Shinkiari
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Shinkiari (Pashto: شینکیارۍ; Hindko/Urdu: شنکیاری) is a Union Council of Mansehra District (Upper Pakhli) in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is a major tea city with many tea gardens. The police station was established before the partition of India. At that time, Baffa was a police chowki of Shinkiari Police Station and a second police chowki was in Battal. Both chowkis have now become police stations while historically with poor political background Shinkiari is still a police station instead of a tehsil of Mansehra District. Most of the people are from the Swati Pashtun and Gujjar tribes, speaking Pashto and Hindko. Swatis are the biggest landlords here including Panjghol Swatis and Panjmerals Swatis who are further divided into many Khels/sub-clans.
On 14th June 1847 boundary commissioner James Abbott arrived in the town en route to the northern boundary of Hazara, he noted the following in his journal:
"Marched hither en route for the northern boundary of Huzara. The state of things in the Jumboo Army is very perilous. The troops are in great distress for pay, and so great is the want of money that I am informed that 250 rupees which I have borrowed from the Government could not be raised until the Dewan, Kurrum Chund, had pledged his bracelets for it. I am discouraging complaints as much as possible, and assuring those who complain of having been made pay in excess of their rents, that the balance shall be placed to their credit in the succeeding."[1]
Etymology
Shinkiari is a combination of two Pashto words, shīn (شين) meaning "green" and kyārəi (کیارۍ) meaning "flowerbed".
