Attock
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33°54′26″N 72°18′40″E / 33.90722°N 72.31111°E
Attock (Urdu: اٹک) is located in the northern border of the Punjab province of Pakistan, which is a border district on the river Indus. The district is named after the historic town of the same name.
History
Attock finds its name in the history books dating to the rule of Ashoka, the Budhist Emperor of upper India. Supposedly Budhism had taken root in northern Punjab. After Asoka there is no direct mention of the district, and the period is in darkness.
Doubtless the whole tract formed part of the Kingdom of Ederatides the Greek, who extended his power over western Punjab. The Indo-Greek kings held the country after him, being at last ousted (about 80 B.C.) by the Indo-Scythians. At any rate, when Hiuen Tsang, the most famous Chinese pilgrim, visited the district in A.D., 630 and again in A.D., 643, Budhism was rapidly declining. The Brahman revival, to which, India owes its present form of Hinduism, had already set in the early years of the fifth century, and must have been at its height in the days of Hiuen Tsang. From the time the light afforded by the records of the Chinese pilgrims faded and a long period of darkness swallowed up the years that intervened before the Muslim invasions and the beginning of continuous history.
The country was under the dominion of the Hindu kings of Kashmir, and probably so remained till end of the 9th century. After that, the district formed part of the Kingdom of the rulers of Kabul, Samanta Deva and his successors (more accurately designated as the "Hindu Shahis of Kabul") who remained in possession till the times of Mahmud Ghaznavi. With the passage of time, the Gakkhars became strong in the hills to the east, but their dominion never extended beyond the Margalla pass and the Khari Moorat.
Attock District was constituted in 1904. The district was named Campbellpur (Campbell town) - after Sir Campbell who laid the foundation stone of Campbellpur City in 1908 a few kilometres south-east of old Attock Khurd town. Although Pakistan had become independent from Britain in 1947 it wasn't until 1978 that the name Attock was adopted for the city.
Attock Khurd has a rich history. The great mathematician and grammarian Panini was born here in 520 BC. Akbar the Great built the fort in 1581; it has seen countless battles and skirmishes between the Sikhs and the Afghans.
Attock's first oil well was drilled in Khore in 1946. It has an oil and gas field Dakhini near Jand. [citation needed]
Organisation
Attock district covers an area of 6857 square kilometres and is divided into six tehsils (sub-districts).
Prominent areas in the district are Attock, Jand, Fatehjang, Pindigheb, Hasanabdal, Hazro, Chach, Chhachh, Ghorghushti, Kamra, Sanjwal, Daurdad, Attock Khurd, Attock Fort, Kala Chitta, Attock Cantt, Shadi Khan, Mukhad, Sarwana, Malhoo, Nartopa, Bangi, Daman,Kund National Park, Thatta, Mithail, Basal.
Geography
Attock is at 33° 46' 20N Latitude and 72° 22' 6E Longitude. The altitude 348 meters or 1145 feet. The average annual rainfall in the district is 783 mm = 30.83 inches.
Attock District has a climate with very hot summers and very cold winters. The maximum temperature reaches 40°C. The northern part is more humid with a relatively moderate climate as compared to the southern part.
The river Indus flows on the western and northern sides of the district; the river Haro comes from Haripur and passes through the Attock tehsil on the north of the Kala Chitta Range. The land is mainly hills, plateaus, and dissected plains. The area north of the river Haro is a flood plain with fertile soil.