Upper Chitral District
Upper Chitral, formed in December 2018 from the former Mastuj Tehsil, is Malakand Division's largest district by area yet its least densely populated, encompassing the Shandur Pass, the Broghil valley and the Wakhan-adjacent northern border with Afghanistan.
Basic Information
| Indicator | Value |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Booni (Buni) |
| Area | 8,392 km² |
| Population (2023 Census) | 195,528 |
| Tehsils | 4 - Buni, Mulkhow, Torkhow, Mastuj |
| Union / Village Councils | 10 Union Councils (pre-split Mastuj Tehsil baseline) |
Source: PBS 2023 Digital Census (population, area, density, literacy, tehsils); KP Development Statistics 2018 - 19 (union/village council counts).
Educational Institutes
| Type | Count |
|---|---|
| Schools | 2758 |
| Colleges | 2 |
Source: https://agp.gov.pk/SiteImage/Policy/Chitral%20Upper.pdf
Health Facilities
| Facility Type | Count |
|---|---|
| DHQ hospital | 1 |
| RHC | 1 |
| BHU | 12 |
Police Stations
- Police Station Booni (the district headquarters)
- Police Station Mastuj
- Police Station Torkhow (Shagram)
- Police Station Mulkhow
- Police Station Oveer
National Assembly
| Constituency | Member (party) |
|---|---|
| NA-1 Upper Chitral-cum-Lower Chitral | MNA Abdul Latif (SIC) |
Source: Election Commission of Pakistan, 2024 General Election. Member photographs are not shown on this page.
Provincial Assembly
- PK-1 Upper Chitral: Suraya Bibi (SIC)
Priority Issues & Challenges
- Road infrastructure — The most sparsely populated district in the division; Shandur Pass and other high-altitude routes cut the district off from Gilgit-Baltistan and lower Chitral for much of the winter.
- Water crisis — Population is fully rural and dependent on glacier-fed irrigation channels; the district has Pakistan's highest concentration of glaciers outside Gilgit-Baltistan.
- Health — As with Lower Chitral, government health facility counts have not been re-published separately since the 2018 split - flagged as a data gap.
- Unemployment — Subsistence agriculture, livestock and seasonal tourism (Shandur Polo Festival) dominate; the district has no registered industrial units of note.
- Environmental challenges — Also rated Seismic Zone 4; glacial retreat and associated flood risk are recurring concerns in Yarkhun and Torkhow valleys.