How To Increase Earning Potential of Google AdSense

When you include Google AdSense ads on your blog, there is certainly potential to make money, but how? Many beginner bloggers have Google AdSense ads running, but the earnings aren't coming. Follow the steps below to give your blog's Google AdSense program the greatest chance for success & start making money now.


Here's How:

1. Determine your blog's primary focus

Google AdSense ads are most effective when they are served to people who are interested in the products & services those ads offer. With that in mind, Google AdSense tends to work best on blogs that are about niche topics such as a specific product/hobby. Consider how you can make your blog's topic more focused to better attract specific types of readers & specific types of ads.

2. Write consistent & focused content

Google serves ads based on the content on each of your pages. The more focused your content is on each page, the better Google can determine which ads are the most relevant to your readers. Write consistently & stay focused on a specific topic to increase the likelihood that Google will display ads on your blog that your readers are apt to click on.

3. Work to increase your blog's traffic

The more visitors to your blog, the more potential for clicks on your Google AdSense ads. Work to increase your blog's traffic to boost your chances for ad click-throughs. However, keep in mind that if you write focused content, the ads on your blog will be relevant to that content. The traffic that comes to your blog needs to be interested in your blog's topic & your content/they are not likely to be interested in your corresponding Google AdSense ads. Work to drive traffic but make a concerted effort to find traffic that adds value to your blog.

4. Research & test keywords

Google serves ads through its AdSense program based on keywords. Advertisers bid on keywords relevant to their businesses. Some keywords are more popular than others & therefore, drive higher bids. Higher paying keywords also mean higher payouts to you when your readers click on them. The ads served on your site are determined by the content on your site. If you're writing about topics related to higher paying keywords, then you're likely to earn more money from your Google AdSense program than if you wrote about topics related to lower paying keywords.

5. Test Google AdSense ad positions on your blog

You can display Google AdSense ads just about anywhere on your blog. Test a variety of positions on your blog to determine which work best for you in terms of generating click-throughs & maximum revenue.

Tips:

1.Check with your blogging software provider & blog host to ensure your blogging package allows you to place Google AdSense ads on your blog. For example, Wordpress.com doesn’t allow Google AdSense ads.

2. Don't fall victim to the allure of covering your blog in ads to generate income. Blogs that are cluttered with ads are difficult to read & readers typically don't return to blogs where the meaningful content is hidden in between ads.

Track your results to see what's working, particularly as you test keywords& ad positions. This will allow you to develop the best advertising mix to maximize your blog's income while staying consistent to your blog's brand image & overall message to readers at the same time.

Muhammad Nawaz Sharif

Muhammad Nawaz Sharif was born in Lahore on December 25, 1949. He is the eldest son of Muhammad Sharif, a joint owner of the Ittefaq Group of Industries.

Nawaz Sharif got his schooling from Saint Anthony's High School. After graduating from Government College Lahore, he obtained his Law Degree from the Punjab University.

Nawaz Sharif remained a member of the Punjab Provincial Council for some time. He joined the Punjab Cabinet as Finance Minister in 1981. He was able to raise the allocation of funds for the development of rural areas to 70 percent of the Annual Development Program in the Province. He also held the portfolio of Sports and was able to reorganize the sports activities in the Province.

In the general elections of 1985, Nawaz Sharif won with an overwhelming majority, both in the National and Provincial Assemblies. On April 9, 1985, he was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Punjab. On May 31, 1988, he was appointed caretaker Chief Minister, after the dismissal of Assemblies by General Zia. Nawaz Sharif was again elected as Chief Minister after the 1988 general elections. A massive uplift of Murree and Kahuta was undertaken during his term as Chief Minister of Punjab.

On November 6, 1990, Nawaz Sharif was sworn-in as Prime Minister of the country, after his alliance, I. J. I. won the October 1990 elections. However, Nawaz Sharif could not complete his term of five years, and was dismissed by the President in April 1993. He was reinstated by the superior Judiciary, but had to resign along with the President in July 1993.

During his tenure as the Prime Minister, efforts were made to strengthen the industries with the help of private sector. Projects like Ghazi Brotha and Gawadar Miniport were initiated. Land was distributed among landless peasants in Sindh. Relations with the Central Asian Muslim Republics were strengthened and E. C. O. was given a boost. In an attempt to end the Afghan crisis, the "Islamabad Accord" was reached between various Afghan factions. His most important contribution was economic progress despite American sanctions on Pakistan through the Pressler Amendment.

