Bahawalpur (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: ; ) is a city in

Punjab, Pakistan Punjab (, ) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the Demographics of Pakistan, most populous province in Pakistan and the List of first-level administrative divisions by popu ...

. It is the 13th largest city of Pakistan and 8th most populous city of Punjab. Bahawalpur is the capital of

Bahawalpur Division Bahawalpur Division (; ) is an administrative division of the Punjab Province, Pakistan. The reforms of 2000 abolished the third tier of government but division system was restored again in 2008. Districts List of the Tehsils Demographics ...

. Founded in 1748 by the Daudpotra family of

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former

princely state of Bahawalpur State of Bahawalpur was a state in the Punjab region of South Asia that existed as a sovereign polity from 1748 to 1833 and as a princely state, under subsidiary alliance with British India and later Dominion of Pakistan, from 1833 to 1955 ...

, ruled by the '' Nawabs of Bahawalpur'' until 1955. The ''Nawabs'' left a rich architectural legacy, and Bahawalpur is known for its monuments dating from that period. The city lies at the edge of the

Cholistan Desert The Cholistan Desert (; ; Saraiki: ), also locally known as Rohi (), is a desert in the southern part of Pakistani Punjab that forms part of the Greater Thar Desert, which extends to Sindh province and the Indian state of Rajasthan. It is one of ...

, 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 India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

Early history

Bahawalpur State was home to various ancient societies. 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 South Asia, northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 Common Era, BCE to 1300 BCE, and in i ...

, as well as ancient Buddhist sites such as the nearby

Patan minara Patan Minara () is a solitary burnt-sienna brick tower standing about 8 km east of Rahim Yar Khan on the margin of the Cholistan Desert in south-western Punjab, Pakistan. Most scholars regard the column as the only visible remnant of a much ...

. British archaeologist Sir

Alexander Cunningham Major General Sir Alexander Cunningham (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British Army engineer with the Bengal Sappers who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India. In 1861, he was appointed to the newly crea ...

identified the Bahawalpur region as home of the

Yaudheya Yaudheya (Brahmi script: 𑀬𑁅𑀥𑁂𑀬) or Yoddheya Gana (Yoddheya Republic) was an ancient military ganasangha (republic) based in the Eastern region of the Sapta Sindhu, in modern day Haryana. The word Yaudheya is a derivative of the w ...

kingdoms of the ''

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kurukshetra War, a war of succe ...

''. Prior to the establishment of Bahawalpur, Cholistan region's major city was

Uch Sharif Uch (; ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf (; ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the Pakistan's Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexander the Great during I ...

– a regional metropolitan centre between the 12th and 17th centuries that is renowned for its collection of historic shrines dedicated to

Muslim mystics Muslims () 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 (or ''Allah'') as it ...

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 Uch (; ), frequently referred to as Uch Sharīf (; ; ''"Noble Uch"''), is a historic city in the Pakistan's Punjab province. Uch may have been founded as Alexandria on the Indus, a town founded by Alexander the Great during his invasion of t ...

from

Shikarpur Shikarpur or Shakkarpur or Sikarpur may refer to the following places: India *Shikarpur, Bihar (Vidhan Sabha constituency) * Shikarpur, Gujarat, a village and Harappan archeological site in Kutch district of Gujarat * Shikarpur, Shimoga, a town in ...

. 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 The Durrānī (, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribal confederation of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, ...

commander Sirdar Khan attacked Bahawalpur city and destroyed many of its buildings on behalf of Mian Abdul Nabi

Kalhora The Kalhora or Kalhora Abbasi () is a Sindhi Sammat clan in Sindh, Pakistan. Etymology According to the natives of Sindh, the word ''Kalhoro'' originates from the (/ Kalho) meaning ''Alone''. Origin The Kalhora belong to the Indigenous ...

of Sindh. Bahawalpur's ruling family, along with nobles from nearby

, were forced to take refuge in the

Derawar Fort Derawar Fort (Saraiki language, Saraiki, ) is a Fortification, fortress in Ahmadpur East Tehsil in the Bahawalpur District of Punjab, Pakistan. Approximately 20 km south of the city of Ahmedpur East, the forty bastions of Derawar are visibl ...

