Abbottabad

Abbottabad is a city and the capital of the Hazara Division in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It also serves as the headquarters of its eponymous tehsil (subdistrict) and district. According to the 2023 census, Abbottabad had a population of 234,395. The city is located about 120 km (75 mi) north of the Islamabad–Rawalpindi area and 150 km (95 mi) east of Peshawar, at an elevation of about 1,256 m (4,121 ft). Abbottabad was founded in 1853 during British rule and was named after James Abbott, the first deputy commissioner of Hazara. It developed as a cantonment and administrative centre in the colonial period, later becoming part of the North-West Frontier Province and then Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Parts of the city are administered as Abbottabad Cantonment, while the wider urban area also includes municipal administration. The city is associated with education, healthcare, tourism and military institutions. It is home to institutions such as Ayub Medical College and the Abbottabad campus of COMSATS University Islamabad, while the Pakistan Military Academy is located at nearby Kakul. Abbottabad also serves as a market and transit centre for surrounding areas of the Hazara region and as a base for travel to nearby hill stations and destinations in northern Pakistan, including the Galyat region and the Kaghan Valley.