Pakistan Muslim League again won the elections held in February 1997, and Mian Nawaz Sharif was re-elected as Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority.

Taking advantage of his absolute majority in the National Assembly, he added a landmark in the constitutional history of Pakistan by repealing the controversial Eighth Amendment. This Thirteenth Constitutional Amendment stripped the President of his powers, under Article 52(b) of the Eighth Amendment, to dismiss the Prime Minister and dissolve the National Assembly. He added another milestone to the Constitution when his Parliament adopted the anti-defection Fourteenth Amendment Bill. His development venture of the Lahore-Islamabad motorway has also been appreciated by a segment of the society, while others have criticized it for being an extravagance for a developing country.

On October 12, 1999, the civilian Government headed by Nawaz Sharif was overthrown by a military coup.

Return to Pakistan 2007

On September 7, 2007, Justice Shabbir Hussain Chatha ordered police to arrest Shahbaz Sharif, brother of Nawaz Sharif and produce him before the court, after the hearing in Lahore. The court ruled that "Shahbaz Sharif should be arrested (at) whichever airport he lands at". Nawaz Sharif also faced detention on the pair's planned return from exile to Pakistan on September 10, 2007, to challenge President Pervez Musharraf's eight-year military rule.

On September 10, Nawaz Sharif arrived in Islamabad on a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight from London but was prevented from leaving the plane as the authorities at the Islamabad Airport wanted to escort him to the arrival lounge. The rest of the passengers on board were allowed to deplane, and negotiations began with Sharif as he, along with his few supporters, did not want an escort and wanted to deplane themselves.

Sharif finally agreed to be taken out of the plane, and was taken to the arrival lounge and upon his arrival there he was approached by theNational Accountability Bureau chief who issued a warrant due to corruption charges made against him. After that, Nawaz Sharif boarded another airliner to be exiled back to Saudi Arabia. "He has been sent back," a senior security official told Agence France-Presse, as local television showed a PIA airplane carrying the deported Sharif from Islamabad airport.

Later on September 10, Nawaz Sharif landed at Jeddah airport and was greeted by Saudi intelligence chief Prince Miqren bin Abdul Aziz. Pakistan's Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Ijaz-ul-Haq stated that "He has not only embarrassed Pakistan but also the leadership of Saudi Arabia by violating the agreement." Although Nawaz Sharif had denied the existence of any 'exile deal' with the government before his homecoming, he later admitted that there was an agreement but that it was for only five years.

On presenting him before the Court, the European Union asked the Pakistani government to respect the court ruling. In Washington, D.C., Sean McCormack of the White House (joined by India) stated that the deportation was an "internal matter" but said that elections should be "free and fair" (but expressing mild disapproval of Pervez Musharraf's action). But the United States organisation Human Rights Watch accused the Pakistan Government of violating international law. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League condemned the deportation by filing a contempt suit in theSupreme Court of Pakistan. His brother Shahbaz Sharif was due to travel with Sharif from London but changed his plans at the last minute.On November 25, 2007, several weeks after the return of Benazir Bhutto, Nawaz Sharif was able to return to Pakistan. He was not arrested and, like Bhutto, was able to return to political activity.

A private television channel allegedly reported that Nawaz's media manager Pervaiz Rasheed seized tapes and intimidated their staff after Nawaz lost his temper in an interview. According to the director news of the private TV channel in a press conference, they had been held in hostage during an interview with former PM Nawaz Sharif. He (Nawaz) had also used unbecoming language against President Pervaiz Musharraf and PML(Q) top leaders while answering one of his questions.

2008 elections

On November 26, 2007, Nawaz Sharif filed for the January Parliamentary elections. He handed in his papers in Lahore filing for two parliamentary seats.

Mr Sharif announced his party's manifesto being a single demand for the restoration of the judges sacked in November by President Musharraf. Ms Bhutto however said that this is an issue that the new parliament can decide on.

[Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

On December 27, in a CNN interview just hours after the assassination of former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, Sharif said:

“

It is not a sad day, it is a dark, darkest, gloomiest day in the history of this country.

”

Sharif called Bhutto his sister and vowed to avenge her death.

