Rawalpindi

City in Punjab province, Pakistan, on the north bank of the River Leh, 175 km/110 mi southeast of Peshawar in the foothills of the Himalayas; population (1998) 1,409,800, (2007 calc) 1,843,400. Industries include oil refining, iron, chemicals, locomotives, steel-rolling, and furniture. There is a considerable trade in grain, wool, and timber. It has good communications by rail and by air and is both a commercial and a military centre, which is strategically important because

it controls routes into Kashmir.

It was the headquarters of the British northern army in the 19th century and it was here that the Sikhs surrendered after the second Sikh War in 1849. It is now the headquarters of the Pakistani army. It was the temporary capital of Pakistan 1959–67 during the construction nearby of the new capital, Islamabad.

Features The Ayub National Park and Liaqat Gardens are notable features of the city, which is also the home of a polytechnic, a police training institute, a medical college for the armed forces, and several colleges affiliated to the University of the Punjab.