, 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 Rājpūt (, from Sanskrit ''rājaputra'' meaning "son of a king"), also called Thākur (), is a large multi-component cluster of castes, kin bodies, and local groups, sharing social status and ideology of genealogical descent originating fro ...

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 of Bahawalpur was founded in 1802 by Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan II after the break-up of the

Durrani Empire The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...

, 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) was the founder and first maharaja of the Sikh Empire, in the northwest Indian subcontinent, ruling from 1801 until his death in 1839. Born to Maha Singh, the leader of the Sukerchakia M ...

of the

Sikh Empire The Sikh Empire was a regional power based in the Punjab, Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent. It existed from 1799, when Maharaja Ranjit Singh captured Lahore, to 1849, when it was defeated and conquered by the East India Company, Br ...

laid siege to the fort in

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

, 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. Chock Fawara

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 British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

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 River or the Satluj River is a major river in Asia, flowing through China, India and Pakistan, and is the longest of the five major rivers of the Punjab region. It is also known as ''Satadru''; and is the easternmost tributary of t ...

and

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

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, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

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 fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

goods, ''lungis'', and

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, 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 ...

goods. The city's silk was noted to be of higher quality than silk works from

Benares Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges, Ganges river in North India, northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hinduism, Hindu world.* * * * The city ...

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

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 Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

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 (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

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, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

upon British withdrawal from the Sub-Continent in August 1947. The city and the princely state of Bahawalpur acceded to Pakistan on 7 October 1947, under Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V Bahadur. Following independence, the city's minority

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

communities migrated to India ''en masse'', while

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

refugees from India settled in the city and the surrounding region.

Modern

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (12 August 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistani military officer and statesman who served as the sixth president of Pakistan from 1978 until Death of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, his death in an airplane crash in 1988. He also se ...

, the sixth

president of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

, died in an aircraft crash on 17 August 1988 in Bahawalpur near the Sutlej River after departing from the Bahawalpur Airport. Zia's close assistant

Akhtar Abdur Rehman Akhtar Abdur Rahman (11 June 192417 August 1988) was a Pakistan Army general who served as the 5th Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from 1987 until his death in 1988. He previously served as the 12th Director-General of Inter-Service ...

, American diplomat

Arnold Lewis Raphel Arnold Lewis Raphel (March 16, 1943 – August 17, 1988) was an American diplomat who served as the 18th United States Ambassador to Pakistan. Early life and education Raphel was born March 16, 1943, in Troy, New York, into a Jewish family, t ...

and 27 others also died in the crash.

District statistics

There are 6 tehsils in District Bahawalpur, with 109 union councils, 714 villages, and 5 municipal committees.

Climate

Bahawalpur lies some above sea level. The climate is dry; according to the Köppen-Geiger system, it is classified as

semi arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of sem ...

(''BSh''). The rainfall is around per year. The average annual temperature is .

Flora and Fauna

Flora

* Kikar * Shisham * Sufaida * Neem * Siris * Toot * Sohanjana

Fauna

Blackbuck The blackbuck (''Antilope cervicapra''), also known as the Indian antelope, is a medium-sized antelope native to India and Nepal. It inhabits grassy plains and lightly forested areas with perennial water sources. It stands up to high at the sh ...

Rabbit Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also includes the hares), which is in the order Lagomorpha (which also includes pikas). They are familiar throughout the world as a small herbivore, a prey animal, a domesticated ...

Deer A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) ...

Economy

The main crops for which Bahawalpur is recognised are

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

sunflower seed A sunflower seed is a seed from a 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 monounsatura ...

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

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 a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

. Bahawalpur

mangoes A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It originated from the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South and Southeast Asi ...

, citrus,

dates Date or dates may refer to: * Date, the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') * Jujube, also known as red date or Chinese date, the fruit of ''Ziziphus jujuba'' Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activit ...

and

guavas Guava ( ), also known as the 'guava-pear', is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), native ...

are some of the fruits exported out of the country. Vegetables include

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), 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 onion which was classifie ...

