Dargai
Dargai (Pashto: درگئی; Urdu: درگئی) is one of the tehsils of Malakand District (the other being Batkhela) in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It located on the main highway from Peshawar to Swat, Dir and Chitral.
Dargai درگئی | |
|---|---|
City and Tehsil | |
Dargai درگئی Location in Pakistan | |
| Coordinates: 34°30′28.5″N 71°53′55.2″E | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Region | Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa |
| District | Malakand District |
| Government | |
| • Chairman | Ehtisham Fida (JUI(F)) |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
The town of Dargai is experiencing an economic revival due to its well-known status as a hub for trade between the upper regions of Pakistan and the lower regions of Khyber Pakthunkhwa. It is also acknowledged economically as a major market for timber and historically as the last train station into Northern Pakistan.
Dargai was part of the Malakand Agency Tribal area until 1970 when the former princely states of Chitral, Dir, and Swat were amalgamated into the Malakand Division, which was in turn divided into districts, one of which was the Malakand Protected Area, known as Malakand District. In 2000 the Malakand Division was abolished and despite constitutional changes since 1970, the expression "Malakand Agency" is sometimes still used as a name for the entire area of the former agency.