Rawapindi (Urdu: راولپنڈی,Rāwalpindī), locally known as Pindi, is a city inthe Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab.Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad. In the 1950s, Rawalpindi was smaller than Hyderabad and Multan,but the city's economy received a boost during the building of Islamabad(1959–1969), during which time Rawalpindi served as the national capital andits population increased from 180,000 at the time of independence to over 4.5 millionin 2007.Rawalpindi is located in the northernmost part ofthe Punjab province, 275 km (171 mi) to the north-westof Lahore. It is the administrative seat of the Rawalpindi District.The total area of the city is approximately 154 square kilometres (59 sq mi).Rawalpindi is the military headquarters of the Pakistani Armed Forces.
Rawalpindi,named after Raja Pindi, is a bustling city on the northernmost part ofthe Punjab province,strategically located between the NWFP and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.Many tourists use the city as a stop before traveling towards the northernareas. Rawalpindi is also a prime destination for the expatriate communityof Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Numerous shopping bazaars, parks and acosmopolitan population attract shoppers from all over Pakistan and abroad. Thecity is home to several industries and factories. Islamabad InternationalAirport is actually located in Rawalpindi and serves both cities.
Rawalpindialso maintains strong links with the Pahari-Potwari speakingpeople of neighbouring Azad Kashmir who have many businesses withinthe city and region.
Boundary andexpansion
ThoughRawalpindi has expanded mostly due to explosive population pressure, Nespak (NESPAK)has been given the responsibility to render the urban planning services—analysingavailable data and other documents like master plans, structure plans, outlinedevelopment plans and census reports. It is also responsible for defining thegeographical features of the city and provides the a rough idea of how the citycould be expanded in the next 20 years.
History
Rawalpindihas been inhabited for thousands of years, it is believed that a distinctculture flourished on this plateau as far in c1000BC. The material remainsfound at the site prove the existence of a Buddhist establishmentcontemporary to Taxila and of a Vedic civilisation. The nearbytown of Taxila has another significance; according to the Guinness Book ofWorld Records it has the world's oldest university - Takshashila University.
Sir AlexanderCunningham identified certain ruins on the site of the cantonment with theancient city of Ganjipur or Gajnipur, the capital of the Bhatti tribe in theages preceding the Christian era. Graeco-Bactrian coins, together with ancientbricks, occur over an area of 500 ha (2 mi²). Known within historical times asFatehpur Baori, Rawalpindi fell into decay during one of the Mongol invasionsin the fourteenth century
It appearsthat the ancient city went into oblivion as a result of the White Hun devastation.The first Muslim invader, Mahmud of Ghazni (979-1030), gavethe ruined city to a Gakhar Chief, Kai Gohar. Thetown, however, being on an invasion route, could not prosper and remaineddeserted until Jhanda Khan, another Gakhar Chief, restored it and named it Rawalpindi afterthe village Rawal in 1493. Rawalpindi remained under the rule of the Gakkhars until Muqarrab Khan, the last Gakkhar ruler, was defeated by the Sikhs under Sardar MilkaSingh in 1765. Singh invited traders from the neighbouringcommercial centres of Jhelum and Shahpur to settle in the territory.
Early in thenineteenth century Rawalpindi became for a time the refuge of Shah Shuja,the exiled king of Afghanistan, and of his brother Shah Zaman. The presentnative infantry lines mark the site of a battle fought by the Gakhars undertheir famous chief Sultan Mukarrab Khan in the middle of the eighteenthcentury. Rawalpindi was taken by Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh in1818.
British rule
Queen Victoria's Statue sculpted in England was placed in the cityduring the rule of the British Empire, 1939
Followingthe British invasion of the region and their occupation of Rawalpindiin 1849, the city became a permanent garrison of the British army in1851. In the late 1870s a railway line to Rawalpindi was laid, and trainservice was inaugurated on 1 October 1880. The need for a railway link aroseafter Lord Dalhousie made Rawalpindi the headquarters of the NorthernCommand and the city became the largest British military garrisonin British India
On theintroduction of British rule, Rawalpindi became the site of a cantonment and,shortly afterward, the headquarters of 2nd (Rawalpindi) Division. Its connectionwith the main railway system by the extension of the North-Western Railway to Peshawar immenselydeveloped its size and commercial importance. The municipality was created in1867.
