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.