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Peshawar is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the eighth-most populous Pakistani city, with a population of over 1.9 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, lying in the Valley of Peshawar, a broad area situated east of the Khyber Pass.
Peshawar's recorded history dates back to at least sixth century BC, making it one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in South Asia. One of the principal cities of the Gandhara, Peshawar served as the capital of the Kushan Empire during the rule of Kanishka the Great, in the second century CE. (2026). 9789693516142, Sang-e-Meel Publications. ISBN 9789693516142 (2026). 9788126900275, Atlantic Publishers & Dist. ISBN 9788126900275 A variety of Muslim empires ruled the city following the conquest of Peshawar by the Ghaznavids from the Hindu Shahis, in 1001 CE. It was an important trading centre in the Mughal Empire, later serving as the winter capital of the Durrani Empire from 1776 until the capture of the city by the Sikh Empire in 1823. In 1849, the city was captured by the East India Company and subsequently became part of British Raj. In 1901, Peshawar became capital of the North-West Frontier Province after it was created from the northwestern districts of Punjab Province. Following the Partition of British India it became part of Pakistan, in 1947.
Peshawar is a major Culture, Politics and Economy centre of the region. During the colonial period and well into the early years after independence, the Lingua franca of Peshawar was Hindko; in the succeeding decades, the rapid urbanization and the high rate of Rural flight and tribal areas of the province, as well as the influx of Afghan refugees following the Soviet–Afghan War, transformed Peshawar from Hindko to a Pashto-speaking city. Today Peshawar is largely populated by Pashtuns, although the original urban population, known as Peshawari people, still has a significant presence in the central areas of the old Walled City.
Chinese Buddhist monk Xuanzang's seventh-century account of a city in Gandhara called the city Po-la-sha-pu-lo (Chinese language: 布路沙布邏, bùlùshābùló) , and an earlier 5th century account by Faxian records the city's name as Fou-lou-sha (Chinese language: 弗樓沙, fùlóushā) , the Chinese equivalent of the Sanskrit name of the city, Purushapura. An ancient inscription from the Shapur era identifies a city in the Gandhara valley by the name pskbvr, which may be a reference to Peshawar.
The Arab historian and geographer al-Masudi noted that by the mid-tenth century, the city was known as Parashāwar. The name was noted to be Purshawar and Purushavar by al-Biruni.
The city began to be known as Peshāwar by the era of Emperor Akbar. The current name is said by some to have been based upon the Persian language word for "frontier town" or, more literally, "forward city", though transcription errors and linguistic shifts may account for the city's new name. One theory suggests that the city's name is derived from the Persian name "Pesh Awardan", meaning "place of first arrival" or "frontier city", as Peshawar was the first city in the Indian subcontinent after crossing the Khyber Pass. Akbar's bibliographer, Abu'l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, lists the city's name as both Parashāwar, transcribed in Persian as , and Peshāwar ().
As Mauryan power declined, the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom based in modern Afghanistan declared its independence from the Seleucid Empire, and quickly seized the region around 190 BCE. The city was then captured by Gondophares, founder of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. Gondophares established the nearby Takht-i-Bahi monastery in 46 CE.
Around 260 CE, the armies of the Sasanid Empire Emperor Shapur I launched an attack against Peshawar, (1987). 9788120803725, Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN 9788120803725 and severely damaged Buddhist monuments and monasteries throughout the Valley of Peshawar. Shapur's campaign also resulted in damage to the city's monumental stupa and monastery. The Kushans were made subordinate to the Sasanids and their power rapidly dwindled, (2026). 9780391041745, BRILL. ISBN 9780391041745 as the Sasanids blocked lucrative trade routes westward out of the city.
Kushan Emperor Kanishka III was able to temporarily reestablish control over the entire Valley of Peshawar after Shapur's invasion, but the city was then captured by the Central Asian Kidarites in the early 400s CE.
In 520 CE the Chinese monk Song Yun visited Gandhara and ancient Peshawar during the White Hun era, and noted that it was in conflict with nearby Kapisa. The Chinese monk and traveler Xuanzang visited ancient Peshawar around 630 CE, after Kapisa victory, and expressed lament that the city and its great Buddhist monuments had decayed to ruin—although some monks studying Theravada Buddhism continued to study at the monastery's ruins. (2026). 9789047420064, BRILL. ISBN 9789047420064 Xuanzang estimated that only about 1,000 families continued in a small quarter among the ruins of the former grand capital.