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

es,

cauliflower Cauliflower is one of several vegetables cultivated from the species '' Brassica oleracea'' in the genus '' Brassica'', which is in the Brassicaceae (or mustard) family. Cauliflower usually grows with one main stem that carries a large, rou ...

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

es and

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in colour, though heirloom variants including purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild ...

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 i ...

, the city's population was recorded as having risen to 762,111 from 408,395 in 1998.

Languages

As per the

, the major tongue of the city is the

Saraiki language Saraiki ( ', ; also spelt Siraiki, or Seraiki) is an Indo-Aryan language of the Lahnda group. "The existence of Lahnda as a separate language has long been recognised under various names such as Jatki, Multani, Hindki or Hindko and Western Pan ...

, which attained plurality with 59%. This is followed by the

Punjabi language Punjabi, sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language native to the Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It is one of the most widely spoken native languages in the world, with approximately 150 million native sp ...

at 22%, however the Punjabic dialects combined make up 81% of the city.

is spoken by 17% of the population.

Religion

Bahawalpur emerged as a centre of ''

Chishti The Chishti order () is a Sufi order of Sunni Islam named after the town of Chisht, Afghanistan where it was initiated by Abu Ishaq Shami. The order was brought to Herat and later spread across South Asia by Mu'in al-Din Chishti in the city ...

'' 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 (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

. 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 19 February 2009.

Civic administration

Bahawalpur was announced as one of six cities in Punjab whose security would be improved by the

Punjab Safe Cities Authority The Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) ( ), established in 2015, is an autonomous government body that aims to improve public safety and security in Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is currently functioning in 7 major cities of Punjab: La ...

. 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 closed-circuit television cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signa ...

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 () is a historic real estate owned by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) under the management of the Army Secretariat in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It was built in 1872 as an Italian chateau on neoclassical lines, at a time w ...

palace was completed in 1875. * In 1878, the long Empress Bridge was constructed as the first rail crossing over the Sutlej River. * Two hospitals were established in the city in 1898, including the

Bahawal Victoria Hospital Bahawal Victoria Hospital (BVH) () is a hospital located in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. It is named after Nawab of Bahawalpur's British wife, Victoria. History It started as a Civil Hospital with an outdoor department, a dispensary, and an operatin ...

. * The

Bahawal Stadium The Dring Stadium, also known as Bahawal Stadium, is a cricket ground in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It is a multi-purpose stadium used mostly for cricket games. Situated on Stadium Road, opposite Bahawalpur Zoo, the stadium can accommodate 15 ...

or (formerly) The Bahawalpur Dring Stadium. * The

Darbar Mahal Darbar Mahal is a palace in Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The building was built to hold courtly events and government offices of the former princely state of Bahawalpur. The palace sits in a garden. The entire palace complex was leased to the armed f ...

was built in 1905. * The

Gulzar Mahal Gulzar Mahal is a palace in the city of Bahawalpur, Pakistan. The palace has been leased by the armed forces since 1966, and is currently not open to the general public. History Gulzar Mahal was built between 1906 and 1909. It was commissioned d ...

was built in 1909.

Bahawalpur Museum

The

Bahawalpur Museum The Bahawalpur Museum (), was established in the year 1976 for the purpose to preserve and showcase the historical and cultural heritage of the area.https://www.facebook.com/bahawalpur.museum/about As of May 2015, the director of the museum is M ...

, 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 The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

gallery # Archaeological gallery # Islamic gallery; manuscripts, inscriptions, and

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

ic documents # Cultural heritage gallery # Art gallery # Coins gallery #

Cholistan The Cholistan Desert (; ; Saraiki: ), also locally known as Rohi (), is a desert in the southern part of Punjab, Pakistan, Pakistani Punjab that forms part of the Greater Thar Desert, which extends to Sindh province and the Indian state of Rajast ...

gallery # Nawab Bahawal Memorial gallery

Bahawalpur Zoo

The

Bahawalpur Zoo Bahawalpur Zoo (), 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 Asiatic lions and Bengal tigers, to ot ...

, 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 Lahore Zoo ( Punjabi: , ) in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan, established in 1872, is one of the largest zoos in Pakistan. It is currently managed by the Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries department of the Government of Pakistan. Today the zoo houses a coll ...

