Attock’s historic sites invite tourists
Visitors face difficulties in accessing sites due to the absence of black-top paths
Visitors face difficulties in accessing sites due to the absence of black-top paths. PHOTO: AFP
ISLAMABAD:
On the right bank of the mighty Indus River and on the confluence of two provinces lies the small, but historic town of Attock Khurd. For centuries, this town and its surrounding areas have served as a key gateway for forces on either side of the river.
Even as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in the centre, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa talk prioritizing the tourism sector in the country, there seems to be little done to either preserve historical sites, develop them for tourism or ensure easy access to the sites.
The historical Attock Khurd area first rose to prominence after the general area saw the mighty armies of Alexander the Great pass through it as they made their way into the Indian subcontinent to expand the Greek empire.
Centuries later, Attock would regain significance, this time for a new set of conquerors in the Indian subcontinent. The Mughals, particularly Akbar (another great), saw Attok Khurd as key to defending passage into northern Punjab from the Afghans.
For this purpose, he built the Attock Fort from 1581 to 1583 to guard the key route. However, centuries later, the fort and the area would fall under Afghan rule with Ahmad Shah Durrani coming to rule sections of the area under a treaty.
It later fell to the Sikhs who in turn saw the British settle in the area.
While the former worked to strengthen existing structures and fortifications — using the fort and the surrounding area for defence against western forces, the British sought the opposite: a staging base to launch expansions west of the Indus.
For this purpose, a railway station was built near the bank of the river in 1880, just two kilometres south of the fort. Built using stone, the station has a traditional Victorian design which was popular around colonial India at the time.
The British laid a railway track which would ultimately extend all the way into Afghanistan. But with the river in the way, an iron bridge was built across it in 1883.
The government, though, built a new set of bridges across the Indus as part of the Islamabad-Peshawar motorway.
However, the road which links the Grand Trunk (GT) Road to the Attock Khurd station and the historic bridge, lies in ruins, making access for tourists from Punjab an almost impossibility.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government, however, has been quite active in this regard, with its tourism department frequently organising train trips to the railway station across the historic bridge from Peshawar apart from organising river rafting and rallies.
This is in part due to the fact that the railway station and the Attock fort — which at one point served as a prison for deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif — fall within the territorial boundaries of K-P.
But to say that only would negate the host of other historical sites and the attraction which Attock’s natural scenic beauty provides in areas which fall within Punjab.
Tourists visiting the railway station urged the government to undertake steps to preserve this historic site. They also urged to create awareness amongst the public regarding the importance of this station.
They added that visiting historic sites was far more fulfilling than just looking at their pictures or reading about them in books.
If this site had been in any other country, the respective government would have taken steps to preserve it and to develop it for tourists to earn a substantial sum of money, they complained.
Local tourists from Punjab were displeased with the performance of the provincial government on protecting historical sites, whether they are in Attock or other parts of Punjab. They added that the government spends a massive amount of money on sites located in Lahore while sites located in other parts of the province are ignored.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Environment Amin Aslam, who hails from Attock, lamented that the station had been neglected by past regimes.
He added that not only did the station and the area have historic value, it also has significance in the modern day as well since this was the place where the new history of South Asia was created.
Noting that he was proud to have been chosen by Prime Minister Imran Khan for the development of the area, he pledged to play his due role in this regard by speaking with Imran and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar for facilitating tourists and to repair the roads.
He added that Punjab tourism department and the federal heritage institutions will be brought to the site so that a survey report of all the historic buildings near Attock could be created and sent to the prime minister for action.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2019.
On the right bank of the mighty Indus River and on the confluence of two provinces lies the small, but historic town of Attock Khurd. For centuries, this town and its surrounding areas have served as a key gateway for forces on either side of the river.
Even as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in the centre, Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa talk prioritizing the tourism sector in the country, there seems to be little done to either preserve historical sites, develop them for tourism or ensure easy access to the sites.
The historical Attock Khurd area first rose to prominence after the general area saw the mighty armies of Alexander the Great pass through it as they made their way into the Indian subcontinent to expand the Greek empire.
Centuries later, Attock would regain significance, this time for a new set of conquerors in the Indian subcontinent. The Mughals, particularly Akbar (another great), saw Attok Khurd as key to defending passage into northern Punjab from the Afghans.
For this purpose, he built the Attock Fort from 1581 to 1583 to guard the key route. However, centuries later, the fort and the area would fall under Afghan rule with Ahmad Shah Durrani coming to rule sections of the area under a treaty.
It later fell to the Sikhs who in turn saw the British settle in the area.
While the former worked to strengthen existing structures and fortifications — using the fort and the surrounding area for defence against western forces, the British sought the opposite: a staging base to launch expansions west of the Indus.
For this purpose, a railway station was built near the bank of the river in 1880, just two kilometres south of the fort. Built using stone, the station has a traditional Victorian design which was popular around colonial India at the time.
The British laid a railway track which would ultimately extend all the way into Afghanistan. But with the river in the way, an iron bridge was built across it in 1883.
The government, though, built a new set of bridges across the Indus as part of the Islamabad-Peshawar motorway.
However, the road which links the Grand Trunk (GT) Road to the Attock Khurd station and the historic bridge, lies in ruins, making access for tourists from Punjab an almost impossibility.
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government, however, has been quite active in this regard, with its tourism department frequently organising train trips to the railway station across the historic bridge from Peshawar apart from organising river rafting and rallies.
This is in part due to the fact that the railway station and the Attock fort — which at one point served as a prison for deposed prime minister Nawaz Sharif — fall within the territorial boundaries of K-P.
But to say that only would negate the host of other historical sites and the attraction which Attock’s natural scenic beauty provides in areas which fall within Punjab.
Tourists visiting the railway station urged the government to undertake steps to preserve this historic site. They also urged to create awareness amongst the public regarding the importance of this station.
They added that visiting historic sites was far more fulfilling than just looking at their pictures or reading about them in books.
If this site had been in any other country, the respective government would have taken steps to preserve it and to develop it for tourists to earn a substantial sum of money, they complained.
Local tourists from Punjab were displeased with the performance of the provincial government on protecting historical sites, whether they are in Attock or other parts of Punjab. They added that the government spends a massive amount of money on sites located in Lahore while sites located in other parts of the province are ignored.
Adviser to Prime Minister on Environment Amin Aslam, who hails from Attock, lamented that the station had been neglected by past regimes.
He added that not only did the station and the area have historic value, it also has significance in the modern day as well since this was the place where the new history of South Asia was created.
Noting that he was proud to have been chosen by Prime Minister Imran Khan for the development of the area, he pledged to play his due role in this regard by speaking with Imran and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar for facilitating tourists and to repair the roads.
He added that Punjab tourism department and the federal heritage institutions will be brought to the site so that a survey report of all the historic buildings near Attock could be created and sent to the prime minister for action.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 21st, 2019.