Dera Ismail Khan
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Dera Ismail Khan is city in North West Frontier Province, Pakistan. The town is situated near the right bank of the Indus River.
Dera Ismail Khan 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. "Dera" means a place people gather for activities. The old town was swept away by a flood in 1823, and the present town stands 4 miles back from the permanent channel of the river.
In 1901 it had a population of 31,737. The native quarters were well laid out, with a large bazaar for Afghan traders. It was the residence of many Muslim gentry. The cantonment accommodated about a brigade of troops. There was considerable through trade with Afghanistan by the Gomal Pass, and there were local manufactures of cotton cloth scarves and inlaid wood-work.
Dera Ismail Khan District is an administrative district of Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province. It is bounded on the east by Punjab Province, to the southwest by South Waziristan district, and to the northwest by Tank and Lakki Marwat districts.
It was created as an administrative unit of British India, part of the Derajat division of the North-West Frontier Province. 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 resembled 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 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. Wheat and wool were exported. In 1901 it contained an area of 3403 sq. mi. and a population of 252,379, chiefly Pashtun and Baluch Muslims. In 1947 it became part of the newly-independent Pakistan.