However after the death of Bhutto, Sharif met with Zardari and advised him to boycott elections. Asif Zardari refused the offer and offered Nawaz to take part in the elections arguing that the opposition parties would definitely win after this chain of unfortunate events in the country and mishandling of issues by the government. Nawaz accepted the offer and announced it publicly in a press conference. He gave the reason that in order to bring the President's government down the whole opposition must assemble and move in one direction.

On Monday, February 18 the PML (N) dominated the Punjab assembly and won 68 seats out of 272 from the National Assembly finishing second, directly behind the PPP (Bhutto/Zardari's party) at 88. However, after adding the reserved seats for women and minorities, total number rose to 91. The results became clear on February 19. His massive victory in Punjab was met by a festive mood. Later that day in a press conference he said that he would welcome the political leaders back to the parent party who had left his party and joined the PML (Q). Former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Asif Ali Zardari, the husband of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto told February 21, 2008 their parties will work together in the national parliament after scoring big wins in the 2008 election.

On Tuesday, February 26, 2008, Nawaz announced that he and his brother Shabaz Sharif would run in by-elections upcoming in the country within the next few weeks, to become Members of Parliament, since they have no restrictions against them. the PML (N) left it to the PPP to chose a Prime Minister, since they agreed on forming a coalition government.

Nawaz Sharif has challenged the petition filed by the federal government against the acceptance of Mr Sharif’s candidature for National Assembly seat-121 . Ashtar Ausaf Ali, former Advocate General of Punjab, is the lawyer representing Nawaz Sharif.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on June 27, 2008, won 3 and 2 by-election seats, respectively, to the national parliament. Polls were postponed for the 6th seat in Lahore due to Nawaz Sharif's eligibility contest. A court ruled he was ineligible due to the old conviction, amid the government appeal in the Supreme Court, which will hear the case on June 30, thus postponing the vote in the constituency. The 2 parties also won 19 of 23 provincial assembly seats where by-elections were held. The results will not affect the February 18 general election results in which Benazir Bhutto's PPP won 123 seats in the 342-seat National Assembly and Sharif's party came second with 91, while PML-Q which supported Pervez Musharraf came a poor third with 54 seats. Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) won 8 provincial assembly seats, while the PPP won 7 provincial seats.

Reinstatement of Judges

Nawaz Sharif stated in Lahore that: "I want to inform the entire nation that on Monday 12 May 2008, all deposed judges will be restored; the national assembly will approve a resolution the same day." The judges include Iftikhar Chaudhry, Supreme Court Chief Justice, and President Musharraf sacked 60 judges under the state of emergency. On 12 May 2008 the day that PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif stated that the deposed judges sacked under President Musharraf's emergency rule last November, would be reinstated, Mr Sharif over the weekend beginning 9 - 11 May met PPP Partner Asif Ali Zardari in London to discuss the deadlock and the official date of when the judges would be reinstated, but the meetings dissolved, with no agreement that both party officials could agree upon. Returning to Islamabad Nawaz spoke to media mogul Geo Television Network and announced that he is withdrawing his party members from the federal government(cabinet) and effectively resigning from the coalition government. After repeated meetings with the ruling party, and refusal by the president to restore the deposed judges, Sharif decided to join the lawyers movement planned on completion of two years of first dismissal of chief justice on Mar, 9 2007. the plan was to start a long march from Karachi and Quetta simultaneously on Mar, 12 reaching Islamabad and staging a permanent sit-in till restoration of all deposed judges. The governement got very confused, with initially house arresting Sharif and other prominent lawyers, and raising the greatest ever road blocks by placing containers all over the road to islamabad. there was no way anyone could get in or out of the twin cities of rawalpindi-islamabad, even not the ambulances carrying sick. When the long march picked up peak of tempo, with civil society joining the lawyers and politicians, it was at 0652am(PST, 16 March, i.e before start of planned sit-in) that the Prime Minister after obtaining the President's approval(amidst long meetings of army chief with them) announced restoration of judges with immediate effect. thus, sharif was made a hero for restoration of original judiciary despite so many odds.

Resignations from the Coalition Government

On May 12, PML (N) announced it was leaving the government after its failure to reinstate the judges; its ministers resigned.

