The Mianwali District ( ur, ), is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

located in

Sargodha Division Sargodha Division is an administrative division of Punjab province, Pakistan. Sargodha city is the capital of the division. According to the 2017 Census of Pakistan, the total population of the division was 8.18 million. Divisions are the thir ...

of Punjab province,

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It was separated from NWFP in 1901, and has a border with the

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 ...

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 ...

Kohat Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century ...

, Karak,

Lakki Marwat Lakki Marwat or Lakki (Urdu and ps, ) is the headquarters of Lakki Marwat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Lakki Marwat has become one of the fastest growing cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Lakki Marwat is also the 20th mos ...

Dera Ismail Khan Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakistan ...

Bhakkar Bhakkar ( ur, ), is the principal city of Bhakkar District located in Punjab, Pakistan. It lies on the left bank of the Indus River. It is the 86th largest city in Pakistan. Administration Bhakkar city is also the administrative centre of B ...

, 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 admini ...

Districts. The main languages spoken in the district include Saraiki (76.05%),

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

(11.53%), Punjabi (9.35%), and

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

History

The history of the district is tied to the Miana family which came from Baghdad and settled in Mianwali. The name Mianwali is derived from Sufi saint Mian Ali's name. Mian Ali Mianwali was a known settlement and an agricultural region with forests during the

Indus Valley Civilization 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 ...

(c. 3300 – c.1300 BCE). Mianwali later became part of the Vedic civilization. After the Islamic conquest of Punjab, Arabs who had established themselves 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 ...

were in control of Mianwali and surrounding areas of Punjab. In 997 CE, Sultan

Mahmud Ghaznavi Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...

took over the Ghaznavid dynasty empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin. In 1005 CE he conquered the Hindu Shahis and followed it by the conquests of the Punjab region. The Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire ruled the region. Mianwali was associated with

province of Mughal Empire as it had large saraiki population. The population of the Punjab region became majority Muslim, following the conquests by various Muslim dynasties from Central Asia. The real historical representation of the Mianwali Region is older than 900 AD but the true accuracy is traced to the arrival of Qutb Shah in 1090 AD in this region who in later years of his conquest allowed his sons to settle and further rule the region. Their lineage still exists to date in Mianwali District as well as in

and are known as Awan Tribe. Historically, all major rulers of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

governed this area in their turn. Mughal emperor

Babur Babur ( fa, , lit= tiger, translit= Bābur; ; 14 February 148326 December 1530), born Mīrzā Zahīr ud-Dīn Muhammad, was the founder of the Mughal Empire in the Indian subcontinent. He was a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan through his ...

mentioned

Isakhel Isakhel ( ur, ) is a town of Mianwali District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The town is the headquarters of Isakhel Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of the district. Isakhel is an important town located in the west of Mianwali Dis ...

in the '' Baburnama'' when describing his campaigns against the Malik Awans and

Niazi Niazi (; , ps, نيازي; ur, نیازی) Niazai, Nyazi, Nyazai, Niyazi or Niyazai is one of the largest Pashtun tribes which resides in Afghanistan and northwestern part of Pakistan. The earliest work which provides the details about ...

Pakhtuns during his invasion of Punjab in the 1520s. Prior to the invasion of Nadir Shah in 1738, there is little to relate concerning the history of the northern part of the district. The upper half of the district was ruled by the

Gakhars The Gakhar are a Punjabi clan found predominantly in the Jhelum District and Gujranwala District in Punjab province of Pakistan. The Gakhars now predominantly follow Islam after conversion from Hinduism during the Islamic rule of north India. ...

, who became feudatories of the

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 ...

, of which the district continued to form a part until the invasion of

Nadir Shah Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...

. In 1738 a portion of his army entered Chashma, and by its atrocities so cowed the Bannuchis and Marwats that a heavy tribute was raised from them. Another portion of the army crossed the Darra Pezu and worked its way down to Dera Ismail Khan. Contingents raised from the neighborhoods of Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan marched under

's banner to the sack of Delhi. In 1739 the area west of the Indus was surrendered by the Emperor of Delhi to Nadir Shah and passed after his death to Ahmad Shah Abdali. In 1748 a Durrani army under one of Ahmad Shah's generals crossed the Indus at Kalabagh, and drove out the Ghakkars, who still ruled in the cis-Indus tracts of the district, owing nominal allegiance to the Emperor at Delhi. Their stronghold, Muazzam Nagar, was razed to the ground, and with their expulsion was swept away the last vestige of the authority of the Mughal Emperor in these parts. During British Raj Mianwali District was also among the states of British Punjab where regional offices of

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

were in position until winter of 1883 when the regional office of

in Mianwali was Shutdown due to civil unrest and hostile conditions.

Geography

Mianwali district covers an area of . The area in north is a continuation of the

Pothohar Plateau The Pothohar Plateau ( ur, ) is a plateau in north-eastern Pakistan, located between Indus River and the Jhelum River, forming the northern part of Punjab. Geography Potohar Plateau is bounded on the east by the Jhelum River, on the west by the ...

and the Kohistan-e-Namak. Southern side of the district is a part of

Thal Desert The Thal desert (Urdu, Punjabi: ) is situated at 31°10’ N and 71°30’ E in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Located near the Pothohar Plateau, the area falls under the Indomalayan biogeographic realm and stretches for a length of approximat ...

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, ...

flows through the district.

Climate

Mianwali district has an extreme climate, with a long, hot summer season and cold, dry winters. Summer lasts from May to September and winter lasts from November till February. June is the hottest month with average temperatures of 42 °C (highest recorded temperature 52 °C); in winter, December and January monthly average temperatures can be as low as 3 to 4 °C. The average rainfall in the district is about 385 mm.

