Introduction

The Department of Geography, University of Peshawar, was founded in 1956 to cater for the educational requirements of the inhabitants of the province, the adjoining FATA and other nearby areas. It is committed to the mission of quality teaching and research, in the field of the Physical, Human and Applied Geography, under the major themes of man-environment interaction, natural resource management and conservation, application of Technical Geography i.e. Geomatics and Spatial Analysis of various natural and anthropogenic phenomena. The Department has contributed a lot in the initiation of new and emerging disciplines, required to fulfill the need of highly skilled personnel in the region. Some of the important programs initiated by this department included Environmental Planning and Management (EPM), Urban and Regional Planning (Established in 1993 with the collaboration of the Institute of Planning Studies, now the School of Built Environment, University of Nottingham, U.K) and Disaster Preparedness & Management. These programs currently exist as full-fledged departments of Environmental Science, Department of Urban Regional Planning and Center for Disaster Preparedness & Management in the University of Peshawar. Keeping in view the importance of consistent changes in the field of Geography in national and international scenario, the Department regularly updates its curriculum and has recently incorporated the emerging tools of Geographical Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) at both MSC and BS 4-year levels. The Department provides a variety of programs, services and resources to enhance students’ professional training and career success. In order to fulfill the market demand, Post-Graduate Diploma in Geomatics has also been started in the Department in 2007. Later on, BS 4-year program in GIS and RS (Geomatics) was also introduced from 2011-12 session. Currently, there are two BS 4-year programs i.e. Geography and Geomatics, one MSC degree program in addition to MPhil and PhD programs. This department is equipped with latest facilities and equipment. Apart from an excellent collection of books and research journals in its Seminar Library, the Department has well-furnished laboratories of Cartography, Geomorphology, Remote Sensing, Computer and GIS. There is a very good collection of new and historical maps of various scale and aerial photographs covering the entire country and adjoining areas.

Vision

To improve the quality of education and status of teaching and research in the field of Geography and Geo-spatial Sciences (Geographical Information System, Remote Sensing, Spatial Analysis, Global Positioning System).

Mission

Our mission is to provide stimulating and practical programs of education and training in the field of Geography/GIS and Remote Sensing relevant to the need of the society at large in today’s rapidly changing world.

The education and training imparted to the students in this department are aimed at bringing positive change in the student’s approaches and making them more useful citizens so that they could contribute in the uplift of the environment and wellbeing of the humanity of the world in general and that of Pakistan in particular.

Objectives

To provide quality education by teaching and conducting research, in all fields of Geography including Physical and Human Geography as well as Geographical tools, such as, Geographical Information System (GIS) Remote Sensing, Surveying and Mapping.

History of the Department

University of Peshawar, one of the oldest universities in Pakistan, was established in 1950. For the first few years, the university was without a geography department. Through the efforts of Prof. Muhammad Ashraf Khan Durrani who was associated with the teaching of Geography first at the Aligarh Muslim University and later for almost sixteen years in the Islamia College Peshawar, a blue print for the establishment of geography department was prepared in early 1956. MSc. geography program was started in the department in 1956. The first batch of the M.Sc students passed out in 1958. Prof. Muhammad Ashraf Khan Durrani was the founder chairman of the department while the second chairman was Mr. M.Z Sahibzada who took over as the chair in 1960. In the same year, B.Sc hons classes were started on the recommendation of National Commission on education. However, they were discontinued after four years of successful running. After the appointment of Mr. R. A. G. Savigear as professor of physical geography in 1962, physical geography, particularly, geomorphology courses were started in the department.

Dr. Hamiduddin Ahmad, who did his PhD from US, became the third chairman of the department in 1963. Mr. M.Z. Sahibzada got his second term as chairman in 1969-1971. Mr. Israruddin became the chairman of the department in 1971 and remained on the seat till 1976. During his chairmanship, a meteorological observatory was installed on the roof of the department. He was followed by Prof. Dr. Mohmmad Said who took over the seat in 1976 and remained on the seat till 1983. An important development in 1978 was the commencement of MPhil and PhD programs in the department. Students were also sent abroad to foreign universities for specialized training and enhancement of research skills. In the meanwhile, Mr. Yaqoob Khan Alizai, Associate professor was transferred from Islamia College Peshawar to the Department of Geography. The department acquired its first vehicle in 1980 to conduct field trips and conduct research work in different parts of the country.

Prof. Israr-ud-Din became the next chairman from 1983-1987. He was followed again by Prof. Dr. Mohmmad Said whose tenure lasted from 1987-1990. In 1987, Prof. Dr. Aslam Khan started a new MSc. program in Environmental Planning and Management in collaboration with Environment and Urban Affair Division, Government of Pakistan in 1987. The first batch of this program passed out in 1992. It was later on shifted to a separate building and given the status of a full fledge department named as Department of Environmental Sciences and Management, UoP. In 1993, another MSc. program in Urban and Regional Planning was started in the department which was then established as a separate department named as the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, UoP in 2010.

