Mianwali
ضِلع مِيانوالی
District of Punjab
Top: Namal Lake
Bottom: Salt Range
Flag of Mianwali
Flag
Official seal of Mianwali
Seal
Mianwali District highlighted within Punjab Province
Mianwali District highlighted within Punjab Province
Country Pakistan
ProvincePunjab, Pakistan Punjab
DivisionMianwali Division
HeadquartersMianwali
Government
 • TypeDistrict Administration
 • Deputy CommissionerSajjad Ahmad[1]
 • District Police OfficerN/A
 • District Health OfficerN/A
Area
 • Total5,840 km2 (2,250 sq mi)
Population
 (2017)[2]
 • Total1,542,601
 • Density260/km2 (680/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
Postal Code
42200
Area code0459
Number of Tehsils3
Websitemianwali.punjab.gov.pk
Thal Canal

The Mianwali District (Urdu: ضِلع مِيانوالى) is a district located in the Mianwali division of the Punjab province of Pakistan. It has borders with the Chakwal, Attock, Kohat,[3] Karak, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Bhakkar,[4] and Khushab districts.[5]

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 a sufi saint Mian Ali's name. Mian Ali Mianwali was a known settlement and an agricultural region with forests during the Indus valley civilization (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 were in control of Mianwali and surrounding areas of Punjab.[6]

In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi 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. 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 who in later years of his conquest allowed his sons to settle and further rule the region. Their lineage still exists to date in the Mianwali district as well as in Pakistan and are known as Awan tribe. Historically, all major rulers of South Asia governed this area in their turn. Mughal emperor Babur mentioned Isakhel in the Baburnama when describing his campaigns against the Malik Awans and Niazi 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, who became feudatories of the Mughal empire, of which the district continued to form a part until the invasion of Nadir Shah. In 1738, a portion of his army entered Chashma. 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 Nadir Shah'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 the British Raj, the Mianwali district was also among the states of the British Punjab where regional offices of East India Company were in position until winter of 1883 when the regional office of East India Company in Mianwali was shutdown due to civil unrest and hostile conditions.[7]

Geography

Mianwali district covers an area of 5,840 square kilometres (2,250 sq mi).[8] The area in the north is a continuation of the Pothohar Plateau[9] and the Kohistan-e-Namak.[10] Southern side of the district is a part of Thal desert.[11] Indus River flows through the district.[12]

Climate

Mianwali district has an extreme climate with a long hot summer season and dry cold winters. Summer lasts from May to September and winter lasts from November till February.[13] June is the hottest month with average temperature of 42 °C (highest recorded temperature was 52 °C); in winter, the average temperature can be as low as 3 to 4 °C, particularly in December and January. The average rainfall in the district is about 385 mm.[14][15]

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average High Temperatures °C (°F) 19° (66.2 °) 21° (69.8 °) 26° (78.8 °) 33° (91.4 °) 38° (100.4 °) 42° (107.6 °) 39° (102.2 °) 37° (98.6 °) 37° (98.6 °) 33° (91.6 °) 28° (82.4 °) 21° (69.8 °) 31° (87.8 °)
Average Low Temperatures °C 3 6 12 17 22 27 27 26 23 16 9 4 16
Rainfall in. (cm) 1.6 2.1 4.1 2.4 1.9 1.8 7.6 11 4.5 0.7 0.1 0.9 38.5
Source: Weatherbase

Administration

The district is administratively divided into three tehsils 7 Municipal Committees and 51 union councils:[16][17]

Name of tehsils No. of union councils No. of municipal committees Parent tehsil
Isakhel[16] 13 3 Mianwali
Mianwali[16] 26 2 Mianwali
Piplan[16] 12 2 Mianwali
Total 51 7

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1951 315,816—    
1961 413,851+2.74%
1972 595,134+3.36%
1981 711,529+2.00%
1998 1,056,620+2.35%
2017 1,542,601+2.01%
2023 1,798,268+2.59%
Sources:[18]

At the time of the 2017 census, Mianwali district had 237,952 households and a population of 1,542,601. Mianwali had a sex ratio of 998 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 61.28% - 78.54% for males and 44.35% for females. 327,812 (21.25%) lived in urban areas. 396,880 (25.73%) were under 10 years of age.[2] In 2023, the district had 296,614 households and a population of 1,798,268.[19]

Religion

Religion in Mianwali district (2011)[2]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 99.53%
Christianity
 
 0.46%
Other or not stated
 
 0.01%

As per the 2017 census, Muslims made up almost the entire population with 99.53%, although there is a small mainly urban minority of Christians numbering 7,000.