2008 Musharraf impeachment

On August 7, 2008, the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (N) agreed to force Musharraf to step down and begin hisimpeachment. Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, announced sending a formal request or joint charge sheet that he steps down, and impeach him through parliamentary process upon refusal. Musharraf, however, said: “I will defeat those who try to push me to the wall. If they use their right to oust me, I have the right to defend myself." Pervez Musharraf, accordingly delayed his departure for the Beijing Olympics, by a day. A senior coalition official told Reuters: "Yes, we have agreed in principle to impeach him." The draft of the ruling coalition’s joint statement had been finalized by the draft Committee, and Musharraf must obtain vote of confidence from the National Assembly and 4 provincial assemblies. The government summoned the national assembly, or lower house of parliament, to sit on August 11. Capt. Wasif Syed, spokesman for the Pakistan People's Party—confirmed: "A decision has been made that he has to go now, and all the parties have agreed on this point.".

On 18 August 2008, Musharraf resigned as President of Pakistan. He said he was resigning for the country.

Presidential election

Pakistan's Election Commission on August 22 announced that Presidential elections would be held on September 6, and the nomination papers could be filed from August 26. The president is elected by the 2 houses of parliament and the 4 provincial assemblies.. There was speculation that Nawaz Sharif would run for President, but on August 25, 2008, Nawaz Sharif announced that Saeeduzzaman Siddiqui would be the Pakistan Muslim League (N) nominee to replace Pervez Musharraf as President of Pakistan. Siddiqui was defeated by Asif Ali Zardari for the presidency.

Ineligibility to contest

In early 2009, Pakistan's Supreme Court barred Nawaz Sharif from contesting elections or holding public office, sparking widespread protests and disorder in some parts of the Punjab province. Sharif planned to attend a banned political rally in Islamabad on 16 March 2009, but was instead placed under house arrest. He duped police standing outside his door and went to attend the famous long march in Islamabad. In the mean time the Pakistani Government announced to appeal against the disqualification of Sharif brothers from contesting election and occupying public office. The next day Government agreed to reinstate the deposed judges of the Supreme Court after which Shariff gave his consent to call off his long march. After this whole political deadlock Nawaz Sharif emerged as popular personality in the politics of Pakistan.

NWFP : North-West Frontier Province

North-West Frontier Province : The North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) is the smallest of the four main provinces of Pakistan. The NWFP is home to the majority Pashtuns (locally referred to as Pukhtuns) as well as other smaller ethnic groups.

Capital The provincial capital is Peshawar.
Time zone PST (UTC+5)

Main language: Pashto is official language. The principal language is Pashto and Hindko ,Khowar ,Punjabi ,Persian ,Urdu (national)

Status Province

• Districts • 24 • Union Councils • 986

Establised: The NWFP was estabilished in 1st July 1970.

• Governor/Commissioner:Owais Ahmed Ghani

• Chief Minister:Ameer Haider Khan Hoti

• Legislature (seats) : Provincial Assembly has (124) seats

Location: The province borders Afghanistan to the northwest, the Northern Areas to the northeast, Azad Kashmir to the east, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to the west and south, and Pakistani Punjab and Islamabad Capital Territory to the southeast. The Pakistan Peoples Party, to accommodate a demand by the Awami National Party, proposed the province be changed to Pakhtunkhwa.

Geography: Mountains in Northern Pakistan. The NWFP is largely located on the peripheral junction between the Indian subcontinent and the Eurasian plate, and this has led to seismic activity in the past (see Kashmir Quake)[3]. The famous Khyber Pass links the province to Afghanistan, while the Kohalla Bridge in Circle Bakote is a major crossing point over the Jhelum river in the east. The province has an area of (28,773 square miles) or 74,521 km² of Pakistani territory and its districts include Hazara Division, home to the town of Havelian, the western starting point of the Karakoram Highway.

The capital and largest city of the province is Peshawar. Peshawar's is divided into various sections with the Old City being notable for its chai-khanas (or tea houses) and other ancient structures. Qissa Kahani Bazaar and other parts of Peshawar can remind visitors of an Arabian Nights tale with its myriad corridors and its multicultural vendors. The Afghan character of the city was enhanced by the refugees from Afghanistan and the burgeoning population of tribesmen who have flocked to the city from rural areas in search of employment.
Other main cities include Nowshera, Mardan, Mansehra, Charsadda, Ayubia, Nathia Gali and Abbottabad. The province's main districts include Dera Ismail Khan, Kohat, Bannu, Peshawar, Abbottabad and Mansehra.
The region varies in topography from dry rocky areas in the south to forests and green plains in the north. The climate can be extreme with intensely hot summers to freezing cold winters. Despite these extremes in weather, agriculture remains important and viable in the area. The hilly terrain of Swat, Kalam, Upper Dir, Naran and Kaghan is renowned for its beauty and attracts a great many tourists from neighbouring regions and from around the world. Swat-Kalam is also termed 'a piece of Switzerland' as there are many landscape similarities between it and the mountainous terrain of Switzerland.

