Swat Valley

Swat Valley
Switzerland of Pakistan
Top: Mahodand Lake
Middle: Gabin Jabba
Bottom: Swat River
Geography
CountryPakistan
State/ProvinceKhyber Pakhtunkhwa
RiverSwat
Interactive map of Swat Valley

The Swat Valley is a mountainous valley located along the Swat River in northern Pakistan. Swat has an average elevation of 980 m (3,220 ft), and resultantly a considerably cooler and wetter climate compared to the rest of Pakistan. With lush forests, verdant alpine meadows, and snow-capped mountains, it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the country.

The early inhabitants of the valley were Indo-Aryans (also known as Daradas). The valley was a cradle of Swat culture in the second millennium BCE, and after the rise of Indo-Aryan Gandhāra civilization in the 6th century BCE, it became a major centre of early Buddhism, especially the Gandhāran Buddhism. Swat is identified with Oḍḍiyāna in the Buddhist texts; a Buddhist dynasty known as Oḍirājas, which claimed descent from the Śākya clan of Buddha, ruled the valley in the first century CE. The Oḍi Śāhi dynasty was defeated by the Ghaznavids in the 11th century in Gandhāra, but the pockets of Buddhism persisted in the Swat Valley until the 16th century, with Tibetan monks such as Orgyan pa and Buddhaguptanātha continuing to visit it. In the early 16th-century, coinciding with the Babur's conquest of Delhi Sultanate, Swat was conquered by the Yousafzais, which saw the Pashtunization of Swat and the neighbouring areas. The older Dardic communities of Swat, Torwalis and Gawris were displaced to northern Swat.

In the early 19th century, Swat emerged as an independent state under Miangul dynasty, which descended from Saidu Baba. The State of Swat became a princely state under British suzerainty as part of the British Raj in 1918. In 1947, following the Partition of Pakistan and India, Swat acceded to the Dominion of Pakistan. It continued as a self-governing princely state until it was officially annexed and merged into West Pakistan and later became a part of North-West Frontier Province (renamed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) in 1969. The region was seized by the Tehrik-i-Taliban in late-2007 but Pakistani control was re-established in mid-2009.

Etymology

The name "Swat" is derived from the Swat River. The Swat River is referred to as the Suvāstu in the Sanskrit texts of Ṛgveda and in Aṣṭādhyāyī of Pāṇini, with a literal meaning "of fair dwellings". Another theory derives the word Swat from the Sanskrit word shveta (lit. 'white'), also used to describe the clear water of the Swat River. Some have suggested the Sanskrit name may mean "clear blue water." To the ancient Greeks, the river was known as the Soastus. The Chinese pilgrim Faxian referred to Swat as the Su-ho-to, while Xuanzang referred to it as Su-po-fa-su-to.

Geography

Traditionally, Swat Valley is divided into two parts, Swat Kohistan, which is highly mountainous, and Swat Khas (Swat proper), which is itself divided into Koz Swat (lower Swat) and Bar Swat (upper Swat). Swat Kohistan commences from the origin of Swat River downstream until the village of Ain (also spelt Ayeen, آئین), or as per a slightly different division, until the village of Bahrain (بحرین). Upper Swat stretches from Ain/Bahrain until Landakay (لنڈاکے), while Lower Swat is situated between Landakay and Kalangai (کلنگئی), a few miles before the confluence Panjkora and Swat rivers. At the confluence of two rivers the average height of the valley is 2,000 feet (610 m), but northward it rises upto 22,000 feet (6,700 m) in Swat Kohistan. The total length of the valley is 130 miles (210 km) while the average breadth is 12 miles (19 km). Politically it is now divided among the districts of Upper Swat, Swat, Lower Dir and Malakand.

The Swat Valley is enclosed by mountains that form a natural geographic boundary for it. The Swat River, whose headwaters arise in the 5,500-to-5,800-metre-tall (18,000–19,000 ft) Hindu Kush mountain range runs through the length of the region. The main spine consists of many sub valleys such as Kalam, Bahrain, Matiltan, Utror, and Gabral. The highest peaks are Falak Sar, 5,918 m (19,416 ft), and Mankial Sar, 5,722 m (18,773 ft).

