Bannu (Urdu: بنوں‎; Pashto: بنو‎ [ˈbanu]; local Pashto dialect: Bana or Banigul, Avestan Varəna), is the principal city of the Bannu District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Bannu lies in the northwest corner of the district, in the valley of the Britash. Bannu was once a British military base used for action against Afghan border tribes. The town is located 1 mile (1.6 km) south of the Kurram River, east of Khost Province, Afghanistan, (35 km) east of North and South Waziristan, 79 miles (127 km) south of Kohat, 27 km north of Serai Naurang, and 89 miles (143 km) north of Dera Ismail Khan.

Inhabitants of Bannu are known as Banuchi, and speak a specific dialect of Pashto. Urdu and the Saraiki dialect of Punjabi are also spoken.

History

The Avesta and Vendidad mention Varəna, the old name of Bannu has one of the sixteen most beautiful and perfect lands created by Ahura Mazda.

Bannu is noted by the Sanskrit grammarian Pāṇini as the "historical country of Varnu" mentioned in the Mahāmāyūrī.

Bannu District (Pashto: بنو, Urdu: ضلع بنوں‎, Avestan Varəna), as formed by the British in 1861, is one of 26 districts that make up the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It borders North Waziristan to the northwest, Karak to the northeast, Lakki Marwat to the southeast, and South Waziristan to the southwest. It is represented in the provincial assembly by four MPAs. The district's main city is Bannu,

The major industries of Bannu are cloth weaving and the manufacturing of cotton fabrics, machinery, and equipment. It is famous for its weekly Jumma fair. The district forms abasin drained by the Kurram and Gambila (or Tochi) rivers, which originate in the hills of Waziristan. Although Bannu is surrounded by rugged and dry mountains, it is a very fertile place, and early English visitors had been known to refer to it as a "paradise" - see the beautiful description by Edwardes quote by Thornton.

Physical features

The district forms abasin drained by the Kurram and Gambila (or Tochi) rivers, which originate in the hills of Waziristan. The Bannu Valley proper stretches to the foot of the frontier hills, forming an irregular oval, measuring 60 miles (100 km) from north to south and 40 miles (60 km) from east to west.