.8)	15.2 (59.4)	10.3 (50.5)	5.6 (42.1)	2.1 (35.8)	11.4 (52.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	69 (2.72)	99 (3.9)	146 (5.75)	139 (5.47)	69 (2.72)	22 (0.87)	52 (2.05)	56 (2.2)	40 (1.57)	31 (1.22)	26 (1.02)	51 (2.01)	800 (31.5)
Source: Climate-Data.org

Demographics

As of July 2011, the population of the city is above 19,700.

Chitral growth
Census	Pop.		%±
1981	10,351		—
Est. 2009	19,700		—
Source: Census of Pakistan

Kohwari, is the most widely spoken language. Other seven spoken languages are; Burushaski, Shina, Yidgha, Tajiki, Pashayi, Pashto, Yidgha, Gojri.

English. Urdu and Pushto, are also spoken.

Educational institutions

• New City College
• Chitral University Campus
• Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University
• Chitral Model College Chitral
• Government Degree College
• Government Girls Degree College
• Government Centennial Model High School
• Government Centennial Model School for Girls
• Government College of Commerce
• Frontier Corp Public School
• Chitral Public School & College, (Chitral's first English Medium School)
• Langlands School and College, formerly known as Sayurj Public School
• Pearl College of Education
• Frontier Corps Public Schools and College

Administration

Chitral is represented in the National Assembly and Provincial Assembly by one elected MNA and two elected MPAs.

Sports

Unlike the rest of Pakistan where cricket dominates, polo and soccer are more popular in Chitral. A number of sport festivals and tournaments are held throughout the year. Chitral has also produced some national players such as Muhammad Rasool who plays for the national football team.

Newspapers

A few number of newspapers are published by Chitral Press

• Chitral Today
• Chitral Times
• Chitral News
• Awaaz-e-Chitral
• The Kalash Times
• Chitral Vision
• Weekly Chitral

See also

• Chitral Tehsil
• Arandu
• Drosh
• Badakhshan Province

External links

• Official website
• Government of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
• Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Government website section on Lower Dir
• Dir Maps
• United Nations