"There it stands, sprawling across a low rocky hill a few miles north of Jhelum. Its great ramparts growing from the cliff like the wall of China, looking north a sandy streambed to the low hills of the salt range and beyond them, to the snows of Pir Panjal. The circumference is large enough easily to hold a couple of Divisions of troops. As you approach the fort, the crenellations look like ominous rows of helmeted warriors watching you with disapproval. It is an awe-inspiring sight".
- Sir Olaf Caroe, ex-governor of North West Frontier Zone (NWFZ) province.
Rohtas Fort, also known as Qila Rohtas, was built by the Afghan ruler Sher Shah Suri who caused an interregnum in the Mughal Empire from 1940 to 1945. Built in 1941 after his defeat of the 2nd Mughal Emperor Humayun, the fort is representative of the splendor, which became the hallmark of the short but eventful rule of sis years of the rule of Sher Shah Suri. Described by Rudyard Kipling as "a river of life as exists nowhere else in the world', Grand Trunk Road was also the brainchild of Sher Shah Suri.
A Pakistan Holiday also includes a visit to the Rohtas Fort to explore the strategic importance of the fort. An astute ruler, who by dint of his determination rose to become the ruler of Delhi, was quick to recognize the strategic location of Rohtas and immediately ordered its construction.
Though the fortification was undertaken from a military standpoint, but in the process it emerged as a fine example of Pathan architecture of that period. The height of the fort walls ranges from 30 to 40 feet. The fort has twelve gates including the beautiful Sohal Gate, which is in good condition and now used as a rest house.
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