Parachinar

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Parachinar پاړه چنار پاڑہ چنار
City
A forest in Parachinar
Parachinar Show map of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Parachinar Show map of Pakistan Parachinar Show map of South Asia Parachinar Show map of Asia Parachinar Show map of Earth
Coordinates: PK_type:city 33°54′N 70°6′E / 33.900°N 70.100°E / 33.900; 70.100
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Division	Kohat
District	Kurram
Tehsil	Upper Kurram
Elevation	1,705 m (5,594 ft)
Population  (2023)[1]
• City	700,000
• Estimate  ()	680,000
• Rank	9th, Kohat Division
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)

Parachinar (Pashto: پاړه چنار; Urdu: پاڑہ چنار) is a city and the capital of the Kurram District in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.^[2]

Parachinar is situated on the west of Peshawar, that juts into the Paktia, Logar and Nangarhar provinces of Afghanistan. With a distance of 110 kilometres (68 mi) from the capital of Afghanistan Kabul, Parachinar is the closest point in Pakistan to Kabul.

The British soldier and historian C. M. Enriquez described the early history of Parachinar in his book The Pathan Borderland. He writes that Malak (leader) Pare was a reputable Malak of the Pare Khel Tribe, a sub tribe of tribe called Turi (Shia), planted Poplar trees some 200 years ago. Before much settlement, the area was mostly arid. In terms of distribution, the ancient Poplar tree and the surrounding land belonged to the Parakhel tribe. This ownership is still authentic in official records or deeds of property. Parakhel tribesmen used to cultivate wheat in this desert area. During the wheat harvest, tents were pitched here, and in the shade of this poplar tree, jirgas and consultations were held.^[3]

The name Parachinar is derived as a result of social meetings conducted under a large Chinar tree. [3] The remains of that tree are still there at a place now encompassed by the headquarters of Kurram Agency. As this Poplar tree was located right between the British established offices and the Kurram militia, and people from remote areas of the Kurram Valley often came and gathered here, it became known as Parachinar instead of Totkai Bazar.

In 1893, during the rule of Abdur Rahman Khan (Barakzai dynasty) of Afghanistan, a Royal Commission for demarcating a boundary between Afghanistan and the territory of British governed India negotiated terms, agreeing to the Durand line. Two parties camped at Parachinar, now part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, which is near Khost, Afghanistan.^{[citation needed]}

From the British side, the camp was attended by Sir Mortimer Durand and Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum, assistant political agent, Khyber Agency. The Afghanistan interest was represented by Sahibzada Abdul Latif and the Governor of Khost Sardar Shireendil Khan, represented King Amir Abdur Rahman Khan.^[4]

Intermittently, conflicts arise stemming from personal issues(mostly religious ones) within this region. In instances where one sect initiates an attack on another, it often leads to retaliatory actions by the aggrieved party.^[5]

Violent clashes in the region occurred in the following week until a ceasefire was reached on 12 April 2007.^[6]

Parachinar has been the target of several terrorist attacks from 2007 to 2014 in which over 3000 people have died, making it the second-most targeted Pakistani city by militants after Peshawar.^[7]

Parachinar has a moderate humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). Although the city's southeasterly aspect relative to the valley in which it is situated allows it to receive on occasions significant monsoonal rainfall, the most frequent source of rain is western depressions and related thunderstorms. During the winter, snowfall is common, and frosts occur on most mornings. Snow closes the Peiwar Pass, located on the Paktia border just over 20 km west of Parachinar, for up to five months per year.

FATA University plans to open a sub-campus at Parachinar.^[10]

The Thall-Parachinar road is the main road connecting Parachinar to the rest of the country.^[11]

Parachinar has an airport but currently it is non-functional. In the past there was a flight service between Peshawar and Parachinar.^[12][13]

• List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population
• Kohat Division
  • Hangu District
    • Doaba
    • Hangu
    • Tall
  • Karak District
    • Karak
  • Kohat District
    • Kohat
    • Lachi
    • Shakardara
  • Kurram District
    • Sadda
  • Orakzai District
• Pashto
• Battle of Tora Bora

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