Attock District ( ) is a
district in the Punjab
Province
of Pakistan
.
Creation
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.
Neighbours
Attock
District is bordered by the Haripur
and Swabi districts of North-West
Frontier Province
to the north, the district of Rawalpindi to the
east, the district of Chakwal
to the
southeast, the district of Mianwali
to the southwest, and North-West Frontier Province
districts of Kohat
and Nowshera to the west and northwest.
The river
Indus
forms the
western boundary of the district.
Name
Attock District was originally named Campbellpur after the Briton
Sir Campbell who founded the city of Campbellpore. The name of the
district was changed to Attock as of 1978.
Attock city is the
district headquarters.
Population
According to the 1998 census of Pakistan the district had a
population of 1,274,935 of which 20.45% were urban, The estimated
population in 2008 was 1.58 million.
The city also had a significant Muhajir population. In fact, Attock
city was dominated by the immigrants from India but gradually their
population has dwindled and now they are a minority - mostly living
in old quarters of Attock city.
Geography and climate
Attock District has a climate of hot summers and cold winters. The
northern part of the district is more humid and is more moderate in
climate relative to the southern part of the district due to the
higher altitude. Geographically, the district is mainly hills,
plateaus and dissected plains.
The Indus River flows on the northern and western borders of the
district. After Haripur
, the Haro
River
passes through the north of the tehsil of Attock
where there is a flood plain with fertile soil. The
District's average annual rainfall is 783 mm.
Chhachh
Chhachh is a geographical region in the northern section of Attock
District and south-west
Hazara.
Chhachh is a plain which rolls from the Hazara-Gandhara Hills south
to Kamra, and from east of the Indus to the broken lands near
Lawrencepur. It is the most fertile area of the Rawalpindi
Division. It is known to be one of the most beautiful region in
Pakistan due to its varied topography. It is a valley surrounded by
mountains from three sides and Indus river from one side.Almost 50%
of the population of this area are of
Pukhtuns/(
Pathans) origin,
who speak
Hindko language. There is also
significant number of
Pukhto speaking
Pukhtuns, who have managed to keep their Pukhto language, but are
often bilingual in both Hindko and Pukhto. The remaining population
consists of Bangash, Awans, Sayyeds, Gujjars and other non-Pathan
castes.A large percentage of the population of Chhachh have
Pukhtun roots and are mostly descendants of
the tribes of
Durrani,
Alizai,
Yousafzai,
Kakar,
Dilazak,
Tareen, Tahir Khel (
Tahirkheli), Qazikhel,
khattak,
Tanoili Sadozai and
Barakzai. They
arrived in the area around 1000 A.D as part of the army of
Mahmud of Ghazni and made it their
permanent home after defeating the
Hindu
confederation near
Hazro. Proof of this is
that many of the villages & individual quarters are named after
certain Pakhtun personalities & tribes, markedly proving who
had founded them.
For example Aka Khel, Nasozai, Inayat Khel (the
founding and KHAN tribe of Ghorghushti
village), Utman Khel,
Saleem
Khan
, Ghorghushti, Adalzai, Barazai etc. Most
of these Pukhtuns now refer to themselves
as Pathans and speak Hindko as their main language. Chach
Pathans are revered for their fighting ability in
ancient times and more recently for their many advancements in
education, culture, and society. It is claimed that
Hindko was the original ancient language of Chhachh
when it was part of the
Gandhara
civilisation and was adopted over time by the
Pukhtun tribes of the area. The remaining population
of Chach consists of Mughals, Kashmiris,
Jats,
Bangash,
Rajputs,
Gujjars,
Syeds,
Awans.
Resources
Dhullian
is a village in Pindigheb Tehsil. This village has important resources
namely Oil and Gas. It has been providing oil since the 1930s.
There are all types of soil as mountains, plain areas fertile
grounds and it also has a river flowing through it. There is a
famous Ghala Mandi located in Dhullian Chowk. Here 90% of the total
population area agricultural. This historical village is located at
the end of Attock District.
