Haripur, Pakistan

This article is about the city in Pakistan. For Haripur, see Haripur, Pakistan (disambiguation).

Haripur
Country	Pakistan
Province	North-West Frontier Province
District	Haripur District
Elevation	520 m (1,710 ft)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
Number of Union councils	3

Haripur (Urdu: ہری پور) is a city in Haripur District in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, some 65 km (40 mi) north of Islamabad and 35 km (22 mi) south of Abbottabad, in a hilly plain area at altitude of 520 m (1,706 ft). The city is along the Karakoram highway (N35).

History

Haripur, formerly a military cantonment, was renamed in honour of the Sikh general Hari Singh Nalwa in 1822 and became the headquarters of Hazara (until 1853). Hari Singh Nalwa was appointed by Raja Ranjit Singh as the second Nazim of Hazara after the first Nazim Amar Singh Majithia was killed by the local populace.

Haripur was built as a fortress surrounded by a wall which was 4 yards (3.7 m) thick and 16 yards (15 m) high and had only four openings. That fort later became the city police station. There is a famous Campus of Allama Iqbal Open University.

Drinking water was provided by digging a tank. Many small drainages were dug to carry sullage water. A small river, the river Dore, passes through the city, feeding the Tarbela Dam.

Baron Hugal visited the town on December 23, 1835, and he found the town humming with activity. The municipality was constituted in 1867.

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 4th Hazara Mountain Battery

In 1851 the 4th (Hazara) Mountain Battery was raised from Hazara gunners, who were trained by Major Abbott in order to defend Hazara District. The Hazaras embarked on many campaigns throughout the province.

The population in 1901 was 5,578 and the income and expenditure during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 17,800. In 1903-4 the income and expenditure were Rs. 19,100 and Rs. 20,000 respectively.

Geographical Features

Haripur is a green valley, rich in fruits and vegetables and serves as the base market for the mountainous cities of Abbottabad and Mansehra and rest of Hazara Division. Major language of haripur is HINDKO which is combination of multi languages like punjabi, potohari, Gojri and urdu as well. Haripur is small but beautiful city of hazara division. Hariur is also famous for its fruit GAUVA (Urdu: امرود).Haripur currently the major city of Haripur district, one of the five districts that used to comprise Hazara Division namely Haripur, Abbottabad, Mansehra, Batagram and Kohistan.

To the south of Haripur only miles away lie the ancient Buddhist university town of Taxila. To the north within miles is the world's largest rockfilled dam, the Tarbela Dam, the bulwark of Pakistani power generation and irrigation system. Also to the south lies the picturesque Khanpur dam which supplies drinking water to Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Close to the city of Haripur also lies the industrial area of Hattar. Another major industrial complex lying at the outskirts of the main Haripur city is the Telephone Industries of Pakistan or TIP, the biggest telephone factory in Asia. Located just next to TIP, is National Radio telecommunication Corporation (NRTC).

Notable people

• Field Marshal Ayub Khan, former President of Pakistan
• Sultan Raja Erij Zaman Khan, Chief of Gakhars and Ex-MPA
• Raja Sikander Zaman, former Chief Minister, NWFP
• Muhammad Anwar Shamim, Air Chief Marshal
• Jagirdar Fazlur-Rehman |Khan of NARA, tehreek-e-Pakistan karkun/ GS Muslim League 1947 Hazara Division
• Sardar Bahadur Khan, former Federal Railways Minister and Leader of the Opposition
• Sardar Muhammad Mushtaq Khan, Current MNA of Haripur and Ex-MPA and Provincial Minister NWFP
• Qateel Shifai, Urdu language poet of Pakistan
• Fazil Jamili, poet and journalist

See also

• Hazara, Pakistan
• Haripur District