Attock

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.

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.

History[edit]

Gandhara was a historic region of ancient India, corresponding to areas of northwest Pakistan including Attock. Situated astride the middle Indus River, the region had Taxila and Peshawar as its chief cities. It was occupied by the Persian Empire and was reached in 327 BC by Alexander the Great. The region passed to Chandragupta, founder of the Maurya empire, in the late 4th century BC, and under Asoka was converted in the mid-3rd century BC to Buddhism. It was part of Bactria from the late 3rd century to the 1st century BC. Under the Kushan dynasty (1st century–3rd century AD), and especially under Kanishka, Gandhara developed a noted school of sculpture, consisting mainly of images of Buddha and reliefs 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.

In the early 11th century, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi launched seventeen expeditions into South Asia. In 1001, he defeated Raja Jayapala of the Hindu Shahi Dynasty of Gandhara in the Battle of Peshawar and marched further into Peshawar and, in 1005, made it the center for his forces. Attock became part of Ghannavi Empire. Many Sufi missionaries settled in Attock and converted the native population to Islam.

The Attock fort was completed in 1583 under the supervision of Khawaja Shamsuddin Khawafi, a minister of Emperor Akbar. In 1759-60, Marathaforces captured the fortress of Attock.

The Sikh Kingdom (1799–1849) under Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780–1839) captured the fortress of Attock in 1813 from the Afghan Kingdom (Attock was then part of Afghanistan) and the Sikh Empire re-established indigenous rule in Attock. The Muslims faced severe restrictions during the Sikh rule.

I 1849n Attock fell to the British who created Campbellpur District. After 1947, the Pakistani Government renamed it as Attock in 1978.

The city's foundations were laid in 1903, and it was named Campbellpur after Sir Colin Campbell. It was established near Attock fort that had guarded the 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, Fateh jang and Attock tehsils from Rawalpindi District of the Punjab province of British India.

Attock's first oil well was drilled in Khaur in 1915. It has an oil and gas field Dakhini near Jand.

The predominantly Muslim population supported the Muslim League and the Pakistan Movement. After the Independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhsemigrated to India, while Muslim refugees from India settled in the Attock.

Language[edit]

As per the 1998 census of Pakistan, the following are the demographics of the Attock district, by spoken language:

• Punjabi language: 90%
• Other: 10%

Inhabitants of Attock District speak a great variety of Punjabi dialects: which are

• Chhachi (Northern parts of district mainly in Attock tehsil)
• Ghebi (Western parts of district in Fateh Jang and Pindigheb tehsil)
• Majhi or standard (Sizeable population in cities)
• Jandali (Jand Tehsil Southern border areas with Mianwali)
• Pothohari (Easteren border areas)

Other Languages include:

• Pashto which is also spoken by sizeable population in the KPK province border areas and in the cities.

• Urdu is mother tongue of few people but being national language is spoken and understood by the sizeable population.

• English is also understood and spoken by the educated elite.