Rahim Yar Khan 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, subdivision ...

in the of

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

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 ...

and the city of

Rahim Yar Khan Rahim Yar Khan () is a city in Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 9th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is the capital of the Rahim Yar Khan District and Rahim Yar Khan Tehsil. The administration of the city is subdivided into ni ...

is its capital. The city itself is administratively subdivided into nine Union Councils.

Administrative

The district of Rahim Yar Khan is subdivided into four tehsils: * Khanpur * Liaqatpur *

* Sadiqabad

History

It has been renamed customarily amid last 5000 years, first available (on record) name was AROR or ALOR, and then it became City of Pattan, Phul Wada, Noshehra and now Rahim Yar Khan. The ancient tower of Pattan Minarah is standing just 13 km away from city center in the south in its original form. Rahim Yar Khan has had the status of a separate district since 1943. The district derives its name from its headquarters, the city of

, which was known as "Naushehra" until 1881. To avoid confusion with the similarly named city of Nowshera, the ruler of

Bahawalpur Bahawalpur () is a city in the Punjab 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, ruled by the Abbasi fa ...

, Nawab Sadiq Khan IV, renamed it after his first son, Rahim Yar Khan.

Geography

The district lies between 27°40'-29°16' north latitudes and 60°45'-70°01' east longitudes. The riverain area of the district lies close to eastern bank of the river

Indus 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, ...

and Panjnad. The Rahim Yar Khan District is bounded on the north by

Muzaffargarh District Muzaffargarh District ( ur, ) is a district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Its capital is Muzaffargarh city. It lies on the bank of the Chenab River. Administration The district is administratively divided into the following three te ...

, on the east by Bahawalpur District, on the south by

Jaisalmer district Jaisalmer is the largest district in the Indian state of Rajasthan, and the third largest district in India. Located in Marwar (Jodhpur Division), the city of Jaisalmer is the administrative headquarters of the district. It is around from the ...

(India) and

Ghotki District Ghotki District ( sd, ضِلعو گھوٽڪي; ) is a district of the province of Sindh, Pakistan, with headquarter the city of Mirpur Mathelo. Prior to its establishment as a district in 1993, it formed part of Sukkur District. Administration ...

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 ...

province, and on the west by

Rajanpur District Rajanpur ( ur, ) is a district of the Pakistani province of Punjab, with its administrative headquarters the city of Rajanpur. Lying west of the Indus River, its inhabitants are mostly Saraikis and Baloch. According to the 1998 census, the ...

. This district is divided into three main physical features: (a) Riverside area, b) canal-irrigated area, and (c) desert area which is called Cholistan. The Riverside area of the district lies close on the southern side of the Indus river mainly falling in the river bed. The canal-irrigated area lies on the south and is separated by main Minchan Bund. The approximate height of the irrigated area is above sea level. The third part of the area, called Cholistan, lies in the south of the irrigated tract up to the Indo-Pak border. The surface of the desert consists of a succession of sand dunes rising at places to a height of and covered with the vegetation peculiar to sandy tracts.

Demographics

At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 4,807,762, of which 2,461,780 were males and 2,345,413 females. Rural population is 3,776,779 while the urban population is 1,030,983. The literacy rate was 46.62%.

Religion

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 Abrah ...

were the predominant religious community with 96.50% of the population while

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 ...

(including Scheduled Castes) were 3.12% of the population. The Bhagwan Shri Krishna Mandir in Sadiqabad is one of the main Hindu temple in Rahim Yar Khan district. While other minorities like Christians, Ahmadi etc. are very small in number. The proportion of population of Muslims is higher in urban than rural areas.

Languages

At the time of 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 in ...

, the distribution of the population of Rahim Yar Khan District by

first language A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother to ...

was as follows: * 64.9% Saraiki * 24.9%

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

* 3.0%

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Sindhi Sindhi may refer to: *something from, or related to Sindh, a province of Pakistan * Sindhi people, an ethnic group from the Sindh region * Sindhi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them People with the name * Sarkash Sindhi (1940–2012 ...

* 1.5% Balochi * 0.8%

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 langua ...

* 0.8%

Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punj ...

* 0.1% Brahui * 0.0%

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

* 2.0% Others The local dialect (''see Riasti'') belongs to the southern dialect group of Saraiki. Other languages spoken are Bagri/Cholistani and

Haryanvi Haryanvi ( ' or '), also known as Bangru, is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the state of Haryana in India, and to a lesser extent in Delhi. Haryanvi is considered to be part of the dialect group of Western Hindi, which also includes Kharib ...

Education

The literacy rate in the district is 98% total for the 1st grade level school, locally known as 'graduating the MA full Examination'. One of top ranked universities in Punjab, Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology is also located in district Rahim Yar Khan. The Islamia university of Bahawalpur,Rahim yar Khan campus.

Sugar Cane

Rahim Yar Khan District has recently embraced sugar cane. The area under cultivation of sugar cane increased to 430,000 acres in 2020 from 310,000 acres in 2014-15. Six sugar mills are located in the district.

Notable people

* Ahmed Raza, first class cricketer. *

Asim Saleem Bajwa Asim Saleem Bajwa (Urdu, Punjabi: ) is a retired Pakistani three-star general who served as the chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor Authority from November 2019 to August 2021 and the special assistant to then Prime Minister Imran ...

, Pakistani

three star general Military star ranking is military terminology, used to describe General officer, general and flag officers. Within Member states of NATO, NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to Ranks and insignia of NATO, OF-6–10. Star ranking One–star ...

who was the director-general of the

Inter-Services Public Relations The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) ( ur, ), is the media and PR wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces. It broadcasts and coordinates military news and information to the country's civilian media and the civic society. The ISPR directo ...

. * Makhdoom Altaf Ahmed, former Provincial Minister (Punjab) Finance & Excise and Taxation. * Makhdoom Shahbuddin, Former Federal Minister of Pakistan for Textiles. *

Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood Makhdoom Ahmed Mehmood () is a Pakistani businessman and politician who is the chairman of JDW Group. Belonging from Jamal Din Wali Tehsil Sadiqabad of District Rahim Yar Khan, in Punjab. He was elected to the National Assemblies on IJI ticket ...

elected to the Punjab and National Assemblies. * Makhdoom Khusro Bakhtiar politician who currently serves as the Federal Minister of National Food Security and Research, since 19 November 2019. He has also been the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms. * Makhdoom Hashim Jawan Bakht politician who is the current Finance Minister of Punjab. *

Muniba Mazari Muniba Mazari Baloch ( Urdu: منیبہ مزاری; born 3 March 1987, also known as the ''Iron Lady of Pakistan'') is a Pakistani activist, anchor artist, model, singer and motivational speaker. She became the National Ambassador for UN Women Pa ...

, motivational speaker. * Rais Muhammad Iqbal, former Provincial Minister (Punjab) for Mines and Mineral Affairs. *AVM (Rtd) Mushtaq Laghari, former ambassador to UAE. *

Shafqat Mehmood Shafqat Mahmood (Punjabi, ; 19 February 1950) is a Pakistani bureaucrat-turned-politician who served as thFederal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training and Federal Minister for National History and Literary Heritage, from 20 ...

, current Federal Education Minister *

Aima Baig Aima Noor-ul Ain Baig (, ; born 10 March 1995) is a Pakistani singer. She started her career in 2014 when she uploaded her songs onto SoundCloud, through which she was approached by different people. She is known for her appearances on Dunya N ...

, First Class Singer

References

{{Authority control Districts of Punjab, Pakistan