Wazirabad (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

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 ...

, Pakistan. It is the capital of

Wazirabad District Wazirabad District ( Punjabi and ur, ), is a district that is a part of the Majha region in Punjab, Pakistan. Wazirabad District is bordered by the districts of Gujrat, Sialkot, Mandi Bahauddin, Hafizabad, and Gujranwala. Administration Wazir ...

. Famous for its cutlery products, it is known as the city of

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...

and is also quite famous for its

foods Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingest ...

. Wazirabad is situated on the banks of the Chenab River nearly 100 kilometres north of

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. ...

on the Grand Trunk Road. It is 45 kilometres from Sialkot, 30 kilometres from

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 ...

, and about 12 kilometres from Gujrat. The city of Wazirabad is the

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

of Wazirabad Tehsil, an

administrative subdivision Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

of the district, the city itself is subdivided into 12 Union Councils.

History

The city was founded by Wazir Khan, the governer and later,

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

Mughal Emperor The Mughal emperors ( fa, , Pādishāhān) were the supreme heads of state of the Mughal Empire on the Indian subcontinent, mainly corresponding to the modern countries of India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The Mughal rulers styled t ...

Shah Jahan Shihab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram (5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), better known by his regnal name Shah Jahan I (; ), was the fifth emperor of the Mughal Empire, reigning from January 1628 until July 1658. Under his emperorship, the Mugha ...

in 17th century. The town was taken over by Charat Singh around 1760 together with other towns in the District. Maharaja

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 ...

occupied the town in 1809 and Avitabile was appointed as the

Nazim Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...

of the city. In 1855, Jarral Rajputs of Rajouri Own Saman Burj Wazirabad & Ruled Wazirabad as a Royal Family. He built an entirely new town, with a straight broad Bazar running through it, and side streets at right angles.

British rule

During British rule Wazirabad was the headquarters of the old Wazirabad District, broken up in 1851-2, and was the site of a cantonment removed to Sialkot in 1855. The municipality was created in 1867, the population according to the 1901 census was 18,069. The income during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 20,800, and the expenditure Rs. 21,400. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 20,800, chiefly from octroi; and the expenditure was Rs. 19,200. The town had a considerable trade in timber, which comes down the Chenab from

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi Ri ...

territory. The smiths of Wazirabad had a reputation for the manufacture of small articles of cutlery, and the town of Nizamabad within a mile of the town is famed for its weapons. Wazirabad was an important junction on the North-Western Railway, as the Sialkot-Jammu and Lyallpur lines both branch off of here. The Chenab river is spanned opposite Wazirabad by the Alexandra railway bridge, one of the finest engineering works of the kind in

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 ...

, which was opened by in 1876 by Edward VII the King-Emperor when he was

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

. The town possessed two Anglo-vernacular high schools, one maintained by the Church of Scotland Mission, and a Government dispensary.

Educational institutes

Colleges

* Govt. Maulana Zafar Ali Khan Degree College. * Govt.Post Graduate College for Women Wazirabad. * Punjab Group of Colleges. * Superior Group of Colleges. * Apex Group of colleges. * Aspire Group of colleges. * ATA Institute of Engineering and Technology. * ILM College Wazirabad. * Chenab College of IT and Commerce. * Sir Syed College For Girls and Boys. * VITAL College For Girls & Boys. * Shahzaib Ahsan Medical College For Girls & Boys Basti Qudartabad.

Cityscape

Inside the Old City, the First Residential Complex was built called Musamman Burj. It was constructed by Ilm ul din, a confidant of Jehangir and was completed in 1636 AD during Shahjehan's Rule. Opposite the Musamman Burj, there is the Main Bazar (Market) which is absolute Wide, is about 2 km long and ends in the South of the City at Lahori Gate. Another House called Kothi Sheik Niaz Ahmed was Constructed outside the old city about 2 km from the Burj on the road leading to Nizamabad but silently, the city outgrew its boundaries. Kothi and Mussamman Burj both are now in the centre of Wazirabad thanks to the Urban Sprawl and Rapid Industrialization of the city.

Architecture

Built-in the british Colonial era, the bridge was constructed to carry the

Punjab Northern State Railway The Punjab Northern State Railway , opened in 1876, was a railway line between Lahore and Peshawar. History The route of what became the Punjab Northern State Railway, was first surveyed in 1857. Years of political and military debate followe ...

over the River Chenab. The First Brick was Laid on 1 November 1871, and completed in 1876, Though Later in 1878 necessary alterations were made.

Dak Chowki

The Dak chowki (mail station) is an age-old monument built by Sher Shah Suri in 1542 A.D. It has now been declared a protected monument and is planned to be restored. Oldchowki

Gurdwara

The Forlorn

Gurdwara A gurdwara (sometimes written as gurudwara) (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰਦੁਆਰਾ ''guradu'ārā'', meaning "Door to the Guru") is a place of assembly and worship for Sikhs. Sikhs also refer to gurdwaras as ''Gurdwara Sahib''. People from all faiths ...

known as Gurdwara Gurukotha is situated in the city, built by the Orders of Ranjit Singh in memory of Guru har Gobind, the sixth of the Sikh gurus (1595-1640), for he stayed in Wazirabad during his long travels preaching through Punjab and Kashmir. The spherical, segmented dome of Gurukotha gurdwara rises in splendour above the skyline of the city and is balanced off by four domes at the corner.

Transportation

Highways

Wazirabad is situated alongside the

N-5 National Highway The N-5 or National Highway 5 (Urdu: ) is a 1819 km national highway in Pakistan, which extends from Karachi in Sindh to Torkham in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Route The N-5 is the longest national highway in Pakistan and serves as an import ...

