Akora Khattak ( ps, اکوړه خټک ,
: اکوڑہ خٹک ) or Sarai Akora is a town in
Jehangira tehsil
Jehangira Tehsil is a tehsil located in Nowshera District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The tehsil is named after the Jehangira, Jehangira town, which is located on the Grand Trunk Road, GT Road.A village, Hasan Darra, also exists in Tehsil Jehan ...
of
Nowshera District in the
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...
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 fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
.
It sits beside the
Kabul River, which merges with the
Indus River about 15 kilometres downstream. Neighbouring places are
Nowshera Cantonment Nowshera Cantonment is a cantonment adjacent to Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 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 a ...
to the west and
Jahangira town to the east.
Review and history
Akora Khattak is about 14 km (9 miles) east of
Nowshera city in
Nowshera District on
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. ...
.
Akora Khattak was formerly called ''Sarai Akora'', and is named after Malik Akor Khan Khattak, who was the great-grandfather of the famous
Pashtun
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 ...
warrior and poet,
Khushal Khan Khattak
Khošāl Khān Khaṭak (1613 – 25 February 1689; Pashto: خوشال خان خټک), also known as Khushal Baba ( ps, خوشال بابا), was a Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them fr ...
.
Sher Shah Suri period
The emperor Sher Shah Suri's army dug two wells here and made it a rest place named Sarai Malik Pura. Trade caravans came from Central Asia and stayed here.
Mughal period
In 1581 Mughal emperor
Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar came to
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
to end the mutiny of his brother Mirza Hakeem and stayed there for a few years. During this stay, he met (jarga) with all the tribal chiefs for the betterment of the area. In the meeting the name of Malik Akor Khan often came up. It was reported to the emperor that Malik Akor Khan was a chieftain and often robbed the troops on the highway. He lived at Neelab (Nizampur) and continually created problems for the Mughal government. The emperor Jalal-ud-din Mohammad Akbar decided to resolve this problem by making Malik Akor Khan an ally and charged him with the responsibility of collecting tolls from the caravans on the crossing of the
Indus at
Attock
Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st lar ...
. Malik Akor Khan came to the Sarai Malik Pura (Akora Khattak) for this purpose and made this area his living place. In time this place was renamed as ''Sarai Akora'' which later became "Akora Khattak".
Sikh period
In 1820 Sikhs of Panjab conquered Peshawar and other Pashtun areas and ruled it up to 1849. In 1826 the Mujahidin-I-Islam (Sayed Ahmad Barelvi) fought a battle against Sikhs at this place. In 1834 Sardar lehna Singh built the fort of Akora Khattak near the river Kabul.
British period
The British period starts from 29 August 1849. In 1809 the colonial Indian administrator, and later Governor of Bombay,
Mountstuart Elphinstone
Mountstuart Elphinstone (6 October 1779 – 20 November 1859) was a Scottish statesman and historian, associated with the government of British India. He later became the Governor of Bombay (now Mumbai) where he is credited with the open ...
visited Peshawar.
The cantonment of Akora Khattak was established in 1850 and on 23 March 1851 Lord Dalhousie, Governor-General of India, visited the place.
In 1916 the first police station was established.
Population
The population of Akora Khattak, according to 2017 consensus, is 47,255
/sup>. The population of Akora Khattak, according to official consensus, over the years is shown in the table below.
Historical places
Akora Khattak has many historical places. The most famous are Tomb of Khushal Khan Khattak, Shrine of Akhund Adyan Baba Seljoki, Darul Uloom Haqqania, Khushal Khan Khattak Memorial Library and museum.
Tomb of Khushal Khan Khattak
Akora Khattak is the birthplace and burial place of the poet great Pashto poet and warrior Khushal Khan Khattak
Khošāl Khān Khaṭak (1613 – 25 February 1689; Pashto: خوشال خان خټک), also known as Khushal Baba ( ps, خوشال بابا), was a Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them fr ...
. The mausoleum of Khushal Khan was built in 1949.
Shrine of Akhund Adyan Baba Seljoki
The Shrine of Great Turki Sufi Master and aalim Qutb e Aalam Sheikh Akhund Adyan (شیخ اخوند ادین سلجوقی قطب عالم) is situated near Kabul River. The road in front of the shrine traces back to the Sher Shah Suri regime; the road is called Shahi laar (شاہی لار) or royal road. Starting from civil hospital to military camp. The descendants of Sheik Akhund Adyan Baba Seljuki are living in Ziarat kaka Sahib and called Qazyan or Qazi. Sheikh Akhund Adyan Baba died in 1074 AH. Sheikh was teacher of Kaka Sahib. Outside the tomb of Akhun Adyan baba the grave of Shahbaz Khan Khattak (father of Khushal Khan Khattak) is lying. Due to his religious sacrifices of that time Mughal government built his fort like area for his shrine which was reconstructed by Khan Sahib Nur Ahmed Khan in the early 20th century.
