Masho Khel

Masho Khel (Mashokhel) ماشوخیل
Village
Masho Khel (Mashokhel) Show map of Pakistan Masho Khel (Mashokhel) Show map of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Coordinates: 33°54′37″N 71°30′09″E
Country	Pakistan
Province	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
District	Peshawar District
Tehsil	Pishtakhara[1]
Government [4]
• Type	Tehsil Local Government, Pishtakhara [2]
• Tehsil Chairman	Muhammad Haroon Sifat[3]
• Village Chairmen	Amjid Khan and Qari Waqas Khan
• Village Secretaries	Malik Rifaqat Khan and Saif Ul Islam
Population  (2023)
• Total	30,492
Time zone	UTC+5 (Pakistan Standard Time)
Postal Code	24810

Masho Khel or Mashokhel (in Pashto and Urdu: ماشوخیل) is a historical village in the capital district Peshawar of province Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. The village is situated about 13km to the south of Peshawar cantonment.

The spoken language in the village is Pashto and the people belong to the Pashtun's tribe Mohmand.

The sufi and philosophical poet of the 17th century, Abdul Hamid Baba, was from this village.[5]

Administrative division

Masho Khel is a part of Pakistan National Assembly seat NA-30 Peshawar-III and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly seat PK-78 Peshawar-X. Masho Khel is under police station Badaber. There are two village councils in Masho Khel. The village falls under the local administration of union council (UC 58) Sheikhan, Tehsil Pishtakhara.[6]

Education

The literacy rate in Masho Khel is very low. The major reason is poverty and inaccessibility to schools. Masho Khel has a public high school for boys which along many other schools was bombed by militants.[7] For girls, a public high school has been built recently. There are some private schools as well but students usually go to schools in public Peshawar city and cantonment. A group of volunteers has been helping students under the name the Maths Volunteers Foundation.

Healthcare

The village has no major hospital and only the Basic Health Unit (BHU) is functional in the village. However, there are few private practitioners in the village. The nearest major hospitals which are about 10km away are the Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar, Khyber Teaching Hospital and Lady Reading Hospital.

History

Masho Khel is well known for a historic event that took place in 1847, when the people of the village refused to pay revenue to Major George Lawrence of British Raj.[8]

People

People of Masho Khel are mostly farmers and laborers. However, there are also a good number of people working as teachers, civil servants and armed forces personnel.

Major crops

The main crop farmed in the village is wheat. Other crops include maize, peas, sunflower, garlic and a variety of decoration flowers.[9]

Sports

There are no proper grounds for any sports. However, street cricket and volleyball are widely played sports in the village.

Major problems

Poverty, education, healthcare,[10] clean water [11][12] and electricity load shedding are major issues in the village. The ratio of girls education is very low which could be due to the unavailability of many girls schools in the village. Only recently, first middle and high schools were constructed for girls. Some primary girls schools were bombed by terrorists.[7]

Nearby villages

Nearby villages are Suleman Khel, Gari Mali Khel, Mushtarzi, Mashogagar, Balarzi and Badaber.

Notable people

The sufi and philosophical poet of the 17th century, Abdul Hamid Baba, was from Masho Khel.[5][13]

References

1. "Sub-Divisions and Tehsils in District Peshawar". Revenue and Estate Department of Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
2. "The Local Government, Elections and Rural Development Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa". Retrieved 25 January 2023.
3. "Tehsil Council Pistakhara". Geo News. 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
4. "KP's new LG system: structure, powers, and voting process". SAMAA TV. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
5. Shafi, Arif Shafi (17 July 2013). "Lights, camera, inaction!: 'The works and life of Hameed Baba'". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
6. Shabir, Fahad (27 December 2019). "Pishtakhara, Peshawar City Given Status Of Sub-Divisions". Urdu point. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
7. Zia, Asad Zia (15 January 2016). "Three years and counting: Boys in Mashokhel study under the sky; girls have no choice but stay home". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
8. Sultan, Razia (2011). "Peshawar: An Integral Part of Competing Empires of Durranis, Sikhs and British" (PDF). Pakistan Journal of History and Culture. 31 (1). Retrieved 22 January 2023.
9. Shinwari, Sher Alam (14 March 2020). "Florists doing roaring business as spring season sets in". Dawn. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
10. Khan, Mujib-ur-Rehman (2007). "Availability and utilization of primary health care services in the rural areas of district Peshawar-A case study". Sarhad Journal of Agriculture (Pakistan). 23 (4). Retrieved 23 January 2023.
11. Parvez, Adil (20 July 2018). "Lack of clean drinking water biggest problem facing NA-29 Peshawar". Geo News. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
12. Yousaf, Saeeda; Khan, Sardar; Sher, Hassan; Ahmad, Latif; Afridi, Ihsanullah; Khan, Deedar (2013). "Canal water treatment with rapid sand filtration". Soil and Environment. 32 (2). Retrieved 23 January 2023.
13. Ahmad, Riaz (22 October 2012). "18th century Sufi poet's grave in ruins". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 23 January 2023.