Map - Abbottabad

Abbottabad (Urdu,, ) is the capital city of Abbottabad District in the Hazara region of eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in Pakistan and fourth largest in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population. It is about 120 km north of Islamabad-Rawalpindi and 150 km east of Peshawar, at an elevation of 1256 m. Kashmir lies a short distance to the east.

Following the Second Anglo-Sikh War, The British had annexed the entire Punjab region up to Peshawar. Abbottabad was founded in the early 1850s, by a British military officer in the Bengal Army of British Raj, James Abbott and replaced Haripur, as Hazara's capital.

On the 9th of November 1901, the British established a North-West Frontier Province from the north-western districts of The Punjab, this meant that Abbottabad was now a part of the newly formed province.

Following the Announcement of Partition of British Raj into Dominion of Pakistan and Dominion of India, a referendum was held in the NWFP and the result was in favour of Pakistan. In 1955, Abbottabad and the whole NWFP became a part of West Pakistan, but the province was established again in 1970 and Hazara District and the two tribal agencies were merged to form the new Hazara Division with its capital at Abbottabad.

Osama bin Laden, founder of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, held refuge at a compound in Abbottabad, where he was shot and killed by U.S. Forces on 2 May 2011.

Established in 1947, Abbottabad houses Pakistan Army's initial officer training academy, the Pakistan Military Academy, referred to by its acronym, PMA.

Abbottabad was founded and named after Major James Abbott in January 1853 as the headquarters of Hazara District during the British Raj after the annexation of Punjab. He remained the first Deputy Commissioner of the Hazara district from 1845 until April 1853. Major Abbott is noted for having written a poem titled "Abbottabad", before his return to Britain, in which he wrote of his fondness for the town and his sadness at having to leave it.

In the early 20th century, Abbottabad became an important military cantonment and sanatorium, serving as the headquarters of a brigade in the Second Division of the Northern Army Corps. The garrison consisted of four battalions of native infantry, of the Frontier Force (including the 5th Gurkha Rifles) and two native mountain batteries. In 1901, the population of the town and cantonment was 7,764 with an average income of Rs. 14,900. This increased to Rs. 22,300 in 1903, chiefly derived from octroi. During this time chief public institutions were built such as the Albert Victor Unaided Anglo-Vernacular High School, the Municipal Anglo-Vernacular High School and the government dispensary. In 1911, the population had risen to 11,506 and the town contained four battalions of Gurkhas. In June 1948, the British Red Cross opened a hospital in Abbottabad to deal with thousands of injured being brought in from Kashmir.