Bajaur Agency

Bajaur or Bajur or Bajour (Pashto: باجوڑ) is an Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan. Smallest of the agencies in FATA, it has a hilly terrain. According to the 1998 census, the population was 595,227. It borders Afghanistan's Kunar Province. The headquarters of the Agency administration is located in the town of Khar.

There are three main tribes in Bajaur: Utman Khel, Tarkalanri, and Mamund. The largest tribe is Utman Khel, judged by population or territory. The Utman Khel are at the southeast of Bajaur, while Mamund are at the southwest, and the Tarkani are at the north of Bajaur. Its border with Afghanistan's Kunar province makes it of strategic importance to Pakistan and the region.

Geography

Bajour is about long by broad, and lies at a high level to the east of the Kunar Valley, from which it is separated by a continuous line of rugged frontier hills, forming a barrier easily passable at one or two points. Across this barrier, the old road from Kabul to Pakistan ran before the Khyber Pass was adopted as the main route.

Bajour is inhabited almost exclusively by Tarkani (Tarkalani) Pashtuns, sub-divided into Mamunds (Salarzai, Kakazai), Isazai, and Ismailzai, numbering together with a few Mohmands, Uthman zais, totaling nearly 1 million. To the south of Bajour is the wild mountain district of the Mohmands. To the east, beyond the Panjkora river, are the hills of Swat, dominated by...
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