Rawalpindiat the end of the 1800s became the most important cantonment in the BritishRaj - the colonial dominion of the Indic or South Asian sub-continent. Forexample, the municipality's population in 1901 population was 40 611, largerthan any other cantonment. Its income and expenditure during the ten yearsending 1902-3 averaged 180 000 and 210 000 Rs. (rupees), respectively. Incomederived mostly (89%) from municipal import duties (octroi)which in that year ran 160 000 Rs. Expenditure included administration (35 000Rs. or 17%), conservancy (27 000 Rs. or 13%), hospitals and dispensaries (25000 Rs. or 12%), public works (9 000 Rs. or 3%), and public safety (17 000 Rs.or %).
Thecantonment was a major center of military power of the Raj after an arsenal wasestablished in 1883.] In 1901 Rawalpindi was the winter headquarters ofthe Northern Command and of the Rawalpindi military division. It quarteredsix regiments - one each of British and Native cavalry; two each ofBritish and Native infantry; three companies, one of garrison artilleryand two of sappers and miners, including a balloon section; three batteries -one each of horse, field artillery, and mountain; and one ammunitioncolumn of field artillery. It has been recently disclosed that the BritishGovernment tested poison gas on Indian troops during a series of experiments thatlasted over a decade.
Post-independence
The partitionof India in 1947 saw the creation of the Muslim state of Pakistan, ofwhose West Punjab province Rawalpindi became a part of. Communaltensions and partition-era violence led to an exodus of a vast majority of thecity's Hindu and Sikh populations, who fled to India's EastPunjab. In the succeeding years, Rawalpindi saw an influx of Muhajir, Pashtun and Kashmiri settlers. In 1959, the city became the interimcapital of the country after President Ayub Khan sought the creationof a new planned capital of Islamabad in the vicinity of Rawalpindi. As aresult, Rawalpindi saw most major central government offices and institutionsrelocate to nearby territory, and its population boom.
Thefamous Murree Road has been a hot spot forvarious political and social events. Nala Lai, in the middle of city, historydescribes Nala Lai water as pure enough for drinking but now it has becomepolluted with the waste water from all sources including factories and houses.Kashmir Road, was renamed from Dalhousie Road, Haider road from Lawrence road,Bank Road from Edwards Road, Hospital Road from Mission Road, Jinnah Road fromNehru Road. Today Rawalpindi is the headquarters of the Pakistani Army.Few years ago it also had headquarters of Air Force.
Climate
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Similar toneighboring Islamabad, Rawalpindi features a humid subtropicalclimate with long and very hot summers, a monsoon and short,mild, wet winters. Rawalpindi during the summer season experiences a number ofthunder or wind storms that sometimes cause damage to property. Wind speedscould reach an astonishing 168 km/h in some wind storms which results inthe collapse of walls and roofs causing injuries and sometimes death.[
Rawalpindiis chaotic but relatively dust-free. The weather is highly variable due to thelocation of Rawalpindi. The average annual rainfall is 39 inches (990 mm),most of which falls in the summer monsoon season. However, frontal cloudbandsalso bring quite significant rainfall in the winter. In summer, the maximumtemperature can sometimes soar up to 52 °C (126 °F), while it may drop to a minimum of −4 °C (25 °F) in the winter.