Area: It covers an area of 74,521 km² (28,773 sq mi).

Popolation: According to the 1998 census, the total population of N.W.F.P. was approximately 17 million out of whom 52% are males and 48% females. The density of population is 187 per km² and the intercensal change of population is of about 30%.

• Geographically the province could be divided into two zones: the northern one extending from the ranges of the Hindu Kush to the borders of Peshawar basin; and the southern one extending from Peshawar to the Derajat basin. The northern zone is cold and snowy in winters with heavy rainfall and pleasant summers with the exception of Peshawar basin, which is hot in summer and cold in winter. It has moderate rainfall. The southern zone is arid with hot summers and relatively cold winters and scantly rainfall. Its climate varies from very cold (Chitral in the north) to very hot in places like D.I. Khan. The major rivers that criss cross the province are Kabul River, Swat River, Chitral River, Panjgora River, Bara River, Karam River, Gomal River and Zob River.
  
  Its snow-capped peaks and lush green valleys of unusual beauty attract tourists from far and wide while its art and architecture no less known than the historic Khyber Pass. Once the cradle of Gandhara civilization, the area is now known for its devout Muslims who zealously guard their religion and culture and the way of life that they have been following for centuries.
  
  Climate:The climate of North-West Frontier province varies immensely for a region of its size, most of the many climate types found in Pakistan.
  
  the climate becomes more typical of the Indian subcontinent, although a considerable proportion of the annual precipitation still comes from frontal cloudbands during the winter months.
  
  The combination of a short but powerful (owing to orography) summer monsoon with frequent winter cloudbands gives a bimodal rainfall regime in central parts of NWFP. Dir and Hazara districts are some of the wettest places in Pakistan: annual rainfall at Dir averages 1475 mm (58 inches), of which 400 mm (15.75 inches) falls during the summer monsoon from July to September and twice that amount during the winter rainy season from December to April. At Abbottabad further east, the annual rainfall averages about 1195 mm (47 inches), but as much as 635 mm (25 inches) falls during the south-west monsoon. In Swat, rather more sheltered, the annual rainfall averages around 840 mm (33 inches), with about 430 mm (17 inches) expected between June and September. A similar climate to that of Dir, though drier, prevails in a small area around Parachinar in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
  
  In all areas October and November are the driest months with rainfalls generally under 30 mm (1.2 inches) per month except in the most exposed areas.
  
  Temperatures in this region are somewhat warmer than in Chitral, and even at 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) in Abbottabad the heat and humidity can be oppressive during the monsoon season. In winter, most of Swat receives significant snowfall, but in Hazara temperatures usually are around 5 °C (41 °F).
  
  Southern North-West Frontier Province:This region, south of the Himalaya/Hindukush foothills, has the typically hot and dry climate of much of Pakistan. Temperatures in summer are quite oppressively hot, and in the south around Mardan temperatures of 45 °C (113 °F) are not uncommon, whilst in Peshawar 40 °C (104 °F) is par for the course in summer. In winter, however, this region is both warmer and generally drier than the rest of NWFP, with temperatures being around 17 °C (62 °F) in Peshawar and over 20 °C (68 °F) in the extreme south of the province. Nights, however, can still be quite cold during the winter.
  
  Southern NWFP experiences little (and very erratic) monsoonal rain, with Peshawar and Dera Ismail Khan both averaging around 115 mm (4.5 inches) of rain in July and August and almost nothing in June or September. Moreover, in many years no summer rain of significance occurs. In winter, rainfall usually peaks in March but Peshawar averages less than 250mm (10 inches) between December and May and Dera Ismail Khan less than 115 mm (4.5 inches). On certain mountain slopes such as around Kohat, winter rainfall may predominate, though this is unpredictable.
  
  The province has an estimated population of roughly 21 million that does not include the almost 1.5 million Afghan refugees and their descendants in the province.The largest ethnic group are the Pashtuns who form about two-thirds of the population.
  
