Chaklala is a major suburban town of

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It is situated astride the Airport Road, to the east of

Grand Trunk Road The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sarak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sarak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. ...

on the main railway line. The town has its own railway station Chaklala Railway Station which is located less than 1 kilometer away from

Benazir Bhutto International Airport Benazir Bhutto International Airport ( ur, , ) is a defunct airport which formerly served the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area. It was the second-largest airport by air traffic in Pakistan, until 3 May 2018 when it was replaced by the ...

. Chaklala is under the municipal administration of Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) which provides water, sewage treatment and road improvements in the area along with maintaining parks and green areas. This is separate from the other two municipal authorities i.e Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation which make up the metropolitan city of

The area also has modern housing schemes namely Gulzar-e-Quaid, Railway Housing Scheme 8 Chaklala, Chaklala Housing Schemes I, II & III, Askari - I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, X & XII) with a rapidly diminishing rural area. There is a large commercial market situated in Chaklala Scheme III which is the major shopping area for all the residents in Chaklala. The market comprises a lot of restaurants and shopping areas and a hang out spot for the younger people. There is also a cinema and retail complex located in

Jinnah Park Jinnah Park () is an amusement and public park located on Airport Road in the high-security Chaklala Cantonment suburb of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. It is the town's primary amusement park and covers an area of approximately . Initial plans for i ...

on the airport road which is another area where residents venture out during evenings.

Demography

Chaklala has a population of around 407,952 according to the latest 2017 census. The major ethnic groups in the area are

Potohar The Pothohar Plateau ( ur, ) is a plateau in north-eastern Pakistan, located between Indus River and the Jhelum River, forming the northern part of Punjab. Geography Potohar Plateau is bounded on the east by the Jhelum River, on the west by the ...

Punjabis The Punjabis ( Punjabi: ; ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ; romanised as Panjābīs), are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group associated with the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of eastern Pakistan and northwestern India. The ...

and

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...

. A large number of

Kashmiris Kashmiris are an Indo-Aryan peoples, Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group speaking the Kashmiri language, living mostly, but not exclusively, in the Kashmir Valley of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, India.(a) (subscriptio ...

have also settled in the area after independence in 1947. Since Chaklala is a major army garrison and an airforce base as well, a large number of military families are also housed here from all over Pakistan. Chaklala Airforce Base provides strategic transport to Pakistan's political and military leadership.

Chaklala Cantonment

Chaklala Cantonment Chaklala is a major suburban town of Rawalpindi in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is situated astride the Airport Road, to the east of Grand Trunk Road on the main railway line. The town has its own railway station Chaklala Railway Station w ...

is the cantonment area located in

Chaklala Chaklala is a major suburban town of Rawalpindi in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is situated astride the Airport Road, to the east of Grand Trunk Road on the main railway line. The town has its own railway station Chaklala Railway Station w ...

. It is home to a

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

garrison and a

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

base, along with

Pakistan Armed Forces The Pakistan Armed Forces (; ) are the military forces of Pakistan. It is the world's sixth-largest military measured by active military personnel and consist of three formally uniformed services—the Army, Navy, and the Air Force, which are ...

Joint Staff Headquarters, depots and workshops, most of them present since the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

era.Chaklala Cantonment on GlobalSecurity.org website
Retrieved 27 September 2021

was split from the larger

Rawalpindi Cantonment Rawalpindi Cantonment is a large cantonment located in Rawalpindi, Punjab province, Pakistan. The headquarters of the Pakistan Army which are known as the General Headquarters (GHQ) are located in the Rawalpindi cantonment. Rawalpindi cantonm ...

in 2002 to improve administration in the cantonment areas of the military capital of Pakistan. Before 2002,

was the largest of all cantonments in Pakistan which was creating administrative problems in providing municipal services due to rapid urban growth. Chaklala Airbase, recently re-named as

PAF Base Nur Khan Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan (founded as RAF Station Chaklala and previously known as PAF Base Chaklala) is an active Pakistan Air Force airbase located in Chaklala, Rawalpindi, Punjab province, Pakistan. The former Benazir Bhutto Internati ...

, is an important

air base An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...

of the Pakistan Air Force. The headquarters of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Pakistan The Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), ( ur, ); is an administrative body of senior high-ranking uniformed military leaders of the unified Pakistan Armed Forces who advises the civilian Government of Pakistan, National Security Council, Def ...

are located in the high-security

garrison.

Transportation

Roads

Grand Trunk Road

(N-5) passes through the area.

Airport Road

This major route connects the area with the city center of Rawalpindi and provides a route to the capital city of Islamabad. It extends from the Ammar Shaheed Chowk Roundabout to the Koraal Chowk/Koraal Chowk Intersection. The

and the adjacent Pakistan Air Force Base Chaklala are located along this road. It is a modern six-lane road. Two fly-overs have been constructed to reduce the load of traffic at the busiest sections of the road, closer to the Ammar Shaheed Chowk Roundabout (2009) and at Koral Chowk (2017), respectively. The route serves as the main artery connecting the twin cities of

and

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

Rawal Road

It runs along the western perimeter of the

. The road connects the busy traffic arteries of

Benazir Bhutto Road Murree Road (), alternatively known as Benazir Bhutto Road, is a major road that runs from Islamabad and Rawalpindi to Murree in Pakistan. It passes through Rawalpindi's downtown area, and has been a hotspot for various political and social even ...

alternatively known as Murree Road and Airport Road. It is a newly carpeted four-lane road.

Railway

Railway line of

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways ( ur, ) is the national, state-owned railway company of Pakistan. Founded in 1861 and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of track across Pakistan, stretching from Torkham to Karachi, offering both freight and passenger servi ...

passes through the town. The area has a railway station, the Chaklala Railway Station. An associated strategic dry port, the Chaklala Dry Port, handles cargo trains.

Air

is an important landmark of the area, located at Chaklala which is technically a part of Rawalpindi.PAF Chaklala Benazir Bhutto Islamabad International Airport
GlobalSecurity.org website, Retrieved 27 September 2021

Parks

In 2006,

() was inaugurated in

and has since become a hotspot of activity for the city of

. It houses a state-of-the-art cinema, Cinepax, a Metro Cash and Carry supermart, an outlet of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

, gaming lounges,

Motion Rides Simulator rides are a type of amusement park or fairground ride, where the audience is shown a movie while their seats move to correspond to the action on screen. There are many types but they fall into the heading of entertainment unlike the o ...

and other recreational facilities. The vast lawns also provide an adequate picnic spot.

Pakistan Television Corporation

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical co ...

Centre was initially set up at Chaklala before it was shifted to its present location in

Educational institutions

* Army Public School & College For Boys Chaklala Garrison * Army Public School & College For Girls Chaklala Garrison * Joint Staff Public School and College, Chaklala * FG Quaid-e-Azam Public School * Fazaia Intermediate College, Chaklala (PAF Base Chaklala) * Fazaia Intermediate College, Jinnah Camp, Chaklala (Khanna Road) * Bilquis College of Education for Women (Mujahida Academy) * Army Public School and College (FWO campus), Gracy Lines, Chaklala * FG Boys High School, Gracy Lines, Chaklala * FG Girls High School, Gracy Lines, Chaklala * Fauji Foundation Model School, Chaklala * Sir Syed Science College, Chaklala * Allied Schools, Chaklala * Army Public School * JS Public School * FG Public School * Army Public School *Government Degree College For Women *The Educators School System, Airport Road Campus

References

External links

Chaklala Cantonment Towns in Rawalpindi District {{DEFAULTSORT:Chaklala