University of Malakand

University of Malakand is a higher education institution, established in 2001 which is located at Chakdara in the Dir district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is located on the bank of the river Swat.

Established 2001
Type Public University
Chancellor Awais Ghani Governor, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
Undergraduates 1500
Postgraduates 200
Location Chakdara, Pakistan
Campus Rural

History and background

View of University of Malakand

The need for a University in Malakand Division has been a felt since 1972, but due to political polarizations between different political parties, the idea could not be materialized until 2001.

The present site for establishing a university was proposed by the Ex. Governor Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Mr. Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah. Prof: Dr. Lutfullah Kakakhel former advisor to Governor, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is the key person in establishing of this institution.

After the announcement some legal points were raised by the provincial law department regarding establishing a university in the PATA (Provincially Administered Tribal Area) under Article 247 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a very old impediment in opening a University in the area since 1973.

The issue was resolved by the Honorable Governor by referring the case to the President to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan who permitted the university through a Presidential order/ Regulation. Hence, in a sense this is the only university in Pakistan chartered/ established by the highest seats of power in the country, the President of Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Governor Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The provincial Government, through a Gazette Notification No P-III dated 27 October 2001 (Extra Ordinary) formally announced a University for Malakand District on the premises of the defunct D.F.I.C at Chakdara.

Vice Chancellors

1. Prof. Dr. Jehandar Shah (Founder Vice Chancellor, From: August, 2001 till September, 2007 )
2. Prof. Dr. Mohammad Iqbal (From: September, 2007 till 15 April 2008) Caretaker
3. Prof. Dr. Rasul Jan (From: 16 April 2008 till ….Serving)

Convocations

The Convocations for the Bachelor of Science (Hons) and Bachelors of Arts (Hons) are held on the following dates.

• 1. Session (2001–2005), Date 10th Feb, 2007
• 2. Session (2002–2006),
• 3. Session (2003–2007),
• 4. Session (2004–2008),
• 5. Session (2005–2009),
• 6. Session (2006–2010),

Currently, Masters of Science and Masters of Arts programs are also going on but no convocation has been held for them.

Departments

• 1.Department of Computer Science/IT
• 2.Department of Bio-Technology
• 3.Department of Chemistry
• 4.Department of Education
• 5.Department of English Literature & Linguistics
• 6.Department of Botany
• 7.Department of Mathematics
• 8.Department of Management Sciences
• 9.Department of Sociology
• 10.Department of Pharmacy
• 11.Department of Physics

Terrorist attack

On 18 March 2009 around 1:30 a.m. a group of terrorists tried to enter the university and take vehicles. The security guard tried to stop them, meanwhile a police squad which was on routine round in the area, heard some shots and came on the spot. The terrorists fired a rocket on the police vehicle. As a result three policemen including one Assistant Sub-Inspector and the security guard of the university (Mr. Khaliq Dad) were martyred. The terrorists stole two vehicles from the university and left the two they used to come to the university. Later on Taliban claimed that they captured a group of fourteen people near Shamozai. Initially the told they would handover them to the authorities but because of the bad situation in the whole Malakand division nothing actually happened to investigate the incident.

Bank and Post Office

There is a branch of National Bank of Pakistan and a Post Office in the university. Currently, there is no ATM installed in the university which is a problem for the students, staff members and specially for the visitors to the university.