{{Multiple issues|{{Cleanup rewrite|date=September 2020}} {{More citations needed|date=November 2019}} {{more categories|date=August 2025}}}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Azakhel Payan | native_name = | other_name = | settlement_type = Village | image_skyline = | imagesize = | image_caption = | pushpin_map = Pakistan | pushpin_label_position = right | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Pakistan | coordinates = {{coord|33|59|0|N|71|53|0|E|region:PK|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Pakistan}} | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_type3 = Tehsil | subdivision_type4 = | subdivision_name1 = Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | subdivision_name2 = Nowshera District | subdivision_name3 = | subdivision_name4 = | established_title = | established_date = | leader_title = | leader_name = | area_total_km2 = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | elevation_ft = | population_total = | population_as_of = | population_footnotes = | population_density_km2 = | population_demonym = Zakhelwal | timezone1 = PST | utc_offset1 = +5 | postal_code_type = Postal Code | postal_code = 24182 | footnotes = }} '''Azakhel Payan''' ({{langx|ps|اضاخيل پايان}}) is a village of Nowshera Tehsil in northeastern Pakistan. Its original name (with diacritics) is {{lang|ps|Äza Khel Payan}}. The village houses an Afghan refugee camp.<ref name="GM"/><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-03-26 |title=Afghan refugees hit by Pakistani floods forced to start over yet again |url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/afghan-refugees-hit-by-pakistani-floods-forced-to-start-over-yet-again |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Associated Press |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Refugees |first=United Nations High Commissioner for |title=Refworld {{!}} 2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Pakistan |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/4fc75a7337.html |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Refworld |language=en}}</ref>
Azakhel Payan lies along the Grand Trunk Road about {{convert|13|km}} west of Nowshera, the capital city of Nowshera District.<ref name="GM">{{cite map|title= Maps|publisher=Google Maps}}</ref> The majority of the village population works in agriculture. Villagers mainly farm potatoes, sugar cane, wheat, corn, tomatoes, and cucumbers.
==Etymology== {{More citations needed section|date=September 2020}} The word ''Azakhel Payan'' is a linguistic compound consisting of three words. ''Aza'' is probably the name of its founder. The word ''khel'' might be derived from the Avestan word {{lang|av|khuail}},{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}} meaning "uncountable" or "over-populated". ''Khel'' is a cognate of the Persian word {{lang|fa|kheleh}}, meaning "lots" or "too much".
By convention, the word ''khel'' is placed after the name of a common ancestor or leader when naming a village. ''Khel'' is usually part of a single village's name,<ref>{{cite book | last=Wardak | first=Ali | title=Law after Ground Zero | chapter=Jirga: power and traditional conflict resolution in Afghanistan | publisher=Routledge-Cavendish | date=2017-09-25 | isbn=978-1-84314-484-7 | doi=10.4324/9781843144847-13 | pages=187–204 |chapter-url=http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN017434.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007192558/http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/APCITY/UNPAN017434.pdf | archive-date=2006-10-07 }}</ref> but it may also be used for a larger settlement.<ref>{{cite book | last=Albrecht | first=Hans-Jörg | title=Conflicts and Conflict Resolution in Middle Eastern Societies | publisher=Duncker & Humblot | publication-place=Berlin | date=2006 | isbn=3-428-12220-8 | page=358}}</ref> The last part of the village's name, ''Payan'', means "lower" in Persian or Urdu.
