Dina ( Punjabi and ) is a city in

Jhelum District Jhelum District () is a district, located partially on the Pothohar Plateau and in Indus Plain, in Punjab, Pakistan. Jhelum is one of the oldest districts of Punjab. It was established on 23 March 1849. Jhelum is known for providing many sold ...

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# ...

. Dina is one of the oldest towns in Punjab. According to the 2023 census, 50,737 people live in Dina, 34.12% of them in the urban area. Dina has provided many soldiers to the British and later the

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...

and is known as the ''city of soldiers'' or ''land of martyrs and warriors''.

Location

Dina is located near the

Pothohar Plateau The Pothohar Plateau (, : ''Pо̄ṭhoā̀r Paṭhār''; , ''Satāh Murtafā Pо̄ṭhohār''), also spelled Pothwar, is a plateau in the Sindh Sagar Doab, Sind Sagar Doab of northern Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan, located between the Indus ...

, in the north of the Punjab province. It is the heart of Jhelum district. It is bordered by

Jhelum Jhelum (; , ) is a city, located along the western bank of the Jhelum River, in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 21st largest city in Punjab and 31st largest in Pakistan, by population. Located in northern Punjab, it serves as the capital of the ...

and Sohawa to its south, Rohtas City to its south west, Garh Mahal to its south and east, Mirpur to its east,

Chakwal Chakwal (Punjabi language, Punjabi and ) is a city in Chakwal District in the Potohar region of Punjab, Pakistan. It is the Largest cities of Pakistan, 48th largest city of Pakistan by population. Chakwal is located 90 kilometres south-west o ...

to its west, Mangla Cantt to its northeast, and Domeli to its north. The district of Jhelum stretches from the River Jhelum almost to the

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 the Western Tibet region of China, flows northwest through the dis ...

. Nearby villages include Mota Gharbi, Khukha, Gaggar Kalan,

Gaggar Khurd Khukha is a village in Jhelum District, Punjab, Pakistan. It is a Union Council, an administrative subdivision, of Jhelum TehsilNatain, Khojki, Dhok Padhal and Dhok Gujral. Dina is about from

and about from Sohawa, northwest of

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

, southeast of

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

and around southeast of

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

, at the junction of roads, one leading to the

Mangla Dam The Mangla Dam () is a multipurpose dam situated on the Jhelum River, lying in the Mirpur District of Pakistan administered Azad Kashmir and the Jhelum District in Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. It is the List of largest dams, sixth-large ...

and Mirpur, and another to

Rohtas Fort Rohtas Fort (; ) is a 16th-century citadel located near the city of Dina in Jhelum district of the Punjab, Pakistan. Commissioned by Sur Emperor Sher Shah Suri, its construction was supervised by Raja Todar Mal and is now one of the largest ...

and

Tilla Jogian Tilla Jogian (; , meaning "hill of Jogi (caste), jogis "), also known as Balnath Tilla or Gorakh Tilla, is an abandoned Hindu temple and monastic complex located on the summit of the ''Tilla Jogian'' mountain in the Salt Range in the Jhelum Distr ...

mountain. The historic

Grand Trunk Road Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It r ...

passes through the centre of the city.

Economy

There is limited industrial activity including woodworking, ironworking and marble processing. The main source of income for residents is

remittance A remittance is a non-commercial transfer of money by a foreign worker, a member of a diaspora community, or a citizen with familial ties abroad, for household income in their home country or homeland. Money sent home by migrants competes ...

s from relatives working in the UK and the Persian Gulf region. Many residents join the

. There is some

small-scale agriculture A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

with wheat and pulses as the main crops. Salt is quarried at the Mayo mine in the

Salt Range The Salt Range ( and Namkistan نمکستان) is a mountain range in the north of Punjab province of Pakistan, deriving its name from its extensive deposits of rock salt. The range extends along the south of the Potohar Plateau and the north ...

hills. The chief centre of the salt trade is Pind Dadan Khan. Two coal mines in the district supply the North-Western Railway. They are the only working coal mines in Punjab province.Many businesses in jehlum are owned by

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi Muslim agricultural community with a strong political identity and level of organisation. At the beginning of the last century, they numbered around 1 million and were mainly rural cultivator ...

and Ghakhar families.

History

Dina is the nearest town to the

, Mirpur which is rich in archaeological sites of the ancient

Soanian The Soanian culture is a prehistoric technological culture from the Siwalik Hills, Pakistan. Quote: “Soanian and Soanian‐like assemblages are known throughout the entire Siwalik or Sub‐ Himalayan region, from Pakistan to northeast India i ...

culture.

Culture

The main languages spoken in Dina are 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 ...

. Several poets and famous personalities were born in Dina, the popular Pakistani poet Zamir Jafri and the Indian poet

Gulzar Gulzar (born Sampooran Singh Kalra; 18 August 1934) is an Indian Urdu poetry, Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this era. He starte ...

. Gulzar wrote the following lines for his birthplace:

Transport

The district is crossed by the main line of the North-Western railway of

Pakistan Railways Pakistan Railways is the state-owned railway operator in Pakistan. Founded in 1861 as the North Western State Railway and headquartered in Lahore, it owns of operational track across Pakistan, stretching from Peshawar to Karachi, offering bot ...

, and traversed along the south by a branch line. The district us also crossed by main road N5.

Education

* Farabi Foundation school * Punjab College * Reformer School System * NLC * Fauji Foundation School * Bukhari College * Govt. Higher Secondary School * Govt. College * Govt. Fatima Jinnah Degree College For Women * Govt. High School Mian Mohalla * Saracens Foundation High School * The Educators * Dar e Arqam * Aspire Collage Gt road Dina *Govt Elementary School Mehsian

References

{{Reflist Populated places in Jhelum District Jhelum District