Hazro
حضرو
Town
Hazro city
Nickname: 
حضرو
Hazro is located in Pakistan
Hazro
Hazro
Location in Pakistan
Coordinates: 33°54′35″N 72°29′34″E / 33.90972°N 72.49278°E / 33.90972; 72.49278
Country Pakistan
ProvincePunjab
DistrictAttock District
TehsilHazro Tehsil
Government
 • Prime Minister of PakistanImran Khan (2018-2022) Shehbaz Sharif (Since 2022)
Elevation
1,184 ft (361 m)
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
 • Summer (DST)+6
Area code43440
Calling code057
Union councils14

Hazro (Punjabi, Urdu: حضرو) is a town located halfway between Islamabad and Peshawar (a town situated almost on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-Punjab border) in Hazro Tehsil of the Attock District in the Punjab Province of Pakistan. Hazro is the capital of the Chachh region.[1]

Etymology

The name Hazro is derived from Persian word hazer (Urdu:حضر) meaning presence, residence at a place, opposite of journey. This nomenclature is attributed to the region's historical role as a destination for migration and settlement, drawing people from mostly Greater Iran due to its proximity to the Indus River and its strategic importance for life and trade.[2]

Geography

It is located approximately halfway between Peshawar and Islamabad, the federal capital. This town is the capital of Hazro Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of the district, and the central marketplace of the Chach Valley, consisting of 84 villages located along the Indus River.

2nd connectivity through M1 (Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway) is at Chach Interchange (چھچھ انٹرچینج), Which is the main entry to the town if coming from Islamabad or Peshawar.

History

Ancient history

Coin of Liaka Kusulaka, an imitation of coins of Eucratides
Liaka Kusulaka is mentioned in the Taxila copper plate (British Museum)

Hazro is located at the historical region of Gandhara. The region was inhabited by the Scythians. Liaka Kusulaka was an Indo-Scythian satrap of the area of Chukhsa (Chach) during the 1st century BC.[3] Later the region was inhabited by Turk Shahis, Western Turk, or mixed Turko-Hephthalite and later was ruled by Hindu Shahis. Many rulers such as Alexander the Great, Mahmud of Ghazni, Timur, Nader Shah and Babur and their armies crossed the Indus River at or about this region in their respective invasions of India.[4]

Middle Ages

According to the Gazetteer of Rawalpindi, Hazro was the battlefield of the Battle of Chach in which, in AD 1008, Ghaznavid Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi defeated the united forces of the Hindu Shahi ruler Anandapala with a slaughter of 20,000 men. The Gakhars became vital in the hills to the east, but their dominion never extended beyond the Margalla pass. Ghakhars were defeated by Kashmiri ruler Shihabu'd-Din Shah near Attock Khurd and continued under Kashmiri rule until the conquest of Babur.[5]

Modern period

During British Rule the town of Hazro became part of Attock Tehsil; the municipality of Attock which was created in 1867 and the North-Western Railway connected the town to Lawrencepur. The town is surrounded by rich cultivation, and from 20th century had a flourishing trade, chiefly in tobacco and sugar. The population according to the 1901 census of India was 9,799.[5]

Notable people

References

  1. ^ "Hazro". Hazro. Retrieved 7 September 2018.
  2. ^ https://www.rekhtadictionary.com/meaning-of-hazar-1?lang=ur
  3. ^ "Imperial Gazetteer2 of India, Volume 10, page 115 -- Imperial Gazetteer of India -- Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu.
  4. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Attock". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 886.
  5. ^ a b Gazetteer of the Rawalpindi district 1893-94 published by Sang-E-Meel Publications and Page 259
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