Attock District

Attock ضلع اٹک
District of Punjab
Clockwise from top-left: Attock Fort, Inderkot Mosque, Begum ki Sarai, Wah Mughal Gardens, Gurdwara Panja Sahib
Attock District highlighted within Punjab Province
Coordinates: 33°45′57.6″N 72°21′39.2″E / 33.766000°N 72.360889°E / 33.766000; 72.360889
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Division	Rawalpindi
Established	April 1904; 121 years ago (1904-04)
Headquarters	Attock
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Mayor	-----
• Deputy Commissioner	Rao Atif Raza
Area
• District of Punjab	6,857 km2 (2,648 sq mi)
Elevation	355 m (1,165 ft)
Population  (2023)[1]
• District of Punjab	2,133,005
• Density	316.5/km2 (820/sq mi)
• Urban	623,984 (29.25%)
• Rural	1,546,439 (70.75%)
Literacy [2]
• Literacy rate	Total: (70.22%) Male: (79.69%) Female: (60.66%)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PKT)
Area code	057
ISO 3166 code	PK-PB
Languages	Punjabi, Hindko, Pashto, Urdu
No. of Tehsils	6
Tehsils	Attock Tehsil Fateh Jang Tehsil Hazro Tehsil Hassan Abdal Jand Tehsil Pindi Gheb Tehsil
Website	attock.punjab.gov.pk

Attock District ( Punjabi/Urduضلع اٹک:), known as Campbellpur District during British Raj, is a district, located on the Pothohar Plateau, in north western Punjab, Pakistan; created in April 1904. According to 2023 Pakistani census population of Attock District is 2,133,005 (2.1 million), making it the 23^rd most populous district of the province behind Rajanpur district and overall the 37^th most populous district in Pakistan.^[3]

The district was formed as Campbellpur District after Commander-in-Chief of British forces Sir Colin Campbell ^[4]. Later, in 1978, district name was changed to Attock after the major and historical city of Attock to reflect the older, historical name of the region.^[5] The word "Attock" in itself is derived from the word "Atak" in local languages which means blockade, barrier or obstruction.

One interpretation of the name attributes it to Mughal Emperor Akbar who encountered difficulties crossing the river therefore the city was named Attock by him however this claim is not supported by many as several literary writings use the word Attock and its sanskrit origin "Hataka" or "Ataka" earlier than the inception of Mughal Empire ^[6]. The more acceptable opinion is that due to the geography and military significance of the region, many travelers would be halted here and therefore the region would be an obstacle for the travellers and thus Attock was it's name.^[7]

The region that is now the Attock District has been historically part of Soanian Culture. Nearby archeological excavations near Soan Valley in southern Attock and northern Chakwal point to prehistoric human activity.^[8] The stone tools and early human remains found from these sites show human activity of at least 500,000 years ago.^[9] Several Petroglyphs have also been uncovered near Ghazi-Gariala hydropower project which were a major hurdle in development of the project as it posed enivronmental threat to an ancient and culturally significant site.^[10]

The region has also been influenced by Indus Valley Civilization as nearby site of Taxila (now in Rawalpindi district) shows deep connections with Indus valley settlements as the site lied on the old Grand Trunk Road.^[11] Later, after the decline of the Indus valley civilization, several Indo-Aryan tribes settled in the region most notably of which was the Gandhara Civilization which were present in north, central, and southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province as well as in Gilgit-Baltistan province, including Taxila, and Salt Range in Punjab, Pakistan, along with their presence in Indian Kashmir, Ladakh, and Uttarakhand.^[12]

The district was established in April 1904 as Campbellpur District during the British Raj through the merging of tehsils from neighbouring districts.^[4] Today the district consists of 6 tehsils: Attock, Fateh Jang, Hazro, Hassan Abdal, Jand and Pindi Gheb.^[13]

Attock district is located in the north western side of the Punjab province. The District has a total area of 6,857km² (2,648 sq mi), making it the 7^th largest district of the province and 41^st largest overall in Pakistan. Attock borders 7 district namely Chakwal to the south, Mianwali to the southwest, Rawalpindi to the east, Kohat to the west, Nowshera to the northwest, and Swabi and Haripur to the north.

Geographically, Attock is mainly hills, plateaus, and dissected plains. The Pothohar Plateau mainly covers the eastern part of the district, in the middle of the district sits a low mountain range; Kala Chitta Range whereas on the western and southern side of the district the indus merges with its river tributaries such as Haro river which joins the Indus near Ghazi Barotha Dam, Soan river which joins indus at Makhad ^[14] and Kabul river which meets Indus river near Attock Khurd. ^[15][16] In between the hills and rivers, dissected plains exist.

