Attock District
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33°53′37″N 72°14′29″E / 33.8936111°N 72.2413889°E
Attock District
اٹک | |
|---|---|
 District location within Punjab Province | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province | Punjab |
| Capital | Attock |
| No. of tehsils | 6 |
| Government | |
| • Nazim | Maj Tahir Sadiq |
| • Naib nazim | Malik Muhammad Sameem Khan |
| Area | |
• Total | 6,857 km2 (2,648 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 2,758 m (9,049 ft) |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Languages | Punjabi, Hindko, Pashto, Urdu, English |
| www.attocknews.com | |
Attock District (Template:Lang-ur) is a district in the Punjab Province of Pakistan.
Creation
The district was created in April 1904[1] 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 original name was Attock it changes Campbellpur after the Briton Sir Campbell who founded the city of Campbellpore. The name of the district was changed to Attock as of 1978 again.[2] 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,[3] 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.
Almost 50% of the population of this area are of Pukhtuns/(Pathans) origin, who speak Hindko language. There is also significant areas and villages with predomanatly 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, 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.
Some of the Pashto speaking pashtuns belong to the following Pashtun tribes Ismail Khel, Tarakhel Khel, Salat Khel, Hisab(Yusuf) Khel, Tori Khel and Babarkarzai. There is also a flow of Pashtuns from Afghanistan into the area.
Chach Pathans/Pukhtuns 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,(Pakistan)
| Tribe | Attock Tehsil | Pindigheb Tehsil | Fateh Jang Tehsil | Jand Tehsil | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awan | 1456 | 2701 | 2831 | 3123 | 11211 | |
| Akhund Khel | 722 | 722 | ||||
| Alizai | 4,415 | 4,415 | ||||
| Babar | 615 | 615 | ||||
| Babi | 581 | 581 | ||||
| Barakzai | 578 | 578 | ||||
| Dilazak | 1,070 | 3 | 43 | 1,116 | ||
| Jamal Khel | 579 | 579 | ||||
| Lodhi | 727 | 1 | 5 | 733 | ||
| Manduri | 864 | 864 | ||||
| Piru Khel | 594 | 594 | ||||
| Saddo Khel | 801 | 801 | ||||
| Sagri Khattak | 4,759 | 4,759 | ||||
| Tareen | 658 | 658 |
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:
| Tehsil | Nazim |
| Attock[4] | Qaiser Riaz |
| 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:
The history of the District is practically the same as that of Rawalpindi district. Hassan Abdal, the chief relic of the Buddhist period, was one of the towns subordinate to the capital of Taxila, and under the Gakhars, Mughals, and Sikhs the District followed the fortunes of Rawalpindi. The chief historical events recorded are the defeat of Anand Pal near Ohind by Mahmud of Ghazni, the foundation of ATTOCK by Akbar, and its vicissitudes in the Sikh Wars. The District was constituted in 1904,
the tahsils of Attock, Pindi Gheb, and Fatahjang being transferred
from Rawalpindi District, and that of Talagang from Jhelum.[5]
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.[6]
The Astadhyayi (also known as Astaka) is Panini's major work.
In this work Panini distinguishes between the language of sacred texts and the usual language of communication. Panini gives formal production rules and definitions to describe Sanskrit grammar. Starting with about 1700 basic elements like nouns, verbs, vowels, consonants he put them into classes. The construction of sentences, compound nouns etc. is explained as ordered rules operating on underlying structures in a manner similar to modern theory. In many ways Panini's constructions are similar to the way that a mathematical function is defined today
Citied from (J J O'Connor and E F Robertson, Panini Biography, 2000) MacTutor History of Mathematics[7]
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
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,Mughals and Shaikhs are the main tribes of Attock District.[8] 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. The main Tribe of Royal Barlas Mughal's is Gheba.The Gheba Sardars of kot Fateh khan,Dhurnal,Malal,Dhari-Rai-Ditta, Shah-rai-saidullah 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
Hindus , who make up 8.5 %of the total population are by caste and in order of numerical importance , Khatris , Aroras , Brahmans and Mohyals[9]
Khatris
Khatris , who number about 24000 make up the greater portion of the Hindu population.[9]
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.[9]
| 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[10]
- PPP Central Leader Malik Hakmeen Khan[11]
External links
References
- ^ Gazetteer of the Attock District 1930, Punjab Government, Lahore 1932. Reprinted version: Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore, 1989
- ^ "Official Website". Attock Police. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
- ^ "Pakistan: Population 1901-98". Urban Resource Centre. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
- ^ "Tehsil Attock". TMA Attock. Retrieved 2007-07-03.
- ^ Attock District - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 6, p. 132-133
- ^ Panini/J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
- ^ www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk - Panini
- ^ District Profile: Central Punjab- Attock
- ^ a b c Gazetteer of the Attock District 1930 published by Sang-E-Meel Publications and Page 115
- ^ Senate of Pakistan
- ^ Senate of Pakistan
