Ajay Kumar at 19:30, 5 September 2023

2023-09-05T19:30:30Z

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{{about|the city founded during the British era|the historic city of Attock|Attock Khurd|the district|Attock District|other uses}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Attock
| other_name = Campbellpur
| native_name = {{Nastaliq|اٹک}}
| sports_nickname =
| settlement_type = City
| motto =
| image_skyline = {{Photomontage
| photo1a = Attock Qila.jpg
| photo2a = Attock Train Brigde.jpg
| photo2b = Attock fort.png
| photo3a = Akhori, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan.jpg
| photo3b =
| photo4a =
| photo4b =
| photo5a =
| photo5b =
| color = white
| color_border = white
| position = center
| spacing = 2
| size = 266
| foot_montage =
}}
| image_caption = From top left to right: Attock city view, [[Attock Fort]], [[Haro River|Attock River]] near [[Akhori]], [[Attock Bridge]]
| imagesize = 280
| image_flag =
| flag_link =
| flag_size =
| image_shield =
| shield_link =
| shield_size =
| image_map =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map = Punjab Pakistan#Pakistan
| pushpin_relief =
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_mapsize = 300
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = {{flag|Pakistan}}
| subdivision_type1 = [[Provinces of Pakistan|Province]]
| subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Punjab}}
| subdivision_type2 = [[Divisions of Pakistan|Division]]
| subdivision_name2 = [[Rawalpindi Division|Rawalpindi]]
| subdivision_type3 = [[Districts of Pakistan|District]]
| subdivision_name3 = [[Attock District|Attock]]
| leader_title1 = Mayor: Malik Tahir Awan PTI
| leader_name1 =
| leader_title2 =
| leader_name2 =
| established_title = Established
| established_date = 4 April 1904
| established_title2 = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]]
| established_date2 = 1978 (Renamed to Attock)
| unit_pref = Metric
| area_magnitude =
| area_total_km2 =
| area_metro_km2 =
| area_urban_km2 =
| elevation_m = 355
| population_note =
| population_as_of = [[2017 Census of Pakistan|2017]]
| population_total = 146,396
| total_type = City
| population_rank = [[List of largest cities in Pakistan|60th, Pakistan]]
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_blank1_title =
| population_blank1 =
| population_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |title=PAKISTAN: Provinces and Major Cities |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Pakistan-100T.html |website=PAKISTAN: Provinces and Major Cities |publisher=citypopulation.de |access-date=4 May 2020}}</ref>
| timezone = [[Pakistan Standard Time|PST]]
| utc_offset = 5
| postal_code_type = Postal code span
| postal_code = [[List of Postal Codes of Pakistan|43600]]
| area_code = 057
| website = {{URL|https://punjab.gov.pk/attock}}
| coordinates = {{Coord|33|46|0|N|72|22|0|E|type:city_region:PK|display=inline,title}}
}}
'''Attock''' ([[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], {{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|اٹک}}}}), formerly known as '''Campbellpur''' ([[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], {{lang-ur|{{nq|کیمبل پور}}}}),<ref>{{Cite journal| last = Shackle| first = Christopher| author-link = Christopher Shackle| date = 1980| doi = 10.1017/S0041977X00137401| issn = 0041-977X| volume = 43| issue = 3| page = 482| title = Hindko in Kohat and Peshawar| journal = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies| s2cid = 129436200}}</ref> is a city located in [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]], [[Pakistan]], not far from the country's capital [[Islamabad]]. It is the headquarters of the [[Attock District]] and is [[List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population|36th largest city in the Punjab]] and [[Largest cities of Pakistan|61st largest city in the country]], by population. The city was founded in 1908 several miles southeast of the historical city of [[Attock Khurd]],<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pakistan/cantt-attock|title=Attock City Cantonment|last=Pike|first=John|website=www.globalsecurity.org|language=en|access-date=2018-03-09}}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> which had been established by the Mughal Emperor [[Akbar]] in the 16th century,<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qgJCDwAAQBAJ&q=campbellpur+name+change&pg=PT332|title=The Concise Dictionary of World Place Names|last=Everett-Heath|first=John|date=2017-12-07|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780192556462|language=en}}</ref> and was initially named in honour of [[Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde|Sir Colin Campbell]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qgJCDwAAQBAJ&q=attock&pg=PT332|title=The Concise Dictionary of World Place Names|last=Everett-Heath|first=John|date=2017-12-07|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780192556462|language=en}}</ref>

== Etymology ==
The city was initially founded by the Mughal emperor Akbar as ''Atak-Banarās''.<ref name=":1" /> It was changed to Campbellpur after the Commander-in-Chief of British forces [[Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde|Sir Colin Campbell]], who rebuilt the city of Campbellpur.<ref name=":1" /> The name Attock was restored in 1978.<ref name=":1" />

== Geography ==
Attock is located east of the [[Indus River]], {{convert|80|km|0|abbr=on}} from [[Rawalpindi]], {{convert|100|km|0|abbr=on}} from [[Peshawar]], and {{convert|10|km|0|abbr=on}} from the [[Pakistan Aeronautical Complex]], [[Kamra, Pakistan|Kamra]].

