Besham (Urdu, Pashto: بشام; also known as Besham Qila) is a city situated in the Shangla District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Positioned on the right bank of the Indus River (locally known as Abasin), Besham functions as a significant junction on the Karakoram Highway, linking Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab with Gilgit-Baltistan, and extending into China’s Xinjiang. Besham also serves as the eastern endpoint of the under-construction E90 expressway, which will connect the city westward with Khwazakhela in Swat District. Besham is located approximately 60 kilometres (40 mi) east of Swat, 250 kilometres (160 mi) north of Rawalpindi-Islamabad, and 270 kilometres (170 mi) northeast of the provincial capital, Peshawar, Pakistan.