As of the 2023 census, Attock district has 353,973 households and a population of 2,170,423. The district has a sex ratio of 100.83 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 70.22%: 79.69% for males and 60.66% for females.^[18][3] 473,463 (22.2% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.^[19] 623,984 (28.75%) live in urban areas.^[18]

As per the 2023 census Islam is the predominant religion with 99.3% of the population.^[21]

Religion in contemporary Attock District

Religious group	1941[22]		2017[23]		2023[21]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	484,616	89.85%	1,877,221	99.51%	2,118,159	99.30%
Hinduism [a]	35,593	6.60%	575	0.03%	501	0.02%
Sikhism	16,740	3.10%	—	—	769	0.04%
Christianity	500	0.09%	7,699	0.41%	13,286	0.62%
Others	1,910	0.36%	883	0.05%	290	0.01%
Total Population	539,359	100%	1,886,378	100%	2,133,005	100%
Note: 1941 census data is for Attock, Pindi Gheb and Fateh Jang tehsils of erstwhile Attock district of Punjab province, which roughly corresponds to contemporary Attock district. District and tehsil borders have changed since 1941.

Religious groups in Attock District (British Punjab province era)

Religious group	1911[24][25]		1921[26]		1931[27]		1941[22]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	471,890	90.88%	465,694	90.91%	531,793	91.07%	611,128	90.42%
Sikhism	26,914	5.18%	19,809	3.87%	19,522	3.34%	20,120	2.98%
Hinduism [a]	19,741	3.8%	26,184	5.11%	31,932	5.47%	43,209	6.39%
Christianity	707	0.14%	557	0.11%	710	0.12%	504	0.07%
Zoroastrianism	11	0%	0	0%	0	0%	3	0%
Jainism	9	0%	5	0%	2	0%	13	0%
Buddhism	1	0%	0	0%	1	0%	7	0%
Others	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	891	0.13%
Total population	519,273	100%	512,249	100%	583,960	100%	675,875	100%
Note1: British Punjab province era district borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. Note2: District created in 1904 by taking Talagang Tehsil from Jhelum District and Pindi Gheb, Fateh Jang and Attock Tehsils from Rawalpindi District.

Religion in the Tehsils of Attock District (1921)^[26]

Tehsil	Islam		Hinduism		Sikhism		Christianity		Jainism		Others[b]		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Attock Tehsil	158,313	91.26%	11,203	6.46%	3,428	1.98%	523	0.3%	5	0%	0	0%	173,472	100%
Pindigheb Tehsil	108,356	90.22%	6,131	5.11%	5,582	4.65%	28	0.02%	0	0%	0	0%	120,097	100%
Talagong Tehsil	98,887	91.14%	5,233	4.82%	4,379	4.04%	2	0%	0	0%	0	0%	108,501	100%
Fatehjang Tehsil	100,138	90.89%	3,617	3.28%	6,420	5.83%	4	0%	0	0%	0	0%	110,179	100%
Note: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

Religion in the Tehsils of Attock District (1941)^[22]

Tehsil	Islam		Hinduism [a]		Sikhism		Christianity		Jainism		Others[c]		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Attock Tehsil	207,557	88.6%	19,346	8.26%	6,047	2.58%	455	0.19%	13	0.01%	846	0.36%	234,264	100%
Pindigheb Tehsil	150,458	90.09%	13,112	7.85%	3,347	2%	40	0.02%	0	0%	50	0.03%	167,007	100%
Talagong Tehsil	125,512	91.94%	7,616	5.58%	3,380	2.48%	4	0%	0	0%	4	0%	136,516	100%
Fatehjang Tehsil	127,601	92.41%	3,135	2.27%	7,346	5.32%	5	0%	0	0%	1	0%	138,088	100%
Note1: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. Note2: Tehsil religious breakdown figures for Christianity only includes local Christians, labeled as "Indian Christians" on census. Does not include Anglo-Indian Christians or British Christians, who were classified under "Other" category.

In the 2023 census, 65.23% of the population identified their first language as Punjabi, 14.45% as Hindko, 15.59% as Pashto and 2.68% as Urdu.^[28] In the previous census of 1998, the multiple-choice question did not have an option for Hindko; the percentages were 87% for Punjabi, 8.3% for Pashto and 1.1% Urdu.^[29]

The Punjabi dialect of the eastern Fateh Jang Tehsil is called Sohāī̃ and belongs to the Dhani dialect group. The dialects of Pindi Gheb Tehsil (called Ghebi) and of Attock (sometimes called Chhachi) have been classified as a sub-dialect of Hindko dialect.^[30]

The district of Attock is divided into following six tehsils:^[13]

The District contains a total of 72 Union Councils.^[34]

Attock has a total of 1,287 government schools out of which 51 percent (657 schools) are for female students. The district has an enrolment of 224,487 in public sector schools.^[35]

• Kamra, Pakistan
• Pothohar Plateau

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