The Valley of Swat is delineated by natural geographic boundaries, and is centered on the Swat River. The valley is enclosed on all sides by mountains, and is intersected by glens and ravines. Above mountains ridges to the west is the Panjkora Valley, to the north the Gilgit Valley, and Indus River gorges to the east. To the south, across a series of low mountains, lies the wide Peshawar Valley.

The northernmost areas of Swat district are the high valleys and alpine meadows of Swat Kohistan (Swat Mountains), a region where numerous glaciers feed the Usho, and Gabral rivers (also known as the Utrar River), which form a confluence at Kalam, and thereafter form the Swat River, which forms the spine of the Swat Valley. Swat then is characterized by thick forests along the narrow gorges of the Kalam Valley until the city of Madyan. From there, the river courses gently for 160 km through the wider Yousafzai Plains of the lower Swat Valley until Chakdara.

Climate

Climate in Swat is a function of altitude, with mountains in the Kohistan region snow-clad year round. The upper areas of the region are relatively colder and often get snowfall in the winter. Drier, warmer temperatures in the lower portions in the Yousafzai Plains where summer temperatures can reach 105 °F (41 °C), although the lower plains experience occasional snow. Both regions are subject to two monsoon seasons - one in winter and the other in summer. Swat's lower reaches have vegetation characterized by dry bush and deciduous trees, while the upper areas mostly have thick pine forests.

History

Ancient

The Gandhara grave culture that emerged c. 1400 BCE and lasted until 800 BCE, and named for their distinct funerary practices, was found along the Middle Swat River course. Swat, then known as Oddiyana, was a major centre of Gandhara civilization. The Gandhāra Kingdom, which emerged as an independent entity around 700 BCE, was recognized as a mahajanapada (Great Realm). Following the Achaemenid conquest of the Indus Valley, the region was incorporated as the satrapy of Gandāra. In 327 BCE, Alexander the Great fought his way to Odigram and Barikot and stormed their battlements; in Greek accounts, these towns are identified as Ora and Bazira, respectively. After the Alexandrian invasion of Swat, and adjacent regions of Buner, control of the wider Gandhara region was claimed by Seleucus I Nicator.

1896 photo of a Buddha statue seated on a lotus throne in Swat

In 305 BCE, the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta conquered the wider region from the Greeks, and probably established control of Swat, until their control of the region ceased around 187 BCE. It was during the rule of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka that Buddhism was introduced into Swat, and some of the earliest stupas built in the region. Following collapse of Mauryan rule, Swat came under control of the Greco-Bactrians, then the Indo-Scythians from the Central Asian Steppe.

The region of Gandhara (based in the Peshawar valley and the adjacent hilly regions of Swat, Buner, Dir, and Bajaur), broke away from Greco-Bactrian rule as the Indo-Greek Kingdom. Following the death of the most famous Indo-Greek king, Menander I around 140 BCE, the region was overrun by the Indo-Scythians, and then the Persian Parthian Empire around 50 CE. The arrival of the Parthians began the long tradition of Greco-Buddhist art.

The Parthians were ousted from Swat by the Kushans, based in the Peshawar Valley. Kushan rule began what is considered by many to be the golden age of Gandhara. Under the greatest Kushan king, Kanishka, Swat became an important region for the production of Buddhist art, and numerous Buddhists shrines were built in the area. As a patron of Mahayana Buddhism, new Buddhists stupas were built and old ones were enlarged. The Chinese pilgrim Fa-Hsien, who visited the valley around 403 CE, mentions 500 monasteries.

Medieval

The Hephthalite bowl from Swat (5th century AD) features two Kidarite royal hunters as well as two Alchon hunters, suggesting a period of peaceful coexistence between the two entities.

