Bannu, town, central part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan, just south of the Kurram River. The nearby Akra mounds have revealed finds dating to about 300 bce. In ancient and medieval times, the Kurram-Bannu route into the Indian subcontinent was used by invaders and colonizers from the northwest. Founded in 1848 by Lieut. (later Sir) Herbert Edwardes as a military base, the town was named Dalipnagar (1848) and then Edwardesabad (1869). In 1903 its name was changed to Bannu.
Bannu lies at the centre of a circular alluvial plain, hemmed in by low hills and drained by the Kurram River and its tributary, the Tochi (Gambila). The nearby Kurram-Garhi Project (completed 1962) provides irrigation, power, and flood control. Wheat, corn (maize), and barley are the chief crops of the region. Bannu is a military station and a commercial centre at the junction of roads running from the Indus River to Peshawar and Waziristan and is connected with the Indus by rail. Local industries include a large woolen mill. Bannu is the seat of a college affiliated with the University of Peshawar. Inhabitants are mainly Pashtun tribal people. Pop. (1998 prelim.) including cantonment, 46,896.