Which connects it to the nearby city District of Gujrat in the north and

and the Provincial Capital

in the south. Multiple

Dual Carriageway A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...

also connect the city to Gujrat, Sialkot,

Daska Daska ( ur, ), is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is the capital of Daska Tehsil, one of four tehsils of Sialkot District. It is the 50th largest city of Pakistan by population. It is 29th largest by population in Punjab ...

and

E3 Expressway

The E3 Expressway or Kot Sarwar–Hafizabad–Wazirabad Expressway is a controlled-access expressway that links the

at Wazirabad with the M-2/M-4 junction near Kot Sarwar, in Punjab, Pakistan. E3 also Connects the City with the Tehsil's Union councils in the nearby areas.

Rail

Wazirabad Junction railway station is located in the city which has the Main Line 1 (ML-1) Karachi-Peshawar Line, Khanewal-Wazirabad Branch Line and Wazirabad-Narowal Branch Line

Notable residents

* Abdul Mannan Wazirabadi, Islamic scholar * Fazal Ilahi Wazirabadi, Islamic scholar and freedom fighter *

Hamid Nasir Chattha Chaudhry Hamid Nasir Chattha ( ur, حامد ناصر چٹھا) is a politician from Wazirabad, Punjab, Pakistan. He was born on November 15, 1944 in Lahore. Hamid Nasir Chattha is currently a Member of Punjab Assembly, Pakistan after losing in ...

, former

Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan The Speaker of the National Assembly (Urdu: اسپیکر قومی اسمبلی); informally as Speaker National Assembly, is the presiding official of the National Assembly of Pakistan– a lower house of the Parliament of Pakistan. The offi ...

* Raja Khalique Ullah Khan, former Provincial Minister Law & Parliamentary Affairs, and Education Minister * Iftikhar Cheema, Retired Justice and Member National Assembly for 3 tenures * Nisar Ahmed Cheema, Ex-DG Health Punjab and Member National Assembly *

Jawwad S. Khawaja Jawwad Sajjad Khawaja ( ur, ; born 10 September 1950), known professionally as Jawwad S. Khawaja, is a Pakistani jurist, and former professor of law at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, who served as the 23rd Chief Justice of Pa ...

, 23rd

Chief Justice of Pakistan } The Chief Justice of Pakistan (Urdu: ) (Initialism, initials as CJP) is head of the court system of Pakistan (the Judiciary of Pakistan, judicature branch of Government of Pakistan, government) and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of Paki ...

* Atif Aslam, singer *

S. A. Rahman Dr. Sheikh Abdur Rehman (Urdu language, Urdu, ) (4 June 1903 – 25 July 1990) was the Chief Justice of Pakistan, 5th Chief Justice of Pakistan. He did his MA from University of Punjab, BA Hons from Oxford University, Oxford and Ph.D. in L ...

, fifth Chief Justice of Pakistan * Shaikh Nazrul Bakar, civil servant *

Noon Meem Rashid Nazar Muhammad Rashed ( ur, ), (1 August 1910 – 9 October 1975) commonly known as Noon Meem Rashed ( ur, ) or N.M. Rashed, was a Pakistani poet of modern Urdu poetry.Munnu Bhai Muneer Ahmed Qureshi (6 February 1933 – 19 January 2018), better known as Munnu Bhai, was a Pakistani newspaper journalist, columnist, poet and a writer. He was awarded the Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 2007 for his ...

, writer *

Razia Butt Razia Butt ( ur, ) was an Urdu novelist and playwright from Pakistan. One of the famous popular fiction writer of the 1960s and 1970s, she is often compared with English writer Barbara Cartland due to her popularity among the household readers. ...

, writer *

Krishan Chander Krishan Chander (23 November 1914 – 8 March 1977) was an Indian Urdu and Hindi writer of short stories and novels. Some of his works have also been translated in English. He was a prolific writer, penning over 20 novels, 30 collections o ...

, writer *

Zafar Ali Khan Zafar Ali Khan (1874– 27 November 1956) ( pnb, – ), also known as Maulana Zafar Ali Khan, was a Pakistani writer, poet, translator and a journalist who played an important role in the Pakistan Movement against the British Raj. He is genera ...

, writer, poet, and journalist * Dr.

Shaista Nuzhat Shaista Nuzhat ( pa, (Shahmukhi)) (born 1960s) is a Punjabi poet, writer, linguist, and researcher on Punjabi language and literature. She is founder director of the Punjab Institute of Language, Art and Culture (PILAC) in Lahore. Biography ...

, poet, writer, columnist and bureaucrat * Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi: Muslim theologian, orator and revivalist leader * Mazhar ul Islam, writer *

Raja Mehdi Ali Khan Raja Mehdi Ali Khan (23 September 1915 – 29 July 1966) was an Indian poet, writer and a lyricist. Early life and career Raja Mehdi Ali Khan was born on 23 September 1915 at Karamabad village, near Wazirabad, Gujranwala District of Punjab, Br ...

Allah Bakhsh (painter) Ustad Allah Bakhsh ( 18 October 1978; sometimes spelled Allah Bux or Allah Bukhsh) was a Pakistani painter and calligrapher who was actively involved in aesthetics and classical landscape paintings throughout his life. He produced his work in ...

History

British rule

Educational institutes

Colleges

Cityscape

Architecture

Dak Chowki

Gurdwara

Transportation

Highways

E3 Expressway

Rail

Notable residents

References

Further reading