==History==
===Ancient period===
Attock is located in the historical region of [[Gandhara]]. [[Alexander the Great]], [[Mahmud of Ghazni]], [[Timur]], [[Nader Shah]] and [[Babur]] crossed the Indus at or about this spot ([[Attock Fort]]) in their respective invasions of [[Indian subcontinent|India]].<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=y|wstitle=Attock|volume=2|page=886}}</ref>

After the founding of the city by the Mughal emperor Akbar,<ref name=":1" /> the [[Attock Fort]] was completed in 1583 under the supervision of [[Khawaja Shamsuddin Khawafi]], a minister of Akbar.<ref name="Hasan2005">{{cite book|last=Hasan|first=Shaikh Khurshid|title=Historical forts in Pakistan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HH_fAAAAMAAJ|access-date=17 July 2011|year=2005|publisher=National Institute of Historical & Cultural Research Centre of Excellence, Quaid-i-Azam University|isbn=978-969-415-069-7|page=37}}</ref> During the Mughal era, Attock was part of the [[Subah of Lahore|Lahore Subah]] of Punjab.<ref name="auto1">{{cite book |last1=Singh |first1=Surinder |title=The Mughal Subah of Lahore, 1581-1751: A Study of Administrative Structure and Practices |date=1985 |publisher=Panjab University}}</ref>
[[File:Lahore Subah.png|left|thumb|Attock in the [[Subah of Lahore|Lahore Subah]], depicted in map of Mughal India by [[Robert Wilkinson (cartographer)|Robert Wilkinson]] (1805)]]
Nader Shah crossed through Attock when he defeated the Mughals at the [[Battle of Karnal]] and thus ended Mughal power in Northern India. The Battle of Attock took place at Attock Khurd on 28 April 1758, between the Durrani state and [[Maratha Empire]]. The Marathas under [[Raghunathrao|Raghunathrao Ballal Peshwa]] and [[Tukoji Rao Holkar|Tukojirao Holkar Bahadur]] were victorious in the battle and Attock was captured.<ref>{{cite news|title=Attock to Cuttack, PM Narendra Modi causes a stir|url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/attock-to-cuttack-pm-narendra-modi-causes-a-stir/articleshow/59332065.cms|work=[[The Economic Times]]|date=June 27, 2017}}</ref>

But this conquest was short-lived as [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] came in person to recapture Attock and checked the Maratha advance after destroying their forces at [[Third Battle of Panipat|Panipat]]. After the decline of the Durrani state, the [[Sikh Empire|Sikhs]] invaded and occupied [[Attock District]]. The [[Sikh Kingdom]] (1799–1849) under [[Ranjit Singh]] (1780–1839) captured the fortress of Attock in 1813 from the Durrani Nawab{{cn|date=August 2022}}. After the occupation of [[Kashmir]] by [[Sikh Empire|Sikh Kingdom]] in 1820 many [[Kashmiris]] migrated to the plains of [[Attock]].

In February 1849, [[Attock Khurd]] (Old Attock) was conquered by the [[British East India Company]] who created Campbellpur District. Following the [[Indian Rebellion]] in 1857, the region's strategic value was appreciated by the [[British Empire|British]], who established the [[Attock Cantonment|Campbellpur Cantonment]] in 1857–58.<ref name=":2" />

===Modern Period===
The Campbellpur Cantonment was established by the British colonial rulers in 1858. Campbellpur District was organised in 1904,<ref name=":2" /> by the division of [[Talagang Tehsil]] in the [[Jhelum District]] with the [[Pindigheb]], [[Fateh Jang]] and Attock tehsils from [[Rawalpindi District]]. Today the [[Attock]] district consists of six tehsils: [[Fateh Jang Tehsil|Fateh Jang]], [[Hazro Tehsil|Hazro]], [[Hasan Abdal]], [[Jand Tehsil|Jand]], and [[Pindi Gheb Tehsil|Pindi Gheb]].

The city's foundations were laid in 1908 and the city was named after [[Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde|Sir Colin Campbell]], [[Commander-in-Chief, India|British Commander-in-Chief of India]].<ref name=":2" /> The old city was established near the 16th century near the [[Attock fort]] that had guarded the major routes between [[Central Asia]] and [[South Asia]]. Attock's first oil well was drilled in [[Khaur]] in 1915,<ref name="World oil">{{cite book|title=World oil|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CXVAAQAAIAAJ|access-date=17 July 2011|date=March 1947|publisher=Gulf Publishing Company.|page=12}}</ref> while the Attock Oil Company was established<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3MNFAQAAIAAJ&q=%22campbellpur+attock|title=Punjab District Gazetteers: Attock district, 1930|last=(India)|first=Punjab|date=1932|publisher=Superintendent, Government Printing|language=en}}</ref> with a selling arrangement with the [[Burmah Oil Company]]. During 1928, the region produced 350,000 barrels of oil.<ref>{{cite news |title=India is natural kerosene market |publisher=The Japan Times and Mail |date=26 December 1929}}</ref>