According to one theory, the name ''Aza Khel'' was given to the village by its founder. The founder may have been Raza Khan. Raza Khan, also spelled Aza Khan, is considered a legendary Afghan warrior.{{by whom|date=December 2020}} Raza Khan had seven brothers, one of whom was Zarif Khan. One mohalla (subdivision) of the village, ''Zarifkhel'', may take its name from Zarif Khan.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}
Azakhel Payan might not take its name from a founder or legendary hero. Instead, the name Aza Khel may derive from ''Za Khel'', a town in Kondoz, Afghanistan.<ref>{{cite web | last=Lorch | first=Donatella | title=Zakhel Journal; Outside Besieged City, War's Fuse Burns Slowly | website=The New York Times | date=1989-02-28 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/28/world/zakhel-journal-outside-besieged-city-war-s-fuse-burns-slowly.html}}</ref>
==Geography== Azakhel Payan is bordered by the Cherat Mountains to the south and the Kabil River to the north. The distance between Kabul River and the Grand Trunk Road is about {{convert|2-3|km|mi|abbr=on}}. The village of Azakhel Bala lies just west of Azakhel Payan, and the town of Pir Piai is just east.{{citation needed|date= October 2022}}
The area between the Kabil River and the Grand Trunk Road is called "Bela." It served as a training camp for Afghan mujaheddin during the Soviet-Afghan war. This area was established as a refugee camp for the Afghan immigrants in during the reign of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.{{citation needed|date= October 2022}}
The parent material in and surrounding Azakhel Payan is siltstone.<ref name="The Pakistan Journal of Forestry">{{cite book|title=The Pakistan Journal of Forestry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gp5LAAAAYAAJ|year=1987|publisher=Pakistan Forest Institute|page=10|quote=Pale yellow silt-stone forms the soil parent material near Azakhel Payan village.}}</ref>
==Azakhel Park== The Nowshera District government has leased 83 acres of agricultural land in Azakhel Payan to the University of Peshawar's Centre of Plant Biodiversity (CPB). This area is called Azakhel Park. The University of Peshawar plans to develop research laboratories, botanical nurseries, greenhouses, an herbarium, a museum, a conference hall, lecture theaters, a library, and areas for teaching students in Azakhel Park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.uop.edu.pk/departments/?q=Centre-of-Plant-Biodiversity|title=Centre of Plant Biodiversity|website=uop.edu.pk|access-date=April 26, 2016}}</ref>
== Azakhel Dry Port == [[File:Azakhel Dry Port.png|thumb|Azakhel Dry Port inaugurated by Prime Minister Imran Khan on January 10, 2020]] Azakhel Dry Port was planned in 2006 and finalized by the Prime Minister Imran Khan which was completed with an estimated cost of Rs 507 million.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Azakhel dry port inaugurated: PM says railways in bad condition – Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry |url=https://www.kcci.com.pk/research/azakhel-dry-port-inaugurated-pm-says-railways-in-bad-condition/ |access-date=2023-11-22 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=Web Desk |date=2020-01-10 |title=PM Imran Khan inaugurates Azakhel dry port in Nowshera |url=https://arynews.tv/pm-imran-khan-inaugurates-azakhel-dry-port-nowshera/ |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=ARY NEWS |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-10-09 |title=National Narrative Building Centre Reports |url=https://www.insaf.pk/tabdeeli-ka-safar/nbc-daily-reports |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-01-10 |title=Azakhel Dry Port to create jobs, says PM Imran |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2134209/pm-imran-inaugurate-azakhel-dry-port-today |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}</ref> It is spread over 28 acres of land at about 20 kilometres distance from Peshawar on main GT Road in Nowshera district's town Azakhel.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Buneri |first=Aziz |date=2021-11-29 |title=Azakhel dry-port to finally be made fully operational |url=https://profit.pakistantoday.com.pk/2021/11/29/azakhel-dry-port-to-finally-be-made-fully-operational/ |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Profit by Pakistan Today |language=en-US}}</ref> The goods and shipments transported from Karachi port can be loaded here before its onward transportation to Peshawar and other districts of KP and Afghanistan through enhanced roads and rails services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=IIPS |date=2021-12-03 |title=SCCI to make Azakhel Dry Port Functional to Facilitate Trade |url=https://iips.com.pk/scci-to-make-azakhel-dry-port-functional-to-facilitate-trade/ |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=Iqbal Institute of Policy Studies – IIPS |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-11-30 |title=Azakhel Port to be made functional |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2331684/azakhel-port-to-be-made-functional |access-date=2023-11-22 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}}</ref>
== Sher Shah Suri's Baoli == [[File:Sher Shah Suri's Bioli.jpg|thumb|Sher Shah Suri's Baoli in Azakhel Payan<ref>{{Cite web |title=Baoli Azakhel Payan |url=https://doam.gov.pk/sites/1796 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241125223413/https://doam.gov.pk/sites/1796 |website=Department of Archaeology and Museums |archive-date=2024-11-25 }}</ref>]] A baoli is a reservoir in which water can be stored. It is also a source of ground water. Azakhel Payan is home to a historic Baoli (stepwell) attributed to the famed Pashtun ruler Sher Shah Suri. This Baoli, located a short distance from the old Grand Trunk Road, is considered a relic of Sher Shah Suri's reign (1540–1545) and reflects his vision for urban and civic development. Local legend states that Sher Shah Suri himself used the Baoli during his travels, descending its steps on horseback to fetch water. This Baoli is the only surviving structure of its kind in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, revered by the locals who refer to it as "Baoli Sharif."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shinwari |first=Sher Alam |date=2018-02-16 |title=Sher Shah Suri's Baoli a pride for Azakhel people |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1389740/sher-shah-suris-baoli-a-pride-for-azakhel-people |access-date=2024-11-24 |website=DAWN.COM |language=en}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aza Khel Payan}} Category:Populated places in Nowshera District