Administration

The district is administratively divided into three

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 administr ...

s 7 Municipal Committees and 51 union councils:

Demographics

At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 1,542,601, of which 771,969 were males and 770,502 females. Rural population is 1,214,789 while the urban population is 327,812. The literacy rate was 61.28%.

Religion

As per the 2017 census

Muslims 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 Abraha ...

made up almost the entire population with 99.53%, although there is a small mainly urban minority of Christians numbering 7,000.

Language

At the time of the 2017 census, 76.05% of the population spoke Saraiki, 11.53%

, 9.35% Punjabi and 2.76%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

People

* Mian Sultan Zikria (R.A.) - Famous Saint *

Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan Malik Amir Mohammad Khan (; 20 June 1910 – 26 November 1967) was the Nawab of Kalabagh and a prominent feudal lord, politician, the chief or sardar of the Awan tribe, and of his tribal estate Kalabagh, in Mianwali District of north western Pu ...

- Chief of the Awan tribe, Nawab of Kalabagh ,Former Governor of

West Pakistan West Pakistan ( ur, , translit=Mag̱ẖribī Pākistān, ; bn, পশ্চিম পাকিস্তান, translit=Pôścim Pakistan) was one of the two Provincial exclaves created during the One Unit Scheme in 1955 in Pakistan. It was d ...

. * Tilok Chand Mehroom – Urdu poet *

Jagannath Azad Jagan Nath Azad (5 December 1918 – 24 July 2004), List.No.380 was an Indian Urdu poet, writer and academician. He wrote over 70 books, including poetry collections, poems, biographies, and travelogues. He was an authority on the life, ...

– Urdu-Speaking poet of Hindu academic. *

Imran Khan Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...

– Former captain of the

Pakistan cricket team The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International ...

who won the

1992 Cricket World Cup The 1992 Cricket World Cup (officially the Benson & Hedges World Cup 1992) was the fifth staging of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was held in Australia and New Zealand from 22 February to 25 Mar ...

and has been elected twice the member of

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 ...

from Mianwali and the 22nd Prime minister of Islamic Republic Of Pakistan . *

Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi Attaullah Khan Niazi, SI PP (Urdu, Pashto: ) (born 19 August 1951), known professionally as Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi also known as Lala (meaning "elder brother" in Pashto and Punjabi), is a Pakistani musician from Isakhel, Mianwali, Punjab. ...

– Folk Singer *

Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi Abdus Sattar Khan Niazi (مولاناعبدالستارخان نیازی) (1 October 1915 – 2 May 2001) was a Pakistani religious and political leader. Early life He was born on 1 October 1915 at Isakhel in Mianwali District, Punjab, B ...

– religious and political leader of

Misbah-ul-Haq ; born 28 May 1974) is a former Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer. Misbah captained Pakistan in all formats and is former head coach and former chief selector of the Pakistan national team. A late bloomer, Misbah was a midd ...

– Pakistani Cricketer *

Sher Afgan Niazi Dr. Sher Afgan Khan Niazi ( ur, ; died 11 October 2012) was a Pakistani politician. He served as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs of Pakistan. AK Niazi or General Niazi was his real uncle.He was elected for a fourth time to National Assemb ...

– The Ex- Minister of Law and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

* Sardar Khan Niazi – Chief Editor and Publisher of Daily Pakistan, Daily The Patriot, Daily Pak Watan, Daily Action, Daily Nawa-e-Nawabshah, Monthly Naya Rukh, and also Chairman of Pakistan Group of Publications. *

Shadab Khan Shadab Khan (Urdu, Punjabi: شاداب خان) is a Pakistani international cricketer who plays for and vice-captains the Pakistan cricket team in limited overs cricket. He captains Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and N ...

– Pakistani Cricketer. *

Aqeela Asifi Aqeela Asifi is an Afghans, Afghan woman teacher who has educated thousands of refugee children in Mianwali, Pakistan. Education Asifi trained in Afghanistan as a teacher of history and geography. Career Asifi was forced to leave Afghanista ...

– Afghan refugee and teacher who has educated thousands of other Afghan refugee children in Mianwali *General

Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi Lieutenant General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi (1915 – 1 February 2004) was a Pakistan Army general. During the Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, he commanded the Pakistani Eastern Command in East Pakistan (now Bang ...

- Ex. Commandent Eastern Command Bengal.

Places of interest

* Mari Indus railway station *

Kalabagh Dam The Kalabagh Dam ( ur, , ) is a proposed hydroelectric dam on the Indus River at Kalabagh in the Mianwali District, Punjab, Pakistan, which has been intensely debated along ethnic and regional lines for over 40 years. If constructed, the dam ...

Jinnah Barrage The Jinnah Barrage is a barrage on the River Indus near Kalabagh, Pakistan. It is part of the Thal Project which helps irrigate in the Sindh Sagar Doab east of the Indus. Planning for the project dates back to the nineteenth century but final ...

Chashma Barrage Chashma Barrage is a barrage on the River Indus in Mianwali District of the Punjab province of Pakistan 304 km NW of Lahore and 56 km downstream of Jinnah Barrage. The contract for Chashma Barrage works was awarded on 10 February 196 ...

Namal Lake Namal Lake ( ur, نمل جھیل) is located near Rikhi, a village on one corner of the Namal valley in Mianwali District, Punjab, Pakistan. It was formed following the construction of Namal Dam in . Namal Dam is situated some from Mianwali city. ...

* Kundian Railway Station * Daud Khel Railway Station * Mari Indus Railway Station

References

External links

Early history of Niazi tribe

Niazi Chiefs in the Mughal empireMianwali Online
* * {{Coord, 32, 00, N, 71, 30, E, region:PK_type:adm3rd_source:GNS-enwiki, display=title Districts of Punjab, Pakistan