Administration
The district of Attock is administratively subdivided into six
tehsils, each with an elected
Nazim:
Attock District: Tehsils and
Nazims
|
| Tehsil |
Nazim |
| Attock |
Qazi Khalid Mehmood |
| Fateh Jang |
Sardar Arjamand Zaheer Afzal Khan |
Hassan Abdal |
Haji Shafqat Ali Khan Tahirkheli |
| Jand |
Sardar AAmer Khan |
| Pindi Gheb |
Malik Liaqat Ali khan |
| Hazro |
Raza Khan |
History
According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India:
Ancient History
Pāṇini was an ancient Indian scholar who
was born between the 7th and 4th centuries BC in Shalatula
, a town near to Attock on the Indus river in
present day Pakistan. He is regarded by scholars as one of
the most innovative people in the whole development of knowledge.
He was a Sanskrit grammarian who gave a comprehensive and
scientific theory of phonetics, phonology, and morphology.
The
Astadhyayi (also known as Astaka) is
Panini's major work. Citied from (J J O'Connor and E F Robertson,
Panini Biography, 2000) MacTutor History of Mathematics
Attock fort was completed in 1583 under the supervision of Khawaja
Shamsuddin Khawafi, a minister of Emperor
Akbar. The
Mughal caravan
sarai outside the fort, which is almost on the Grand Trunk (GT)
Road, was also built during this period.
Gandhara (gəndä'rə) was an 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, founder of the Maurya
empire, in the late 4th cent. 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.
Main Tribes
The
Khattar,
Syed,
Paracha,
Awans,
Pathans,
Bangashs,
Gujjars,
Rajput,
Mughal
and
Shaikhs are the main tribes of
Attock District. The main Rajput tribes are the
Alpial,
Jodhra,
Janjua Chauhan and
Bhatti. The Chauhan of Khaur, the Alpial of Chakri
and Jodhra of Kamlial are important families in the district.
Hindu population before 1947
Attock District had a heterogeneous mix of religious and ethnic
populations before 1947. The Gazetteer of the Attock District 1930
records
Khatris
In Tallagang the Chhachi Sardars , whose ancestors held the tract under the Sikhs are large Jagirdars but reside almost always in Gujranwala district , and have really little to do with Tallagang.
Shaikh in Attock District
The Gazetteer of the Attock District 1930 records that Attock had a
significant population of
Shaikh
.
Political Representation
MNAs
The district is represented in the
National Assembly of Pakistan
by the following members (MNA) who were voted into office following
general elections
on 18 February, 2008:
| Constituency |
Area |
MNA |
Party |
| NA57 Attock-I |
Attock City, Chach area |
Sheikh Aftab Ahmad |
Pakistan Muslim
League |
| NA58 Attock-II |
Jand Tehsil, Pandi Gheb Tehsil |
Ch Pervez Ellahi |
Pakistan Muslim
League |
| NA59 Attock-III |
Hassan Abdal Tehsil, Fatehjang Tehsil, Sanjwal Cantt, Union
Councils Golra and Akhori of Tehsil Attock |
Sardar Saleem Haider khan |
Pakistan Peoples
Party |
MPAs
The district is represented in the
Provincial Assembly of the
Punjab by five members (MPA):
| Constituency |
MPA |
Role |
| PP15 Attock-I |
Shahhan Malik |
Political worker of PPP |
| PP16 Attock-II |
Col (r) Shuja Khanzada of Shadi Khan |
Chairman Task Force Agreeculture ( PML N) |
| PP17 Attock-III |
Choudary Sher Ali Khan |
Political worker of PML(Q) |
| PP18 Attock-IV |
Malik Khurram |
PPP |
| PP19 Attock-V |
Capt (r) Malik Aitabar Khan |
PML(Q) now joined PML(N) |
Senators
The district has been represented in the
Senate of Pakistan by the following
senators:
- Late Ahmad Waheed Akhtar (Pakistan Peoples Party)
- Sardar Mehmood Advocate
- PPP Central Leader Malik Hakmeen Khan
External links
References
- Gazetteer of the Attock District 1930, Punjab Government,
Lahore 1932. Reprinted version: Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore,
1989
- Panini/J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
- www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk - Panini
- District Profile: Central Punjab- Attock
- 2008 Election Result
- Daily 2008 Election Result
- 2008 Election Result
- Legislators from Attock - Official Website of the
Provincial Assembly of the Punjab
- Senate of Pakistan
- Senate of Pakistan
Top topics
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
