Wah Cantonment ( pa, ; ur, ) (often abbreviated to Wah Cantt) is a military cantonment located in
Wah 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 a ...
province of Pakistan. It is a part of
Taxila Tehsil
Taxila Tehsil, headquartered at Taxila, is one of the eight Tehsils (sub-divisions) of Rawalpindi District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is bordered on its north and west by Attock District, on its south by Rawalpindi Tehsil, on its sou ...
of
Rawalpindi District. It is the
24th largest city of Pakistan by population.
It is located to the northwest of
Islamabad-Rawalpindi, and is to the southwest of
Haripur District
Haripur District ( ps, هریپور ولسوالۍ, ur, "The Town of Hari") is a district in Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. The town of Haripur (meaning 'Hari's town') was founded in 1822 by Hari Singh Nalwa, the Co ...
,
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, ...
.
History
Wah Cantt is adjacent to ancient city of
Taxila, a small town enriched with one of the most important archaeological sites of the world and the "First University of The World".
[History of Wah Cantt]
Wahcantt.com website, Retrieved 25 September 2021
The name 'Wah' has its roots in the
Mughal era
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
with the Mughal emperor
Jehangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
reported to have coined the name when he was camped at
Wah village, originally called 'Jalal Sar', en route to Lahore after a visit to
Kashmir. Emperor Jehangir's army was tired and they were looking for a place to rest where there was a natural source of water. As soon as the emperor saw a place with a natural spring, he loudly said, "Wah" ("Wow"). Later people started calling the area 'Wah'.
The Mughal adventure in this area had a strong influence on the architecture of the village and surrounding area which is still visible to date, especially in the Wah Gardens
Wah Gardens ( ur, ), also known as Mughal Garden Wah ( ur, ), is a garden-complex dating back to the era of the Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great (1542-1605), located at Wah village, of Hasan Abdal, in Punjab, Pakistan. The site was largely abandon ...
. Some of the most popular places in Wah Cantt are Wah Ordnance Club and POF hotel besides the nearby Pakistan Ordnance Factory
, type = State-owned company
, industry = Firearms, Defense, Machinery
, fate =
, successor =
, founded =
, founder =
, defunct =
, hq_location_city = Wah Cantonment, Punjab
, hq_location_country = Pakistan
, area_served = wo ...
complex with 20 factories or industrial units producing artillery, tanks, and anti-aircraft ammunition for the 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 ...
.[Wah Cantt location and history]
Wahcantt.com website, Retrieved 25 September 2021
Military
Wah Cantt is a military cantonment. It is completely locked down for traffic except through the barriers controlled by Pakistan Military Guards. All the entering cars have to have a pass or permit otherwise they can not enter the city. A temporary pass can be picked up at the entrance to the city by surrendering your ID card which you can pick up when you are leaving the city.
The city is governed by Cantonment Board Wah (CBWAH).
A
Education
Wah has a literacy rate of effectively 100%. This small city has two chartered universities, one medical college, one engineering college and many other technical schools and colleges. Students from Wah Cantt can be found studying at many of the top institutes of Pakistan and abroad. Historically, many surrounding places show links of the area to its past as the neighboring ancient town of Taxila had been a seat of learning for thousands of years.[
Apart from numerous private and government schools and colleges, foundations of professional universities have been laid down in the past five years, including the ]Wah Medical College
The Wah Medical College (WMC) ( ur, ) is a medical college located at Wah Cantonment, Punjab, Pakistan.
The college is located at Jinnah Avenue in the centre of the Educational zone of Wah Cantonment ''POF Hospital'' is attached to the coll ...
, Wah Engineering College
The University of Wah (UOW) is a private university located at Wah, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established in 2005. It offers bachelors, masters and doctoral programs in basic sciences, social sciences, management sciences, computer science and e ...
, the University of Wah
The University of Wah (UOW) is a private university located at Wah, Punjab, Pakistan. It was established in 2005. It offers bachelors, masters and doctoral programs in basic sciences, social sciences, management sciences, computer science and e ...
,the COMSATS University Islamabad
The COMSATS University Islamabad (CUI), formerly known as COMSATS Institute of Information Technology (CIIT), is a public university in Pakistan. It is a multi-campus university with its principal seat located in Islamabad. Comsats was envisio ...
(Wah Campus) and also one of the top engineering colleges the Swedish College of Engineering and Technology Wah Cantt (Aff. With UET Taxila).
References
External links
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{{Army Cantonments of Pakistan
Union councils of Taxila Tehsil
Populated places in Taxila Tehsil
Cantonments of Pakistan