Karachi Zoo The Karachi Zoo (; ), also known as Karachi Zoological and Botanical Gardens, Gandhi Garden, is located in Garden East, Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in 1899, it is the largest zoo of Pakistan and second oldest zoo in the country after ...

and

Islamabad Zoo Islamabad Zoo (), previously Marghazar Zoo, was an zoo in Islamabad Capital Territory. It was opened in 1978, and was under the administration of Capital Development Authority (Islamabad), Capital Development Authority of Pakistan before its clo ...

Railway Station

Bahawalpur Railway Station Bahawalpur Railway Station (Urdu and ) is located in Bahawalpur city, Bahawalpur district, Punjab province, Pakistan at an elevation of 117 metres. It is a major railway station of Pakistan Railways on Karachi-Peshawar main line. The stat ...

is located in Bahawalpur city at an elevation of 117 metres. 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 had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from October 2018 till August 2023 and the federal minister for Railways. A leader of the Pakistan Muslim Leag ...

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 is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

Peshawar Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

, Multan,

Faisalabad Faisalabad, formerly known as Lyallpur, is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, second-largest city and primary List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, industrial center of the Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan ...

Sargodha Sargodha (Punjabi language, Punjabi/; ; ) is a city and capital of Sargodha Division, located in Central Punjab, central Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is Pakistan's List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 11th most populous city and ...

Sialkot Sialkot (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the capital of the Sialkot District and the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 12th most populous city in Pakistan. The boundaries of Sialkot are joined ...

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Sukkur Sukkur is a city in the Pakistani province of Sindh along the western bank of the Indus River, directly across from the historic city of Rohri. Sukkur is the List of cities in Sindh by population, third largest city in Sindh after Karachi and H ...

Jhang Jhang ( Punjabi / ; ; ) is the capital city of Jhang District in central Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the 13th most populous city of Pakistan. Etymology The historical name of the city and dis ...

Rahim Yar Khan Rahim Yar Khan (; ) is a city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 21st most populous city in Pakistan and is the capital of the Rahim Yar Khan District. The city's administration is div ...

Nawabshah Nawabshah is a headquarter of Nawabshah Tehsil in Shaheed Benazirabad District of Sindh province, Pakistan. This city is situated in the middle of Sindh province. It is the List of most populous cities in Pakistan, 27th most populous city in P ...

Attock Attock ( Punjabi, ), formerly known as Campbellpur (Punjabi, ), is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 36th largest city in the Punjab and 61st largest c ...

Sibi Sibi (; ;) is a city situated in the Balochistan (Pakistan), Balochistan Subdivisions of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. The city serves as the administrative headquarters of the Sibi District, district and Sibi Tehsil, tehsil of the same name ...

Khanewal Khanewal is a city and the capital of Khanewal District in Punjab, Pakistan. Khanewal also contains Pakistan's third largest railway junction. It is the 36th largest city of Pakistan by population. Etymology According to one theory, Khanewal ...

Gujrat Gujrat may refer to: India * Gujarat, a state in western India * Gujarat Subah, a former Mughal imperial province * Gujarat Sultanate, a historical sultanate Pakistan * Gujrat, Mianwali * Gujrat, Pakistan, a city in Pakistan's Punjab Province ...

Rohri Rohri ( Sindhi: روهڙي; ) is a city of Sukkur District, Sindh province, Pakistan. It is located on the east bank of the Indus River, located directly across from Sukkur, the third largest city in Sindh. Rohri town is the administrative headqu ...

Jacobabad Jacobabad, also known as Khanger, is a city in Sindh, Pakistan, serving as both the capital city of Jacobabad District and the administrative centre of Jacobabad Taluka, an administrative subdivision of the district. The city itself is subd ...

, 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

Front View of Campus Building - Islamia University of Bahawalpur

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 within the division, offering standard education both practical an ...

was founded as ''Jamia Abbasia'' in 1925. The city's

Quaid-e-Azam Medical College Quaid e Azam Medical College (, 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 Attique-ur-Re ...