  Pashto is the most pervasive language while Hindko is the second most commonly spoken indigenous language. Pashto is predominant in western and southern NWFP and is main language in most cities and towns including Peshawar. Hindkowans are most common in eastern NWFP, the Hazara Division, and especially in the cities of Abbottabad, Mansehra, and Haripur. Saraiki and Balochi-speakers live in the southeast of the province mainly in Dera Ismail Khan District. Bilingualism and trilingualism is common with Pashto and Urdu being the primary other languages spoken.
  
  In most rural areas of the centre and south various Pashtun tribes can be found including the Yusufzai, Khattak, Marwat, Afridi, Shinwari, Orakzai, Bangash, Mahsud, Mohmand, Wazir, and Gandapur as well as numerous other smaller tribes. Further north, the prominent Pashtun tribes are, Swati, Tareen, Jadoon and Mashwani. There are various non-Pashtun tribes including Awan, Gujjar and Tanoli. The Awan are believed to be of Arabic origin and are recognisably different from the rest of Pashtun and non-Pushtun majority.
  
  The mountainous extreme north includes Chitral District which is home to diverse Dardic ethnic groups such as the Khowar, Kohistani, Shina, Torwali, Kalasha and Kalami.
  
  In addition, Afghan refugees, although predominantly Pashtun (including the Ghilzai and Durrani tribes), include hundreds of thousands of Persian-speaking Tajiks and Hazaras as well as other smaller groups found throughout the province.
  Nearly all of the inhabitants of the NWFP are Muslim with a Sunni majority and significant minority of Shias and Ismailis. Many of the Kalasha of Southern Chitral still retain their ancient Animist/Shamanist religion.
  
  
  History:
  
  Ancient history:Since ancient times the region has been invaded by numerous groups including Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Kushans, Huns, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, Mughals, Sikhs, and the British. Between 2000 and 1500 BC, the Aryans split off into an Iranian branch, represented by the Pakhtuns who came to dominate most of the region, and various Dardic peoples who came to populate much of the north. Earlier pre-Aryan inhabitants include the Burusho.
  
  The Vale of Peshawar was home to the Kingdom of Gandhara from around the 6th century BC and later ancient Peshawar became a capital of the Kushan Empire. The region was visited by such notable historical figures as Darius II, Alexander the Great, Hiuen Tsang, Fa Hien, Marco Polo, Mountstuart Elphinstone, and Winston Churchill, among others.
  
  Following the Mauryan conquest of the region, Buddhism became a major faith, at least in urban centers, as attested by recent archaeological and hermeneutic evidence. Kanishka, a prominent Kushan ruler was one of the prominent Buddhist kings.
  
  “ The region of Gandhara has long been known as a major centre of Buddhist art and culture around the beginning of the Christian era. But until recently, the Buddhist literature of this region was almost entirely lost. Now, within the last decade, a large corpus of Gandharan manuscripts dating from as early as the 1st century A.D. has come to light and is being studied and published by scholars at the University of Washington. These scrolls, written on birch-bark in the Gandharan language and the Kharosthi script, are the oldest surviving Buddhist literature, which has hitherto been known to us only from later and modern Buddhist canons. They also institute a missing link between original South Asian Buddhism and the Buddhism of East Asia, which was exported primarily from Gandhara along the Silk Roads through Central Asia and thence to China. ”
  Rural areas retained numerous Shamanistic faiths as evident with the Kalash and other groups. The roots of Pashtunwali or the traditional code of honour followed by the Pashtuns is also believed to have Pre-Islamic origins. Persian invasions left small pockets of Zoroastrians and, later, a ruling Hindu elite established itself briefly during the later Shahi period.
  
  The Shahi era:During the early 1st millennium, prior to the rise of Islam, the NWFP was ruled by the Shahi kings. The early Shahis were Turkic Buddhist rulers and reigned over the area until 870 CE when they were overthrown and then later replaced . When the Chinese monk Xuanzang visited the region early in the 7th century CE, the Kabul valley region was still ruled by affiliates of the Shahi kings, who is identified as the Shahi Khingal, and whose name has been found in an inscription found in Gardez.
  
  While the early Shahis were Central Asian and Turko-Tocharian in origin, the later Shahi kings of Kabul and Gandhara may have had links to some ruling families in neighbouring Kashmir and the Punjab. The Hindu Shahis are believed to have been a ruling elite of a predominantly Buddhist, Zoroastrian and Shamanistic population and were thus patrons of numerous faiths, and various artefacts and coins from their rule have been found that display their multicultural domain. The last Shahi rulers were eventually wiped out by their cousin tribes led by Mahmud of Ghaznavi who arrived from Afghanistan.
  
