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 ...

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 ...

Rawalpindi District Rawalpindi District ( Punjabi and ur, ) is a district located in the northernmost part of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Parts of the district form part of the Islamabad Rawalpindi metropolitan area. Rawalpindi city is the district capi ...

. 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 Taxila or Takshashila (; sa, तक्षशिला; pi, ; , ; , ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Located in the Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District, it lies approximately northwest of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi metropolitan area and ...

, 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 Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

. 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

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

* * {{Army Cantonments of Pakistan Union councils of Taxila Tehsil Populated places in Taxila Tehsil Cantonments of Pakistan