Shaheed Benazir Abad District

Shaheed Benazir Abad
—  District  —
Map of Sindh with Shaheed Benazirabad District highlighted
Country	Pakistan
Province	Sindh
Capital	Nawabshah
Established
Government
– D.C.O	Syed Jamal Mustafa Shah
– Administrator	Domki Sahab
Area
– Total	4,502 km2 (1,738.2 sq mi)
Population (2010)
– Total	1,279,825
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)
Website	[1]

Shaheed Benazirabad District^[1] (Urdu: ضلع شہید محترمہ بینظیر بھٹو ) (previously known as Nawabshah District (Urdu: نوابشاہ)) is one of the districts in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. The district was renamed in September 2008 when most of MPAs of Nawabshah demanded renaming the district to honour the late party leader. The renaming of the district was criticised by the family of Syed Nawabshah and others who, while saddened at the death of Bhutto, felt that Nawabshah was a historic district and ought to have kept its name.^[2]

Climate

The highest temperatures each year in Pakistan, typically rising to above 48 °C (118 °F), are usually recorded in Shaheed Benazeerabad District and Sibbi from May to August. The climate is generally dry and hot, but sometimes the temperature falls to 0 °C (32 °F); on rare occasions (once every 25 years or so) it has fallen to below −7 °C (19 °F) in December or January.

Demographics

Religions

• Islam: 96.53%
• Hinduism: 2.88%
• Christianity: 0.33%
• Ahmaddiya: 0.23%
• Others: 0.03%

Languages

• Sindhi: 55.25%
• Urdu: 8.72% (concentrated in the urban centers, where Urdu speakers represent 30.83% of the population)
• Punjabi: 8.90%
• Brahvi: 55

.82%

• Balochi: 24.00%
• Seraiki: 0.88%
• Pashto: 0.52%
• Others: 0.90%

Archeology

The mausoleum of Thul Mir Rukun is a historical and archaeological tomb is the property of the Archeology Department of the Government of Sindh and is situated 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) away from Daulatpur Taluka (Town). A road from Kazi Ahmed Town leads to Thul Rukan, via Pabjo village, reaching this thousand year old archaeological exemplary construction. The height of this tomb is 60 feet (18 m) from ground level. Mr. Henry Cusin, the British Archaeologist writes in his book Sindh's Archeology (Sindhi Translation Sindh Ja Qadeem Aasaar by Ata Muhammad Bhambro) that the bricks used in the construction of this tomb were made and prepared during the Budhist Rulers' period. The line painting for the birth of Gaotam Budh was shown on the bricks clearly which are preserved and kept by the Sindh Archaeological Department. He writes that ornaments, small effigies, and statues were also found when the ground was excavated around the tomb.

History

After the 1853 invasion by General Charles Napier, Sindh was divided into provinces and assigned to Zamindars (or landlords) to collect taxes for the British. Sindh was later made part of British India's Bombay Presidency and became a separate province in 1935. Nawabshah (Urdu: نوابشاہ) Taluka Nawabshah was established in 1907, which later on in 1912 was upgraded to "Nawabshah District", named after Syed Nawab Shah son of Syed Nawaz Ali Shah, who migrated from Sann district Dadu to Nawabshah with his family in 1881. There are two Irrigation Water Supply Divisions called "Nusrat Division" and "Dad Division" in the district. But later the Rulers of that period developed this area into an urban city area. The families from some other districts and provinces also came to the area and started to reside there. The Rulers named these small developed areas as "Talukas" in Sindh. Therefore they named this Taluka by the name of the migrater Syed Nawab Shah, which was initially called Nawabshah Town, then named Nawabshah Taluka before finally being changed to Nawabshah District.

Shaheed Benazeerabad District is situated on the left Bank of the River Indus. The name of the district was changed from Nawabshah District to Shaheed Benazeerabad District in April 2008 when a resolution was passed by the Provincial Assembly of Sindh unanimously to pay the tributes and regards to the Mohtarma Benazeer Bhutto who was assassinated in a suicidal terrorist attack shortly after delivering an address to the general public in the 2008 general election campaign. It is be necessary to mention here that Benazeer Bhutto was married by Asif Ali Zardari in this district and that is why the Member of Provincial Assembly (MPA) from Nawabshah proposed the said resolution which was passed by a unanimous vote in a Sindh Assembly session on the demand of the general public and the workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party from the district.

Mr. Hamid Ali Khan was the first Deputy Commissioner of Nawabshah District to take over his office on November 1 1912. First Suprintendent of Police of the district was P.M.Stewart, while the first Muslim Suprintendent of Police Nawabshah District was Molvi Zia-ud-deen who assumed office on July 26, 1918.

At the establishment of the district in 1912, the seven Talukas were included in this district namely Kandiaro, Nausheroferoze, Moro, Sakrand, Nawabshah, Sanjhoro and Shahdadpur. The landlords of Jatoi, Syed, and Jam tribes were active in the politics of Nawabshah from very beginning, but from 1970 and onwards, the Pakistan Peoples Party became the biggest political party of the district. Since then, the main ruling community in the district are from Jatoi, Jokhio and jokhios many villages are available in this District from many years old. and almost Syed, Magsi, Zardari. This district is located in the centre of the Sindh Province of Pakistan, and is therefore commonly known as the Heart of Sindh.

Local government

The district is administratively subdivided into four talukas, these are:

• Nawabshah
• Sakrand
• Daur
• Kazi Ahmed

Sports

Nawabshah has a stadium called Bilawal Stadium for national matches.

Events

The H.M. KHOJA Annual Flower Show was introduced by H. M. Khoja in 1954 at Khoja Garden. The celebrations take place for 3 to 4 days.^[3]

Major educational institutions

• People's Medical College, an exclusive medical college for girls. Soon it will take place of Women's University
• Quaid-e-Awam University of Engineering, Sciences & Technology
• Government Habib College of Technology,
• Vocational Institute
• Provincial Institute of Teachers Education
• Bilawal Institute of Historical and Research

Organizations

Dalel Dero Fort
By Rakaposhi Hiking Club

• Nawabshah Disability Forum
• Rakaposhi Hiking Club
• Help & Cooperation Foundation Pakistan (HCFP)
• Rotary Club
• Help Welfare Organization (HWO)
• Services for Mankind Organization (SMO)
• Sachal Sarmast Special Education
• Shah Sachal Sami Welfare Association
• Sindhica Reforms Society
• Hari Welfare Association
• Public Welfare Society Sindh
• Al-Ajal Scouts NawabShah
• Nawabshah Youth Organization (NYO)
• WWF-PAK Indus for All

References

Pakistan portal

1. ^ Official District website
2. ^ Nawabshah renamed after Benazir Bhutto - Dawn
3. ^ The H.M KHOJA Annual Flower Show

Nishat Welfare Orgnazation(NWO)

Sources

• District Census Report of Nawabshah, Population Census Organisation, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan, Islamabad January 2000.
• Different Newspapers and Sindh Assembly Meetings Reports published/aird/broadcast in the local media in April 2008.
• Website Election Commission of Pakistan (Election Results National Assembly), link http://www.ecp.gov.pk/content/gresult.html
• The Book "Aeena Zila Nawabshah" compiled and written by Muhammad Ayub Shad.
• History Stone fixed on the walls of the tombs and shrines

Coordinates: 26°35′N 68°10′E / 26.583°N 68.167°E / 26.583; 68.167