Attock was one of the northernmost points of the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]] of [[British Raj|British India]] prior to the [[partition of India|partition]]; it thus found itself being a part of the common [[Hindustani language|Hindi-Urdu]] phrase used to describe the length of [[colonial India]]: "Attock se Cuttack" (from Attock to [[Cuttack]]).
The term "Attock se Cuttack" was first used to describe the extent of the [[Maratha Empire]] after they conquered Cuttack in 1750 and Attock in 1758.<ref name="Rajghatta2017">{{cite web |last1=Rajghatta |first1=Chidanand |title=Attock to Cuttack, PM Narendra Modi causes a stir |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/attock-to-cuttack-pm-narendra-modi-causes-a-stir/articleshow/59332065.cms |publisher=[[The Economic Times]] |access-date=23 June 2020 |language=en |date=27 June 2017}}</ref>

After the [[Partition of India|independence]] of Pakistan in 1947, [[Hindu]] and [[Sikh]] minorities emigrated to India, while [[Muslim]] refugees from India settled in Attock. The [[Government of Pakistan]] renamed Campbellpur as Attock in 1978.<ref name=":0"/> The city and surrounding area are known for their high representation among soldiers of the [[Pakistan Army]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_XdeCwAAQBAJ&q=campbellpur+&pg=PT152|title=The Pakistan Paradox: Instability and Resilience|last=Jaffrelot|first=Christophe|date=2015-08-15|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=9780190613303|language=en}}</ref>

== Education ==
According to the ''Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings'' ''2019'', Attock is ranked 3 out of [[Districts of Pakistan|146 districts of Pakistan]] in terms of the quality of education. For facilities and infrastructure, the district is ranked 17 out of 146.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/alifailaan/pages/324/attachments/original/1400690777/District_Ranking_Report_Binded_-_comp.compressed.pdf |title= Alif Ailaan Pakistan District Education Rankings, 2014 |publisher=Alif Ailaan |access-date=2014-05-06}}</ref> A detailed picture of the district's education performance is also available online.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pace-tech.com/edurankings/profiles/19007.pdf |title=Individual district profile link, 2014 |publisher=Alif Ailaan |access-date=2014-05-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304194813/http://www.pace-tech.com/edurankings/profiles/19007.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Fazaia Degree College, Government Graduate College, Government College for Women, FG Public High School, University of Education Attock Campus, Fazaia Inter College, Army Public School & College, Government Polytechnic Institute,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gpiattock.edu.pk/|title=Government Polytechnic Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312222929/http://www.gpiattock.edu.pk/|archive-date=2012-03-12|url-status=dead}}</ref> Beacon Light English Model Secondary School,<ref>{{cite web|title=Beacon Light English Model Secondary School official website|url=http://beaconjand.edu.pk/|publisher=Beacon Light English Model Secondary School|access-date=2018-09-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161003235618/http://beaconjand.edu.pk/|archive-date=2016-10-03|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[COMSATS University Islamabad]], [[Air University (Pakistan Air Force)|Air University Aerospace and Aviation Campus Kamra]] and Punjab College Attock are a few important educational institutes in Attock.

== Notable people ==
{{Main articles|List of people from Attock}}
* [[Malik Nur Khan]] (22 February 1923 – 15 December 2011), Air Marshal, politician, sports administrator, and commander in chief of [[Pakistan Air Force]]
* [[Ali Khan (American cricketer)|Ali Khan]] (13 December 1990), Pakistani-born American professional cricketer.
* [[Haider Ali (cricketer, born 2000)|Haider Ali]] (2 October 2000), Pakistani professional cricketer
*[[Ghulam Jilani Barq]] (26 October 1901 – 12 March 1985), Pakistani Islamic scholar
*[[Qazi Ashfaq]] (12 December 1967 – 13 November 2001), Pakistani footballer
*[[Asfandyar Bukhari]] (1988-2015) , Pakistan Army Officer

== Climate ==
Attock has a [[humid subtropical climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification|Köppen]]: Cwa) which has hot and humid summers, and cold to mild winters.

==Sports==
{{expand section|date=January 2023}}
*[[Indus Golf Club]]

==See also==
*[[Attock Cantonment]]
*[[Battle of Attock|Battle of Attock, 1813]]
*[[List of people from Attock]]
*[[Potohar Plateau]]
*[[Birbal|Raja Birbal]]
*[[Taank Kingdom]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Attock District}}
{{PakistanCities}}
{{Pakistan topics}}

[[Category:Cities and towns in Attock District]]
[[Category:Cities in Punjab (Pakistan)]]

Attock - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 19:30, 5 September 2023