Swat and the wider region of Gandhara were overrun by the Alchon Huns around about 465 CE. Under the rule of Mihirakula, Buddhism was suppressed as he himself became virulently anti-Buddhist after a perceived slight against him by a Buddhist monk. Under his rule, Buddhist monks were reportedly killed, and Buddhist shrines attacked. He himself appears to have been inclined towards the Shaivism sect of Hinduism.

In around 520 CE, the Chinese monk Song Yun visited the area, and recorded that area had been in ruin and ruled by a leader that did not practice the laws of the Buddha. The Tang-era Chinese monk Xuanzang recorded the decline of Buddhism in the region, and ascendance of Hinduism in the region. According to him, of the 1400 monasteries that had supposedly been there, most were in ruins or had been abandoned.

Raja Gira was the site of a fortress from which the Hindu Shahis ruled Swat.

Following the collapse of Buddhism in Swat after the Alchon Hun invasion, Swat was ruled by the Hindu Shahi dynasty beginning in the 8th century, who made their capital at Udigram in lower Swat. The Hindu Shahis are believed to belong to the Uḍi/Oḍi tribe, namely the people of Oddiyana, present-day Swat.

The Shahis built an extensive array of temples and other architectural buildings, of which ruins remain today. Under their rule, Hinduism ascended, and Sanskrit is believed to have been the lingua franca of the locals during this time. By the time of the Muslim conquests (c. 1000 CE), the population in the region was predominantly Hindu,: 19  though Buddhism persisting in the valley until the 10th century, after which the area became largely Muslim. Hindu Shahi rulers built fortresses to guard and tax the commerce through this area, and ruins dating back to their rule can be seen on the hills at the southern entrance of Swat, at the Malakand Pass.

The Mahmud Ghaznavi Mosque was built in the former Hindu Shahi capital of Odigram shortly after their defeat, and dates to 1048–49 CE.

Around 1001 CE, the last major Hindu Shahi king, Jayapala was decisively defeated at the Battle of Peshawar by Mahmud of Ghazni, thereby ending 2 centuries of Hindu rule over Gandhara. The Sultanate of Swat was the last Dardic state that existed in the Swat valley between 12th and 16th centuries. It was conquered by the Yousafzai Pashtuns from west during the reign of Sultan Awes Jahangiri in 1519, resulting into the Pashtunization of Swat.

Modern

The princely state of Swat was a kingdom established in the late 19th century by the descendants of the Muslim saint Akhund Abdul Gaffur, more commonly known as Saidu Baba, that was ruled by chiefs known as Akhunds. It was then recognized as a princely state in alliance with the British Indian Empire between 1926 and 1947, after which the Akhwand acceded to the newly independent state of Pakistan. Swat continued to exist as an autonomous region until it was dissolved in 1969, and incorporated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (formerly called NWFP).

The Buddhist rock carvings of Manglawar were damaged by the Tehreek-i-Taliban, but restored with Italian aid.

The region was seized by the Pakistani Taliban in late-2007, and its highly-popular tourist industry was subsequently decimated until Pakistani control was re-established in mid-2009 after a month-long military campaign launched by the Pakistan Army. During their occupation, the group attacked Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai in 2012, who at the time was a young school-girl who wrote a blog for BBC Urdu detailing life under Tehreek-i-Taliban rule, and their curb on girls' education.

Kushan-era Buddhist stupas and statues in the Swat Valley were demolished by the Tehreek-i-Taliban,[citation needed] and the Jehanabad Buddha's face was blown up using dynamite, but was repaired by a group of Italian restorers in a nine-year-long process. Looters subsequently destroyed many of Pakistan's Buddhist artifacts, and deliberately targeted Gandhara Buddhist relics for destruction. Gandhara artifacts remaining from the demolitions were thereafter plundered by thieves and smugglers.

Demographics

Social groups

Main ethnic groups in the Swat Valley are:

Language

Main spoken languages are Pashto, Torwali, Gawri, and Gujari. During the medieval era, the now extinct Gibri and Yadri languages were also widely spoken in the region.