On 28 November 1001, Sabuktigin's son Mahmud Ghazni decisively defeated the army of Jayapala, son of Anandpal, at the Battle of Peshawar, and established rule of the Ghaznavid Empire in the Peshawar region. During the Ghaznavid era, Peshawar served as an important stop between the Afghan plateau, and the Ghaznavid garrison city of Lahore. During the tenth–12th century, Peshawar served as a headquarters for Hindu Nath Panthi Yogis, who in turn are believed to have extensively interacted with Muslim Sufi mystics.
As the first Pashtun tribe to settle in the region, the Dilazak Pashtuns began settling in the Valley of Peshawar,"Taareekh-e-Hazara" (Urdu) by Dr. Sher Bahadur Khan Panni_first edition_1969 p 295-313,"Taareekh-e-Wadi-e-Chhachh and Aqwaam-e-Chhachh" (Urdu) by Manzoor Awan p 175-182, "Afghanistan and its inhabitants" translation of Muhammad Hayat Khan's book by Henry B Priestley_1874 (reproduced by Sang-e-Meel Publications_Pakistan_1981) p-55/56, p- 197/198, "Da Pasto Qabeelo Shajre o Mene" (Pashto) by Muhammad Umar Rond Miakhel_2001 p 346-347 and are believed to have settled regions up to the Indus River by the 11th century."Taareekh-e-Hazara" (Urdu) by Dr. Sher Bahadur Khan Panni_first edition_1969 p 295-313,"Taareekh-e-Wadi-e-Chhachh and Aqwaam-e-Chhachh" (Urdu) by Manzoor Awan p 175-182, "Afghanistan and its inhabitants" translation of Muhammad Hayat Khan's book by Henry B Priestley_1874 (reproduced by Sang-e-Meel Publications_Pakistan_1981) p-55/56, p- 197/198, "Da Pasto Qabeelo Shajre o Mene" (Pashto) by Muhammad Umar Rond Miakhel_2001 p 346-347 The Arab historian and geographer al-Masudi noted that by the mid tenth century, the city had become known as Parashāwar.
Several other Pashtun tribe began settling rural regions around Peshawar in the late 15th and 16th centuries."The Kingdom of Afghanistan – A Historical Sketch" by G.P.Tate (1911), Reproduced by 'Indus Publications' (1973) Page 12 (Foot Note) The Ghoryakhel and Khashi Khel tribe pushed the Dilazak Pashtun tribes east of the Indus River following a battle in 1515 near the city of Mardan. Hindko continued to be the language of trade and business in the city.
Peshawar was an important trading centre on the Grand Trunk Road. During Akbar's rule, the name of the city changed from Begram to Peshawar. In 1586, Pashtuns rose against Mughal rule during the Roshani Revolt under the leadership of Pir Roshan, founder of the egalitarian Roshani movement, who assembled Pashtun armies in an attempted rebellion against the Mughals. The Roshani followers laid siege to the city until 1587.
Peshawar was bestowed with its own set of Shalimar Gardens during the reign of Shah Jahan,Ahmad, Hasan Dani (1999). History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The crossroads of civilizations: A.D. 250 to 750. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. . Retrieved 29 March 2017 which no longer exist. Emperor Aurangzeb's governor of Kabul, Mohabbat Khan used Peshawar as his winter capital during the 17th century, and bestowed the city with its famous Mohabbat Khan Mosque in 1630.
Yusufzai tribes rose against Mughal rule during the Yusufzai Revolt of 1667, and engaged in pitched-battles with Mughal battalions nearby Attock. Afridi tribes resisted Mughal rule during the Afridi Revolt of the 1670s. The Afridis massacred a Mughal battalion in the nearby Khyber Pass in 1672 and shut the pass to lucrative trade routes. Mughal armies led by Emperor Aurangzeb himself regained control of the entire area in 1674.
Following Aurangzeb's death in 1707, his son Bahadur Shah I, former governor of Peshawar and Kabul, was selected to be the Mughal Emperor. As Mughal power declined following the death of Emperor Aurangzeb, the empire's defenses were weakened.
On 18 November 1738, Peshawar was captured from the Mughal governor Nawab Nasir Khan by the Afsharid dynasty armies during the Persian invasion of the Mughal Empire under Nader Shah. (2026). 9789693519716, Sang-e-Meel. ISBN 9789693519716
In the following year Ahmad Shah agin occupied the city. Under the reign of his son Timur Shah, the Mughal practice of using Kabul as a summer capital and Peshawar as a winter capital was reintroduced, with the practice maintained until the Sikh invasion.Caroe, Olaf (1957) The Pathans. Peshawar's Bala Hissar Fort served as the residence of Afghan kings during their winter stay in Peshawar, and it was noted to be the main centre of trade between Bukhara and India by British explorer William Moorcroft during the late 1700s. (2026). 9780230228764, Springer. ISBN 9780230228764 Peshawar was at the centre of a productive agricultural region that provided much of north India's dried fruit.
