Cherat
Encyclopedia
Cherat is a hill station, immediately above the village of Salehkhana or Saleh Khana in the Nowshera District
of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan
. Cherat lies 34 miles south east from the city of Peshawar
at an elevation of 4,500 feet on the west of the Khattak range, which divides the district of Nowshera from Kohat
.Because Cherat is the headquarters of the Special Service Group of Pakistan Army
, the area is off limits to the public.
Cherat was important as a hill cantonment and sanatorium for British troops in what was then the owshera District|Nowshera Tehsil] of the Peshawar District of British India.
Cherat was first used as a sanitarium
for troops in 1861 and was used during the hot weather as a health station for the British troops who were quartered in the hot and malarious
valley of Peshawar. It was declared a cantonment in 1886. The cantonment commands a view of the whole of the Peshawar valley on one side, and on the other of a portion of the Khwarra valley in Peshawar District, and of Kohat District as far as the Indus.
A hospital, a church, and a few bungalows were built by the British authorities. The station, which has a good water supply, was throughout the summer the headquarters of the Peshawar Division
command, and of one of the two British regiments stationed at Peshawar - a detachment of the other British regiment was also sent here.
There were 376 inhabitants according to the March 1901 Census, but in the hot season the garrison sometimes numbered 1,000 men.
Nowshera District
Nowshera is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan - the principal city is Nowshera. Nowshera District is divided into 47 Union Councils and 5 provincial seats....
of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. Cherat lies 34 miles south east from the city of Peshawar
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
at an elevation of 4,500 feet on the west of the Khattak range, which divides the district of Nowshera from Kohat
Kohat District
Kohat is a district of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, Kohat city is the capital of the district. It is inhabited by various Pashtun tribes such as Afridi,Khattaks, Bangash and the Orakzaies. The main language of the district is Pashto....
.Because Cherat is the headquarters of the Special Service Group of Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
, the area is off limits to the public.
History
During British ruleBritish Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
Cherat was important as a hill cantonment and sanatorium for British troops in what was then the owshera District|Nowshera Tehsil] of the Peshawar District of British India.
Cherat was first used as a sanitarium
Sanatorium
A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...
for troops in 1861 and was used during the hot weather as a health station for the British troops who were quartered in the hot and malarious
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
valley of Peshawar. It was declared a cantonment in 1886. The cantonment commands a view of the whole of the Peshawar valley on one side, and on the other of a portion of the Khwarra valley in Peshawar District, and of Kohat District as far as the Indus.
A hospital, a church, and a few bungalows were built by the British authorities. The station, which has a good water supply, was throughout the summer the headquarters of the Peshawar Division
Peshawar Division
Peshawar Division was an administrative division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan until the reforms of 2000 abolished the third tier of government. At independence in 1947, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was split into two divisions, Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar...
command, and of one of the two British regiments stationed at Peshawar - a detachment of the other British regiment was also sent here.
There were 376 inhabitants according to the March 1901 Census, but in the hot season the garrison sometimes numbered 1,000 men.