  Arrival of Islam:Buddhism and Shamanism remained prominent in the region until Muslim Arabs and Turks conquered the area before the 2nd millennium CE. Over the centuries local Pashtun and Dardic tribes converted to Islam, while retaining some local traditions (albeit altered by Islam) such as Pashtunwali or the Pashtun code of honour. The NWFP became part of larger Islamic empires including the Ghaznavid Empire and the empire of Muhammad of Ghor and was nominally controlled by the Delhi Sultanate and the Ilkhanate Empire of the Mongols. Muslim technocrats, bureaucrats, soldiers, traders, scientists, architects, teachers, theologians and sufis flocked from the rest of the Muslim world to the region.
  
  Pashtun nationalism:The NWFP was an important borderland that was often contested by the Mughals and Safavids of Persia. During the reign of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, the NWFP required formidable military forces to control and the emergence of Pashtun nationalism through the voice of local warrior poet Khushal Khan Khattak united some of the tribes against the various empires around the region. The area, as a predominantly Pashtun region, merged, following a loya jirga, with the Durrani Empire founded by Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747.
  
  Durand Line: Afghanistan before the Durand agreement of 1893.Afghan tribesmen attacking the British-held Shabkadr Fort outside Peshawar in 1897A series of conflicts known as the Anglo-Afghan wars during the imperialist Great Game between the United Kingdom and Russia, led to the eventual dismemberment of Afghanistan. The annexation of the region led to the demarcation of the Durand Line and administration as part of British South Asia. The Durand line is a term for the poorly marked 1,519-mile (2,445 km) border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. After fighting in two wars against Afghans, the British succeeded in 1893 in imposing the Durand line, dividing Afghanistan and what was then British India. Named for Sir Mortimer Durand, the foreign secretary of the British colonial government, it was agreed upon by representatives of both governments. While the Afghan side greatly resented the border and viewed it as a temporary development, the British viewed it as being a permanent settlement. One of the two representatives of the Afghan government was the revered Ahmadi Sahibzada Abdul Latif of Khost. The border was drawn intentionally to cut through the Pakhtun tribes.
  
  The British, who had captured most of rest of South Asia without significant problems, faced a number of difficulties here. The first war with the Pashtuns resulted in a devastating defeat, with just one soldier coming back alive (out of a total of 14,800 people). Unable to enforce their writ in the region, they changed tactics and played a game of divide and rule, installing puppet Pashtun rulers and dividing the Pashtuns through artificially created regions and ruling indirectly so as to reduce the chance of confrontation. Despite this, occasional Pashtun attacks did take place, including the Siege of Malakand, well documented by Winston Churchill who was a war correspondent at the time.
  
  The province was formed on November 9, 1901 as a Chief Commissioner province. The Chief Commissioner was the chief executive of the province. He ran the administration with the help of his principal advisers and civil servants better known as judicial and revenue commissioners.
  
  The formal inauguration of the province took place five and half months later on April 26, 1902 on the occasion of the historical "Darbar" in Shahi Bagh in Peshawar held by Lord Curzon. The province of NWFP then comprised only five districts. They were Peshawar, Hazara District, Kohat, Bannu, and Dera Ismail Khan. The Malakand, which consisted of three princely states of Dir, Swat, Chitral was included in it. The NWFP also included the four tribal administered agencies, Khyber, Khurram, North Waziristan, and South Waziristan (now seven). The first chief commissioner of the NWFP was Harold Deane, a strong administrator, he was followed by Ross-Keppel in 1908, whose contribution as a political officer was widely known amongst the tribal/frontier people.
  
  The NWFP was raised to a full-fledged Governor province in 1935. The decision was actually made in the Round Table Conference held in 1931. It was agreed upon in the conference that the NWFP would be raised to a governor province with its own Legislative Council. Therefore, on January 25, 1932, the Viceroy inaugurated NWFP Legislative Council. The first provincial elections were held in 1937 and independent candidate and noted landlord Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum Khan was elected as the provinces first Chief Minister.
  