Demographics
The population ofRawalpindi is approximately 1,991,656 according to the 2006 census whichincludes many people who come from Punjab villages looking for work in thecity. Punjabi is the language of people and most people speak Pothohari dialectof Punjabi language. The majority of the people of Rawalpindi are Muslims.There are many mosques throughout the city. The most famous Mosques are JamiaMosque, Raja Bazaar Mosque and Eid Gah Mosque which attract thousands ofvisitors daily. Other minority religions are Christian, Zoroastrian, Bahai, Parsi, Hinduism and Sikhism. The literacy rate is 80%(2006–07).]The population is ethnically and linguisticallyheterogeneous, comprising Rajputs, Pothohari,Sudhun, Chauhans, Satti, Awans, Kathwals, Paharis, Kashmiris,Pakhtuns, Gujjars, Muhajirs, Hindkowans, Afghans, Sheikh, Hazaries, Punjabis,Qureshis
Administration
Administrative subdivisions of Rawalpindi District.
The City-District ofRawalpindi comprises eight autonomous tehsils, besides Rawalpindi city(divided into Rawal & Potohar Tehsils):
TodayRawalpindi is the headquarter of the Pakistani Army.
Thefamous Murree Road has been a hot spot for various political andsocial events. Nala Lai, in the middle of city, history describes Nala Laiwater as pure enough for drinking but now it has become polluted with the wastewater from all sources including factories and houses.
KashmirRoad, was renamed from Dalhousie Road, Haider road from Lawrence road, BankRoad from Edwards Road, Hospital Road from Mission Road, Jinnah Road from NehruRoad.
Rawalpindialso holds many private colony's who have developed themselves rapidly for e.g.Pak PWD, Korang Town, Ghori Town, Pakistan Town, Judicial Town, Baharia townwhich is the Asia's largest private colony, Kashmir Housing Society, DanialTown, Al-Haram City, Education City
Peshawar Road Rawalpindi
The Murree Road during the construction of Committee Chowk Underpass
The gate of Pharwala Fort
Rapidlydeveloping into a large city, Rawalpindi has many good hotels, restaurants,clubs, museums and parks, of which the largest is the Ayub National Park.Rawalpindi forms the base camp for the tourists visiting the holiday resortsand hill stations of the Galiyat area, such as Murree, Nathia Gali, Kotli,Ayubia, Rawlakot, Muzaffarabad, Bagh, Abbottabad, Samahni, Swat, Kaghan, Gilgit, Hunza, Skardu and Chitral.
The city hastwo main roads: the Grand Trunk Road runs roughly from east to westand is known as The Mall as it passes through the cantonment. MurreeRoad originates toward north from The Mall, crosses the railway lines andbrushes the east end of the old city on its way to Islamabad.
The mainbazaar areas are Raja Bazaar in the old city, Moti Bazaar, Commercial Market,China Market and Saddar Bazaar, whichdeveloped as the cantonment bazaar between the old city and The Mall. Anotherdeveloping market is the Commercial Market in the area of Satellite Townnear Islamabad.
The crowdedalleys of the old city are home to many attractions, including Hindu (inruins now), Zoroastrian, Sikh temples and Islamic shrines.There are several museums and arts galleries such as the Lok Virsa, PakistanMuseum of Natural History, and the $IdaraSaqafat e Pakistan.
Rawalpindihas been a military city since colonial times and remained Army headquartersafter independence in 1947. Due to this, the city is home to the Pakistan ArmyMuseum, with displays on colonial and present day armies, armoury of historicalsignificance and war heroes.
AyubNational Park is located beyond the old Presidency on Jhelum Road. Itcovers an area of about 2,300 acres (930 ha) and has a playland, lake withboating facility, an aquarium and a garden-restaurant. Rawalpindi Public Parkis on Murree Road near Shamsabad. The Park was opened to the public in 1991. Ithas a playland for children, grassy lawns, fountains and flower beds.
In 2008 JinnahPark was inaugurated at the heart of Rawalpindi and has since become a hotspotof activity for the city. People from as far as out as Peshawer come to JinnahPark to enjoy its modern facilities. It houses a state-of-the-art cinema, Cinepax, a Metro Cash and Carry supermart, an outletof McDonalds, gaming lounges, motion rides andother recreational facilities. The vast lawns also provide and adequate picnicspot.
