MANSEHRA CITY

Mansehra (Urdu: مانسہرہ) city is located at 34°19'60N 73°12'0E in Mansehra District, North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. It is very near to Abbottabad city.It is a major stop for tourists on the Karakoram Highway which leads to China. It is also a major transit point to the northern areas and locations such as the Kaghan Valley, Naran, Shogran, Lake Saiful Mulook and Babusar Top.

Mansehra is located in a province with a literacy rate of 35.41%. In comparison, Pakistan as a whole has literacy rate of 43.92%, Hindko and Pashto are the predominant languages.

History

Mansehra and surrounding areas have a very old history going back thousands of years, the area has been under the rule of Alexander the Great, King Ashoka, and the Turks and British empires. The Turks ruled here for three hundred year, the First Turk ruler who came here in the early part of sixteenth century was Sultan Shahabuddin a great grandson of Amir Taimur. He established his kingdom and named it "Pakhli Sarkar" with its capital at Guli Bagh Mansehra. The last Turk ruler was sultan Mehmud Khurd, he had prepared his own grave but he died in Delhi and could not be buried in the grave he had prepared. This is very precious national monument/heritage but stolen recently by some thieves in Mansehra. Mansehara police recovered it but is still lying in premises of Mansehra Police station. The descendents of these Turks are now living in various parts of Hazara. Prominent among them are Turks (Rajas) of Behali village. A notable relic are the Mansehra rock edicts.