Dera Allah Yar

Dera Allah Yar (Urdu: ڈیرہ اللہ یار), formerly known as Jhatpat (Urdu: جھٹ پٹ), is a city and the headquarters of the Jaffarabad District located in Pakistan's Balochistan province. It lies 300 km from the provincial capital Quetta. According to 2023 Pakistani census population of the Jhatpat subdivision is 302,498.

Dera Allah Yar ڈیرہ اللہ یار Jhatpat
City
Dera Allah yar
Dera Allahyar highlighted in red
Country	Pakistan
Province	Balochistan
District	Jaffarabad District
Division	Nasirabad
Government
• Constituensy	PB-16 Jafarabad NA-255 Sohbat Pur-cum-Jaffarabad-cum-Usta Muhammad-cum-Nasirabad
• Deputy Commissioner Jaffarabad	Khlid Khan
Area
• Total	690 km2 (270 sq mi)
Elevation	56 m (184 ft)
Population  (2023)[1]
• Total	98,761
• Density	438.40/km2 (1,135.5/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+05:00 (PKT)
• Summer (DST)	DST is not observed
ZIP Code	80500
NWD (area) code	8289
ISO 3166 code	PK-BA

History

The city was formerly known as Jhatpat. The city was renamed after the assassination of Mir Allahyar Khan Khosa, a political leader from the area.

Dera Allah Yar (Jhatpat) became a subdivision under British administration in 1932. After the dissolution of the One Unit in 1970, Dera Allah Yar was included in Sibi district and later became part of Nasirabad tehsil. In 1987, Jaffarabad district was created, and Jhatpat became one of its tehsils.

Demographics

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1951	...	—
1961	1,497	—
1972	2,332	+4.11%
1981	6,730	+12.50%
1998	38,371	+10.78%
2017	80,908	+4.00%
2023	98,761	+3.38%
Sources:[2]

According to 2023 census, Dera Allah Yar had a population of 98,761.^[3]

Languages

According to 2023 Pakistani census Population of Dera Allahyar Subdivision is 302,498 of which 188,011 spoke Balochi, 44,211 Sindhi, 34,493 Saraiki, 31,374 Brahui, 1,273 Pashto, 612 Urdu, 609 Hindko 390 Punjabi & 1,515 others.

Languages of Dera Allahyar Subdivision (2023 Pakistani census)^[4]

1. Balochi (62.15%)
2. Sindhi (14.61%)
3. Saraiki (11.4%)
4. Brahui (10.37%)
5. Pashto (0.42%)
6. Urdu (0.2%)
7. Hindko (0.2%)
8. Punjabi (0.12%)
9. Others (0.5%)

Etymology

The word Dera means abode or settlement in Balochi, Pashto, Urdu, and Punjabi languages. Dera Allah Yar thus means the settlement or city of Allah Yar. Some other cities also have Dera as a pre-fix such as Dera Bugti, Dera Ismail Khan, and Dera Ghazi Khan.