Abbottabad (/ˈæbətəbɑːd/ AB-ə-tə-bahd; Urdu and Hindko: ایبٹ آباد, romanized: aibṭabād, pronounced [ɛːbʈəˈbaːd]) is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan.

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.

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.

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.

[9] In June 1948, the British Red Cross opened a hospital in Abbottabad to deal with thousands of injured people being brought in from Kashmir.

[12][13] On 2 May 2011, Abbottabad gained worldwide attention when U.S. President Barack Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been killed in his compound in the city.

According to the Imperial Gazetteer of India, "the town is picturesquely situated at the southern corner of the Rash (Orash) plain, 1,256 m (4,121 ft) above the sea".

The Karakoram, Himalayas and the Hindu Kush ranges can be approached from Abbottabad, and it continues to be a transit city for tourists, serving as a base for visiting nearby places, such as Hunza, Gilgit, Skardu and Indus Kohistan, of the Karakoram Range.

[32] A £19M amusement park is under construction in the city on a 20-hectare (50-acre) site; it includes a zoo, adventure sports facilities, restaurants and artificial waterfalls.

[34] The city has a young demographic (ages 15–30) due to the large number of students who have come from across the country to study in its schools, for example PIPS, Army Burn Hall College, Army Public College Kakul and Abbottabad Public School.

Sports facilities in the city include: Abbottabad's main public transport consists of modified taxis.