Bahawalpur () is a city in the

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

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 language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

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 Partition (politics), 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: ...

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&n ...

, 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 newly ...

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 Kuruk ...

''. 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 Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the ve ...

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

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 Dy ...

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 Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

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 s ...

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 List ...

, 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 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 Ind ...

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 Kashmir, ...

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 the coc ...

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 perce ...

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 r ...

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 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

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 seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

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

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of (often hybrid) 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 ...

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 ...

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 ag ...

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 ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

. Bahawalpur mangoes, citrus,

dates Date or dates may refer to: *Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner **Group dating *Play date, an ...

and

guavas Guava () 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 to Mexico, Central America, the C ...

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 onion ...

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 – the ...

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 Unit ...

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'', nat ...

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 1998 Census of Pakist ...

, 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'' (Χρι ...

. 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 m ...

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 The Punjab Safe Cities Authority (PSCA) ( ur, or PSCA) established under the Punjab Safe Cities Ordinance 2015, is an autonomous Government body that aims to improve public safety and security in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Backgrou ...

. 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 t ...

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, 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 Baha ...

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, 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: , Classical 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 in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

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 Asia ...

, 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 language, Punjabi: , ur, لاہور چڑیا گھر) in Lahore, Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab, Pakistan, established in 1872, one of the largest zoos in Pakistan. It is currently managed by the Forest, Wildlife and Fisheries depar ...

, 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 (Nawa ...

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 cap ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

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's ...

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 List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...

, 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 city proper after Karachi, Lahore, Faisala ...

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 (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

, Sukkur,

Jhang Jhang (Punjabi language, Punjabi, ur, ), ) is the capital city of Jhang District, in the central portion of the province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. Situated on the east bank of the Chenab river, it is the List of most populous c ...

, 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 larg ...

Sibi Sibi ( Sindhi: سيوي ur, ) is a city situated in the Balochistan province of Pakistan. The city is the headquarters of the district and tehsil of the same name. Etymology The origin of the town's name is attributed to Rani Sewi, a Hindu la ...

, 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 subdivision ...

, 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 we ...

was founded as ''Jamia Abbasia'' in 1925. The city's Quaid-e-Azam Medical College 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 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

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 broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...

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 politicia ...

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, was born in the city. * Pakistani footballer,

Muhammad Adil Muhammad Adil Iqbal ( ur, ; born 9 July 1992) is a Pakistani footballer who plays as a midfielder for Lyallpur FC of Pakistan Premier League and the Pakistan national team. A right-footed player, he usually plays as central midfielder. Earlie ...

. *

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 a ...

, founder of

Jaish-e-Mohammed Jaish-e-Mohammed ( ur, , literally "The Army of Muhammad", abbreviated as JeM) is a Pakistan-based: "The JEM is a Pakistan-based, militant Islamic group founded by Maulana Masood Azhar in March 2000." Deobandi: "Deobandis like Masood Azha ...

. *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 repre ...

Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi Nawab Salahuddin Ahmed Abbasi ( ur, ) is a Member of Parliament in Pakistan. He 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 Nationa ...

. *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, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...

and elected member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab,

Mumtaz Jajja Chaudhry Mumtaz Ahmed Jajja (15 June 1948 – 30 September 2011) was a Pakistani politician affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League (N) political party who served as a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan (MNA) from 1985 to 1988 and as ...

. *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) ...

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* * {{authority control Populated places in Bahawalpur District Populated places established in 1748 Bahawalpur District Cities in Punjab (Pakistan) Tehsils of Punjab, Pakistan