Hasan Abdal
Hasan Abdal is a historical town in Northern Punjab, Pakistan. It is centerd on the confluence of GT Road and Karakoram Highway near the NWFP province, northwest of Wah. It is 40 km northwest of Rawalpindi. Its population is about 40,000. It is famous for Gurdwara Sri Panja Sahib, one of the most sacred places of Sikhism. Thousands of Sikhs and Hindus visit the Gurudwara on the eve of Baisakhi every year.
On the nearby hill, at an altitude of 714 meters, there is a meditation chamber related to a 15th century Muslim Saint, Baba Wali Qandhari, popularly known as Baba Hasan Abdal. The saint stayed in Hasan Abdal from 1406-1516AD [citation needed] but died and is buried in village Baba Wali near Qandhar (Afghanistan). The city is named after this saint. The devotees and visitors climb over the steps leading to the hill, for offerings and to have a panoramic view of Hasan Abdal.
The other historical place is a tomb erroneously called Lala Rukh Tomb. There is a grave inside a square walled Garden and a fresh water fish pond near the tomb.There is a military style boys residential school called Cadet College Hasan Abdal administered by a board of directors and is associated to the provincial Government of Punjab.The city has been an idyllic place till a couple of decades ago. It was hardly imaginable that its fresh water springs with crystal clear water and loquat orchards will turn to ruins so soon. In 1980 it had a population of about ten thousands and everything seemed to be in control. Now, the population of the city has more than quadrupled in a matter of two decades without any plan. One can see houses and commercial buildings built at every imaginable place. The fresh air of the 1970s and early 1980s has become a nostalgic memory.