Timur Shah's grandson, Mahmud Shah Durrani, became king, and quickly seized Peshawar from his half-brother, Shah Shuja Durrani. Shah Shujah was then himself proclaimed king in 1803, and recaptured Peshawar while Mahmud Shah was imprisoned at Bala Hissar fort until his eventual escape. In 1809, the British sent an emissary to the court of Shah Shujah in Peshawar, marking the first diplomatic meeting between the British and Afghans. His half-brother Mahmud Shah then allied himself with the Barakzai Pashtuns, and captured Peshawar once again and reigned until the Battle of Nowshera in March 1823.
Much of Peshawar's caravan trade from Kabul ceased on account of skirmishes between Afghan and Sikh forces, as well as a punitive tax levied on merchants by Ranjit Singh's forces. Singh's government also required Peshawar to forfeit much of its leftover agricultural output to the Sikhs as tribute, while agriculture was further decimated by a collapse of the dried fruit market in north India. Singh appointed Neapolitan mercenary Paolo Avitabile as administrator of Peshawar, who is remembered for having unleashed a reign of terror. His time in Peshawar is known as a time of "gallows and gibbets". The city's famous Mahabat Khan, built in 1630 in the Jeweler's Bazaar, was badly damaged and desecrated by the Sikh conquerors.
The Sikh Empire formally annexed Peshawar in 1834 following advances from the armies of Hari Singh Nalwa—bringing the city under direct control of the Sikh Empire's Lahore Durbar. An 1835 attempt by Dost Muhammad Khan to re-occupy the city was unsuccessful after being unable to breach the Peshawar fort's defenses. Sikh settlers from Punjab were settled in the city during Sikh rule. The city's only remaining were built by Hari Singh Nalwa to accommodate the newly settled Sikhs. The Sikhs also rebuilt the Bala Hissar fort during their occupation of the city. (2026). 9789231038761, UNESCO. ISBN 9789231038761
The British laid out the vast Peshawar Cantonment to the west of the city in 1868, and made the city its frontier headquarters.Schofield, Victoria, "Afghan Frontier: Feuding and Fighting in Central Asia", London: Tauris Parke Paperbacks (2003), page 47 Additionally, several projects were initiated in Peshawar, including linkage of the city by railway to the rest of British India and renovation of the Mohabbat Khan mosque that had been desecrated by the Sikhs. British suzerainty over regions west of Peshawar was cemented in 1893 by Sir Mortimer Durand, foreign secretary of the British Indian government, who collaboratively Durand Line between British controlled territories in India and Afghanistan.
The British built Cunningham clock tower in celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, and in 1906 built the Victoria Hall (now home of the Peshawar Museum) in memory of Queen Victoria. The British introduced Western-style education into Peshawar with the establishment of Edwardes College and Islamia College in 1901 and 1913, along with several schools run by the Anglican Church. For better administration of the region, Peshawar and the adjoining districts were separated from the Punjab Province in 1901; the North-West Frontier Province was separated from Punjab Province in 1901, after which Peshawar became capital of the new province.
Communal riots broke out in the old city of Peshawar during the spring of 1910, when the annual Hinduism festival of Holi coincided with Barawafat, the annual Islam day of mourning, resulting in a considerable loss of life along with hundreds of looted businesses and injuries.Rehman, Noor & Khan, Aman Ullah. 2020. " "Maro Hindu Ko" (Kill the Hindus): Communal Violence in Peshawar City: A Historical Perspective" In Journal of the Punjab University Historical Society. Volume: 33, No. 02, July – December 2020 A month prior, in February 1910, prominent community religious leaders met with officials and agreed that Holi would be solely celebrated in predominantly Hindu neighbourhoods of the city, notably in Andar Shehr and Karim Pura. On 21 March 1910, however, rumors of from Amritsar and a dancing boy from Haripur being brought into the city for Holi celebrations, led to a group of individuals who were marking Barawafat into forming a mob with the intention of stopping the procession. Despite Muslim and Hindu calling for calm, both parties ultimately clashed at the Asamai Gate, when the Holi procession was en route to Dargah Pir Ratan Nath Jee, with a Hindu procession member stabbing a Muslim individual in the mob. ensued for the following three days, involved individuals from outlying tribal regions who had entered the city, with a mob at Bara Bazar allegedly chanting " Maro Hindu Ko" (Kill the Hindus). Estimates detail the riots resulted in a total of 451 damaged shops and homes, primarily belonging to members of the Hindu community, while at least 4 Muslims and 6 Hindus were killed, alongside hundreds of injuries.
