that a heavy tribute was raised from them. Another portion of the army crossed the Darra Pezu and worked its way down to Dera Ismail Khan. Contingents raised from the neighborhoods of Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan marched under Nadir Shah's banner to the sack of Delhi. In 1739 the area west of the Indus was surrendered by the Emperor of Delhi to Nadir Shah and passed after his death to Ahmad Shah Abdali. In 1748 a Durrani army under one of Ahmad Shah's generals crossed the Indus at Kalabagh, and drove out the Ghakkars, who still ruled in the cis-Indus tracts of the district, owing nominal allegiance to the Emperor at Delhi. Their stronghold, Muazzam Nagar, was razed to the ground, and with their expulsion was swept away the last vestige of the authority of the Mughal Emperor in these parts. During British Raj Mianwali District was also among the states of British Punjab where regional offices of East India Company were in position until winter of 1883 when the regional office of East India Company in Mianwali was Shutdown due to civil unrest and hostile conditions. Geography Mianwali district covers an area of . The area in north is a continuation of the Pothohar Plateau and the Kohistan-e-Namak. Southern side of the district is a part of Thal Desert. Indus River flows through the district. Climate Mianwali district has an extreme climate, with a long, hot summer season and cold, dry winters. Summer lasts from May to September and winter lasts from November till February. June is the hottest month with average temperatures of 42 °C (highest recorded temperature 52 °C); in winter, December and January monthly average temperatures can be as low as 3 to 4 °C. The average rainfall in the district is about 385 mm. Administration The district is administratively divided into three tehsils 7 Municipal Committees and 51 union councils: Demographics At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 1,542,601, of which 771,969 were males and 770,502 females. Rural population is 1,214,789 while the urban population is 327,812. The literacy rate was 61.28%. Religion As per the 2017 census Muslims made up almost the entire population with 99.53%, although there is a small mainly urban minority of Christians numbering 7,000. Language At the time of the 2017 census, 76.05% of the population spoke Saraiki, 11.53% Pashto, 9.35% Punjabi and