Chaklala, Rawalpindi
Chaklala is a major suburban town of Rawalpindi in the Punjab province of Pakistan.
Chaklala | |
|---|---|
Suburb | |
| Chaklala Cantonment | |
  Chaklala | |
| Coordinates: 33°36′00″N 73°06′20″E | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province | Punjab |
| District | Rawalpindi District |
| Elevation | 487 m (1,598 ft) |
| Population (1998) | |
| • Estimate () | 150,000 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Calling code | 051 |
It is situated astride the Airport Road, to the east of Grand Trunk Road on the main railway line. The town has its own railway station Chaklala Railway Station which is located less than 1 kilometer away from Benazir Bhutto International Airport.
The area also has modern housing schemes namely Gulzar-e-Quaid, Railway Housing Scheme 1-A Chaklala, Chaklala Schemes I, II & III, Askari - I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, X & XII) with a rapidly diminishing rural area. In Chaklala scheme 3, commercial market and automobiles market is also situated providing the consumers almost each and everything.
Demography
Chaklala has a population of around 150,000. The major ethnic groups in the area are Potohari Punjabis and Pashtuns. A large number of Kashmiris have also settled in the area after independence in 1947. Airport employees co operative Housing society is part of it.
Chaklala Cantonment
Chaklala is within Chaklala Cantonment, which is also home to a Pakistan Army garrison and a Pakistan Air Force base, along with associated unit HQs, depots and workshops, most of them present since the British era. Chaklala Airbase, recently re-named as PAF Base Nur Khan, is an important air base of the Pakistan Air Force, and houses a permanent US military presence.[1] The headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Pakistan are located in the high-security Pakistan Army garrison.
Transportation
Grand Trunk Road
Grand Trunk Road (N-5) passes through the area.
Airport Road
This major route connects the area with the city center of Rawalpindi and provides a route to the capital city of Islamabad. It extends from the Ammar Shaheed Chowk R/A to the Karaal Chowk/Koraal Chowk Intersection. The Benazir Bhutto International Airport and the adjacent Pakistan Air Force Base Chaklala are located along this road. It is a modern six-lane road. Two fly-overs have been constructed to reduce the load of traffic at the busiest sections of the road, closer to the Ammar Shaheed Chowk R/A (2009) and at Koral Chowk (2017), respectively. The route serves as the main artery connecting the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
Rawal Road
It runs along the western perimeter of the Benazir Bhutto International Airport. The road connects the busy traffic arteries of Benazir Bhutto Road alternatively known as Murree Road and Airport Road. It is a newly carpeted four-lane road.
Railway
Railway line of Pakistan Railways passes through the town. The area has a railway station, the Chaklala Railway Station. An associated strategic dry port, the Chaklala Dry Port, handles cargo trains.
Air
Benazir Bhutto International Airport is an important landmark of the area. [2]
Pakistan Television Corporation
Pakistan Television Corporation's Islamabad's centre was initially set up in Chaklala before it was shifted to its present location in Islamabad.[3]
Educational institutions
- Joint Staff Public School and College, Chaklala
- FG Quaid-e-Azam Public School
- Fazaia Intermediate College, Chaklala (PAF Base Chaklala)
- Fazaia Intermediate College, Jinnah Camp, Chaklala (Khanna Road)
- Bilquis College of Education for Women (Mujahida Academy)
- Army Public School and College (FWO campus), Gracy Lines, Chaklala
- FG Boys High School, Gracy Lines, Chaklala
- FG Girls High School, Gracy Lines, Chaklala
- Fauji Foundation Model School, Chaklala
- Sir Syed Science College, Chaklala
- Allied Schools, Chaklala
- Army Public School
- JS Public School
- FG Public School
- Army Public School
- Government Degree College For Women
References
- "CIA drones quit one Pakistan site – but US keeps access to other airbases". The Bureau of Investigative Journalism. Retrieved 24 March 2013.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-14. Retrieved 2010-10-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
