page_title: Kohat
section_title: British
hierarchical_section_title: Kohat / History / British
caption_attribution_description: English: Kohat Tehsil gate in 1919
context_page_description: Kohat, is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan which serves as the capital of the Kohat District. The city is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. It is the 35th largest city of Pakistan and fourth largest in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Kohat's immediate environs were the site of frequent armed skirmishes between British colonialist forces and local tribesmen in the mid to late 19th century. Modern Kohat is now a medium-sized city with a population of approximately 228,779 people, and centres on a British-era fort, various bazaars, and a military cantonment. The languages spoken in the city are Pashto and the Kohati dialect of Hindko.
context_section_description: Following British victory over the Sikhs in 1848, Kohat came under British rule and was annexed in March 1849. Lieutenant Pollack was appointed as Kohat's first Assistant Commissioner. British authorities in Peshawar commenced construction of the Kohat Pass road in 1849, and completed it by 1850 despite violent opposition from local tribes. The pass was closed temporarily in 1853 after a quarrel arose among nearby tribes. The road which connected Kohat to Rawalpindi via Khushalgarh was of little trouble compared to the Kohat Pass road.
  Kohat remained largely peaceful during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, and local Pashtun soldiers largely ignored calls for rebellion. The British established a Hill Station at Cherat, just north of Kohat, in the 1860s. Kohat Pass road was closed on an off for several more years on account of quarrels among local tribes, including in 1865 when it was closed for more than one and a half years. Armed skirmishes between British forces and Pashtun tribesmen continued on and off between the 1860s and 1870s. Kohat Cantonment was established by the British in 1874. Routes between Kohat and Bannu and Thall were frequently blockaded by Wazir tribesmen by 1880 that resulted in large clashes between the British and Wazirs.
  In 1924, Kohat was the scene of widespread communal rioting that resulted in a 21-day fast by Mohandas Gandhi as a plea for unity. During the 1947 Kashmir War, Pashtun tribesmen from around the region convened in Kohat before departing for Kashmir in hopes of capturing the territory for Pakistan.
caption: Kohat Tehsil gate in 1919
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