Bannu | |
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City | |
A street in Bannu
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Coordinates: 32°59′10″N 70°36′15″E / 32.98611°N 70.60417°ECoordinates: 32°59′10″N 70°36′15″E / 32.98611°N 70.60417°E | |
Country | Pakistan |
Province | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa |
Division | Bannu |
District | Bannu,Lakki Marwat |
Headquarters | Bannu |
Area | |
• Total | 1,227 km2 (474 sq mi) |
Population (2014) | |
• Total | 1,073,000 |
• Density | 552/km2 (1,430/sq mi) |
Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
Bannu (Urdu: بنوں; Pashto: بنو [ˈbanu]; local Pashto dialect: Bana or Banigul, Avestan Varəna), is the principal city of the Bannu District in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Bannu was once a British military base used for action against Afghan border tribes.
Inhabitants of Bannu are known as Banuchi, and speak a specific dialect of Pashto.
The town was founded in 1848 by Herbert Benjamin Edwardes, a Lieutenant in the 1st Bengal European Fusiliers Regiment of the East India Company's private army. He ordered the construction of the fort – named Dhulipgarh (Dalipgarh) in honour of the Maharajah of Lahore – at the same time.
At the time of its founding the town was named Dhulipnagar (Dalipnagar). Its name was later changed to Edwardesabad in 1869. In 1903, it received its current name, Bannu.
Bannu formed the base of operations for all punitive expeditions undertaken by troops of the British empire to the and the Waziristan frontier. A military road led from the town of Bannu toward Dera Ismail Khan. This road was built by military engineers under the supervision of a Bannu engineer, Ram N. Mullick. Mullick, graduated from Banaras Engineering College had served in Iraq and Lahore before the independence of Pakistan in 1947 as an expert in heavy earth-moving equipment.