Peshawar emerged as a centre for both Hindkowans and Pashtun people intellectuals during the British era. Hindko speakers, known as Peshawaris, were responsible for the dominant culture for most of the time that Peshawar was under British rule.The Frontier Town of Peshawar. A Brief History by Sayed Amjad Hussain. Peshawar was also home to a non-violent resistance movement led by Ghaffar Khan, a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi. In April 1930, Khan, leading a large group of his followers, protested in Qissa Khwani Bazaar against discriminatory laws that had been enacted by the colonial government; hundreds were killed when a detachment of the British Indian Army opened fire on the demonstrators.
During the Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s, Peshawar served as a political centre for the CIA and the Inter-Services Intelligence-trained mujahideen groups based in the camps of Afghan refugees. It also served as the primary destination for large numbers of Afghan refugees. By 1980, 100,000 refugees a month were entering the province, with 25% of all refugees living in Peshawar district in 1981. The arrival of large numbers of Afghan refugees strained Peshawar's infrastructure, and drastically altered the city's demography.
Like much of northwest Pakistan, Peshawar has been severely affected by violence from the attacks by the terrorist group, Tehrik-i-Taliban. Local poets' have been targeted by the Pakistani Taliban, a suicide bomb attack targeted the historic All Saints Church in 2013, and most notably the 2014 Peshawar school massacre in which Taliban militants killed 132 school children. Peshawar suffered 111 acts of terror in 2010, which had declined to 18 in 2014, before the launch of Operation Zarb-e-Azb, which further reduced acts of violence throughout Pakistan. A large attack on a Shiite mosque in the city killed dozens and injured 200 people on 4 March 2022. In January 2023, another terrorist attack occurred at Peshawar in which 100 people were killed.
Peshawar is not a monsoon region, unlike other parts of Pakistan; however, rainfall occurs in both winter and summer. Due to western disturbances, the winter rainfall shows a higher record between the months of February and April. The highest amount of winter rainfall, measuring , was recorded in February 2007, while the highest summer rainfall of was recorded in July 2010; during this month, a record-breaking rainfall level of fell within a 24-hour period on 29 July 2010—the previous record was of rain, recorded in April 2009. The average winter rainfall levels are higher than those of summer. Based on a 30-year record, the average annual precipitation level was recorded as and the highest annual rainfall level of was recorded in 2003. Wind speeds vary during the year, from in December to in June. The relative humidity varies from 46% in June to 76% in August. The highest temperature of was recorded on 18 June 1995, while the lowest occurred on 7 January 1970.
According to the World Air Quality Report 2024, Peshawar is one of the world's most polluted city.
Historically, the old city of Peshawar was a heavily guarded citadel that consisted of high walls. In the 21st century, only remnants of the walls remain, but the houses and havelis continue to be structures of significance. Most of the houses are constructed of unbaked bricks, with the incorporation of wooden structures for protection against earthquakes, with many composed of wooden doors and latticed wooden balconies. Numerous examples of the city's old architecture can still be seen in areas such as Sethi Mohallah. In the old city, located in inner-Peshawar, many historic monuments and bazaars exist in the 21st century, including the Mohabbat Khan Mosque, Kotla Mohsin Khan, Chowk Yadgar and the Qissa Khawani Bazaar. Due to the damage caused by rapid growth and development, the old walled city has been identified as an area that urgently requires restoration and protection.
The walled city was surrounded by several main gates that served as the main entry points into the city — in January 2012, an announcement was made that the government plans to address the damage that has left the gates largely non-existent over time, with all of the gates targeted for restoration.
With the influx of Afghan refugees into Peshawar, the city became a hub for Afghan musicians and artists, as well as a major centre of Pashto literature. Some Afghan refugees have established successful businesses in Peshawar, and play an important role in the city's economy.
