Chaklala is a major suburban town of Rawalpindi in the Punjab province of Pakistan .
25-457: 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 . Chaklala is under the municipal administration of Chaklala Cantonment Board (CCB) which provides water, sewage treatment and road improvements in
50-478: A distance of around 2,600 kilometres (1,600 mi). The route of Chandragupta was built over the ancient " Uttarapatha " or the Northern Road, which had been mentioned by Pāṇini . The emperor Ashoka had it recorded in his edict about having trees planted, wells built at every half kos and many "nimisdhayas", which is often translated as rest-houses along the route for the travelers. The emperor Kanishka
75-517: A population of around 407,952 according to the latest 2017 census. 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. Since Chaklala is a major army garrison and an airforce base as well, a large number of military families are also housed here from all over Pakistan. Chaklala Airforce Base provides strategic transport to Pakistan's political and military leadership. The Chaklala Cantonment
100-610: A rapidly diminishing rural area. There is a large commercial market situated in Chaklala Scheme III which is the major shopping area for all the residents in Chaklala. The market comprises a lot of restaurants and shopping areas and a hang out spot for the younger people. There is also a cinema and retail complex located in Jinnah Park on the airport road which is another area where residents venture out during evenings. Chaklala has
125-675: A river of life as nowhere else exists in the world." The ensemble of historic sites along the road in India was submitted to the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2015, under the title "Sites along the Uttarapath, Badshahi Sadak, Sadak-e-Azam, Banho, Grand Trunk Road". The Indian sections of the Grand Trunk Road coincide with NH 19 , NH 112 and NH 44 of the National Highways in India . Psephologists sometimes refer to
150-578: A state-of-the-art cinema, Cinepax, a Metro Cash and Carry supermart, an outlet of McDonald's , gaming lounges, Motion Rides and other recreational facilities. The vast lawns also provide an adequate picnic spot. Pakistan Television Corporation 's Islamabad Centre was initially set up at Chaklala before it was shifted to its present location in Islamabad . Grand Trunk Road The Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath , Sarak-e-Azam , Shah Rah-e-Azam , Badshahi Sarak , and Long Walk )
175-711: Is a principle military installation located in Rawalpindi District in Punjab, Pakistan. The Joint Staff Headquarters (JS HQ), together with the Army GHQ PAF Base Nur Khan , are currently headquartered in the Chaklala cantonment. Most of the military facilities, buildings, mobility support workshops have built by the British Army and the Royal Air Force during times of India under British monarchy . In 2002,
200-531: Is also known to have controlled the Uttarapatha. Sher Shah Suri , the medieval ruler of the Sur Empire , took to repair The Chandragupta's Royal Road in the 16th century. The old route was further rerouted at Sonargaon and Rohtas and its breadth increased, a sarai was built, the number of kos minars and baolis increased. Gardens were also built alongside some sections of the highway. Those who stopped at
225-602: Is an important air base of the Pakistan Air Force. The headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, Pakistan are located in the high-security Pakistan Army garrison. Grand Trunk Road (N-5) passes through the area. 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 Roundabout to
250-510: Is based as per Google Maps. 27°20′13″N 79°03′50″E / 27.337°N 79.064°E / 27.337; 79.064 Chaklala Railway Station Chaklala Railway Station ( Urdu and Punjabi : چک لالہ ریلوے اسٹیشن ) is located in Chaklala town, Rawalpindi district of Punjab province of the Pakistan .The station building was constructed in 1879. This article about
275-479: Is mentioned in a number of literary works including those of Foster and Rudyard Kipling. Kipling described the road as: "Look! Look again! and chumars , bankers and tinkers, barbers and bunnias , pilgrims – and potters – all the world going and coming. It is to me as a river from which I am withdrawn like a log after a flood. And truly the Grand Trunk Road is a wonderful spectacle. It runs straight, bearing without crowding India's traffic for fifteen hundred miles – such
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#1732869714010300-570: Is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent . It runs roughly 3,655 km (2,271 mi) from Teknaf , Bangladesh on the border with Myanmar west to Kabul , Afghanistan , passing through Chittagong and Dhaka in Bangladesh, Kolkata , Kanpur , Agra , Aligarh , Delhi , Amritsar in India, and Lahore , Rawalpindi , and Peshawar in Pakistan . The highway
325-540: The Chaklala Railway Station . An associated strategic dry port, the Chaklala Dry Port, handles cargo trains. Benazir Bhutto International Airport is an important landmark of the area, located at Chaklala which is technically a part of Rawalpindi. In 2006, Jinnah Park ( Urdu : جناح پارک ) was inaugurated in Chaklala and has since become a hotspot of activity for the city of Rawalpindi . It houses
