Bab-e-Khyber

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (often abbreviated KP or KPK) (Pashto: Khyber Python), [1] formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) (Urdu: صوبہ سرحد), is one of the four administrative provinces of Pakistan, located in the northwestern region of the country along the International border with Afghanistan. It was previously known as the North-West Frontier Province until 2010 when the name was changed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the 18th Amendment to Pakistan's Constitution and is known colloquially by various other names. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the third-largest province of Pakistan by the size of both population and economy, although it is geographically the smallest of four. [5] Within Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shares a border with Punjab, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Islamabad. It is home to 17.9% of Pakistan's total population, with the majority of the province's residents being Pashtuns and Hindko speakers. The province is the site of the ancient kingdom of Gandhara, including the ruins of its capital Pushkalavati near modern-day Charsadda. Once a stronghold of Buddhism, the history of the region was characterized by frequent invasions by various empires due to its geographical proximity to the Khyber Pass. [6] On 2 March 2017, the Government of Pakistan considered a proposal to merge the Federal Administrative Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and to repeal the Frontier Crimes Regulations, which are currently applicable to tribal areas. [7] However, some political parties have opposed the merger, and called for the tribal areas to instead become a separate province of Pakistan. [8] On 24 May 2018, the National Assembly of Pakistan voted in favor of an amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan to merge the Federally Administered Tribal Areas with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. [9] The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly then approved the historic FATA-KP merger bill on 28 May 2018 making FATA officially part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, [10] which was then signed by President Mamnoon Hussain, completing the process of this historic meger Khyber Pakhtunkhwa means the "Khyber side of the land of Pashtuns, [13] where the word Pakhtunkhwa means" Land of the Pashtuns ", [14] while according to some scholars, it refers to" Pashtun culture and society ". [15 ] The province is so named due to its ethnic Pashtun majority. [13] When the British established it as a province, they called it "North West Frontier Province" (abbreviated as NWFP) due to its relative location being in the north west of their Indian Empire. [16] After the creation of Pakistan, Pakistan continued with this name but a Pashtun nationalist party, Awami National Party demanded that the province name be changed to "Pakhtunkhwa". [17] Their logic behind that demand was that Punjabi people, Sindhi people and Balochi people have their provinces named after their ethnicities but that is not the case for Pashtun people. [18] The Pakistan Muslim League was against that name since it was too similar to Bacha Khan's demand of a separate nation of Pashtunistan. [19] PML-N wanted to name the province something else than which does not carry Pashtun identity in it as they argued that there were other minor ethnicities living in the province especially Hindkowans who spoke Hindko, thus the word Khyber was introduced with the name because it is the name of a major pass which connects Pakistan to Afghanistan During the times of Indus Valley Civilization (3300 BCE - 1300 BCE) the modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Khyber Pass, through Hindu Kush provided a route to other neighboring regions and was used by merchants on trade excursions. [20] From 1500 BCE, Indo-Aryan peoples began to enter the region (of modern-day Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, North India) after having passed Khyber Pass. [21] [22] Gold coin of Kushan king Kanishka II with Shiva (200–220 AD) Approximate borders of the Gandharan Empire; Alexander Army also passed through this area centered on the modern day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan The Gandharan civilization, which reached its zenith between the sixth and first centuries BCE, and which features prominently in the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharatha, [23] had one of its cores over the modern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Vedic texts refer to the area as the province of Pushkalavati. The area was once known to be a great center of learning. [24] Persian and Greek Invasions At around 516 BCE., Darius Hystaspes sent Scylax, a Greek seaman from Karyanda, to explore the course of the Indus river. Darius Hystaspes subsequently subdued the races dwelling west of the Indus and north of Kabul. Gandhara was incorporated into the Persian Empire as one of its far easternmost satrapy system of government. The satrapy of Gandhara is recorded to have sent troops for Xerxes' invasion of Greece in 480 BCE. [23] In the spring of 327 BCE, Alexander the Great crossed the Indian Caucasus (Hindu Kush) and advanced to Nicaea, where Omphis, king of Taxila a