Though the city's Sikh population drastically declined after Partition, the Sikh community has been bolstered in Peshawar by the arrival of approximately 4,000 Sikh refugees from conflict in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas; In 2008, the largest Sikh population in Pakistan was located in Peshawar. Sikhs in Peshawar self-identify as Pashtuns and speak Pashto language as their mother tongue. There was a small, but, thriving Judaism community until the late 1940s. After the partition and the emergence of the State of Israel, Jews left for Israel.
| + Religious groups in Peshawar City (1868–2023) ! rowspan="2" | Religious group ! colspan="2" | 1868 ! colspan="2" | 1881 ! colspan="2" | 1891 ! colspan="2" | 1901 ! colspan="2" | 1911 ! colspan="2" | 1921 ! colspan="2" | 1931 ! colspan="2" | 1941 ! colspan="2" | 2017 ! colspan="2" | 2023 | |||||||||
| Islam | 54,977 | 57,378 | 60,269 | 68,352 | 73,198 | 73,882 | 86,369 | 122,972 | 1,942,636 | 1,872,113 | ||||||||||
| Hinduism | 21,802 | 18,105 | 15,501 | 18,552 | 16,328 | 21,001 | 21,973 | 31,630 | 1,720 | 1,726 | ||||||||||
| Christianity | 3,379 | 3,629 | 3,063 | 3,132 | 3,414 | 4,854 | 2,586 | 22,032 | 23,638 | |||||||||||
| Sikhism | 994 | 1,465 | 4,755 | 5,144 | 5,026 | 6,152 | 8,630 | 14,245 | 1,441 | |||||||||||
| Jainism | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| Zoroastrianism | 33 | 34 | 47 | 20 | 29 | 14 | 0 | |||||||||||||
| Judaism | 4 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 70 | |||||||||||||||
| Buddhism | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||||||||||||
| Ahmadiyya | 924 | 166 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Others | 112 | 3,031 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,903 | 2,511 | 476 | ||||||||||
Peshawar's estimated monthly per capita income was ₨55,246 in 2015, compared to ₨117,924 in Islamabad, and ₨66,359 in Karachi. Peshawar's surrounding region is also relatively poor − Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's cities on average have an urban per capita income that is 20% less than Pakistan's national average for urban residents.
Peshawar was noted by the World Bank in 2014 to be at the helm of a nationwide movement to create an ecosystem for entrepreneurship, freelance jobs, and technology. The city has been host to the World Bank assisted Digital Youth Summit — an annual event to connect the city and province's youths to opportunities in the digital economy. The 2017 event hosted 100 speakers including several international speakers, and approximately 3,000 delegates in attendance.
Wages for unskilled workers in Peshawar grew on average 9.1% per year between 2002 and 2008. Following the outbreak of widespread Islamist violence in 2007, wages rose only 1.5% between 2008 and 2014. Real wages dropped for some skilled craftsmen during the period between 2008 and 2014.
The metropolitan economy suffers from poor infrastructure. The city's economy has also been adversely impacted by shortages of electricity and natural gas. The $54 billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor will generate over 10,000 MW by 2018 – greater than the current electricity deficit of approximately 4,500 MW.
Poor transportation is estimated to cause a loss of 4–6% of the Pakistani GDP. Peshawar for decades has suffered from chaotic, mismanaged, and inadequate public transportation and the poor public transportation also has been detrimental to the city's economy. Therefore, the government has since a new rapid bus service called TransPeshawar covering the entire Peshawar. BRT Peshawar is now believed to be one the most advanced BRT of Pakistan
Peshawar is to be completely encircled by the Peshawar Ring Road in order to divert traffic away from the city's congested centre. The road is currently under construction, with some portions open to traffic.
The Karakoram Highway provides access between the Peshawar region and western China, and an alternate route to Central Asia via Kashgar in the Chinese region of Xinjiang.
The Indus Highway provides access to points south of Peshawar, with a terminus in the southern port city of Karachi via Dera Ismail Khan and northern Sindh. The Kohat Tunnel south of Peshawar provides access to the city of Kohat along the Indus Highway.
Pakistan's motorway network links Peshawar to Faisalabad by the M-4 Motorway, while a new motorway network to Karachi is being built as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor.
The Hazara Motorway, constructed as part of CPEC, is providing control-access motorway travel all the way to Mansehra and Thakot via the M-1 and Hazara Motorways.
The entire Main Line-1 railway track between Karachi and Peshawar is to be overhauled at a cost of $3.65 billion for the first phase of the project, with completion by 2021. Upgrading the railway line will permit train travel at speeds of 160 kilometres per hour, versus the average speed currently possible on existing tracks.
Peshawar was also once the terminus of the Khyber train safari, a tourist-oriented train that provided rail access to Landi Kotal. The service was discontinued as the security situation west of Peshawar deteriorated with the beginning of the region's Taliban insurgency.