Religion in Mianwali District[lower-alpha 1]
Religion Population (1941)[20]: 42–43  Percentage (1941) Population (2017) Percentage (2017)
Islam 266,984 88.91% 1,535,345 99.53%
Hinduism [lower-alpha 2] 30,084 10.02% 21 0%
Sikhism 2,869 0.96% — —
Christianity 302 0.1% 7,044 0.46%
Ahmadi — — 101 0.01%
Others [lower-alpha 3] 47 0.02% 90 0.01%
Total Population 300,286 100% 1,542,601 100%

Language

Languages of Mianwali district (2017)[2]

  Saraiki (76.05%)
  Pashto (11.53%)
  Punjabi (9.35%)
  Urdu (2.76%)
  Others (0.31%)

At the time of the 2017 census, 76.05% of the population spoke Saraiki, 11.53% Pashto, 9.35% Punjabi and 2.76% Urdu as their first language.[2]

People

Places of interest

A view of Namal Lake in Mianwali Salt range
"Days of Yore" PR ZE. class 230 en route to Lakki Marwat from Mari Indus in frosty winter morning circa 1987. (Mianwali was the only district in Punjab with about 80 km of narrow gauge section, which was closed in 1992.)

See also

Further reading

  • "Manaqib-E-Sultani" By Mian Alamgir
  • "Wichara Watan" By Harish Chander Nakra, New Delhi, India

Notes

  1. ↑ 1941 figures are for Mianwali and Isakhel tehsils of the then Mianwali District, which roughly corresponds to present-day Mianwali district. Historic district borders may not be an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.
  2. ↑ 1941 census: Including Ad-Dharmis
  3. ↑ Including Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, or not stated

References

  1. ↑ "Commissioner reviews revenue officers' performance". Pakistan Observor (newspaper). December 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2017)". www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  3. ↑ "Kohat | Pakistan on Encyclopedia Britannica website".
  4. ↑ "District Website". District Courts Bhakkar, Punjab Government website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "Mianwali | on Punjab Portal website".
  6. ↑ "Tareekh e Pakistan pdf - Available for Download". Yahya Amjad. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  7. ↑ "Brief History of Mianwali". District Courts Mianwali, Government of the Punjab website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "Mianwali Map | Pakistan Google Satellite Maps".
  9. ↑ "Fig. 1. A map of Punjab Province, Pakistan, showing Potohar Plateau..." ResearchGate.
  10. ↑ "PAKISTAN'S SALT MINES - Luke Duggleby Photography". Luke Duggleby website.
  11. ↑ "Thal | region, Pakistan on Encyclopedia Britannica".
  12. ↑ "Indus River | Irrigation System and Barrages in Mianwali District included". Encyclopedia Britannica.
  13. ↑ "December Climate History for Mianwali District area | Local | Pakistan".
  14. ↑ "Climate & Weather Averages in Mianwali, Pakistan". timeanddate.com website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  15. ↑ "Mianwali Climate". en.climate-data.org website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Tehsils & Unions in the District of Mianwali". Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  17. ↑ "District Overview - History of Mianwali District". District Police Office Mianwali website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  18. ↑ "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  19. ↑ "Table 1: Households, Population, Household Size and Annual Growth Rate" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 2023.
  20. ↑ "Census of India, 1941 Volume VI Punjab Province". Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  21. ↑ "Imran Khan (Cricketer of the Year - 1983)". ESPN Cricinfo website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  22. ↑ "Atta Ullah Eesakhelvi and the Cassette Revolution". All Things Pakistan website. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
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