References

  1. ↑ Malala Yousafzai 2013.
  2. 1 2 Mohiuddin, Yasmeen Niaz (2007). Pakistan: A Global Studies Handbook. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851098019.
  3. ↑ Khaliq, Fazal (17 January 2018). "Tourists throng Swat to explore its natural beauty". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 11 February 2018. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  4. ↑ "The revival of tourism in Pakistan". Daily Times. 9 February 2018. Archived from the original on 13 February 2018. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 De Chiara, Matteo (2020). Toponymy of the Swāt Valley: Linguistic Archaeology. ISMEO Serie Orientable Roma. Vol. 25. Associazione Internationale di studi sul Mediterraneo e l'Oriente, Italian Archaeological Mission. Lahore: Sang-e-Meel Publications. pp. 10, 17–21. ISBN 978-969-35-3298-2.
  6. ↑ Giuseppe Tucci (1940). Travels Of Tibetan Pilgrims In The Swat Valley. pp. 4–6.
  7. 1 2 East and West, Volume 33. Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. 1983. p. 27. According to the 13th century Tibetan Buddhist Orgyan pa forms of magic and Tantra Buddhism and Hindu cults still survived in the Swāt area even though Islam had begun to uproot them (G. Tucci, 1971, p. 375) ... The Torwali of upper Swāt would have been converted to Islam during the course of the 17th century (Biddulph, p. 70).
  8. ↑ Naik, C. D. (2010). Buddhism and Dalits: Social Philosophy and Traditions. Gyan Publishing House. p. 39. ISBN 978-81-7835-792-8. Archived from the original on 15 November 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2023. Buddhism survived in Gilgit and Baltistan until 13-14th Century, perhaps slightly longer in the nearby Swat Valley.
  9. 1 2 Arlinghaus, Joseph Theodore (1988). The Transformation of Afghan Tribal Society: Tribal Expansion, Mughal Imperialism and the Roshaniyya Insurrection, 1450-1600. Duke University. p. 191.
  10. ↑ Abbas, Hassan (24 June 2014). The Taliban Revival: Violence and Extremism on the Pakistan-Afghanistan Frontier. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300178845.
  11. 1 2 Craig, Tim (9 May 2015). "The Taliban once ruled Pakistan's Swat Valley. Now peace has returned". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  12. 1 2 Rum, Sultan-i (2008). Swat State, 1915–1969, From Genesis to Merger: An Analysis of Political, Administrative, Socio-Political, and Economic Development. Karachi: Oxford University Press. pp. 13–16. ISBN 978-0-19-547113-7.
  13. ↑ Susan Whitfield (2018). Silk, Slaves, and Stupas: Material Culture of the Silk Road. University of California Press. p. 136. ISBN 978-0-520-95766-4.
  14. ↑ Edward Herbert Bunbury (1879). A history of ancient geography among the Greeks and Romans. J. Murray.
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  17. ↑ Rienjang, Wannaporn; Stewart, Peter (15 March 2019). The Geography of Gandhāran Art: Proceedings of the Second International Workshop of the Gandhāra Connections Project, University of Oxford, 22nd-23rd March, 2018. Archaeopress. ISBN 978-1-78969-187-0. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  18. ↑ Paget, William Henry (1874). A Record of the Expeditions Undertaken Against the North-west Frontier Tribes. Superintendent of government printing.
  19. ↑ Barth, Fredrik (8 September 2020). Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans: Volume 19. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-32448-8.
  20. ↑ Paget, William Henry (1874). A Record of the Expeditions Undertaken Against the North-west Frontier Tribes. Superintendent of government printing.
  21. ↑ Barth, Fredrik (8 September 2020). Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans: Volume 19. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-32448-8.
  22. ↑ Olivieri, Luca M., Roberto Micheli, Massimo Vidale, and Muhammad Zahir, (2019). 'Late Bronze - Iron Age Swat Protohistoric Graves (Gandhara Grave Culture), Swat Valley, Pakistan (n-99)' Archived 30 August 2021 at the Wayback Machine, in Narasimhan, Vagheesh M., et al., "Supplementary Materials for the formation of human populations in South and Central Asia", Science 365 (6 September 2019), pp. 137-164.
