Bahawalpur District

Abbasi Masjid near Derawar Fort

Derawar Fort in Cholistan Desert

In 711 A.D. the various parts of Punjab and the whole Sindh came under the Arab rule when Muhammad Bin Qasim conquered Sindh, Multan and surrounding areas of Shorkot. The region came securely under the control of the Umayyad Caliphate. The tribes known as Arain in the region sometimes claim descent from the Arab soldiers who accompanied Muhammad Bin Qasim.

Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi took over the region in 997 C.E. for the Ghaznavid dynasty empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin. He conquered the Shahis in Kabul in 1005 and followed it by the conquest of Punjab. The Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire ruled the region. The Punjab region became predominantly Muslim due to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape of Punjab. During the period of British rule, Bahawalpur District increased in population and importance.

The district capital Bahawalpur, which lies just south of the Sutlej River, was founded in 1748 by Muhammad Bahawal Khan and was incorporated as a municipality in 1874. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikh Empire invaded some towns of modern Pakistan's Punjab province but Bahawalpur had a stronghold of the state's Abbasi nawabs in the city management and the town was free of Sikh Empire. In 1836 Bahawalpur stopped paying tribute to Sikh empire. The state's army had defend the territory and openly declared independence. The founder of the State of Bahawalpur was Nawab Bahawal Khan Abbasi I. The Abbasi family ruled over the State for more than 200 years (1748 to 1954). During the rule of the last Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V, Bahawalpur State was merged with Pakistan. During the 1960s (1954) the Nawab agreed (Agreement dated 3 October 1947) for Bahawalpur to be absorbed into modern Pakistan. He was however given special privileges including the right to import several cars duty-free each year. Bahawalpur was formerly the capital of the state and now is the District and Divisional Headquarters of Bahawalpur Division.

The Nawabs of Bahawalpur originally came from Sindh and claimed descent from the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad; they formed a princely state and assumed independence in 1802.

The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in Bahawalpur District.

Bahawalpur is located in the southeast of Punjab province, the capital, Bahawalpur city, is 889 km from Karachi. The region surrounding Bahawalpur to the west, called the Sindh, is a fertile alluvial tract in the Sutlej River valley that is irrigated by floodwaters, planted with groves of date palms, and thickly populated. The chief crops are wheat, gram, cotton, sugarcane, and dates. Sheep and cattle are raised for export of wool and hides. East of Bahawalpur is the Pat, or Bar, a tract of land considerably higher than the adjoining valley. It is chiefly desert irrigated by the Sutlej inundation canals and yields crops of wheat, cotton, and sugarcane. Farther east, the Rohi, or Cholistan, is a barren desert tract, bounded on the north and west by the Hakra depression with mound ruins of old settlements along its high banks; it is still inhabited by nomads. The principal inhabitants of the region surrounding Bahawalpur are Arain, Jat and Baluchi peoples. There are many historical sites in the area, including Uch, southwest of Bahawalpur, an ancient town dating from Indo-Scythian (Yüeh-chih) settlement (c. 128 BC to AD 450).

Bahawalpur is also an important agricultural training and educational center. Soapmaking and cotton ginning are important enterprises; cotton, silk, embroidery, carpets, and extraordinarily delicate pottery are produced. Factories producing cottonseed oil and cottonseed cake were built in the 1970s. It is an important marketing centre for the surrounding areas and is located on the crossroads between Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta and Karachi. Bahawalpur is also known for its distinctly embroidered slippers and shoes and the filigree pottery which is made here.

The city of Bahawalpur is located favourably for commerce, lying at the junction of trade routes from the east, south-east, and south. It is a centre for trade in wheat, cotton, millet, and rice grown in the surrounding region. Dates and mangoes are also grown here. Canals supply water for irrigation. The principal industries are cotton ginning, rice and flour milling, and the handweaving of textiles.

The district is administratively divided into five tehsils and 107 Union Councils:[4]

At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 3,669,176, of which 1,879,702 were males and 1,789,148 females. Rural population is 2,497,014 while the urban population is 1,172,162. The literacy rate was 50.27%.

Religion

Muslims were the predominant religious community with 98.34% of the population while Hindus (including Scheduled Castes) were 1.12% of the population.[1]

Religion in Bahawalpur District[lower-alpha 1]

Religion	Population (1941)[6]: 42	Percentage (1941)
Islam	1,098,814	81.93%
Hinduism [lower-alpha 2]	174,408	13%
Sikhism	46,945	3.5%
Christianity	3,048	0.23%
Jainism	351	0.03%
Others [lower-alpha 3]	17,643	1.32%
Total Population	1,341,209	100%

Buses run daily between Bahawalpur and other major cities of Pakistan. Pakistan's longest national highway, N-5, also passes through town, connecting Bahawalpur to Karachi and Lahore.

The main crops for which Bahawalpur is recognized are cotton, sugarcane, wheat, sunflower seeds, rape/mustard seed, and rice. Bahawalpur mangoes, citrus, dates, and guavas are some of the fruits exported out of the country. Vegetables include onions, tomatoes, cauliflower, potatoes, and carrots. Being an expanding industrial city, the government has revolutionized and liberalized various markets allowing the caustic soda, cotton ginning and pressing, flour mills, fruit juices, general engineering, iron, and steel re-rolling mills, looms, oil mills, poultry feed, sugar, textile spinning, textile weaving, vegetable ghee and cooking oil industries to flourish.

• Bahawalpur Airport
• Bahawalpur railway station
• India–Pakistan relations

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bahawalpur District.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Punjab (Pakistan).

28°50′N 71°40′E