Pakistan's principal officer-training institution, founded in 1947 just outside Abbottabad at Kakul. The campus is closed to general visitors but the public passing-out parade — held twice a year in spring and autumn — is open to the public with prior application. The Hall of Fame museum, on the campus, requires advance permission to enter.
The academy gives Abbottabad much of its character — uniformed officers in the cafes and bookshops of the city centre, a sense of order in the cantonment. From the public side, the long perimeter road has good views into the parade ground at certain points.