1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Dir

DIR, an independent state in the North-West Frontier Province of India, lying to the north-east of Swat. Its importance chiefly arises from the fact that it commands the greater part of the route between Chitral and the Peshawar frontier. The quarrels and intrigues between the khan of Dir and Umra Khan of Jandol were among the chief events that led up to the Chitral Campaign of 1895. During that expedition the khan made an agreement with the British Government to keep the road to Chitral open in return for a subsidy. Including the Bashkars, an aboriginal tribe allied to the Torwals and Garhuis, who inhabit Panjkora Kohistan, the population is estimated at about 100,000.