General Abdul Qayyum

 Lieutenant General Abdul Qayyum Hilal-i-Imtiaz (Military), hails from rural areas of Chakwal district of Punjab province of Pakistan. The general, who entered internationally reputed and prestigious Pakistan Military Academy Kakul in May 1966 as a cadet, was commissioned in Pak Army Artillery in April 1968 and finally retired as a three star general in January 2004. Later he became chairman of Pakistan Steel Board from where he resigned under protest against a fraudulent privatization attempt of Pakistan’s largest integrated steel plant which was later cancelled by the full court bench consisting of 11 judges of the country’s Supreme Court. This vindicated the chairman’s stand that the said privatization was not transparent because of “Errors of Omission and Commission” as stated by the apex court in its historical decision. The general served the country in different capacities for 40 long years. He now leads a happy retired life and is Chairman of Bin Qutab Foundation which strives to restore hope of the down trodden and help the have-nots specially in the rural areas of Pakistan focusing on health care, education and development of individual skills.

MALOT FORT

 The location of the Malot fort is about 15 kilometers westward form Katas. Here, on a hilltop is the ancient fort, which was built around 980AD. It is said that over here the last Hindu Shahi Raja Mal embraced Islam. In days gone-by the town and fort of Malot covered and area of over 5square kilometers. Two Hindu temples, which are located here, are beautiful specimens of ancient Kashmir architecture.
The Malot temples, built of local red sand stones of salt range mountains, are located on the road leading to Malot village near Choi village. The road is linked with main Kallar Kahar road from where it turns from Karuli Chowk towards Malot via Pakistan cement factory and Choi village along with coalmines. It is 12 kilometers away from Kallar Kahar in the east. The Malot was also called Namrod and Ramrod. The name is after the King of MalDev or Malu. The Rajput history claims its name Malot from the word Malik-Kot, as they believed that the title of Malik was given to the one who accepted annexation to the Muslim King of Delhi although in reward the Malik enjoyed the autonomous status with full sovereignty in the assigned area. The Mughal King Baber’s travelogue “Tuzk-e-Babri” attests to the corollary of Malik-Kot, Mal-Kot and then Malot.
The Brahman Bali Hindus till 1947 looked after the two present temples. They frequently visited the Guru of Bali Hindus, Guru Tarlok Nath shrines. In the year 1527 Daulat khan the royal forces of Mughal king Babur, to surrender, forced Lodhi. Mahan Singh, father of Maharaja Ranjit singh, also built a small fort here at Malot in early 19th century.
Alexander Cunningham wrote in his report for the Archaeological Survey of India in 1872-3, "The only remains of any antiquity at Malot are a temple and gateway in the Kashmirian style of architecture. They are built of a coarse sandstone of various shades of ochreous red and yellow, and many parts have suffered severely from the action of the weather, the surface having altogether crumbled away...The temple is a square of 18 feet inside, with a vestibule or entrance porch on the east towards the gateway. The gateway is...a massive building...divided into two rooms...On each side of these rooms to the north and south there are highly decorated niches for the reception of statues, similar to those in the portico of the temple. These niches are covered by trefoil arches which spring from flat pilasters. Each capital supports a statue of a lion under a half trefoil canopy...The roof is entirely gone; but judging from the square shape of the building, I conclude that it must have been pyramidal, outside with flat panelled ceilings of overlapping stones."

KATAS TEMPLES

 The Hindu sacred place “Katas” is located in the salt range at a distance of 18 miles in the south of Chakwal. The mention of Katas is found in “Maha Bharat” which was written in 300 BC. The etymology of this place as narrated in the old edition of “Tarikh-e-Jhelum” is that according to Brahaman’s belief, Shiv Devta wept so profusely on the death of his beloved wife Satti that two holy ponds one at Pushkar of Ajmair and other at Katak Shell came into being with his tears. In Sanskrit, the word “Katak Shell” means chain of tears, which later on was pronounced as “Katas”. According to Gen. Cunningham, Katas was considered the second largest holy place in Punjab for Hindu pilgrims after the Jawala Mukhi. It is said that famous Pando brothers spent 12 years in Katas and built the temples of Satghara.
It is said that Al-Bairuni also spent some period at Katas to learn Sanskrit in a linguistic university, which, at that time, was established here. During his stay at Katas and Nandana Fort, Al-Bairuni wrote a famous book “Kitab-ul-Hind” which depicted the religion, scientific knowledge, and social customs of Hindus. Al-Bairuni during his stay at Katas not only learned Sanskrit but also performed various geographic experiments and eventually succeeded in discovering the radius of the earth. The Pandavas, it is believed, constructed these temples. Efforts are being made to restore and renovate these temples. There are also cave-type structures near the temples that, it is believed, were used for meditation purposes. At a short distance from the temple, there is also the haveli of Hari Singh Nalwa, who used to be a General in the Army of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. The place is mentioned in Maha Bharat and according to Hindu religious belief; both Katas and the Paskar (Ajmer) are the eyes of Shiva. Paras Nath Jogi breathed his last here. Guru Nanak also visited Katas. It was the abode of contemplation for larger groups of mystics and Jogies. 
According to Gen Cunningham, Katas was considered the second largest holy place in Punjab for Hindu pilgrims after Jawala Mukhi. It is said famous Pando brothers spent 12 years in Katas and built the temples of Satghara. Temples at Katas have been transferred from the federal government to the Punjab Archaeology Department recently.

AANSOO LAKE

The lake in the Katas Raj Temple complex is the setting for many stories about the Pandavas in Maha Bharat. During their exile, the Pandava brothers came upon the lake and were about to drink from the water when a Yaksha (protecting spirit of the lake) appeared and said that only people who correctly answered his questions could drink from the lake. The four Pandavas failed the test and were killed by the Yaksha. However the fifth brother, Yudhishtar, used mystical knowledge to answer the questions and brought his brothers back to life. The lake is still said to have magical powers. The Etymology of this place as narrated in the old edition of "Tarikh-e-Jhelum" is that according to Brahaman's belief, Shiv Devta wept so profusely on the death of his beloved wife Satti that two holy pounds one at Pushkar of Ajmair and other at Katak shell came into being with his tears. In Sanskrit, the word "Katak shell" means chain of tears that later on was pronounced "Katas".