RawalpindiCricket Stadium, built in 1992, has a grass pitch, floodlights, and a initialcapacity of 20,000. In mid-2008 it was being upgraded and to hold more than40,000 people. The home team are the Rawalpindi Rams. The RawalpindiHockey stadium is a small but well-built facility that plays host to thenational side throughout the year.
Rawat Fortis 17 km (11 mi) east of Rawalpindi, on the Grand Trunk (G.T.) Roadleading to Lahore. Gakhars, a fiercely independent tribe ofthe Pothohar Plateau, built the fort in the early 16th century. The graveof a Gakhar Chief, Sultan Sarang Khan is inside the fort. He died in1546 fighting against the forces of Sher Shah Suri. A climb up the brokensteps inside the tomb is rewarded with a panoramic view of the plateau andthe Mankiala Stupa. Besides Rawat, about an hour's drive fromRawalpindi on the Grand Trunk Road toward Peshawar, is Attock Fort. The Akbarifort is not open to the public as it is in active military use.
Pharwala Fort is about 40 km (25 mi) fromRawalpindi beyond Lehtrar road. It is a Gakhar fort built it in the15th century on the ruins of a 10th century Hindi Shahi Fort. Emperor Babur conqueredthe it in 1519. Later, in 1825, Sikhs expelled Gakhars from thisfort. Though in a crumbling state, it is still an attraction for castle lovers.The fort, situated in prohibited area, is only open to Pakistani visitors.
Rawalpindihas numerous sights of architectural masterpieces. A few of the heritagebuildings are Purana Qil'aa (The Old Fort), Bagh Sardaran (Chief'sGardens), Haveli Sujaan Sigh (the remains of the Sikh Nawabs ofRawalpindi; the grand building has been converted into Fatima Jinnah WomenUniversity, which is the only female university established in the region).
Otherancient buildings include Jain Mandir, Jain Temple. GordonCollege, a prestigious institution of high learning was set during the BritishRaj. The shrine of Hazrat Sakhi Shah Chan Charagh isone of the centres devotees flock to. An institution of high devotion andsolace located near the famous Raja Bazar. He is the patron saint of the city and regarded asone of the two protectors of the twin cities, i.e., Islamabad andRawalpindi, with Hazrat Bari Imam,his cousin brother. Similarly, Darbar of descendants of Hazrat Bari Imam i.e.Shah Miran Mustafa and Shah Sharif Badshah is located at Dhaman Syedan,Rawalpindi. Peer Syed Salamat Hussain Kazmi, a successor of Shah Miran Mustafaand Shah Sharif Muhammad, spread a message of peace, brotherhood and respectfor humanity, as taught by his ancestors. Before the death of Peer SalamatHussain Kazmi, he handed over all the religious responsibilities to his sonSyed Talat Abbas Kazmi, who is adamant to the teachings of his father andforefathers.
TheRawalpindi Public Library was one of the earliest private public librariesorganized after separation from India. The building was donated for a publiclibrary by the then-Deputy Commissioner Major Davis on the initiative ofphilanthropist Khurshid Anwar Jilani, an attorney, writer and socialworker. However, the building was confiscated for election and politicalcampaigning during the last days of Field Marshal Ayub Khan's reign, and raremanuscripts and artifacts were taken away by the influential.
Bank Alfalah branch in Rawalpindi
According tothe general survey of industry conducted by Directorate of Industries andMineral Development Punjab, there are 939 industrial units operating in thedistrict. This district is not famous for industrial goods like otherdistricts. The progress has been mostly in the private sector. The existingindustrial units provide employment to about 35,000 people, i.e., about 1.6% ofdistrict population is directly employed in large, medium and small industrialunits. Apparently there is no shortage of skilled manpower. TheTechnical/Vocational Training Institute operating in the district turns outabout 1,974 technicians/artisans annually. They are trained in engineering, airconditioning, drafting, metallurgy, welding, auto knitting and commerce, etc.
