Peshawar valley has recently been subjected to an interesting analysis, where the region is declared a part of “Pakistan-proper”, i.e. a region that is a beneficiary of the State’s policies and priorities. Reasons quoted for this are its connectivity to the GT road, the over-representation of Peshawar valley in Government jobs and higher ranking on development indicators among Pashtun majority districts. 

This argument is then extended by some Pashtun nationalists to claim that the interests and politics of Peshawar valley is more in-line with the priorities of Pakistan-proper than with the Pashtun peripheries. However, a look at relevant statistics and historical realities paints a different picture.

These arguments take a very quasi-orientalist lens to this situation, where they assume all Pashtun regions to be at the same level of pre-1947 development. Once seen from that angle, Peshawar’s present development indicators would seem like a post-1947 phenomenon where Peshawar prospered along with its GT road compatriots in Punjab to outpace other Pashtun majority regions, such as D. I. Khan and Quetta. 

However, the fact is that Peshawar, due to its geographic location and as a central trading hub, has long been a preferred seat of administration for different kingdoms throughout history. This history goes back to the days of the Gandhara civilization (6th century BCE), it was also the capital of the Kushan Empire (2nd Century CE) and the winter capital for the Durranis (1770s). This prominence over the centuries has resulted in it being one of the longest surviving cities in South Asia. In comparison, both Quetta and D. I. Khan rose to prominence in the late 1800s, after they became British cantonments. Any present-day comparison of the levels of development amongst these regions should not ignore their levels of development before 1947. 

To put things in perspective, let’s look at some indicators from the pre-1947 British Gazetteers. One relevant indicator is the population density, and this is important because regions that........

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