Dir is a region in northwestern Pakistan, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Lying in the foothills of the Himalayas it has beautiful valleys and scenic mountains. Before Pakistan was created, Dir was a princely state, and it remained so until 1969 when it was abolished by a presidential declaration, with the Dir District being created the following year. Dir District was 5,280 square kilometres in area and lay along the disputed border controlled by the Afghan nationalists. The region is situated between Chitral and Peshawar. In 1996 the district was split into Lower Dir and Upper Dir.