Pakhtunkhwa

Pakhtunkhwa

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Pashto: خیبر پښتونخوا‎ ; Urdu: خیبر پختونخوا ‎ ) (literally "area of Pashtuns"), formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province and alternatively known by various other names, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan, located in the north-west of the country. It borders the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to the west and south, Gilgit–Baltistan to the north-east, Azad Kashmir to the east and Punjab and the Islamabad Capital Territory to the south-east. The province of Balochistan is located southwards while Afghanistan borders Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the north-west. The main ethnic group in the province are the Pashtun people; other smaller ethnic groups include most notably the Hindkowans, Dards, Chitralis (who include the Kalasha) and Gujjars.

The provincial language is Pashto, spoken by the majority as first language; Urdu, the national language, is widely spoken as a second language. English is mainly used for official and literary purposes. The provincial capital and largest city is Peshawar.