§ Kohinoor Textile Mills is the largest unit in the district. It islocated near Naseer Abad and is equipped with 50,000 spindlesand 1,021 power looms.
§ Wattan Woolen and Hosiery Mills is fitted 10,000 spindles.
§ Rahat Woolen Mills, established in 1954, is one of the oldest and mostprominent mills in Rawalpindi.
Jinnah Road,formally known as City Saddar Road, is one of the busiest business markets. Itcould be considered as business headquarters northern Pakistan includingretailers, wholesalers, distributors, manufacturers having an approximatelycash flow of more than 1 billion rupees per day. The importance ofJinnah Road can be seen by the presence of more than nine banks on the roadwith more opening soon.
There aremany ways to get in and around Rawalpindi. Public transport for travel withinRawalpindi is diverse, ranging from yellow taxis, auto-rickshaws, mini-busesand even tongas (horse-drawncarriages). Due to the lack of planning of roads, traffic jams are found evenon smaller roads. For inter-city travel, air-conditioned and nonair-conditioned buses and coaches are regularly available to many destinationsin Pakistan. There is also an Islamabad/Rawalpindi central railway station thatallows travel to every major city in Pakistan. In addition to freight, Pakistan Railways provides passenger rail servicethroughout the day, with train coaches that have air-conditioning infirst-class.
Rail
Rawalpindi Railway Station
The RawalpindiRailway Station is located in the Saddar. The RailwayStation was built in the 1880s by the government of British India. TheBritish built many railways across South Asia to help facilitatetrade and more importantly to help consolidate their rule. The routes theBritish built from Rawalpindi, which contained a major military base, linkedto Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad, Hyderabad,Sindh, Sukkur, Bahawalpur, Jhelum,Gujrat, Gujranwala, Kohat, Khanewal, Nawabshah, Nowshera andthe Malakand Pass.
Airport
IslamabadInternational Airport is actually located at Chaklala which technically is a part of Rawalpindi. Theairport is served by over 25 airlines, both national and international. PakistanInternational Airlines (PIA), the national carrier of Pakistan, hasnumerous routes, with many domestic and international flights every day.Construction on the new Rawalpindi/Islamabad international airport has now beenstarted near the town of Fateh Jang approx 25 kilometres (20 mi) from bothcities.
Motorway
Mall Road
The mainroute running through Rawalpindi is the Murree Road. This road runs West-Eastthrough the city and continues to the hill station of Murree,which is a major summer attraction for Rawalpindi residents. Murree Rd is oneof the busiest roads in the Punjab Province of Pakistan.
Rawalpindiis on the ancient Grand Trunk Road (also known as G.T. Road or, morerecently, N-5) which links Rawalpindi to nearly every major city in northernPakistan, from Karachi, to Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Bahawalpur, Jhelum, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Kohat,Khanewal, Nawabshah, Nowshera andthe Malakand Pass.
The city isalso served by two nearby six-lane Motorways, M2 (Lahore-Islamabad) and M1 (Islamabad-Peshawar), which were completed in the 1990s.Somewhat further away is the famous Karakoram Highway, the world's highestinternational road, which connects Pakistan to China.
General Bus Stand
General BusStand, Pir Wadhai is the principal bus station for interstate buses and otherpublic vehicles which regularly transports passengers. GBS, Pir Wadhai catersgovernment and private operated buses. It also constitutes large number ofreasonable hotel for stay. Luxury Hino, Mercedes buses also operated from PirWadhai.
