Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, formerly North-West Frontier Province, northernmost province of Pakistan. It is bounded by Afghanistan to the west and north, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (the Pakistani-administered areas of the Kashmir region) to the east and northeast, Punjab province to the southeast, and Balochistan province to the southwest. On the western boundary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, along the Afghan border, are the areas formerly known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), a series of areas that are ethnically homogeneous with the province but were semiautonomous until 2018. Peshawar is the provincial capital. Area province, 39,282 square miles (101,741 square km). Pop. (2017) province, 35,519,927.
In 1901 NWFP(Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) was declared as a Chief Commissioner Province and thirty-one years later in 1932 its status was raised to the Governor Province. In 1937, the Government of India Act 1935 was enforced in NWFP(Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and NWFP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Legislative Assembly was formed. The first session of parliament was summoned on 12 March 1946 under the Chairmanship of Sardar Bahadur Khan while Nawabzada Allah Nawaz Khan was elected as Speaker and Lala Girdheri Lal as Deputy Speaker on 13 March 1946. The total number of members was 50. This Assembly was dissolved in 1951 and the number of members was increased from 50 to 58. Old NWFP Assembly BuildingAfter the creation of Pakistan, the first Election in NWFP Legislative Council was held on 15 December 1951 and the session of the Assembly was summoned on 10 January 1952 for the oath taking ceremony. Nawabzada Allah Nawaz Khan was again elected as the unopposed Speaker and Khan Muhammad Farid Khan as Deputy Speaker on 10 July 1952. Following the declaration of one unit on 3 October 1955, the Country was divided into two provinces, West Pakistan and East Pakistan and the Legislative Assembly Building was declared as Peshawar High Court. After the dissolution of West Pakistan dissolution in 1970, the NWFP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Provincial Assembly was restored. The legislative Assembly became a Provincial Assembly through a presidential order known as legal framework order 1970. After the restoration of the Provincial Assembly in 1970, General Elections were held for the NWFP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Provincial Assembly on 17 December 1970. At that time the number of member’s seats in the Assembly was 43 out of which 2 seats were reserved for women and only one for minorities. The first session of the Assembly was summoned on 2 May 1972 in the hall of Pakistan Academy for Rural Development, University Town Peshawar. Mr. Muhammad Aslam Khan Khattak was elected as Speaker and Arbab Saifur Rehman Khan as Deputy Speaker on 2 May 1972. On 5 July 1977 Martial Law was declared and the Provincial Assembly was dissolved. The 1985 elections were held on not-party basis on 28 February 1985. The first session of the Assembly was summoned on 12 March 1985 for the oath taking ceremony. Raja Amanullah Khan and Mr. Ahmad Hassan were elected as Speaker and Deputy Speaker on 14 March 1985. The Assembly Secretariat shifted from Pakistan Academy for Rural Development to its own present building in 1987.