350-538: The Great Khurasan Road that ran from Media to Bactria). During the time of the Mauryan Empire in the 3rd century BCE, overland trade between India and several parts of Western Asia and Bactria world went through the cities of the north-west, primarily Takshashila and Purushapura (present-day Taxila and Peshawar respectively, in Pakistan ). Takshashila was well connected by roads with other parts of
375-670: The Ministry of Defence had split the Chaklala from larger Rawalpindi Cantonment to improve security around the Army GHQ and provide better administration among the military headquarters of the Pakistani military. Before 2002, Rawalpindi Cantonment was the largest of all cantonments in Pakistan which was creating administrative problems in providing municipal services due to rapid urban growth. Chaklala Airbase, recently re-named as PAF Base Nur Khan ,
400-1385: The British period between 1833 and 1860. Over the centuries, the road acted as one of the major trade routes in the region and facilitated both travel and postal communication. The Grand Trunk Road is still used for transportation in the present-day Indian subcontinent, where parts of the road have been widened and included in the national highway system. The road coincides with the current N1 , Feni ( Chittagong to Dhaka ), N4 & N405 (Dhaka to Sirajganj ), N507 (Sirajganj to Natore ) and N6 (Natore to Rajshahi towards Purnea in India ; NH 12 ( Purnea to Bakkhali ), NH 27 ( Purnea to Patna ), NH 19 ( Kolkata to Agra ), NH 44 ( Agra to Jalandhar via New Delhi , Panipat , Karnal , Ambala and Ludhiana ) and NH 3 ( Jalandhar to Attari , Amritsar in India towards Lahore in Pakistan ) via Wagah ; N-5 ( Lahore , Gujranwala , Gujrat , Lalamusa , Kharian , Jhelum , Rawalpindi , Peshawar and Khyber Pass towards Jalalabad in Afghanistan) in Pakistan and AH1 ( Torkham - Jalalabad to Kabul ) to Ghazni in Afghanistan . The Buddhist literature and Indian epics such as Mahabharata refer to
425-492: The Koraal 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 Roundabout (2009) and at Koral Chowk (2017), respectively. The route serves as
450-701: The Mauryan Empire. The Mauryas had maintained this very ancient highway from Takshashila to Patliputra (present-day Patna in India). Chandragupta Maurya had a whole army of officials overseeing the maintenance of this road as told by the Greek diplomat Megasthenes who spent fifteen years at the Mauryan court. Constructed in eight stages, this road is said to have connected the cities of Purushapura , Takshashila , Hastinapura , Kanyakubja , Prayag , Patliputra and Tamralipta ,
475-409: The area along with maintaining parks and green areas. This is separate from the other two municipal authorities i.e Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and Rawalpindi Metropolitan Corporation which make up the metropolitan city of Rawalpindi The area also has modern housing schemes namely Gulzar-e-Quaid, Chaklala Housing Schemes I, II & III, Askari - I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VIII, IX, X & XII with
500-517: The area around the GT Road as the "GT Road belt" it is also known as Gujarat road sometimes within the context of elections. For example, during the elections in Haryana the area on either side of the GT Road from Ambala to Sonipat , which has 28 legislative assembly constituencies where there is no dominance of one caste or community, is referred to as the "GT road belt of Haryana". Distance calculation
525-589: The existence of Grand Trunk road even before the Maurya Empire and was called Uttarapatha or the "Northern road". The road connected the eastern region of India with Central Asia , the terminus of the Khorasan Road . The precursor of the modern Grand Trunk road was built on the orders of the emperor Chandragupta Maurya and was inspired by the Persian Royal Road (more precisely, its eastern stretch,
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#1732869714010550-495: The main artery connecting the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad . 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 line of Pakistan Railways passes through the town. The area has a railway station,
575-514: The path of the highways. The route was referred to as "Sadak-e-Azam" by Suri and "Badshahi Sadak" by the Mughals. In the 1830s the East India Company started a program of metalled road construction, for both commercial and administrative purposes. The road, now named the Grand Trunk Road, from Calcutta , through Delhi , to Kabul , Afghanistan was rebuilt at a cost of £1000/mile. The road
600-506: The sarai were provided food for free. His son Islam Shah Suri constructed an additional sarai in-between every sarai originally built by Sher Shah Suri on the road toward Bengal. More sarais were built under the Mughals . Jahangir under his reign issued a decree that all sarais be built of burnt brick and stone. Broad-leaved trees were planted in the stretch between Lahore and Agra and he built bridges over all water bodies that were situated on
625-460: Was built along an ancient route called Uttarapatha in the 3rd century BCE, extending it from the mouth of the Ganges to the north-western frontier of India. Further improvements to this road were made under Ashoka . The old route was re-aligned by Sher Shah Suri to Sonargaon and Rohtas . The Afghan end of the road was rebuilt under Mahmud Shah Durrani . The road was considerably rebuilt in
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