Bahawalpur () is a city in the
Punjab
Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...
province of Pakistan. With inhabitants as of 2017, it is Pakistan's
11th most populous city.
Founded in 1748, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former
princely state of Bahawalpur
Bahawalpur (Urdu, skr, ) was a princely state of British India, and later Dominion of Pakistan, that was a part of the Punjab States Agency. It existed as an autonomous state, within Pakistan from 1947 to 1955, when it was dissolved and merge ...
, ruled by the Abbasi family of ''
Nawab
Nawab ( Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب;
bn, নবাব/নওয়াব;
hi, नवाब;
Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ;
Persian,
Punjabi ,
Sindhi,
Urdu: ), also spelled Nawaab, Navaab, Navab, Nowab, Nabob, Nawaabshah, Nawabshah or Nobab, ...
s'' until 1955. The ''Nawabs'' left a rich architectural legacy, and Bahawalpur is now known for its monuments dating from that period. The city lies at the edge of the
Cholistan Desert, and serves as the gateway to the nearby
Lal Suhanra National Park
Lal Suhanra is a national park in Pakistan that is situated in the Bahawalpur district of Punjab province. It is one of South Asia's largest nationals parks, and is a UNESCO declared Biosphere Reserve. Lal Sohanra is notable for the diversity of ...
.
History
Bahawalpur was among the 584 princely states before the
Partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: India and Pakistan. T ...
.
Early history
Bahawalpur State was home to various ancient societies. The Bahawalpur region was part of Multan province of
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
in recent history. It contains ruins from the
Indus Valley civilisation
The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900& ...
, as well as ancient Buddhist sites such as the nearby
Patan minara Patan may refer to several places in Afghanistan, India and Nepal:
Afghanistan
*Patan, Afghanistan
India
* Patan district, in the state of Gujarat
* Patan, Gujarat, the main city of the eponymous district
* Patan was the ancient capital of Gujara ...
. British archaeologist Sir
Alexander Cunningham
Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newl ...
identified the Bahawalpur region as home of the
Yaudheya kingdoms of the ''
Mahābhārata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...
''. Prior to the establishment of Bahawalpur, the region's major city was the holy city of
Uch Sharif – a regional metropolitan centre between the 12th and 17th centuries that is renowned for its collection of historic shrines dedicated to
Muslim mystics
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham ...
from the 12–15th centuries built in the region's vernacular style.
Establishment
Bahawalpur was established in 1748 by Nawab Bahawal Khan I,
after he migrated to the region around
Uch from
Shikarpur,
Sindh
Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...
. Bahawalpur replaced Derawar as the clan's capital city.
The city initially flourished as a trading post on trade routes between Afghanistan and central India.
Durrani Attacks
In 1785, the
Durrani commander Sirdar Khan attacked Bahawalpur city and destroyed many of its buildings on behalf of Mian Abdul Nabi
Kalhora
The Kalhora () is a Sindhi tribe of Sindh, Pakistan, they claim Arab origin and direct descendants from Al-Hakim I and ultimately Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, companion and paternal uncle of Islamic prophet Muhammad.
They founded the Kalhora D ...
of Sindh.
Bahawalpur's ruling family, along with nobles from nearby
Uch, were forced to take refuge in the
Derawar Fort, where they successfully repulsed further attacks.
The attacking Durrani force accepted 60,000 rupees as ''nazrana'' or tribute, though Bahawal Khan later had to seek refuge in the
Rajput
Rajput (from Sanskrit ''raja-putra'' 'son of a king') is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating from the Indian subcontinent. The term Ra ...
states as the Afghan Durranis occupied Derawar Fort.
Bahawal Khan returned to conquer the fort by way of Uch, and re-established control of Bahawalpur.
Princely state
The
princely state
A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, subject to ...
of Bahawalpur was founded in 1802 by Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan II after the break-up of the
Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...
, and was based in the city.
Sikh Attacks and treaties with the British
In 1807,
Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He ...
of the
Sikh Empire laid siege to the fort in
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the ol ...
