Shaheed Benazirabad District (Sindhi: شهيد بينظيرآباد ضلعو, Urdu: ضلع شہید بینظیر آباد) previously known as Nawabshah District, is one of the districts in the province of Sindh, Pakistan.
Renaming
The district was renamed in September 2008 when most of MPAs of Nawabshah demanded the district be renamed to honour the late party leader.[2]
The renaming of the district was criticised by the family of Syed Nawabshah and others who, while saddened at the death of Bhutto, felt that Nawabshah was a historic district and ought to have kept its name.[2]
History
At the establishment of the district on 1 November 1912, seven talukas were included in this district:
In 1953 the talukas of Shahdadpur and Sinjhoro became part of the newly established Sanghar District. This left Nawabshah Sub-division with only one taluka, so Sakrand taluka was moved from Naushahro Feroze Sub-division to Nawabshah Sub-division. In 1989, another part of the district, the talukas of Nausehro Feroz, Kandiaro and half of the taluka of Moro, was cleaved from it to form the new Naushahro Feroze District.[3] A new taluka, Daulatpur, was created, from half of the Moro and some of Sakrand taluka in Nawabshah district. The district then contained three talukas:
In May 2014, a 5.0 magnitude earthquake struck the district, killing one person and injuring 70.[4]
Administrative
Taluks of Shaheed Benazirabad District
Shaheed Benazir Abad formerly Nawabshah District. The Deputy Commissioner is responsible for overall administration of the district. Miss Kanwal Nizam Shaikh is currently the Deputy Commissioner of Shaheed Benazirabad since May 2023. She is the first female officer in history of Shaheed Benazirabad to serve as DC. The district is sub-divided into four Tehsils:
As of the 2023 census, Shaheed Benazirabad district has 334,356 households and a population of 1,845,102.[6] The district has a sex ratio of 103.18 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 50.86%: 61.07% for males and 40.29% for females.[1][7] 606,305 (32.87% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.[8] 598,120 (32.42%) live in urban areas.[1]
Religions in Shaheed Benazirabad district (2023)[9]
The majority religion is Islam, with 95.05% of the population. Hinduism (including those from Scheduled Castes) is practiced by 4.49% of the population. Members of other religions were mostly Christians, who mostly live in Nawabshah city.[9]
Languages of Shaheed Benazirabad district (2023) [12]
At the time of the 2023 census, 85.2% of the population spoke Sindhi, 6.17% Urdu, 3.63% Punjabi, 1.64% Brahui and 1.57% Balochi as their first language.[12]
Education
District Shaheed Benazirabad is ranked at the 125th position in the education score index of the Pakistan District Education Rankings 2017 published by Alif Ailaan.[citation needed]
Low learning outcome issues remain a hindrance for district Shaheed Benazirabad. Issues reported by the residents via the Taleem Do! App complain of the lack of primary schools in the area. The debate on whether basic education should be provided in the regional, national or official languages has been a point of debate in Pakistan for several years.[citation needed]
Events
The H. M. Khoja Annual Flower Show was introduced by H. M. Khoja in 1954 at Khoja Garden. The celebrations take place for three or four days.[13]
Major educational institutes
Educational institutions in district Benazirabad include:
^1941 census data is for Nawabshah and Sakrand talukas of erstwhile Nawabshah district, which roughly corresponds to the present district. District and taluk borders have changed since 1995, namely the splitting of Moro taluk and its division between two districts.
1998 District census report of Nawabshah. Census publication. Vol. 63. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.
