Wah Cantonment (Punjabi, Urdu: واہ کینٹ) (often abbreviated to Wah Cantt) is a military city located in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the part of Taxila Tehsil of Rawalpindi District. It is the 22nd largest city in Pakistan by population. It has the highest literacy rate in all of Asia, effectively 100%. It is located 30 km (19 mi) to the northwest of Islamabad-Rawalpindi.
History
Wah Cantt is adjacent to Taxila, a small town enriched with one of the most important archaeological sites of the world.
The name ‘Wah’ has its roots in the Mughal era with the Mughal emperor Jehangir reported having coined the name when he was camped at Wah village, originally called ‘Jalal Sar’, en route to Lahore from a visit to Kashmir. Emperor Jehangir was impressed by the scenery and beauty of the place, so he said “Wah” (‘wow’). Later people started calling the area ‘Wah’. The Mughal advent had a strong influence on the architecture of the village and surrounding area which is still visible to date. Wah Gardens has Mughal architecture. Wah Cantt has developed a lot recently. Among developments, different kinds of shopping malls and various housing societies have been established. The population of Wah Cantt is increasing day by day due to the quality of education and a healthy environment. There are different areas for dining. Some of the most popular places in Wah Cantt are the Ordinance club and the POF hotel.
Military
Wah Cantt is a military cantonment. It is completely locked down for traffic except through the barriers controlled by Military Guards. All the cars entering have to possess a pass or they can not enter. A temporary pass can be picked up at the entrance to the city by surrendering their ID card which they can pick up when they are leaving the city.
Education
Wah has the highest literacy rate in all of Asia, effectively 100%. This small city has two chartered universities, one medical college, one engineering college, and many schools and colleges. Students from Wah Cantt can be found studying at many of the top institutes of Pakistan and abroad. Wah Cantt also has the largest number of bicycles in any city in Pakistan. This links the city with its past as, historically, the neighboring town of Taxila had been a seat of learning for thousands of years.
Apart from numerous private and government schools and colleges, foundations of professional universities have been laid down in the past five years, including the Wah Medical College.
COMSATS University Islamabad (Wah Campus), University of Wah & Wah Engineering College are some renowned educational institutes of the city. Some technical colleges (like POFIT, Swedish, etc.) are also located in Wah Cantt.