| Attock اٹک |
|
|---|---|
| View of Attock Fort | |
|
Attock
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province | Punjab |
| Established | 1904 |
| Incorporated | 1978 |
| Government | |
| • Founded By | Sir Colin Campbell |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6,857 km2 (2,647.5 sq mi) |
| Population (1998) | |
| • Total | 69,588 |
| Time zone | PST (UTC5) |
| Postal code span | 43600 |
| Area code(s) | 057 |
| Website | www.attocknews.com www.attockonians.com |
Attock (Urdu: اٹک) (formerly Campbellpur) is a city located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Attock District. In the 1901 census, Attock was reported to have had a population of 2866 people, a figure which has grown dramatically during the 20th century with 69,588 reported in the 1998 census and contemporary estimates approaching 100,000.[1][2]
It is located on the bank of the Indus, just 80 km (50 mi) from Rawalpindi, 100 km (62 mi) from Peshawar, and 10 km (6 mi) from the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra.
Gandhara was a historic region of ancient India (which corresponds to areas of north west Pakistan including Attock). Situated astride the middle Indus River, the region had Taxila and Peshawar as its chief cities. It was originally a province of the Persian Empire and was reached (327 B.C.) by Alexander the Great. The region passed to Chandragupta,[3] founder of the Maurya empire, in the late 4th century B.C., and under Asoka was converted (mid-3d cent.) to Buddhism. It was part of Bactria from the late 3d cent. to the 1st cent. B.C. Under the Kushan dynasty (1st cent.–3d cent. A.D.), and especially under Kanishka, Gandhara developed a noted school of sculpture, consisting mainly of images of Buddha and relief’s representing scenes from Buddhist texts, but with marked Greco-Roman elements of style. The art form flourished in Gandhara until the 5th century, when the region was conquered by the Huns.[4]
Attock fort was completed in 1583 under the supervision of Khawaja Shamsuddin Khawafi, a minister of Emperor Akbar.[5] In 1759-60, Maratha forces had captured the Fortress of Attock.[6] The last Sikh Kingdom (1799–1849) under Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780–1839) captured Fortress of Attock in 1813 from the Afghan Kingdom (Attock then part of Afghanistan). Later Maharaja Ranjit Singh Sher-e-Panjab put Sardar Javala Singh Padhania in charge of the fortress of Attock which he, with a handful of troops, successfully guarded against Afghan onslaughts.
Then in 1849 Attock went to the British who created a district named it Campbellpur District. After 1947, the Pakistani Government renamed it as Attock in 1970s.
The city's foundations were laid in 1903, and it was named Campbellpur after Sir Colin Campbell. The city was established near Attock fort. That was major routes towards central Asia. The district was created in April 1904 by the merger of Talagang Tehsil in the Jhelum District with the Pindigheb, Fatehjang and Attock tehsils from Rawalpindi District of the Punjab province of British India.[7]
Attock's first oil well was drilled in Khaur in 1915.[8] It has an oil and gas field Dakhini near Jand.
Although Pakistan had become independent from Britain in 1947, it wasn't until 1978 that the name Attock was adopted for the city.[7]
During the partition of Punjab Province of British India, Attock District had a Muslim majority with minorities of Hindus and Sikhs.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||