Harnai (Pashto: هرناۍ ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع ہرنائی) is a district in the northeastern part of the Balochistan province of Pakistan. Harnai is the principal town of this district and serves as its administrative headquarters.
Until 2007, Harnai had been a tehsil of Sibi District, in August, the Balochistan Government announced the Harnai district would be created by splitting the Sibi district and forming the new district from Harnai and Shahrag tehsils and the sub-tehsil of Khost.[1]
History
The name Harnai refers to an influential Hindu personality, Harnam Das, supposed founder of Harnai town, the capital of Harnai District. The town is quite close to Loralai, Ziarat, Sibi, and Quetta. Harnai is surrounded by imposing hills on all sides. The encircling hill ranges have the resounding names of 'Khalifat' and 'Zarghun'. Harnai proper has a population of about 200,000. The majority of the population of Harnai are Tareens and they mostly speak a unique dialect, or language, Tarino (Wanetsi), which is quite different from the Pushto spoken in other parts of Baluchistan and NWFP provinces, and is probably a mixture of Pushto, Urdu and other languages developed as a 'lingua franca' sometime during the 18th and 19th centuries, when a variety of people of different ethnic origins lived here. There seems to be no earlier historical record or trace of it.
Geography and climate
Harnai is surrounded by mountainous ranges. The minimum and maximum winter temperature of the area is −2˚C to 20˚C. The summer is extreme in the area and the minimum and maximum temperature fall between 20˚C to 48˚C. Harnai has a fertile rainy season during monsoon time. In general, Harnai has pleasant weather in the winter season. Harnai is one of the most beautiful cities of the Balochistan Province with plenty of water available in the streams. It is the only area of the production of fresh vegetables and fruits with fresh and clean water in the whole of Balochistan.
Administration
| Tehsil | Area
(km²)[2] |
Pop.
(2023) |
Density
(ppl/km²) (2023) |
Literacy rate
(2023)[3] |
Union Councils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harnai Tehsil | 259 | 82,001 | 316.61 | 36.28% | ... |
| Shahrig Tehsil | 614 | 29,005 | 47.24 | 50.12% | ... |
| Khoast Tehsil | 1,619 | 16,565 | 10.23 | 40.35% | ... |
Demographics
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | N/A | — |
| 1961 | N/A | — |
| 1972 | N/A | — |
| 1981 | N/A | — |
| 1998 | 76,652 | — |
| 2017 | 97,052 | +1.25% |
| 2023 | 127,571 | +4.66% |
| Sources:[4] | ||
Population
As of the 2023 census, Harnai district has 16,393 households and a population of 127,571. The district has a sex ratio of 111.89 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 39.83%: 48.91% for males and 29.71% for females.[5][6] 54,999 (43.11% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.[7] 33,433 (26.21%) live in urban areas.[5]
Religion
| Religion | 2017[8] | 2023[9] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Islam 
|
96,441 | 99.37% | 126,465 | 99.13% |
Hinduism 
|
300 | 0.31% | 421 | 0.33% |
Christianity 
|
275 | 0.28% | 589 | 0.46% |
| Others | 36 | 0.04% | 96 | 0.08% |
| Total Population | 97,052 | 100% | 127,571 | 100% |
Islam is the largest religion with 99.13% of the population. Christianity is the second largest religion.[9]
Language
At the time of the 2023 census, 89.24% of the population spoke Pashto, 8.20% Balochi and 0.7% Sindhi as their first language.
References
- ^ Harnai is new district of Balochistan Dawn newspaper, Published 31 August 2007, Retrieved 7 February 2024
- ^ "TABLE 1 : AREA, POPULATION BY SEX, SEX RATIO, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, CENSUS-2023, BALOCHISTAN" (PDF).
- ^ "LITERACY RATE, ENROLMENT AND OUT OF SCHOOL POPULATION BY SEX AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS-2023, BALOCHISTAN" (PDF).
- ^ "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
- ^ a b "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 1" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
- ^ "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 12" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
- ^ "7th Population and Housing Census: Population by Mother Tongue, Sex and Rural/Urban" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
- ^ "Pakistan Census 2017 District-Wise Tables: Peshawar". Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
- ^ a b "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 9" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
Bibliography
- 1998 District census report of Sibi. Census publication. Vol. 17. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 1999.
External links
- Harnai District at www.balochistan.gov.pk
- Harnai District Development Profile 2011 Archived 2017-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
