KOHAT: The spacious and luxurious Mughal-cum-French-styled Cavagnari House, which is used as the official residence of commissioners, was constructed in 1862 for the first British political in-charge of Kohat, Captain Sir Louis Cavagnari, in the beautiful Kohat Cantonment.

The Cavagnari House, also known as the ‘White House’, is situated near the famous Kohat springs.

The British focused on weather conditions of the area while constructing buildings with thick mud walls, high roofs, hot air exit ducts, and tomb-like rooftops. This was done to counter the heat of extreme summers.

The Cavagnari House spreads over six acres of land, including the wooden-floored building and seven lawns surrounding it. It was converted into a public library and civil club in 2001, which provided the visitors a pleasant environment for reading away from the noise and pollution of the city.

The magnificent building has rolling lawns and a variety of trees. However, the huge Banyan tree is always the focus of attention.

Underneath this tree is a steel plaque on which the following words are inscribed, “Here lie the mortal remains of late Attaullah Jan, the resident commissioner, who died in an air crash while flying over then Orakzai Agency in 1956.

The Cavagnari House was renovated by Shakil Durrani without altering its original structure during his tenure as the Kohat division commissioner in the 80s.

In the early 20th century, on a portion of two acres out of the original six acres allocated for the residence, a telegraph and post office was constructed outside the walled city for the convenience of garrison officers.

This building served as the official residence of 21 commissioners who served Kohat from 1982 until 2022.

The old circuit house opposite to the PAF officers’ mess was allotted to the deputy commissioners in 1982.

Mr Cavagnari served the area from 1866 to 1877. It was during his period that work on the construction of the strategic iron bridge on the River Indus and 16 other bridges from Kohat to the Afghan border of Teri Mengal began for the movement of artillery and troops to thwart Russian aggression. He died in Kabul in 1879.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2022