What happened
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has officially bifurcated Swat district into two separate administrative units, Swat and Bar Swat, with immediate effect, according to a notification issued on Tuesday, as Dawn reported on 28 January 2026.
The decision was taken in pursuance of a provincial cabinet meeting held on 19 December 2025 and made under sections 5 and 6 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Land Revenue Act, 1967. The notification has been circulated to all relevant federal and provincial departments for implementation.
How the district was divided
Bar Swat district will have its headquarters in Matta, while Swat district will retain its headquarters in Gulkada in Babuzai tehsil. Matta, Bahrain and Khwazakhela tehsils will become part of the newly created Bar Swat district, while Babuzai, Kabal, Charbagh and Barikot will constitute Swat district.
Mixed local reaction
The decision drew a mixed response from residents. In Khwazakhela, many people welcomed it as a longstanding demand. “For decades, people from upper Swat had to cover long distance to reach Mingora and Saidu Sharif for basic administrative and judicial matters. Now district administration, courts, police offices and other departments will be closer to us, which will save time and money,” local trader Abdul Wali told Dawn.
Residents of Matta were similarly optimistic. “This is a historic moment for Bar Swat. A district headquarters here will create jobs, improve law and order and ensure faster resolution of public complaints,” said social activist Shahzad Khan.
Others questioned the utility of further administrative division. “This bifurcation will not solve real problems of Swat. The government made Buner and Shangla separate districts years ago, yet pressure in terms of population growth, traffic congestion and lack of facilities continues. Creating new districts alone does not guarantee development,” said Hidayatullah, a resident of Mingora. Another resident, Saeed Ahmed, feared the move could create an unnecessary rift between the people of Bar Swat and Swat, and some residents said the division would add to the financial burden.
Why it matters
Officials maintain that the bifurcation will improve service delivery, reduce the administrative burden and allow more focused governance in both districts. The change redraws the map of one of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s most populous districts and follows a years-long local debate over whether upper Swat should have its own administrative headquarters. How the new district is funded and staffed, and whether the promised services materialise, will shape how the decision is judged.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a synthesis of published material, not eyewitness reporting. Sources were reviewed on 28 January 2026.
- Dawn — Swat officially bifurcated into two districtsPublished 28 January 2026 · Contemporaneous report: confirms the notification, the 19 December 2025 cabinet decision, the tehsil allocation between Swat and Bar Swat, the headquarters in Gulkada and Matta, the legal basis under the KP Land Revenue Act 1967, and the comments of residents Abdul Wali, Shahzad Khan, Hidayatullah and Saeed Ahmed.
