PLACES OF TOURISTS INTEREST / HISTORICAL PLACES
Mahaban is a famous mountain, which according to Dr. Stein has been mentioned in the Alexander campaign. It is about 7000 feet above the Sea Level. On the top of the ridge that stretches towards the Indus, known as SHAH KOT, old ruins of a fortress are still present at places. It is partly located in District Buner and the greater portion is in District Swabi. From here it extends into Harripur District.
It is a potential hill resort for the people of the area due to its close proximity to Tarbela Dam, Topi, Gadoon Industrial Estate and Mardan but it is utterly lacking in all infrastructures.
HUND
The actual name of Hund was Udabhandapura. This form of the name is from a Sarada inscription found at Hund and also from the Rajatarangine – a Twelfth Century history of Kashmir. Hsuan Tasang a famous Chinese pilgrim who passed through this area in AD 644. Writes this name in his own accent as WU-TO-KIA-HAN-CHA. Some Muslims historians write it as waihand while other gives the form Ohand. Aurel Stein a well known scholar who translated Raja Tarangini into English maintained that the correct Sanskrit form of this name was Udakabhanda (Meaning Water pot) and that WU-TO-KIA-HAN-CHA and Waihand were its derivative forms. Aurel Stein's interpretation of the name. However, seems to be rather Par-Petched and does not appeal to mind. It seems more probable that the original Sanskrit form of Udabhandapura was Urdhvabhandapura meaning the upper town. Urdhva means upper and its Persian and Pushto equivalents are Bala and Bar respectively.
Hund is situated on the right band of River Indus above Attock. According to the Hudud-al-alam, and anonymous tenth century work. Waihand was a large town and also had a small population of Muslims. It received Indian merchandize such musk and others precious stuffs and served as a trade emporium between India and central Asia. All the Muslim writers Maqdist is all prays for Waihand and mentions its fine gardens, numerous streams, abandoned rainfall, good fruits, toll trees, cheap prices, freedom from pests and general prosperity of its people. On the outskirts of the city, he says, were walnut and almond trees and within it bananas and the like. The houses were made of wood and dressed stones.
Hund was the winter capital of Hindushahi rulers, one of whose ancestors, kallar came to power in about AD 822 after successful coup d' etat in which the last Turkshahi ruler Lagaturman, was over thrown and imprison. Kallar was succeeded by a series of powerful monarchs who ruled much of Afghanistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Punjab, the precise names of these rulers are mentioned by Albiruni a contemporary Muslim rider, who witnessed the fall of the Hindushahi dynasty. Kallar was followed by Samantadeva (AD 850-870), Khudarayaka (AD 870-880), Lalliya (AD 880 – 902) Toramna (AD-903-921) Bhimadeva (AD 921-964) Jayapaladeva (AD 964-1002) Anandapala (AD 1002 – 1010) Trileanapala (AD 1010 – 1021) and Bhimapala (1021 – 1026).
The most famous among these rulers was Jayapaladeva who put up a tough resistance against the rulers of Ghazna but went on loosing territories throughout his reign till he was captured by the forces of Mahmud – b – Sabuktigin at Peshawar in AD 1001 – 02). Mahmud took Hund and Swat during the same campaign. Jayapala was released after payment of a considerable amount as ransom money but dispirited and disgusted with life on account of the humiliation brought upon him by un-favourable circumstances. He burnt himself to death on reaching Hund. This ritual suicide might have absolved Jayapala of some sins to which he seemed to have ascribed his defeats, but it could not save Hund from further onslaught. Shortly afterwards, the capital was shifted to Nandana in Salt range (Punjab). The city lived on for a while a frontier town of the Ghaznavi empire, but it lost its glory, status and economic prosperity for ever. When Abdul Fazal passed through this area in the sixteenth century the city had already been turned in to heaps of soil, Kalhana sorrowfully remarks of the demise of this great city. "One asks oneself whether, with its kings, ministers and its court it ever was or was not".
Perceiving the great strategic importance of Hund as a crossing point of Akbar, the great well known Mughul Emperor, ordered the construction of a fort on top of these mounds. The work was assigned to one of his generals Raja Birbal. Throughout the Mughul period Hund served as a military outpost.
Hund is last mentioned in historical accounts at the time when Syed Ahmad Shaheed after his success against the Sikh force in 1826 reached this place and was well received by the Raees, Lord of Hund, known as Khadi Khan. It was here that the Syed found some time out of his busy schedule to organize his troops and workout further strategies. But the Barakzai Sardars of Peshawar who wanted to eliminate the Syed spread a network of intrigues against him and succeeded in alienating some of the influential Khans of the area who had been helping him during the campaign. Khadi Khan was also one of them. He was killed when the troops of Syed invaded Hund in retaliation. In-fact the construction of a fort at Attock had already signaled the death blow, for it provided a convenient crossing point and diverted the rout to Peshawar and then straight on to the Khyber Pass. Hund lost its strategic position for ever and also its prosperity.
GHULAM ISHAQ KHAN INSTITUTE
The GIK institute was established in 1993. One of its major objective is to raise the standard of engineering and technology and industrialization within the country. This was to be achieved by providing competent technical manpower of International level to meet the country's requirements and to provide much needed technological research and development support to key national industries through consultancy services. GIK Institute as a matter of policy compares its achievements with those of other leading international universities and research organization.
The idea of such an institute was conceived by Mr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan, the former President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. He cherished the idea for some time and broached the subject with leading scientist and engineers. The idea was converted into a practical proposition in June 1988 when society for the promotion of Engineering Sciences and Technology (SOPREST) the parent body of the institute was registered under the society's registration act of 1860. Law of the institute was enacted by the provincial assembly of KPK, land for locating the institute was donated to SOPREST by the KPK government. Civil work of the institute was started in early 1990.
TOURISM
District Swabi has a large potential of tourism to attract tourists to the district. District Swabi remains attractive for the tourists in both the seasons, in summer the tourists travel to the Hilly area of Gadoon and in winter the tourist travels to plain area of Swabi. Some popular tourist destinations in Swabi include:
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