Layyah ( Saraiki and ), previously spelled as Leiah, is a city in

Layyah District Layyah District (, ), is a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan. It is located in the southern part of the province. The city of Layyah is the administrative headquarters of Layyah district. Layyah has a hot ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

province of

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

.Tehsils & Unions in the District of Layyah
. National Reconstruction Bureau, Government of Pakistan The city is the headquarter of

and Layyah Tehsil. It is the 75th most populous city of Pakistan. The main languages spoken in the city include Saraiki, Punjabi, and

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 ...

Geography

It lies between 30–45 to 31–24 degree north latitudes and 70–44 to 71–50 degree east longitudes. The area consists of a semi-rectangular block of sandy land between the

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 ...

and the

Chenab River The Chenab River is a major river in India and Pakistan, and is one of the 5 major rivers of the Punjab region. It is formed by the union of two headwaters, the Chandra and Bhaga, which rise in the upper Himalayas in the Lahaul region of Hima ...

in Sindh Sagar Doab. Layyah is situated at an average elevation of 143 m above sea level. The total area covered by the district is 6,291 km² with a width from east to west of 88 km and a length from north to south of 72 km.

History

The town was founded around 1550 by Kamal Khan Mirani, a member of Baloch Mirani dynasty and a direct descendant of Ghazi Khan Mirani, who laid the foundation of

Dera Ghazi Khan Dera Ghazi Khan, abbreviated as D.G. Khan, is a city in the southwestern part of the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, 16th most-populous city in Punjab and List of most p ...

. The region was part of Multan province of

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

. Around 1610, the town was taken from the Mirani rulers by the Jaskani Balochs, who held it until 1787. Abdun Nabi Sarai was appointed Governor by

Timur Shah Durrani Timur Shah Durrani (; ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – 20 May 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the second e ...

, but three years later, it was included in the Governorship of Muhammad Khan Sadozai, who transferred his seat of Government to Mankera. Pathans also settled the land during the Abdali era of Jahan Khan who was the chief of Durrani forces in the region. In 1794, Humayun Shah, the rival claimant to the throne of Kabul, was captured near Layyah and brought into the town, where his eyes were gouged out by order of Zaman Shah. Under the Sikh Government, the town once more became the centre of administration for the neighbouring tract, and after the British occupation in 1849, was for a time the headquarters of a Civil Administrative Division. This administrative status of Layyah was short-lived and the British reduced it to the level of

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluk, or taluka () is a local unit of administrative division in India and Pakistan. It is a subdistrict of the area within a Zila (country subdivision), district including the designated populated place that ser ...

headquarters, making it a part of

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; Urdu and , ), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 10th largest city of Pakistan and third or fourth largest in the province of Khy ...

. In 1901, Layyah was transferred to the new District of

Mianwali Mianwali (Saraiki language, Saraiki, ) city in Mianwali Tehsil is the capital city of Mianwali District in Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. The Largest cities of Pakistan, 81st most populous city of Pakistan, it is known for its diverse popu ...

. Later on, it was made part of the Muzaffargarh District. In 1982, Layyah Tehsil was upgraded to District headquarters comprising three Tehsils: Layyah, Karor and Chaubara. The municipality was created in 1875. In February 2025, a branch of

Pak Tea House Pak Tea House in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan is an iconic tea house frequented by writers and poets, known for its association with progressive academics and left-leaning South Asian intelligentsia. Traditionally frequented by country's notably a ...

, a literary centre, was established in the city.

Demographics

Population

According to 2023 census, Layyah had a population of 151,274.

Notable people

* Lala Harkishen Lal (d. 1937), Indian industrialist and co-founder of Punjab National Bank * Munir Malik (1934–2012), Pakistani cricketer * Mahar Ijaz Ahmad Achlana (b. 1966), Pakistani politician and former member of Provincial Assembly of the Punjab * Jalat Khan (b. 1999), Pakistani domestic cricketer * Mehr Abdul Haq (1915–1995), Pakistani philologist * Mohinder Pratap Chand (1935–2020), Indian writer and poet * Hassan Nawaz, Pakistani international cricketer

References

External links

Layyah – Official website
*
Layyah OnlineDistrict Courts of Layyah

* {{Layyah District Populated places in Layyah District