Prof. M. Yaqoob Alizai became the chairman (1990-1993) followed by Prof. Israr-ud-Din (1993-1997). Prof. Dr. Amir Khan was the next chairman (1997-2000) followed by Prof. Dr. Amir Nawaz Khan (2000-2003) and again Prof. Dr. Amir Khan (2003-2006) and then Prof. Dr. Mahmood-ul-Hasan (2006-2009). Prof. Dr. Amir Khan again took the seat of the Chairman in 2009-2013. It is followed by Prof Dr Fazlu Rahman and he served as a Chairman from 2014-2018 and Prof Dr Iffat Tabasum from 2018-2020. and from 2020-2024, Prof Dr Atta-ur-Rahman was Chairman. Since 2024, Prof. Dr. Fazlur Rahman is the Chairman, Department of Geography and Geomatics, University of Peshawar.

Geomatics (GIS and Remote Sensing) is an emerging multi-disciplinary field of study in geography. In order to train the new generation to understand and utilize the new tools and data sources such as Satellite Remote Sensing, Real-time GIS, Remote Sensing and Global Positioning System, the Department of Geography and Geomatics, University of Peshawar has incorporated the emerging tools of Geographical Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS) and Computing in the curriculum. The Department adopted semester system and started BS Geography program in 2009. In addition, we have also started a Post-graduate Diploma in Geomatics (GIS and Remote Sensing) since 2008 to fulfill the market demands. In 2011 another milestone achieved by the department was the approval of BS Geomatics 4-years program and MS Geomatics degree programs in 2009. BS Geomatics 4-year program was started in 2011 in the Department, which was the first BS Geomatics program in any public sector university of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Keeping in view the market demand, the Department started MS Geomatics (GIS and Remote Sensing) in 2022 and the case of launching PhD in Geomatics is submitted to statutory bodies for approval.

The Department of Geography and Geomatics has been continuously flourishing keeping in view the requirements of a changing world and to keep pace with the changing technologies of teaching and research. International and national conferences, training workshops and seminars have been a regular practice at the department. The department has always strived for collaboration with the industry and relevant departments of the government and non-governmental sector. We observe world environment day, GIS day and earth day every year. The department also organizes week-long celebrations of Geography Week every year to create awareness among the masses about the importance of Geography.

Prof. Dr. Amir Khan again took the seat of the chairman in 2009-2013 which was followed by Prof. Dr. Fazlurehman (2013-2017) and Prof. Dr. Iffat Tabassum (2017-2020) and Prof.Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman (2020-2024). The department is presently being chaired by Prof. Dr. Fazlur Rahman who took the charge in 2024.

The Department provides a variety of programs, services and resources to enhance students’ professional training and career success. Currently, there are two BS 4-year programs i.e. Geography and Geomatics, one MSc degree program in addition to MPhil and PhD programs. The Department has a significant contribution in the initiation of new and emerging disciplines required to fulfill the need of highly skilled personnel in the region. These included two new departments, the Department of Environmental Planning and Management (EPM) and the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and a center namely Centre for Disaster Preparedness & Management (CDPM).

Department’s facilities

This department is equipped with latest facilities and equipment. Apart from an excellent collection of books and research journals in its Seminar Library, the Department has well-furnished laboratories of Cartography, Geomorphology, Remote Sensing, Computer and GIS.

Prof. Dr. Said Geomorphology Lab

The Department inaugurated a new Geomorphology lab in 2021 that has been named after the eminent geomorphologist of the country and the ex-chairman of the Department Prof. Dr. Said. The geomorphology lab has a wide collection of rock samples that have been tagged and beautifully displayed. Several geomorphological models and posters have also been displayed in the lab that helps the students to understand various geomorphological processes.

Prof. Israr-ud-Din Cartography Lab

In 2021 another step was tekn to establish a Cartography lab has been named after the ex-Chairman and one of the eminent cartographers of the country, Prof. Israruddin. The Lab is fully equipped with latest state-of-the-art standard Cartography instruments and an excellent collection of latest and historical maps of various scale and aerial photographs covering the entire country and adjoining areas.

Dr. Muhammad Aslam Khan GIS Lab

This lab has been named after the ex-chairman of the department Dr. Muhammad Aslam and it is equipped with latest computer systems with updated GIS soft-wares. Students are taught different courses of GIS in this lab and they are free to practice different GIS software during their classes and free time.

Computing and Remote Sensing Lab

The department also has another computing and Remote Sensing lab which has up to date computer systems and latest software to help student study remote sensing and do research using remote sensing images.

Climate Change Research

In the proposals

Weather Station

In the proposals

Department of Geography and Geomatics

Highlights of Department of Geography and Geomatics