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

and

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

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 15 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 the 1960 Summer Olympics, Pakistan's first Olympic gold, and silver medals in the 1956 and 1964 ...

hockey stadium is in the

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

Art Malik Athar ul-Haque Malik (; born 13 November 1952), known as Art Malik, is a Pakistani-British actor. He achieved international fame in the 1980s through his starring and supporting roles in assorted British television serials and films. His break ...

, film and television actor * Samiullah Khan, former field hockey player *

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. Early life Durdana Ansari wa ...

, former journalist, presenter and producer at the

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

, *

Muhammad Adil Muhammad Adil Iqbal (; born 9 July 1992) is a Pakistani professional footballer who plays as a left winger. He last played for Pakistan Premier League club Lyallpur. Adil first came to prominence with Pak Elektron – signing a professiona ...

, Pakistani footballer *

Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi Nawab Salahuddin Ahmed Abbasi () is a Member of Parliament in Pakistan, who is also the grandson of Sadeq Mohammad Khan V, who was the last ruling Nawab of the Princely State Bahawalpur. He has been elected five times as Member of National Ass ...

, former member of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly of Pakistan, also referred to as ''Aiwān-ē-Zairīñ'', is the lower house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, with the upper house being the Senate of Pakistan, Senate. As of 2023, the National Assem ...

Sami Ullah Chaudhary Sami Ullah Chaudhary () is a Pakistani politician who was the Provincial Minister of Punjab for Food, in office from 27 August 2018 till 6 April 2020. He had been a member of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab from August 2018 till January 202 ...

, Member of the

Provincial Assembly of the Punjab The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab, also known as the Punjab Assembly, is the supreme legislative body of Punjab, a province of Pakistan. It convenes at the Assembly Building in Lahore, the capital of Punjab. It is a unicameral legislature o ...

Saqib Sameer Saqib Sumeer is a Pakistani actor, director and writer who performs mostly in theatre and also works in television and films. Early life and education Originally from Bahawalpur, in Pakistan's Punjab province, Sumeer moved to Karachi to study a ...

, television and theater actor and writer *

Muhammad Farooq Azam Malik Muhammad Farooq Azam Malik () is a retired Pakistani politician who had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 till January 2023. In total, he has been elected as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan 3 tim ...

, member of the National Assembly of Pakistan *

Murtaza Hassan Murtaza Hassan (c. 1954 – 11 April 2011), better known by his stage name Mastana, was a Pakistani actor, comedian, theatre director and playwright. Beginning his career in the '70s, Murtaza worked in many stage shows throughout a career whic ...

, Pakistani comedian and stage actor * Usman Tariq, Pakistani cricketer *

Masood Azhar Muhammad Masood Azhar Alvi (born 10 July or 7 August 1968) is a Pakistani militant leader, who is the founder and current leader of militant organisation Jaish-e-Mohammed, a Pakistan-based Islamic Deobandi jihadist organisation. His actions a ...

, founder and leader of militant organisation

Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) is a Pakistani Deobandi jihadist Islamist militant group active in Kashmir.: "as soon as he was freed, Masood Azhar was back in Pakistan where he founded a new jihadist movement, Jaish-e-Mohammed, which became one of ...

Abdul Rauf Azhar Abdul Rauf Azhar Alvi (born 1974) is a Pakistani militant, the supreme commander of the jihadist Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and one of the brothers of JeM founder Masood Azhar. He took command of JeM on 21 April 2007, and ...

, Jaish-e-Mohammed leader, brother of Masood *

Abdul Rehman Makki )--> , image = , caption = , blank1 = Religion , data1 = Islam , blank2 = Denomination , data2 = Sunni , blank3 = Movement , data3 ...

, leader of the

Jamaat-ud-Dawah Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a Pakistani Islamist militant organization driven by a Salafi jihadist ideology. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 1985–1986 by Hafiz Saeed, ...

and

Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a Pakistani Islamism, Islamist militant organization driven by a Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist ideology. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 19 ...

Azam Cheema Azam Cheema (1953 – 28 February 2024) was a Pakistani Lashkar-e-Taiba operative who masterminded 2008 Mumbai attacks and 11 July 2006 Mumbai train bombings. In 2010, the United States Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against him ju ...

, Lashkar-e-Taiba member

Notes

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