Kakul

town northeast of Abbottabad city near the Thandiani Hills, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan

Kakul is a hamlet and union council in the Kakul Valley of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is 5 km north of Abbottabad city near the Thandiani Hills at a height of 1300 metres. The Pakistan Military Academy is also located here.

Kakul
Kakul is in Abbottabad District
Kakul is in Abbottabad District
Coordinates: 34°11′N 73°15′E / 34.183°N 73.250°E / 34.183; 73.250
Country Pakistan
ProvinceKhyber Pakhtunkhwa
DistrictAbbottabad
TehsilAbbottabad
Government
 • NazimSyed Shah Sultan[1]
 • Naib NazimNaveed Khan

History

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Kakul was historically a small village in the suburbs of Abbottabad, close to the larger Nawanshehr hamlet, which was owned by the Jadoon Pashtun tribe.[2] When the Hazara region was annexed to British India in 1849, the then District Commissioner Major James Abbott decided to build a cantonment town which was founded in 1853 as Abbottabad;[3] and at that time, a smaller military station or tented garrison was set up close to Kakul. In 1900-1901 this site became one of the first 'concentration camps' for Boer Prisoners of War (POWs) from the Anglo-Boer War, where some 400 such prisoners were held until 1903.[4] In 1904-1905, a part of this camp became the British Indian Armys Mountaineering and PE Camp, whereas the rest was made into the zonal headquarters of the Royal Indian Army Supply Corps(RIASC).[5] This position lasted until 1947, when after Independence the new Pakistan Army decided to set up the Pakistan Military Academy here, which was done in 1948.

Administration

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The small township of Kakul is the capital of Kakul Union Council. The Union Council is divided into the following areas: Balolia, Kakul, Mandroch Kalan, Mandroch Khurd, Nawansher Janoobi and Nawansher Shamali.[1]

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 Kakul Union Council
  2. Hazara Gazetteer, 1883-84, pub. Govt of the Punjab, 1884, p 211
  3. Gazetteer, p.35
  4. See 'Boer POWS at Abbottabad' in Durbar:Journal of the Indian Military Historical Society UK, Vol 28 No 2, Summer 2011, pp.64-67
  5. Imperial Gazeteer for 1910-1911, Vol 21, pp.104-105