  23. ↑ Mallory, J. P.; Adams, Douglas Q. (1997). Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781884964985.
  24. ↑ Callieri, Pierfrancesco (1997). Saidu Sharif I (Swat, Pakistan). IsMEO. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2021. Having brought under its domination part of Afghanistan and, most probably, Swat (Tucci 1978), the Maurya dynasty died out around 187 BC
  25. ↑ Khan, Makin (1997). Archaeological Museum Saidu Sharif, Swat: A Guide. M. Khan.
  26. ↑ Ahmad, Makhdum Tasadduq (1962). Social Organization of Yusufzai Swat: A Study in Social Change. Panjab University Press. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2021. They ruled this area for nearly 150 years when they were replaced first by Bactrians and latter by the Scythians
  27. ↑ Tarn, William Woodthorpe (24 June 2010). The Greeks in Bactria and India. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-108-00941-6. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  28. 1 2 Petrie, Cameron A. (28 December 2020). Resistance at the Edge of Empires: The Archaeology and History of the Bannu basin from 1000 BC to AD 1200. Oxbow Books. ISBN 978-1-78570-304-1. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
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  30. ↑ Alram 2014, pp. 274–275.
  31. ↑ Atreyi Biswas (1971). The Political History of the Hūṇas in India. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers. ISBN 9780883863015. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  32. 1 2 3 Singh, Upinder (25 September 2017). Political Violence in Ancient India. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-97527-9. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  33. ↑ Chattopadhyaya, Sudhakar (1958). Early History of North India, from the Fall of the Mauryas to the Death of Harsa, C. 200 B.C.-A.D. 650. Progressive Publishers. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  34. ↑ Wriggins, Sally (11 June 2020). Xuanzang: A Buddhist Pilgrim On The Silk Road. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-000-01109-8. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  35. 1 2 Khaliq, Fazal (6 March 2016). "Castle of last Hindu king Raja Gira in Swat crumbling". DAWN.COM. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  36. ↑ Rahman, Abdul (2002). "New Light on the Khingal, Turk and the Hindu Sahis" (PDF). Ancient Pakistan. XV: 37–42. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 30 April 2023. The Hindu Śāhis were therefore neither Bhattis, or Janjuas, nor Brahmans. They were simply Uḍis/Oḍis. It can now be seen that the term Hindu Śāhi is a misnomer and, based as it is merely upon religious discrimination, should be discarded and forgotten. The correct name is Uḍi or Oḍi Śāhi dynasty.
  37. ↑ Meister, Michael W. (2005). "The Problem of Platform Extensions at Kafirkot North" (PDF). Ancient Pakistan. XVI: 41–48. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023. Rehman (2002: 41) makes a good case for calling the Hindu Śāhis by a more accurate name, "Uḍi Śāhis".
  38. ↑ Sorrow and Joy Among Muslim Women The Pushtuns of Northern Pakistan By Amineh Ahmed Published by Cambridge University Press, 2006 Page 21.
  39. 1 2 Fredrik Barth, Features of Person and Society in Swat: Collected Essays on Pathans, illustrated edition, Routledge, 1981
  40. ↑ East and West, Volume 33. Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente. 1983. p. 27. According to the 13th century Tibetan Buddhist Orgyan pa forms of magic and Tantra Buddhism and Hindu cults still survived in the Swāt area even though Islam had begun to uproot them (G. Tucci, 1971, p. 375) ... The Torwali of upper Swāt would have been converted to Islam during the course of the 17th century (Biddulph, p. 70).
  41. ↑ Mohiuddin, Yasmeen Niaz (2007). Pakistan: A Global Studies Handbook. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851098019.
