Buner District

History

The Buner Valley lies on the Peshawar valley border of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is a small mountain valley, dotted with villages and divided into four sub-divisions. The Mora Hills and the Ilam range divide it from the Swat Valley, the Sinawar range from Yusafzai, the Guru mountains from the MARDAN valley, and the Duma range from the Puran Valley. During the 19th century the inhabitants rose twice against the British, but submitted in 1897.

In April 2009, the Taliban seized control of Buner, after a brief battle with local residents. Strict rules were reportedly being enforced, including the elimination of video stores, bans on cutting beards, and the prevention of women from appearing in many public places. On 29 April the government responded to the Taliban by sending the army to the region and dropping parachutists by helicopter. By the end of May 2009, almost all of Buner was cleared of the Taliban.

On November 2, 2012, a bomb attack killed local anti-Taliban politician Fateh Khan, an ex-leader of the secular Awami National Party and three of his guards as his car left a petrol station. Several people were also injured. According to Pakistan's Express Tribune, Mr Khan was a former ANP leader who had recently joined the Qaumi Watan Party. Mr Khan was also the head of a local tribal anti-Taliban force.

Constituencies

The district has three constituencies in the Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In 2008 elections Awami National Party won all three seats: