| |
|
North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is geographically the smallest of the four provinces of Pakistan. Neighbouring regions are Afghanistan to the west and north, Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir to the east. The Federally Administered Tribal Areas stand as a buffer between the NWFP and parts of Afghanistan. Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory are to the south.
Its area is 74,521 kmē and its districts include Hazara, not to be confused with the Hazara people of Afghanistan. The capital and main city of the province is Peshawar. The major language spoken in the NWFP is Pashto, and most of its residents are Pathans. NWFP was traditionally a part of Afghanistan but was divided during British rule of India.
During the 1950s, Afghanistan supported a secessionist movement in the NWFP known as the Pakhtunistan movement. However, this movement has died down. There are also numerous Afghani refugee camps in the NWFP owing to its proximity to Afghanistan. Likewise, it has a major base for supplying mujahideen who fought the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s.
Recently, some movements from within the NWFP have sought to rename the province to Pakhtunwala, which translates to Land of the Pathan in Pashto.
