Kheri Murat National Park
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| Kheri Murat National Park | |
|---|---|
.svg)  Location in Punjab, Pakistan | |
| Location | Fateh Jang Tehsil, Attock District, Punjab, Pakistan |
| Coordinates | 33°27′59″N 72°48′04″E / 33.46627°N 72.80119°E |
| Established | 30 September 2020[1] |
| Governing body | Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department |
Kheri Murat National Park is a protected area in Fateh Jang Tehsil of Attock District, Punjab, Pakistan. It was declared a national park in 2020 with a follow-up notification issued in 2023.[2] The park covers scrub-forest hills on the edge of the Kala Chitta Range near Fateh Jang and the M-1 motorway. It is managed by the Punjab Wildlife and Parks Department.
Departmental material describes the Kheri Murat Reserve Forest as a site of about 8,740 acres in Fateh Jang Tehsil with public access for nature recreation.[3] The 2020 and 2023 gazette notifications refer to the broader Kheri Murat forests of Attock Forest Division in the legal declaration of the park.[1][2] The site is also listed in the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA; Protected Planet) with a mapped polygon and a reported area of 35.37 km².[4]
Flora and fauna
The national park lies within Subtropical thorn scrub forest typical of the Salt Range/Attock uplands. Vegetation surveys in the Kheri Murat/Khaira Murat landscape report assemblages including Acacia nilotica, Prosopis juliflora, Dodonaea viscosa, Adhatoda vasica and Olea ferruginea across elevation zones.[5] Avifaunal survey work has documented resident and migratory birds in and around the park, underlining its role for local bird diversity.[6] A provincial environment profile notes the presence of the Punjab urial (Ovis vignei punjabiensis) and highlights poaching pressure on partridges in the landscape.[7]
