DERA

ISMAIL

See also:

• KHAN (from the Turki, hence Persian and Arabic Khan)

KHAN  , a town and district in the Derajat division of the North-West Frontier Province of India . The town is situated near the right bank of the Indus, which is here crossed by a bridge of boats during half the year . In 1901 it had a population of 31,737 . It takes its name from Ismail Khan, a Baluch chief who settled here towards the end of the 15th century, and whose descendants ruled for 300 years . The old town was swept away by a flood in 1823, and the present town stands 4 M. back from the permanent channel of the river . The native quarters are well laid out, with a large bazaar for Afghan traders . It is the residence of many Mahommedan gentry . The cantonment accommodates about a brigade of troops . There is considerable through trade with Afghanistan by the Gomal Pass, and there are local manufactures of cotton cloth scarves and inlaid wood-work . The DISTRICT OF DERA ISMAIL KHAN contains an area of 3403 sq. m . It was formerly divided into two almost equal portions by the Indus, which intersected it from north to south . To the west of the Indus the characteristics of the country resemble those of Dera Ghazi Khan .

To the

east of the present bed of the river there is a wide tract known as the Kachi, exposed to river action . Beyond this, the country rises abruptly, and a barren, almost desert plain stretches eastwards, sparsely cultivated, and inhabited only by nomadic tribes of herdsmen . In 1901 the trans-Indus tract was allotted to the newly formed North-West Frontier Province, the cis-Indus tract remaining in the Punjab jurisdiction . The cis-Indus portions of the Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu districts now comprise the new Punjab district of Mianiwali . In 1901 the population was 252,379• chiefly Pathan and Baluch Mahommedans . Wheat and wool are exported . The Indus is navigable by native boats throughout its course of 120 M. within the district, which is the borderland of Pathanand Baluch tribes, the Pathan element predominating . The chief frontier tribes are the Sheranis and Ustaranas .