, prompting refugees to seek safety in Bahawalpur in the wake of his marauding forces that began to attack the countryside around Multan.
Ranjit Singh eventually withdrew the siege, and gave the Nawab of Bahawalpur some gifts as the Sikh forces retreated.
Bahalwapur offered an outpost of stability in the wake of crumbling Mughal rule and the declining power of
Khorasan's monarchy.
The city became a refuge for prominent families from affected regions and also saw an influx of religious scholars escaping the consolidation of Sikh power in Punjab.
Fearing an invasion from the Sikh Empire,
Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan III signed a treaty with the
British on 22 February 1833, guaranteeing the independence of the ''Nawab'' and the autonomy of Bahawalpur as a princely state. The treaty guaranteed the British a friendly southern frontier during their invasion of the Sikh Empire.
Trade Routes
Trade routes had shifted away from Bahawalpur by the 1830s, and British visitors to the city noted several empty shops in the city's bazaar.
The population at this time was estimated to be 20,000,
and was noted to be made up primarily of Hindus.
Also in 1833, the
Sutlej
The Sutlej or Satluj River () is the longest of the five rivers that flow through the historic crossroads region of Punjab in northern India and Pakistan. The Sutlej River is also known as ''Satadru''. It is the easternmost tributary of the In ...
and
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmi ...
s were opened to navigation, allowing goods to reach Bahawalpur.
By 1845, newly opened trade routes to
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
re-established Bahawalpur as a commercial centre.
The city was known in the late 19th century as a centre for the production of
silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from th ...
goods, ''lungis'', and
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
goods.
The city's silk was noted to be of higher quality than silk works from
Benares or
Amritsar
Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha ...
.
Increased British Influence
An 1866 crisis over succession to the Bahawalpur throne markedly increased British influence in the princely state. Bahawalpur was constituted as a municipality in 1874. Bahalwapur's Nawab celebrated the
Golden Jubillee of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previ ...
in 1887 in a state function at the Noor Mahal palace.
In 1901, the population of the city was 18,546.
= The Second World War
=
At the outbreak of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in 1939, Bahawalpur's Nawab was the first ruler of a princely state to offer his full support and resources of the state towards the
crown's war efforts.
Joining Pakistan
British Princely states were given the option to join either Pakistan or
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...
upon
British withdrawal from the Sub-Continent in August 1947. The city and the princely state of Bahawalpur acceded to Pakistan on October 7, 1947, under Nawab
Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V Bahadur. Following independence, the city's minority
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
communities
migrated to India ''en masse'', while
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
refugees from India settled in the city and the surrounding region.
District Statistics
There are 6 tehsils in District Bahawalpur, with 109
union councils, 714 villages, and 5
municipal committees.
Climate
Bahawalpur lies some 117m above sea level. The climate is dry. Over the year, there is virtually no rainfall in Bahawalpur. According to the
Köppen-Geiger system, it is classified as BWh. The average annual temperature is 25.7 °C , 78.3 °F. The rainfall is around 143 mm , 5.6 inch per year.
Flora and Fauna
Flora
* Kikar
* Shisham
* Sufaida
* Neem
* Siris
* Toot
* Sohanjana
Fauna
* Blackbuck
* Rabbit
* Deer
Economy
The main crops for which Bahawalpur is recognised are
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...
,
sugarcane
Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) tall, perennial grass (in the genus '' Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fibrous stalk ...
,
wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
,
sunflower seed
The sunflower seed is the seed of the sunflower (''Helianthus annuus''). There are three types of commonly used sunflower seeds: linoleic (most common), high oleic, and sunflower oil seeds. Each variety has its own unique levels of monounsat ...
s,
rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...
/
mustard seed
Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of various mustard plants. The seeds are usually about in diameter and may be colored from yellowish white to black. They are an important spice in many regional foods and may come from one of three diff ...
and
rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...
. Bahawalpur
mangoes, citrus,
dates and
guavas are some of the fruits exported out of the country. Vegetables include
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...
s,
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
es,
cauliflower
Cauliflower is one of several vegetables in the species ''Brassica oleracea'' in the genus '' Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. It is an annual plant that reproduces by seed. Typically, only the head is eaten – t ...
,
potato
The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae.
Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...
es and
carrot
The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', na ...
s. Being an expanding industrial city, the government has revolutionised and liberalised various markets allowing the caustic soda, cotton ginning and pressing, flour mills, fruit juices, general engineering, iron and steel re-rolling mills, looms, oil mills, poultry feed, sugar, textile spinning, textile weaving, vegetable ghee and cooking oil industries to flourish. Sheep and cattle are raised for export of wool and hides.
Crafts
Bahawalpur is famous for its carpets, embroidery, and pottery. The Punjab government has set up a Craft Development Centre from where handicrafts can be purchased. These handicrafts are mostly manufactured in the Cholistan area.
Following is the list of some of the mementos manufactured in the city:
* Flassi: It is made up of camel hair and can be used as a carpet or wall hanging
* Gindi: A colourful combination of cotton cloth with delicate needlework. It can be used as a blanket, carpet, or bed cover
* Changaries: Made up of palm leaves. They can be used as a decorative wall hanging or can be used to store chapatis / wheat bread
* Khalti: A kind of purse with multi-coloured threadwork
* Artwork: Special traditional embroidery done on kurta, chaddar/shawl etc
Demographics
According to the
2017 Census of Pakistan
The 2017 Census of Pakistan was a detailed enumeration of the Pakistani population which began on 15 March 2017 and ended on 25 May 2017. It was the first census taken in the country in the 21st century, nineteen years after the previous one in ...
, the city's population was recorded as having risen to 762,111 from 408,395 in 1998.
Religion
Bahawalpur emerged as a centre of ''
Chishti'' Sufism following the establishment of a
''khanqa'' by Noor Muhammad Muharvi in the mid-18th century. Most residents are Muslims with a small minority being
Hindus
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ� ...
. There are about 2000 Christian families with one church,
St. Dominic's Church built in 1962 by the
Government of Punjab (the Dominican Convent School for girls and St. Dominican's Middle School for Boys were also built under the same project). Father Zafar Iqbal was the first
Parish priest
A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...
of the church until his death on February 19, 2009.
Civic administration
Bahawalpur was announced as one of six cities in Punjab whose security would be improved by the
Punjab Safe Cities Authority. 5.6 billion Rupees were allocated for the project, for the city to be modeled along the lines of the Lahore Safe City project in which 8,000
CCTV
Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly ...
cameras were installed throughout the city at a cost of 12 billion rupees to record and send images to the Integrated Command and Control Centres.
Infrastructure
* The city's
Noor Mahal
The Noor Mahal ( ur, ) is a Pakistan Army-owned palace in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It was built in 1872 like an Italian chateau on neoclassical lines, at a time when modernism had set in. It belonged to the Nawabs of Bahawalpur princely s ...
palace was completed in 1875.
* In 1878, the 4,285-foot long Empress Bridge was constructed as the only rail crossing over the Sutlej River.
* Two hospitals were established in the city in 1898.
* The
Bahawal Stadium
The Bahawal Stadium is a cricket ground in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. Locally known as Dring Stadium, it is a multi-purpose stadium used mostly for cricket games. Situated on Stadium Road, opposite Bahawalpur Zoo, the stadium has a capacity of ...
or (formerly) The Bahawalpur Dring Stadium.
* The
Darbar Mahal was built in 1905.
Bahawalpur Museum
The
Bahawalpur Museum
, native_name_lang = ur
, logo =
, image = Bahawalpur museum galleryfull.jpg
, imagesize = 200
, caption = Entrance to the museum
, alt = View of entrance to the Bahawalpur Museum
, map_type ...
, established in 1976, is a museum of archaeology, art, heritage, modern history, and religion. It comes under the control of the Bahawalpur district government. The current director of the museum is Hussain Ahmed Madni. It has eight galleries:
#
Pakistan Movement gallery
# Archaeological gallery
# Islamic gallery; manuscripts, inscriptions, and
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...
ic documents
# Cultural heritage gallery
# Art gallery
# Coins gallery
#
Cholistan gallery
# Nawab Bahawal Memorial gallery
Bahawalpur Zoo
The
Bahawalpur Zoo
Bahawalpur Zoo ( ur, بہاولپور چڑیاگھر), established in 1942, is a zoological garden in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It is managed by the Government of Pakistan.
The zoo has occasionally bred and supplied wild cats, such as As ...
, established in 1942, is a 25-acre (10 ha) zoological garden. It is managed by the Government of Pakistan.
The zoo has occasionally bred and supplied wild cats, such as Asiatic lions and Bengal tigers, to other zoos in the country. It also has an aquarium and zoological museum with stuffed birds, reptiles, and mammals. The Bahawalpur Zoo is the fourth biggest zoo in Pakistan, after
Lahore Zoo,
Karachi Zoo and
Islamabad Zoo.
Railway Station
*
Bahawalpur Railway Station
Bahawalpur Railway Station (Urdu and pa, ) is located in Bahawalpur city, Bahawalpur district, Punjab province, Pakistan at the elevation of 385 ft. It is a major railway station of Pakistan Railways on Karachi-Peshawar main line.
The s ...
is located in Bahawalpur city at the elevation of 385 ft. It is one of the major railway stations of Pakistan Railways on the Karachi-Peshawar main line.
* The station is staffed and has advance and current reservation offices.
* In 2016, the Railways Minister
Khawaja Saad Rafique
Khawaja Saad Rafique (; born 4 November 1962) is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since October 2018 and the current federal minister for Railways.
A leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Na ...
announced that PKR. 280 million will be spent on the construction of a Model Railway Station in Bahawalpur.
* The routes linked Bahawalpur to the cities of
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
,
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...
,
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan ...
,
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
,
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...
, Multan,
Faisalabad,
Sargodha,
Sialkot,
Gujranwala
Gujranwala ( ur, , label=none; ) is a city and capital of Gujranwala Division located in Pakistan. It is also known as "City of Wrestlers" and is quite famous for its food. It is the 5th most populous List of most populous cities in Pakistan, c ...
,
Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...
,
Sukkur,
Jhang
Jhang ( Punjabi, ur, ), ) is the capital city of Jhang District, in the central portion of the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the 18th largest city of Pakistan by population.
The histori ...
,
Rahim Yar Khan,
Nawabshah,
Attock
Attock (Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st lar ...
,
Sibi,
Khanewal,
Gujrat,
Rohri,
Jacobabad
Jacobabad ( ur, and sd, جيڪب آباد; formerly Khanger or Khangarh) is a city in Sindh, Pakistan, serving as both the capital city of Jacobabad District and the administrative center of Jacobabad Taluka, an administrative subdivisi ...
, and
Nowshera.
Lal Suhanra National Park
Lal Suhanra is a national park in Pakistan. The park itself is situated some 35 kilometres east of Bahawalpur. It is one of South Asia's largest national parks and is a UNESCO declared Biosphere Reserve. Lal Sohanra is notable for the diversity of its landscape, which includes desert, forest, and wetland ecosystems.
Education
Bahawalpur's
Sadiq Egerton College was founded in 1886.
The first university,
Islamia University
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur (IUB), formerly known as Jamia Abbasia, is a public university located in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the only government university of the division, which gives standard education in practical as ...
was founded as ''Jamia Abbasia'' in 1925. The city's
Quaid-e-Azam Medical College
Quaid e Azam Medical College ( ur, , or QAMC) is a medical college in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
History
Quaid e Azam Medical College was founded on 2 December 1971 when its foundation stone was laid by the then Governor of Punjab, Lt Gen Attiqu ...
was founded in 1971. The District has an overall literacy rate of 48% with a total of 1662 schools and 24 colleges.
Transportation
Local transportation vehicles include buses, cars, motorbikes, and rickshaws.
N-5
Pakistan's longest national highway,
N-5, also passes through the city, connecting Bahawalpur to
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...
and
Lahore
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...
.
Railroad
The railway connects Bahawalpur with the cities of Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad, Sargodha, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Jhang, Rahim Yar Khan, Nawabshah, Attock, Sibi, Khanewal, Gujrat, Rohri, Jacobabad, and Nowshera.
Sports
Bahawal Stadium
The Bahawal Stadium is a cricket ground in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. Locally known as Dring Stadium, it is a multi-purpose stadium used mostly for cricket games. Situated on Stadium Road, opposite Bahawalpur Zoo, the stadium has a capacity of ...
or (formerly) The Bahawalpur Dring Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in the city. It hosted a sole international match, a
test match between Pakistan and India on the 15th and 18 January 1955.
Motiullah
Motiullah Khan, alternatively spelled Mutiullah Khan (31 January 1938 – 12 August 2022), was a Pakistani field hockey player. He won gold medal in 1960 Summer Olympics and silver medals in 1956 and 1964 Summer Olympics. He also received Tamg ...
hockey stadium is in the
Bahawal Stadium
The Bahawal Stadium is a cricket ground in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. Locally known as Dring Stadium, it is a multi-purpose stadium used mostly for cricket games. Situated on Stadium Road, opposite Bahawalpur Zoo, the stadium has a capacity of ...
and is used for various national and international hockey tournaments in the country. Aside from the cricket ground, it has a gym and a pool facility for citizens. There are also tennis courts, under the administration of the Bahawalpur Tennis Club, and a 2-kilometre jogging track around the football ground.
Notable people
* Former field hockey player,
Samiullah Khan, was born in the city.
*Former journalist, presenter and producer at the
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the British Government through the Foreign Secretary's office. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception a ...
,
Durdana Ansari
Durdana Ansari OBE (born 1 March 1960) is a British entrepreneur, public speaker and activist for female empowerment. She is a former charity director, journalist, presenter and producer at the BBC World Service. She has interviewed politician ...
,
OBE, was born in the city.
* Pakistani footballer,
Muhammad Adil
Muhammad Adil Iqbal ( ur, ; born 9 July 1992) is a Pakistani Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Lyallpur FC of Pakistan Premier League and the Pakistan national football team, Pakistan national team. A right-footed p ...
.
*
Masood Azhar
Mohammad Masood Azhar Alvi is a radical Islamist and terrorist, being the founder and leader of the Pakistan-based terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed, active mainly in the Pakistani-administered portion of the Kashmir region. His actions ...
, founder of
Jaish-e-Mohammed.
*Former Member of
National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi.
*Member of the
Provincial Assembly of Punjab,
Samiullah Chaudhary.
*Former member of the
National Assembly of Pakistan
The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower legislative house of the bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which also comprises the Senate of Pakistan (upp ...
and elected member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab,
Mumtaz Jajja.
*Disabled Cricket Team Player, Muhammad Zubair Saleem.
*Television and theater actor and writer,
Saqib Sameer.
*Member of National Assembly of Pakistan,
Muhammad Farooq Azam Malik
Muhammad Farooq Azam Malik () is a Pakistani politician who has been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan since August 2018.
Political career
He was elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Constituency NA-170 (Bahawalpur-I) ...
.
See also
*
Bahawalpur Museum
, native_name_lang = ur
, logo =
, image = Bahawalpur museum galleryfull.jpg
, imagesize = 200
, caption = Entrance to the museum
, alt = View of entrance to the Bahawalpur Museum
, map_type ...
*
Bahawalpur Zoo
Bahawalpur Zoo ( ur, بہاولپور چڑیاگھر), established in 1942, is a zoological garden in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It is managed by the Government of Pakistan.
The zoo has occasionally bred and supplied wild cats, such as As ...
*
List of educational institutions in Bahawalpur
*
List of people from Bahawalpur
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
*
{{authority control
Populated places in Bahawalpur District
Populated places established in 1748
Bahawalpur District
Cities in Punjab (Pakistan)
Tehsils of Punjab, Pakistan