Attock District (Punjabi and Urdu: , Zilā' Aṭṭak) is a district within the Rawalpindi Division of Punjab, Pakistan. It is located on the Pothohar Plateau in northern Punjab, and was established in April 1904 as the Campbellpur District, being renamed to its current state in 1978.
According to 2023 census, the population of Attock District is 2,133,005 (2.13 million), making it the 23rd most populous district of the province, behind Rajanpur district and the 37th most populous district in the country.
Etymology The name 'Attock' is the romanised form of the Punjabi word aṭak, which means blockade, barrier or obstruction. The district was formed as Campbellpur District after Commander-in-Chief of British forces Sir Colin Campbell. Later, in 1978, district name was changed to Attock after the major and historical city of Attock to reflect the older, historical name of the region.
History
Pre-historic period The region that is now the Attock District has been historically part of Soanian Culture. Nearby archeological excavations near the Soan Valley in southern Attock and northern Chakwal point to prehistoric human activity. The stone tools and early human remains found from these sites show human activity of at least 500,000 years ago. Several petroglyphs have also been uncovered near the Ghazi-Gariala hydropower project which were a major hurdle in development of the project as it posed environmental threat to an ancient and culturally significant site.
Ancient period
Indus Valley and Gandharas The region has also been influenced by the Indus Valley Civilization as the nearby site of Taxila (now in Rawalpindi district) shows deep connections with Indus valley settlements as the site lied on the old Grand Trunk Road. Later, after the decline of the Indus valley civilization around 1500 BCE, several Indo-Aryan tribes settled in the region most notably of which was the Gandhara civilization which were present in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Punjab and Kashmir.Zahir, Muhammad, (2017). "The Geographical Distribution of Gandhara Grave Culture or Protohistoric Cemeteries in Northern and North-Western South Asia" , Gandharan Studies, Vol. 10, pp. 1-30. The Chhachh region in the north of the district was specifically identified as Chukhsa country of Gandhara in the Taxila copper plate inscription.
Achaemenid Empire By the 6th century BCE, the Gandharas were occupied by the Achaemenid Empire. According to Babylonian and Elamite versions of the Behistun inscription, the region is mentioned as the Gandāra district of the Paropamisadae province of the empire and spanned much of Gandhara. Evidence from the Behistun Inscription shows that, firstly, Cyrus the Great in 535 BCE, expanded his empire as far as Gandāra. later Darius I in 518 BCE came back to the region and further secured it.Marshall, John (1975) . Taxila: Volume I. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 83. The region remained under the Achaemenid Empire until Alexander the Great's invasion of the sub-continent in 527 BCE.
Alexander's invasion of India Before his campaign, Alexander demanded that all chieftains of the former satrapy of Gandāra come to him and submit to his authority. Ambhi (Greek: Omphis), who ruled the region at the time, complied and sent an emissary to Alexander. As a result, Alexander was able to secure control over the region without resistance, even before launching his campaign to India. Alexander not only accepted Ambhi's offers but also returned his title as chieftain of the area between the Indus and Jhelum (Greek: Hydaspes) rivers. However, soon after the death of the Alexander, the region was briefly controlled by his general Eudemus but was conquered by the Maurya Empire ahortly afterward.
Modern period The district was established in April 1904 as the Campbellpur District during the British Raj through the merging of tehsils from neighbouring districts.Gazetteer of the Attock District 1930, Punjab Government, Lahore 1932. Reprinted version: Sang-e-Meel Publications, Lahore, 1989 Today the district consists of 6 tehsils: Attock, Fateh Jang, Hazro, Hassan Abdal, Jand and Pindi Gheb.
Administration
The Attock District has its main headquarters at Attock City. The District is further divided into 6 Tehsils, namely, Attock, Fateh Jang, Hasan Abdal, Hazro, Jand and the Pindi Gheb Tehsil. These tehsils are further divided into a total of 72 Union Councils. Jand Tehsil has the most number of union councils at 15, followed by Attock, Hazro and Fateh Jang tehsils all at 14, then by Pindi Gheb tehsil at 13 and lastly by Hasan Abdal at just 9.
