Haripur (

Hindko Hindko (, , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Pun ...

, ) is a city in the

Hazara Division Hazara Division is an administrative Divisions of Pakistan, division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located along the Indus River and comprises eight districts: Abbottabad District, Abbottabad, Mansehra District, Mansehr ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

province, Pakistan. It is the 14th largest city by population in the province, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

and

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

. Located some north of

Islamabad Capital Territory The Islamabad Capital Territory is a federal territory of Pakistan, centred around Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan. It is located on the northern edge of the Pothohar Plateau, at the foot of the Margalla Hills, in the northwest of the ...

and south of

Abbottabad Abbottabad is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in the country and 6th largest in the province by population, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district ...

, Haripur is in a hilly plain area at an altitude of .

History

Haripur was founded by

Hari Singh Nalwa Hari Singh Nalwa (29 April 1791 – 30 April 1837) was the commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Army, Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshaw ...

, a

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

commander of

Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

, in 1822 and became the headquarters of Hazara until 1848. Hari Singh Nalwa had been appointed as the

Nazim Subahdar, also known as Nazim, was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province), Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who ...

of Hazara after the first Nazim Amar Singh Majithia was killed by the local populace at Samundar Katha, Abbottabad. The town was visited by Baron Hugel on 23 December 1835, and he found it humming with activity. The

British East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

conquered Haripur after the defeat of the Sikhs in the

first Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 around the Firozpur district of Punjab. It resulted in the defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of Jammu ...

in 1846. An obelisk marks the grave of Colonel Canara, a European officer of the Sikh Artillery, who fell in 1848 defending his guns single-handed against the insurgents under Chattar Singh. The British divided Hazara region into three ''

tehsils A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administrative ce ...

'' (administrative subdivisions):

Mansehra Mansehra (Urdu, ) is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. By population, it is the List of largest cities in Pakistan, 71st largest city in the country and the List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, ...

, and Haripur. Hazara formed part of Punjab province until 1901, when the British formed the buffer province of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Hazara was annexed into it. During the

British rule The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or dire ...

, Haripur was a small town. Its population according to the 1901 census was 5,578 and the income and expenditure during the ten years ending 1902–3 averaged Rs. 17,800. In 1903–04 the income and expenditure were Rs. 19,100 and Rs. 20,000 respectively. The municipality was constituted in 1867. In 1851, the 4th (Hazara) Mountain Battery was raised at Haripur by local Hazarewal gunners, who were trained by James Abbott, a British officer and first deputy commissioner of Hazara, to defend the district. The Hazarewals embarked on many campaigns throughout the province. After the

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

, Hazara district was elevated to the divisional status in 1976. After some time Haripur Tehsil was made district and Haripur became its headquarters.

Education

Haripur has the University of Haripur with some colleges affiliated with it, as well as the Pak-Austria Fachhochschule: Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology.

Demographics

Population

As of the 2023 census, Haripur had a population of 91,915.

Religion

Climate

The weather in Haripur is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. This climate type is found on the eastern sides of the continents between 20° and 35° N and S latitudes. The

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfa" (

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

).Climate Summary Haripur, Pakistan
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Notable personalities

* Ayub Khan, former

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

Qateel Shifai Muhammad Aurangzeb or Qateel Shifai (; 24 December 1919 – 11 July 2001) was a Pakistani Urdu poet and lyricist. Early life and career Qateel Shifai was born in Haripur District as Muhammad Aurangzeb in 1919 in British India (now Pakistan).< ...

Urdu poet Urdu poetry ( ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the culture of India and Pakistan. According to Naseer Turabi, there are five major poets of Urdu: Mir Taqi Mir (d. 1810), Mirza Ghalib (d. ...

and lyricist * Sohail Akhtar, Pakistani cricketer *

Ali Azmat Ali Azmat Pacha (born 20 April 1966) is a Pakistani singer-songwriter, musician and actor. He is best known as the lead singer for the influential Sufi rock band Junoon and for his subsequent solo career later followed by a career as an act ...

, Pakistani pop singer * Allama Syed Jawad Naqvi, Islamic scholar * Omar Ayub Khan, politician * Raja Sikander Zaman, former Chief Minister * Anwar Shamim, Air Marshal. * Pir Sabir Shah, former Chief Minister * Athar Minallah, Supreme Court Judge

Notes

References

{{Haripur-Union-Councils Haripur District Cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa