Gujar Khan (

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

/ ur, گُوجر خان) is a city in Rawalpindi District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is also the headquarters of

Gujar Khan Tehsil Gujar may refer to: *Gurjar, Gujjar or Gujar, an fighting group of people in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan ** *Gojari language or Gujjar, a language spoken by the Gujjar people of Afghanistan, Pakistan and India * Gujar, Iran (disambiguation) * Gu ...

, the largest

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its adminis ...

of Punjab by land area. Gujar Khan is approximately southeast of

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

, the capital of Pakistan, and to the northwest of

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 ...

, the capital of Punjab. It is bounded on the north by

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 ...

, Islamabad, and

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 ...

, on the south by

Jhelum Jhelum (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city on the east bank of the Jhelum River, which is located in the district of Jhelum in the north of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 44th largest city of Pakistan by population. Jhelum is known for p ...

, Lahore, and Gujrat, on the east by

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger K ...

, and Kahuta and on the west by

Chakwal Chakwal (Punjabi and ur, ) is a city in Rawalpindi Division, Punjab province, Pakistan. It is the 66th largest city of Pakistan by population. Chakwal is located 90 kilometres south-west of the federal capital, Islamabad and 270 kilomet ...

and

Khushab Khushab (punjabi: خُوشاب) is a town as well as a district of Sargodha Division, located in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The word ''Khushab'' means "sweet water." Khushab city also serves as the headquarters of Khushab Tehsil, an admi ...

. Located in the heart of the Potohar region, The city and surrounding region is renowned for their martial culture and is sometimes referred to as the '''Land of the Shaheed, having produced two recipients of the

Nishan-i-Haider Nishan-e-Haider (NH; ), is the highest military gallantry award of Pakistan. The Nishan-e-Haider is awarded posthumously and only to members of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It recognises the highest acts of extraordinary bravery in the face of ...

. There is the main district hospital in the center of the city, along with many other private and public medical and care services.

History

The place was named due to the rule of

Gurjar Gurjar or Gujjar (also transliterated as ''Gujar, Gurjara and Gujjer'') is an ethnic nomadic, agricultural and pastoral community, spread mainly in India, Pakistan and Afghanistan, divided internally into various clan groups. They were tra ...

Prahihar clan which was ruling northern India during sixth to tenth century.Large Gujjar settlement is still present in the Gujar Khan Tehsil where Gujjars have one member of Provincial Assembly Punjab named Sajid Mehmood. Gujar Khan also contained a notable

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 ...

population, though much of this population either converted to

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

during

British rule The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was hims ...

, or migrated to India following partition. However the area is still home to Hindu temples and Sikh Gurdwaras which have been not maintained through the years.

Administration

Gujar Khan is administratively subdivided into 36 union councils, whereas City Gujar Khan is administered by municipal corporation. According to the 2017 census of Pakistan, the city had a population of 678,503.

Natural resources

Large reserves of oil and gas were discovered in February 2002 at Tobra, about ten kilometres from Gujar Khan. The field is being developed by the Oil and Gas Development Company. The field could produce 1,600 barrels of crude oil daily. Missa Kaswal and Ahdi is also a major source of energy in Gujar khan. Missa Kaswal is supplying several cubic meters of gas on a daily basis and is also extracting large quantities of oil.

Transport

Road

Gujar Khan is located on the N5 National highway from Islamabad-Lahore. Railway Road links from the east of the city to the nearby towns of Bewal and Islampura. There are also many other minor roads linking the villages and towns of the region to the city.

Rail

The Gujar Khan railway station is located in the center of the city and provides links to

, and

Bus

Local services also provide extensive bus routes to local towns, and smaller shuttles go around the villages in the surrounding area. There are also services to

, and

. Local

auto-rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

drivers also provide transport for people in and around the city.

Notable people

Raja Muhammad Sarwar Captain Raja Muhammad Sarwar Bhatti ( ur, ; 10 November 1910 – 27 July 1948) , best known as Muhammad Sarwar, was an officer in the Pakistan Army who was cited with the first Nishan-i-Haider for his gallantry and actions of valor during th ...

, first recipient of Nishan-e-Haider, the highest military award of Pakistan. * Chaudhry Muhammad Riaz * Mohammad Amir, cricketer *

Muhammad Javed Ikhlas Raja Muhammad Javed Ikhlas (, born 5 October 1955) is a Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan, from June 2013 to May 2018. Previously, he had been a member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab from 1985 ...

Former MPA and MNA from

Pakistan Muslim League (N) The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) ( ur, , translit=Pākistān Muslim Līg (Nūn) PML(N) or PML-N) is a Centre-right politics, centre-right and Liberal conservatism, liberal conservative political party in Pakistan. Alongside the Pakistan Teh ...

* Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, Former prime minister of Pakistan * Muhammad Hussain Janjua, first soldier to be awarded Nishan-e-Haider *

Ashfaq Parvez Kayani General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani ( Urdu: ; born 20 April 1952), is a retired four-star general of the Pakistan Army who served as the 8th Chief of Army Staff , being appointed on 29 November 2007 after his predecessor Pervez Musharraf retired f ...

, Former Chief of Army Staff, Pakistan Army * Najaf Shah, cricketer

References

{{Neighbourhoods of Rawalpindi Gujar Khan Tehsil Populated places in Gujar Khan Tehsil Cities in Rawalpindi District