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Parachinar
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 A forest in Parachinar | |
  Parachinar  Parachinar  Parachinar  Parachinar .svg) Parachinar | |
| Coordinates:PK_type:city33°54′N70°6′E / 33.900°N 70.100°E /33.900; 70.100 | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
| Division | Kohat |
| District | Kurram |
| Tehsil | Upper Kurram |
| Elevation | 1,705 m (5,594 ft) |
| Population | |
• City | 700,000 |
• Estimate () | 680,000 |
| • Rank | 9th, Kohat Division |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
Parachinar (Pashto:پاړه چنار;Urdu:پاڑہ چنار) is a city and the capital of theKurram District in the province ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan.[2]
Parachinar is situated on the west ofPeshawar, that juts into thePaktia,Logar andNangarhar provinces ofAfghanistan. With a distance of 110 kilometres (68 mi) from the capital of AfghanistanKabul, Parachinar is the closest point in Pakistan toKabul.
The British soldier and historian C. M. Enriquez described the early history of Parachinar in his bookThe Pathan Borderland. He writes that Malak (leader) Pare was a reputable Malak of the Pare Khel Tribe, a sub tribe of tribe called Turi (Shia), plantedPoplartrees some 200 years ago. Before much settlement, the area was mostlyarid. In terms of distribution, the ancient Poplar tree and the surrounding land belonged to the Parakhel tribe. This ownership is still authentic in official records or deeds of property. Parakhel tribesmen used to cultivate wheat in this desert area. During the wheat harvest, tents were pitched here, and in the shade of this poplar tree,jirgas and consultations were held.[3]
The name Parachinar is derived as a result of social meetings conducted under a largeChinar tree.[3] The remains of that tree are still there at a place now encompassed by the headquarters ofKurram Agency. As this Poplar tree was located right between the British established offices and theKurram militia, and people from remote areas of theKurram Valley often came and gathered here, it became known as Parachinar instead of Totkai Bazar.
In 1893, during the rule ofAbdur Rahman Khan (Barakzai dynasty) of Afghanistan, a Royal Commission for demarcating a boundary betweenAfghanistan and the territory ofBritish governed India negotiated terms, agreeing to theDurand line. Two parties camped at Parachinar, now part ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa,Pakistan, which is nearKhost, Afghanistan.[citation needed]
From the British side, the camp was attended by SirMortimer Durand andSahibzada Abdul Qayyum, assistant political agent,Khyber Agency. The Afghanistan interest was represented bySahibzada Abdul Latif and the Governor ofKhostSardar Shireendil Khan, represented KingAmirAbdur Rahman Khan.[4]
Intermittently, conflicts arise stemming from personal issues(mostly religious ones) within this region. In instances where one sect initiates an attack on another, it often leads to retaliatory actions by the aggrieved party.[5]
Violent clashes in the region occurred in the following week until a ceasefire was reached on 12 April 2007.[6]
Parachinar has been the target of several terrorist attacks from 2007 to 2014 in which over 3000 people have died, making it the second-most targeted Pakistani city by militants afterPeshawar.[7]
Parachinar has a moderatehumid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa). Although the city's southeasterly aspect relative to the valley in which it is situated allows it to receive on occasions significantmonsoonal rainfall, the most frequent source of rain is western depressions and related thunderstorms. During the winter, snowfall is common, and frosts occur on most mornings. Snow closes thePeiwar Pass, located on thePaktiaborder just over 20 km west of Parachinar, for up to five months per year.
| Climate data for Parachinar (1991-2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.2 (68.4) | 29.0 (84.2) | 31.7 (89.1) | 37.4 (99.3) | 38.6 (101.5) | 36.4 (97.5) | 34.6 (94.3) | 36.2 (97.2) | 32.5 (90.5) | 26.3 (79.3) | 23.0 (73.4) | 38.6 (101.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 9.9 (49.8) | 10.8 (51.4) | 15.3 (59.5) | 21.1 (70.0) | 26.4 (79.5) | 31.3 (88.3) | 30.9 (87.6) | 29.1 (84.4) | 26.6 (79.9) | 22.4 (72.3) | 16.8 (62.2) | 12.4 (54.3) | 21.1 (70.0) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.0 (35.6) | 3.6 (38.5) | 8.7 (47.7) | 14.1 (57.4) | 19.0 (66.2) | 23.8 (74.8) | 24.0 (75.2) | 22.5 (72.5) | 19.6 (67.3) | 15.1 (59.2) | 9.5 (49.1) | 4.6 (40.3) | 13.9 (57.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −6.5 (20.3) | −3.8 (25.2) | 1.4 (34.5) | 7.1 (44.8) | 11.6 (52.9) | 16.1 (61.0) | 16.9 (62.4) | 15.8 (60.4) | 13.0 (55.4) | 7.8 (46.0) | 2.3 (36.1) | −3.0 (26.6) | 6.6 (43.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −15 (5) | −18.2 (−0.8) | −6.6 (20.1) | 1.7 (35.1) | 5.2 (41.4) | 8.0 (46.4) | 13.3 (55.9) | 12.8 (55.0) | 6.1 (43.0) | 3.4 (38.1) | −2.0 (28.4) | −7.2 (19.0) | −18.2 (−0.8) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 69.1 (2.72) | 129.1 (5.08) | 174.6 (6.87) | 146.1 (5.75) | 106.6 (4.20) | 69.9 (2.75) | 114.1 (4.49) | 134.6 (5.30) | 80.8 (3.18) | 60.0 (2.36) | 36.8 (1.45) | 28.1 (1.11) | 1,149.8 (45.27) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.3 | — | 12.5 | 12.1 | 10.8 | 8.8 | 10.7 | 12.3 | 8.8 | 5.6 | 4.1 | 3.8 | — |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 47 | 53 | 56 | 54 | 46 | 38 | 54 | 63 | 53 | 45 | 53 | 48 | 51 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 214.5 | 198.8 | 209.4 | 233.5 | 292.1 | 297.3 | 285.7 | 280.6 | 270.2 | 284.3 | 260.1 | 199.2 | 3,025.7 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 6.9 | 7.0 | 6.8 | 7.8 | 9.4 | 9.9 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 9.0 | 9.2 | 8.7 | 6.4 | 8.3 |
| Source 1: NOAA (extremes, sun 1971-1990)[8][9] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:Deutscher Wetterdienst (humidity 1959-1967, daily sun 1971-1990)[10] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 22,953 | — |
| 1972 | - | — |
| 1998 | - | — |
| 2017 | 190,000 | — |
| Source:[11][1] | ||
FATA University plans to open a sub-campus at Parachinar.[12]
TheThall-Parachinar road is the main road connecting Parachinar to the rest of the country.[13]
Parachinar has anairport but currently it is non-functional. In the past there was a flight service between Peshawar and Parachinar.[14][15]