  42. ↑ Marati, Ivano; Vassallo, Candida Maria (2013). The New Swat Archaeological Museum: Construction activities in Swat district (2011-2013) Khyber-Pakthunkhwa, Pakistan. Sang-e-Meel Publications. ISBN 978-969-35-2664-6. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2021.
  43. ↑ Inam-ur-Rahim; Alain M. Viaro (2002). Swat: An Afghan Society in Pakistan: Urbanisation and Change in Tribal Environment. City Press. p. 59.
  44. 1 2 Arlinghaus, Joseph Theodore (1988). The Transformation of Afghan Tribal Society: Tribal Expansion, Mughal Imperialism and the Roshaniyya Insurrection, 1450-1600. Duke University. pp. 190–191. The family of the sultans of Swat and the nobility spoke Gibri, the Dardic language of Bajaur, and the common people spoke Yadri, another Dardic language.
  45. ↑ S.G. Page 398 and 399, T and C of N.W.F.P by Ibbetson page 11 etc
  46. ↑ Claus, Peter J.; Diamond, Sarah; Ann Mills, Margaret (2003). South Asian Folklore: An Encyclopedia : Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka. Taylor & Francis. p. 447. ISBN 9780415939195. Archived from the original on 25 August 2024. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  47. ↑ Abbas, Hassan (24 June 2014). The Taliban Revival: Violence and Extremism on the Pakistan-Afghanistan Frontier. Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300178845.
  48. ↑ Malala Yousafzai (8 October 2013). I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban. Little, Brown. pp. 123–124. ISBN 978-0-316-32241-6. The Taliban destroyed the Buddhist statues and stupas where we played Kushan kings haram Jehanabad Buddha.
  49. ↑ Wijewardena, W.A. (17 February 2014). "'I am Malala': But then, we all are Malalas, aren't we?". Daily FT. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  50. ↑ Khaliq, Fazal (7 November 2016). "Iconic Buddha in Swat valley restored after nine years when Taliban defaced it". DAWN. Archived from the original on 7 January 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
  51. ↑ "Taliban and traffickers destroying Pakistan's Buddhist heritage". AsiaNews.it. 22 October 2012. Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  52. ↑ "Taliban trying to destroy Buddhist art from the Gandhara period". AsiaNews.it. 27 November 2009. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  53. ↑ Rizvi, Jaffer (6 July 2012). "Pakistan police foil huge artefact smuggling attempt". BBC News. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  54. ↑ Dikshit, K. R.; Dikshit, Jutta K. (18 February 2025). Land, People and Economy of Pakistan: A Geographic Perspective. Taylor & Francis. p. 152. ISBN 978-1-040-30677-2. The erstwhile Hazara division, incorporating Abbottabad, Haripur, extending further into Swat have a substantial population of Gujjars a pastoral tribe.
  55. ↑ Inam-ur-Rahim; Viaro, Alain Mario (2002). Swat: An Afghan Society in Pakistan : Urbanisation and Change in Tribal Environment. City Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-969-8380-55-7. On the eastern side of the River Swat in the present Swat district, Gujars claimed the ownership of the lands occupied by them, and already disputed ownership between ex-Wali and Khans. Most of the lands on mount Ilum were in this category.
  56. ↑ Morgan, Llewelyn; Oliveri, Luca Maria (2 June 2022). The View from Malakand: Harold Deane's 'Note on Udyana and Gandhara'. Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-80327-208-5. In the hills across the Swat valley we find the Gujars understanding and using at times Hindi though they speak Pushtu (Pashto).
  57. ↑ Rum, Sultan-i (2008). Swat State, 1915–1969, From Genesis to Merger: An Analysis of Political, Administrative, Socio-Political, and Economic Development. Karachi: Oxford University Press. pp. 15–20. ISBN 978-0-19-547113-7.
  58. ↑ Mohiuddin, Yasmeen Niaz (2007). Pakistan: A Global Studies Handbook. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781851098019.
  59. 1 2 Torwali, Zubair (5 September 2025). "Let there be more districts?". The News International. Retrieved 10 October 2025.

Bibliography