Rawalpindi

Rawalpindi (räwəlpĭn`dē), city (1998 pop. 1,406,214), NE Pakistan. It occupies the site of an old village inhabited by the Rawals, a tribe of Yogis. A railroad junction and an important industrial and commercial center, the city has an oil refinery, gasworks, an iron foundry, railroad yards, a brewery, sawmills, and factories making tents, textiles, hosiery, pottery, and leather goods. Sikhs settled the area in 1765 and invited nearby traders to live in Rawalpindi. After the British occupied the Punjab (1849), it became a major British military outpost. In 1919 a peace treaty ending the Third Afghan War was signed by British and Afghan representatives at Rawalpindi. The city, strategically located astride the road between the Punjab and Kashmir, is Pakistan's army headquarters. From 1959 to 1970, it was the interim capital of Pakistan. Six colleges affiliated with the Univ. of the Punjab, a polytechnic school, a police training institute, and an armed forces medical college are in Rawalpindi.

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Rawalpindi

City (pop., 2005 est.: urban agglom., 1,770,000), Punjab province, northern Pakistan, just southwest of Islamabad. In ancient times, the locality was included in the Achaemenian Persian Empire. The ruins of the ancient city of Taxila are located nearby to the northwest. Strategically located, it controls the routes to the Kashmir region and was the site of an important British military station. The former capital of Pakistan (1959–69), Rawalpindi is the headquarters of Pakistan's army and an administrative, commercial, and industrial centre. Wheat, barley, corn (maize), and millet are the chief crops grown in the area. Mankial, south of the city, is the site of a Buddhist stupa dating to the 3rd century BC.

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Rawalpindi

an ancient city in N Pakistan: interim capital of Pakistan (1959--67) during the building of Islamabad. Pop.: 1 794 000 (2005 est.)