Union councils
Attock Tehsil
Haji Shah Kamra Golra Mirza Bolianwal Akhori Sheenbagh Sarwala Surgsalar Dakhnair Haroon Shinka Jalalia Ghorghushti
Hazro Tehsil
Malak Mala Nartopa Khagwani Musa Cudlathi Bahadur Khan Shamsabad Hameed Kamil Pur Musa Tajak Formulli Mullan Mansoor Jallo Sultan Pur Bhalarjogi
Hassan Abdal
Pind Mehri Pourmina Kot Sundki Burhan Jabbi Kasran Dhreak Bahtar Jhang Qutbal
Fateh Jang
Jangle Dhurnal Malal Gali Jagir Sharai Sadullah Ajuwala Gulial Kot Fateh Khan Mianwala Dhoke Fateh
Pindigheb tehsil
Geography Attock district is located in the north western side of the Punjab province. The District has a total area of 6,857 km2 (2,648 sq mi), making it the 7th largest district of the province and 41st largest overall in Pakistan. Attock borders 7 district namely Chakwal to the south, Mianwali to the southwest, Rawalpindi to the east, Kohat to the west, Nowshera to the northwest, and Swabi and Haripur to the north.
Geographically, Attock is mainly hills, plateaus, and dissected plains. The Pothohar Plateau mainly covers the eastern part of the district, in the middle of the district sits a low mountain range; Kala Chitta Range whereas on the western and southern side of the district the indus merges with its river tributaries such as Haro river which joins the Indus near Ghazi Barotha Dam, Soan river which joins indus at Makhad and Kabul river which meets Indus river near Attock Khurd. In between the hills and rivers, dissected plains exist.
Demographics
+Overview of Demographics of Attock District by TehsilTehsilDivisions/Districts of Pakistan Note: Although divisions as an administrative structure has been abolished, the election commission of Pakistan still groups districts under the division namesArea (km2)Pop. (2023)Density (ppl/km2)
(2023)Literacy rate (2023)Union CouncilsAttock1,002516,277515.2574.80%14Fateh Jang1,249374,726300.0266.94%13Hassan Abdal350253,670724.7770.22%9Hazro348386,5441,110.7666.45%14Jand2,043330,328161.6971.59%11Pindi Gheb1,865308,878165.6270.36%11
Population
As of the 2023 census, Attock district has 353,973 households and a population of 2,170,423. The district has a sex ratio of 100.83 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 70.22%: 79.69% for males and 60.66% for females. 473,463 (22.2% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 623,984 (28.75%) live in urban areas.
Religion
As per the 2023 census Islam is the predominant religion with 99.3% of the population.
+ Religion in contemporary Attock DistrictReligiousgroup194120172023 Islam 484,61689.85%1,877,22199.51%2,118,15999.30% Hinduism 35,5936.60%5750.03%5010.02%Sikhism 16,7403.10%7690.04% Christianity 5000.09%7,6990.41%13,2860.62% Others1,9100.36%8830.05%2900.01%Total Population539,359100%1,886,378100%2,133,005100% + Religious groups in Attock District (British Punjab province era)Religiousgroup1911192119311941 Islam 471,890 465,694 531,793 611,128 Sikhism 26,914 19,809 19,522 20,120 Hinduism 19,741 26,184 31,932 43,209 Christianity 707 557 710 504 0.07% Zoroastrianism 11 0 0 3 Jainism 9 5 2 13 Buddhism 1 0 1 7 Others 0 0 0 891 0.13% Total population 519,273 512,249 583,960 675,875 + Religion in the Tehsils of Attock District (1921)TehsilIslam Hinduism Sikhism Christianity Jainism OthersTotal Attock Tehsil 158,313 11,203 3,428 523 5 0 173,472 Pindigheb Tehsil 108,356 6,131 5,582 28 0 0 120,097 Talagong Tehsil 98,887 5,233 4,379 2 0 0 108,501 Fatehjang Tehsil 100,138 3,617 6,420 4 0 0 110,179 + Religion in the Tehsils of Attock District (1941)TehsilIslam Hinduism Sikhism Christianity Jainism OthersTotal Attock Tehsil 207,557 19,346 6,047 455 13 846 234,264 Pindigheb Tehsil 150,458 13,112 3,347 40 0 50 167,007 Talagong Tehsil 125,512 7,616 3,380 4 0 4 136,516 Fatehjang Tehsil 127,601 3,135 7,346 5 0 1 138,088
Languages
In the 2023 census, .23% of the population identified their first language as Punjabi, 14.45% as Hindko, 15.59% as Pashto and 2.68% as Urdu. In the previous census of 1998, the multiple-choice question did not have an option for Hindko; the percentages were % for Punjabi, % for Pashto and % Urdu.
The Punjabi dialect of the eastern Fateh Jang Tehsil is called Sohāī̃ and belongs to the Dhani dialect group. The dialects of Pindi Gheb Tehsil (called Ghebi) and of Attock (sometimes called Chhachi) have been classified as a sub-dialect of Hindko dialect.
Education Attock has a total of 1,287 government schools out of which 51 percent (657 schools) are for female students. The district has an enrolment of 224,487 in public sector schools.
See also Kamra, Pakistan Pothohar Plateau
References