Wah

Infobox Settlement
name =Wah
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pushpin_map_caption =Location in Pakistan
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subdivision_name1 = Punjab
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subdivision_name2 = Attock District
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Wah (Wah: واہ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. The population of Wah is estimated to be over 500,000.Fact|Aug 2008|date=August 2008 Amenities include a garden said to have been built by the Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century.

It is connected by road with Peshawar, Islamabad and Rawalpindi and is a growing industrial centre. Industries in Wah include one of the largest cement factories in South Asia, other than ordnance and tractor plants, and agricultural implements and spare-parts manufacturing. Nearby is Wah Cantt.

History

Legend states that one of the Mughal Emperors, probably Akbar was on a journey to Kashmir. On the way, his caravan stopped at a spring in Punjab to quench their thirst. Remarking at the quality and purity of the water, Akbar said Wah! which has a similar meaning to the English word "wow". That spring became known as Wah and the city gets its name from this event.

Personalities

* Late Sardar Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan, First Chief Minister of United Punjab in British era.
* Late Sardar Shaukat Hayat Khan, President of PML
* Late Sardar Mumtaz Ali Khan, former MLA and Information Minister of Central Pakistan in 1955.

= Pakistan Ordnance Factories (POF) =

POF was established in 1951 and expanded, as a sprawling complex of fourteen mainstream industries and six commercial subsidiaries. It is actually located in Wah Cantt. POF makes Wah very important from strategic point of view. POF is the biggest defence industrial complex producing conventional arms and ammunition in Pakistan and is under the control of Pakistan Army. This is the reason for the high security in Wah.
In addition to meeting the demands of Pakistan Defence Forces, POF products are in service with over 30 countries, in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Ammunition and rifles have been exported to countries like Iraq and Afaghanistan for their respective military establishments.
The wide range of products include a variety of NATO caliber Infantry weapons and their ammo, Tank ammo, Air craft and Anti Air Craft ammo, Artillery ammo, Rockets, Air craft bombs, Pyrotechnics, Mortar bombs and Hand grenades, as well as other ordnance and commercial products.

On August 21st 2008, the ammunition depot. of this facility was allegedly subject to a suicide bomb strike by unidentified assailants, killing 60.

Squash At Wah

National and international squash competitions are held in Wah.

The 1st POF WISPA Squash Tournament was hosted at Jahangir Khan Squash Complex Wah Cantt from 28 August to 2nd September, 2005. The tournament carried a prize purse of US$7,000 and players from Pakistan, England, Korea, Denmark and Malaysia took part in it. Top seeded Carla Khan of Pakistan won the championship beating No. 2 seeded Sharon Wee of Malaysia in the final. President of the World Squash Federation, Jahangir Khan was chief guest at the concluding ceremony. [http://www.paksquash.com/activity.php]

Education

One thing which makes it more prominent, conspicuous and distinguished, is its standard of education and literacy rate. Literacy rate in Wah Cantt is 100%, which is the highest rate of literacy in any region of Asia.Fact|date=August 2008 There are nearly about 115 educational institutes with about 50,000 students. Wah Cantt has proved its mettle in both liberal and technical education. [http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/pakistan/wah.htm]

There are numerous educational institutions in Wah. Some of the major ones include:
* [http://www.wahmedicalcollege.edu.pk Wah Medical College.]

* [http://www.ciit-wah.edu.pk Comsats Institute of Information Technology]
* [http://www.uw.edu.pk/ University of Wah.]
*Nasheman Institute of Special Education.

External links

* [http://archnet.org/library/images/thumbnails.tcl?location_id=5378] -Some Pictures of Wah
* [http://www.findpk.com/SV/Wah.htm] -Satellite view
* [http://pictorialmatters.blogspot.com/2005/08/mughal-gardens-wah.html] -A visitor's blog entry with pictures of Wah
* [http://www.mughalgardens.org/html/roads-wah.html] -A somewhat official source on the gardens