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Orakzai Agency
is situated in the Federal Administrated Areas, Pakistan. It has a
population of 450,000 and an area of 700 square miles.
History
The Orakzai tribes take there names, which literally
means the lost son (Orak Zai), from a romantic legend about their
ancestor, Sikandar Shah who was a prince from Iran and was exiled or lost,
and after many adventures married and ruled in Teerah. The four major non
- Orakzai tribes: the Ali Khel, Mullah Khel, Mishti and Shikhan are now
for purposes like the other Orakzai tribes. Certain Orakzai tribes like
the Masozai and half the lashkarzai find themselves in Kurram Agency for
historical and administrative reasons. A small Bangash tribe the Buland
Khel is attached to the Orakzai agency also for administrative and
historical reasons, although they live at some distance from the agency
between Thal and North Waziristan. Over one tenth of the entire population
of the agency belongs to Shia sect. The late Prime Minister Zulfiqar Ali
Bhutto announced the creation of the agency at a grand tribal jirga at
Samana and it began functioning on first December, 1973. Before this date
Orakzai tribes were part of Kohat and Hangu Frontier region. The
headquarters of the agency are at Hangu District, but tehsil level head
quarters are situated in Kalaya and Ghiljo. The valley is flanked by
mountain ranges 6,000 to 7,000 feet high. Among the seven tribal agencies,
Orakzai Agency is the second smallest in area after Bajaur Agency. It is
bounded by Kurram Agency in the west, Khyber in the north, Kohat District
on the south and Peshawar in the east. The hole of the territory of
Orakzai agency is a mountainous tract dissected by numerous dry water
curses, especially in the southwestern part of the agency. The two major
streams are the Mastura River and Khanki Toi River, both of which
originate from the hills to west and run the east.
Orakzai Agency is a hilly region with fertile
valley. The elevation of the hills varies from over 10,000 feet in the
west and to less than 6,650 feet in east. Generally the elevation of the
plain varies from 5,200 to 5,500 feet above main sea level. Important
peaks are those Sangla 6,325 feet and chara Kandaco 5,643 feet. The height
of Kalaya and Sangla is nearly equal Orakzai Agency is characterized by
intense cold in winter when the temperature falls bellow freezing and mild
summers. December, January and February are the coldest months and
snowfall occurs in these months. Summers are mild and the maximum
temperature dose not go above 30 degrees Celsius. Surrounding mountains
are covered by dense and thick forests, which produce a cooling effect in
summer. Due to geographical position of Orakzai and its thick forest
cover, it rains throughout the year. In winter, the precipitation is in
the form of snowfall over the surrounding mountains as well as in valley
itself. There is no rain gauge but rainfall is presumed to be round 36
inch per annum. It is very essential to understand the culture of the area
in which any type of physical or other intervention is intended or you
want to visit. Therefore many formal interviews and informal discussion
were held with the inhabitants, which resulted in the final perception of
socio-economic setup of people of Orakzai. Orakzai Agency has two tribal
groups based on difference in religious sect. These two groups are Shia
and Sunni. The Shia comprise of 8.8 present of total population of the
agency. The division of Shias and Sunnis has been done by natural border.
The Shias are living along the south portion of Mastura River from And
Khel to Kada. The Sunnis are spread almost over the whole of the area. The
basic living styles, house types, construction, techniques and Materials,
laws and rules etc of the entire area are more or less same.
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