Despite being a centre for leftist politics in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar is still generally known throughout Pakistan for its social conservatism. Sunni Muslims in the city are regarded to be socially conservative, while the city's Shia population is considered to be more socially liberal.
A plurality of voters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, of which Peshawar is the capital, elected one of Pakistan's only religiously based provincial governments during the period of military dictatorship of Pervez Musharraf. A ground-swell of anti-American sentiment after the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan contributed to the Islamist coalition's victory.
The Islamists introduced a range of social restrictions following the election of the Islamist Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal coalition in 2002, though Islamic Shariah law was never fully enacted. Restrictions on public musical performances were introduced, as well as a ban prohibiting music to be played in any public places, including on public transportation – which lead to the creation of a thriving underground music scene in Peshawar. In 2005, the coalition successfully passed the "Prohibition of Use of Women in Photograph Bill, 2005," leading to the removal of all public advertisements in Peshawar that featured women.
The religious coalition was swept out of power by the secular and leftist Awami National Party in elections after the fall of Musharraf in 2008, leading to the removal of the MMA's socially conservative laws. 62% of eligible voters voted in the election. The Awami National Party was targeted by Taliban militants, with hundreds of its members having been assassinated by the Pakistani Taliban.
In 2013, the centrist Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf was elected to power in the province on an anti-corruption platform. Peshawar city recorded a voter turnout of 80% for the 2013 elections.
42% of Peshawar households are connected to municipal sewerage as of 2015.
Musicians began to return to the city by 2016, with a security environment greatly improved following the Operation Zarb-e-Azb in 2014 to eradicate militancy in the country. In 2016, the provincial government announced a monthly income of $300 to 500 musicians in order to help support their work, as well as a $5 million fund to "revive the rich cultural heritage of the province".
Currently, Peshawar has universities for all major disciplines ranging from Humanities, General science, , Engineering, Medicine, Agriculture and Management Sciences. The first public sector university, University of Peshawar (UOP) was established in October 1950 by the first Prime Minister of Pakistan. University of Engineering and Technology, Peshawar was established in 1980 while Agriculture University Peshawar started working in 1981. The first private sector university CECOS University of IT and Emerging Sciences was established in 1986. Institute of Management Sciences started functioning in 1995, which become degree awarding institution in 2005.
There are currently 9 Medical colleges in Peshawar, 2 in public sector while 7 in private sector. The first Medical College, Khyber Medical College, was established in 1954 as part of University of Peshawar. The first Medical University, Khyber Medical University while a women only Medical college, Khyber Girls Medical College was established in 2007.
At the start of the 21st century, a host of new private sector universities started working in Peshawar. Qurtuba University, Sarhad University of Science and IT, Fast University, Peshawar Campus and City University of Science and IT were established in 2001 while Gandhara University was inaugurated in 2002 and Abasyn University in 2007.
Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Women University, the first women university of Peshawar, started working in 2009 while private sector IQRA National University was established in 2012.
Apart from good range of universities, Peshawar has host of high quality further education (Post School) educational institutes. The most renowned are, Edwardes College founded in 1900 by Herbert Edwardes, is the oldest college in the province and Islamia College Peshawar, which was established in 1913. Islamia College became university and named as Islamia College University in 2008.
The following is a list of some of the public and private universities and colleges in Peshawar:
The Pakistani military operates Army Public School Peshawar. It was the site of the 2014 Peshawar school massacre.
Cricket is the most popular sport in Peshawar with Arbab Niaz Stadium as the main ground coupled with Cricket Academy. There is also small cricket ground, Peshawar Gymkhana Ground, which is located adjacent to Arbab Niaz Stadium, a popular club cricket ground. The oldest international cricket ground in Peshawar however is Peshawar Club Ground, which hosted the first ever test match between Pakistan and India in 1955. The Peshawar Zalmi represents the city in the Pakistan Super League.
In 1975, the first sports complex, Qayyum Stadium was built in Peshawar while Hayatabad Sports Complex was built in the early 1990s. Both Qayyum Stadium and Hayatabad Sports Complexes are multiple sports complexes with facilities for all major indoor and outdoor sports such as football, Field hockey, Squash, Swimming, Gymnasium, Board Games section, Wrestling, Boxing and Badminton. In 1991, Qayyum Stadium hosted Barcelona Olympics Qualifier Football match between Pakistan and Qatar plus it also hosted National Games in 2010. Field hockey and squash are also popular in Peshawar.
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