Abbottabad,
city, east-central North-West
Frontier Province, northern Pakistan, situated 38 miles (61
km) northeast of Rawalpindi. A hill station (4,120 feet
[1,256 m]), it lies on a plateau at the southern corner of the
Rash (Orash) Plain and is the gateway to the picturesque
Kagan Valley. Connected by road with the Indus
Plain and Kashmir and by railhead (at Havelian, 10 miles
[16 km] south) with Peshawar, it serves as a district
market centre. Founded in 1853 and named after Major James Abbott,
the first British deputy commissioner of the region, Abbottabad
contains two parks, a preparatory school, two colleges affiliated
with the University of Peshawar, and a forest research
centre. The Pakistan Military Academy is at Kakul, 5
miles (8 km) northeast. Three major iron-ore deposits are located
nearby. Pop. (1981 prelim.) 66,000.
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