  After independence:During the early 20th century the so-called Red Shirts led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan agitated through non-violence for the rights of Pakhtun areas. Following independence, the NWFP voted to join Pakistan in a referendum in 1947. However, Afghanistan's loya jirga of 1949 declared the Durand Line invalid, which led to border tensions with Pakistan. During the 1950s, Afghanistan supported a secessionist movement that failed to gain substantial support amongst the tribes of the NWFP. After President Ayub Khan eliminated Pakistan's provinces, President Yahya Khan, in 1969, abolished this "one unit" scheme and added Swat, Dir, Chitral and Kohistan to the new borders.
  
  The Pashtunistan issue kept Pakistan and Afghanistan at odds for decades until the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Following the invasion over five million Afghan refugees poured into Pakistan, most residing in the NWFP (as of 2007 nearly 3 million remain). During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, the NWFP served as a major base for supplying the Mujahideen who fought the Soviets during the 1980s.
  The NWFP remained heavily influenced by events in Afghanistan and the civil war led to the rise of the Taliban, which had emerged in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan as a formidable political force that nearly took-over all of Afghanistan. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the NWFP became a frontline region again as part of the global War on Terror.
  
  Government:The Provincial Assembly of the North-West Frontier Province is unicameral and consists of 124 seats of which 2% are reserved for non-Muslims and 17% for women only.
  Districts There are 24 districts in NWFP.
  Abbottabad
  
  
  
  
• Bannu
• Batagram
• Buner
• Charsadda
• Chitral
• Dera Ismail Khan
• Hangu
• Haripur
• Karak
• Kohat
• Kohistan
• Lakki Marwat
• Dir Lower
• Malakand
• Mansehra
• Mardan
• Nowshera
• Peshawar
• Shangla
• Swabi
• Swat
• Tank
• Dir Upper
  
  
  
• Economy After suffering for decades due to the fallout of Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, today they are again being targeted for totally a reverse situation. Agriculture remains important and the main cash crops include wheat, maize, rice, sugar beets, as well as various fruits are grown in the province. Some manufacturing and high tech investments in Peshawar has helped improve job prospects for many locals, while trade in the province involves nearly every product known to man, as the bazaars in the province are renowned throughout Pakistan. Unemployment has been reduced due to establishment of industrial zones.
  Numerous workshops throughout the province support the manufacture of small arms and weapons of various types. The province accounts for at least 78% of the marble production in Pakistan .
  Education The trend towards higher education is rapidly increasing in the province and the NWFP is home to Pakistan's foremost engineering university (Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute), which is located in Topi, a town in Swabi district. The University of Peshawar is also a notable institution of higher learning. The Frontier Post is perhaps the province's best-known newspaper and addresses many of the various issues facing the local population.
  
  
  Major universities & colleges
• Islamia College, Peshawar ,
• PeshawarAgricultural University (Peshawar)
• Ayub Medical College,
• Abbottabad Cadet College
• Razmak College of Aeronautical
• Engineering College of Flying Training
• Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology,
• Topi Gomal University
• Hazara University
• Islamia College
• Khyber Medical College
• Peshawar Kohat University of Science & Technology
• Military College of Engineering
• National Institute of Transportation
• National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences
• Pakistan Air Force Academy
• Pakistan Military Academy
• University of Engineering and Technology (Peshawar)
• University of Malakand
• University of Peshawar
• University of Science & Technology Bannu
  
  
  Folk music Pashto folk music is popular in NWFP and has a rich tradition going back hundreds of years. The main instruments are the Rubab, mangey and harmonium.
  Khowar folk music is popular in Chitral and northern Swat. The tunes of Khowar music are very different from those of Pashto and the main instrument is the Chitrali Sitar.
  
  
  A form of band music composed of clarinets (surnai) and drums is popular in Chitral. It is played at polo matches and dances. The same form of band music is also played in the neighbouring Northern Areas.
  
  
  Social issues The NWFP continues to have an image problem. Even within Pakistan it is regarded as a "radical state" due to the rise of Islamist parties to power in the province and purported support for the remnants of the Taliban who are believed by some to be hiding in the province. The plagues of sectarianism, terrorism and insurrection have not been a problem in the North-West Frontier and the local economy has met with significant gains in spite of hosting millions of Afghan refugees, many of who have been integrated into the local society.
  Pashtuns within the NWFP have sought to rename the province Pakhtunkhwa, which translates to "Next to Pakhtuns" in Pashto. This has been opposed by the people of the mountainous northern regions of NWFP, many of who are non-Pashtuns. The Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, who until the elections of 2008, had a majority in the
  
  
  NWFP government, proposed Afghania as a compromise name.