The PTCL providesthe main network of landline telephone with minority shares of other operators.All major mobile phone companies operating in Pakistan provideservice in Rawalpindi. Pakistan's Broadband revolution has had asignificant impact on telecommunications in Rawalpindi. The city, along withother major cities of Pakistan, enjoys a widespread coverage from WiFi and WiMAXoperators,with Wateen, WiTribe, Qubee havingthe most shares. DSL internet also has a major coverage in the citywith Nayatel and PTCL themain stakeholders. Recently a high speed 3G Network, EVO Nitro, was also set upby PTCL with maximum speeds of 9.3 Mbit/s to add up to the alreadyestablished EVO 3G Network. Though localized, it is the first instance in thehistory of telecommunication that EVDO RevB technology was commercially launched.
Govt College for Women
Rawalpindi Medical College, Tipu Road
Beauty of Mall Road
A view of Rawal Dam
§ Ayub National Park formerly known as "topi rakh" (stayhat or remove hat) is located by the old Presidency, and between the MurreeBrewery Co. and Grand Trunk (G.T.) Road. It covers an area of about 2,300 acres(930 ha) and has a play area, lake with boating facility, an aquarium, agarden-restaurant and an open air theater. This park hosts "The JungleKingdom" which is particularly popular among young residents of the city.
§ Liaquat Bagh formerly known as the "company bagh" (EastIndia Company's Garden), is of great historical interest. The first primeminister of Pakistan,Liaquat Ali Khan, wasassassinated here in 1950. Pakistan's Prime Minister Banazir Bhutto wasassassinated here on 27 December 2007. She was the youngest elected PrimeMinister of the world.
§ Rawalpindi GolfCourse was completed in 1926 by Rawalpindi Golf Club, one ofthe oldest golf clubs of Pakistan. The facility was initially developed as anine-hole course. After several phases of development, it is now a 27-holecourse. From the clubhouse, there is a panoramic view of Faisal Mosque, thetwin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and the course itself. Majorgolf tournaments are regularly held here.
§ Rawalpindi Public Park (also known as Nawaz Sharif Park) is located onMurree Road. The Park was opened in 1991. It has a play area for children,lawns, fountains and flower beds. A cricket stadium was built in 1992opposite the Public Park. The 1996 World Cup cricket matches were held on thiscricket ground.
§ Playland is another public located parallel to Ayub Park, its nearnessto many classy colonies and housing schemes makes this wonderland an attractivehotspot during the holidays.
§ Liaquat National Bagh
§ Jinnah Park
§ Ayub Park
§ DHA Jungle Park (DHA Phase I, Rawalpindi)
§ Rumi Park
§ Shah Balot Park
§ Race Course
§ Children Park in Commercial Market
§ 502 Workshop Park (Zia Park) Lalazar
§ Dussehra Ground Asghar Mall
§ Ladies & Childrens Park, Gawalmadi
§ Ladies Gym Park,Liaqat Bagh Rwp
The city hasan array of stadiums and grounds to meet the needs of all the popular sportsplayed in the country. Rawalpindi is home to some of the most recognisedplayers in the history of Pakistani cricket. The Rawalpindi CricketStadium is the official cricket stadium used for international testsand ODIs. It is also home to the Rawalpindi Rams. However, there areplenty of other cricket grounds such as Army Cricket ground (home to the PindiClub), KRL Cricket ground, CMTSD Cricket stadium as well as the Attock OilRefinery cricket ground.
There arestadiums for hockey such as the Army Hockey Stadium, Army Signals Hockey groundas well as the Noor Station Ground Dhoke Hassu. There are stadiums for footballincluding the Municipal Football stadium and the Army Football ground. Othersports complexes include the COD Sports Complex and the Railway Ground DhokeMatkial.Kabadi.
Rawalpindi,being so close to the capital, has an active media and newspaper climate. Thereare over a dozen of newspaper companies and television channels based in thecity including Daily Nawa-i-Waqt, Daily Jang, Daily Islamabad Times,Daily Asas, Daily Times, Daily Nation, National Herald Tribune, The DailySada-e-Haq, Daily Express, Daily Dawn, Daily Din, Daily Aajkal Rawalpindi,Daily Islam, and Daily Pakistan.
§ ATV
§ Lights Asia
§ Aapna Channel
§ City 51
§ K2