Dar-ul-Uloom Haqqania
Darul Uloom-e-haqqania was founded by Maulana Abdul Haq (father of Maulana Sami Ul Haq) along with his companion Haji Mohammad Yousaf in 1947. It is the second largest Islamic religious seminary in Pakistan. More than 8000 students have been educated there.
Khushal Khan Khattak memorial library
Akora Khan also has Khushal Khan Khattak Memorial Library and a small museum. Library was established in 1994 in the memory of Khushal Khan Khattak. The museum has many medieval era artefacts, some of which were used by Khushal Khan Khattak.
Rang Mahal
Rang mahal (رنگ محل ) of Mughal era situated near meera akora Khattak.
Education
Schools and colleges
* Govt Centennial Model high school (boys)
* Khyber Model College and School Akora Khattak Campus
* The student model high school and College
* Govt high school (boys) Baghbanpura
* Govt Girls Middle School Baghbanpura
* Sir Syed public High school
* Govt high school (girls)
* Haqqania High School
* Tamir-e-millat high school
* Public collegiate high school
* Bright Start English school
* Jamia Shams Ul Madaris Surya Khel for (boys and girls)
* Rahman public school
* Army Public school Akora Khattak
* The Sun Rise public school
* Govt Khushal Khan Khattak degree college (boys)
* Govt Khushal Khan Khattak college (girls)
* The Safah public school
* The Quaid Public School
* The Suffa Public School
* The Sarhad Public School Akora Khattak
* AIMS (Alqalam Islamic Model School)
* ummah higher secondary school soria khel akora khattak
Academies
*Umma Children Academy
* National Children Academy
* Scientific Learning tuition Academy Akora khattak
* The Aryana English Language & Computer Academy
* Jamal Ul Quran Online Academy
Institutes
* Shahcom Institute of Technology (Regd.)
* National Institute of Technology
Health care
* Civil Hospital: The government hospital is the main health facility.
* Al-Shifa Homeopathic Clinic: Dr. Muhammad Ali has been a homeopathic practitioner in Akora Khattak for many years.
* LRBT Free Eye Hospital
Sports
Popular sports for youth are cricket, volleyball and bodybuilding, although there are few facilities available for their use. Paragliding was done in Akora Khattak in the 2010s.
People from Akora Khattak
* Khushal Khan Khattak
Khošāl Khān Khaṭak (1613 – 25 February 1689; Pashto: خوشال خان خټک), also known as Khushal Baba ( ps, خوشال بابا), was a Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them fr ...
– warrior poet, chief, and freedom fighter
* Abdul Haq (Islamic scholar), Maulana Abdul Haq – Islamic scholar and founder of the Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Haqqania
Darul Uloom Haqqania or Jamia Dar al-Ulum Haqqania ( ur, ) is an Islamic Seminary ( darul uloom or madrasa) in the town of Akora Khattak, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, northwestern Pakistan. The seminary propagates the Hanafi Deobandi schoo ...
* Ajmal Khattak – politician and writer
* Khushhal Khan - Actor
See also
*Qazi Hussain Ahmad
Qazi Hussain Ahmad ( ur, قاضی حسین احمد ; born 12 January 1938 – 5 January 2013) was an Islamic scholar, democracy activist, and former Emir of Jamaat-e-Islami, the socially conservative Islamist political party in Pakistan.
He o ...
*Syed Ahmad Barelvi
Syed Ahmad Barelvi or Sayyid Ahmad Shaheed (1786–1831) was an Indian Islamic revivalist, scholar and military commander from Raebareli, a part of the historical United Provinces of Agra and Oudh (now called Uttar Pradesh). He is consider ...
*Kakazai
The Kakazai ( ps, :ps:کاکازي, کاکازي / ککےزي / ککازي, Urdu, fa, ), also known as Loi, Loe, or Loye Mamund ( ps, لوی ماموند; ur, لو ئے / لوئی مَاموند ), a division of the Mamund clan, are part of ...
References
{{Authority control
Populated places in Nowshera District