Buner District

Buner District (Pashto: بونېر ولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع بونیر) is a district in the Malakand Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Before receiving the status of a district in 1991, it was a tehsil in Swat District. Buner, known for its large marble reserves, is home to the Shrine of Pir Baba, a Sufi saint and spiritual guide of the Mughal Emperor Babur. The armies of Alexander the Great passed through the district, most notably in Karakar, Daggar, and Ambela. The locals later fought Mughal and British armies. Buner's altitude starts at 1200 ft in the south in Totalai and reaches a maximum height of 9,550 ft at the Dosara Peak in the north. Most of the hills that encircle the Buner District are covered in pine trees. The Barandu, Chamla, and Budal are the three principal rivers; the former flows through the center of the district. The majority of people reside in rural areas, where agriculture is their primary source of income. The region's principal crops include sugarcane, tobacco, wheat, and maize. The marble reserves of Buner make up 68% of the total marble reserves of Pakistan. A total of 450 factories and 316 marble mines currently operate in Buner District, annually contributing Rs 470m in royalty.