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Sialkot ضِلع سیالکوٹ
District of Punjab
Top: Namal Lake Bottom: Salt Range
FlagSeal
Mianwali District highlighted within Punjab Province
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Division	Sargodha Division
Established	November 1901; 123 years ago (November 1901)
Founded by	British Raj
Headquarters	Mianwali
Number of Tehsil	03 Isakhel Tehsil Mianwali Tehsil Piplan Tehsil
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Deputy Commissioner	Sajjad Ahmad
• Constituency	NA-89 Mianwali-I NA-90 Mianwali-II
• CNIC Code Mianwali District	383XX-XXXXXXX-X
Area
• Total	5,900 km (2,300 sq mi)
Elevation	210 m (690 ft)
Population
• Total	1,795,897
• Density	300/km (790/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+05:00 (PKT)
• Summer (DST)	DST is not observed
Postal Code	42200
NWD (area) code	0459
ISO 3166 code	PK-PB
Website	mianwali.punjab.gov.pk

The Mianwali District (Urdu: ضِلع مِيانوالى) is a district located in the Mianwali division of the Punjab province of Pakistan created in November 1901, (Mianwali Tehsil & Isa Khel Tehsil) were separated from Bannu District and (Bhakkar Tehsil and Layyah Tehsil) separated from Dera Ismail Khan District to integrate into new district named Mianwali. Mianwali District remained part of Rawalpindi Division until 1963, when Mianwali District became part of Sargodha Division. According to 2023 Pakistani census Population of Mianwali District is 1.79 million.

It has borders with the Chakwal, Attock, Kohat, Karak, Lakki Marwat, Dera Ismail Khan, Bhakkar, and Khushab districts.

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 conquest of Punjab, Arabs who had established themselves in Multan were in control of Mianwali and surrounding areas of Punjab.

In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi took over the Ghaznavid 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 shut down due to civil unrest and hostile conditions.

The British had made the town of Mianwali as tehsil headquarters of Bannu District then part of Dera Ismail Khan Division of Punjab province. The population of Mianwali, according to the 1901 census of India, was 3,591.

In November 1901, the North-West Frontier Province was carved out of Punjab and the tehsils of Mianwali and Isa Khel, and were separated from Bannu District (Bannu became part of NWFP). A new district was made with the headquarters in Mianwali city and placed in Punjab. The district became a part of Rawalpindi Division. There were four tehsils: Mianwali, Isa Khel, Bhakkar, and Layyah. Layyah was included in the Muzaffargarh District in 1909. The district became a part of Sargodha Division in 1963. Bhakkar Tehsil was separated from Mianwali and was made a separate district inside Sargodha Division w.e.f. 01-07-1982.

On January 14, 2023, CM Pervaiz Elahi announced that Mianwali and Bhakkar districts upgraded to divisional status, carved from the Sargodha Division. Newly formed Talagang district from the northern Rawalpindi Division would also be part of the division.

Geography

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

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. 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.

Administration

The municipal committee was founded in December 1993 and has remained operational since then. The district is administratively divided into three tehsils 7 Municipal Committees and 51 union councils:

Demographics

Language

Languages of Mianwali district (2023)

At the time of the 2023 census, 73.69% of the population spoke Saraiki language, 11.35% Pashto, 7.79% Punjabi, 3.5% Hindko and 3.15% Urdu as their first language.

Population

As of the 2023 census, Mianwali district has 296,339 households and a population of 1,798,268. The district has a sex ratio of 104.32 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 62.87%: 77.58% for males and 47.63% for females. 454,517 (25.31% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 363,453 (20.21%) live in urban areas.

Religion

As per the 2023 census, Muslims made up almost the entire population with 99.32%, although there is a small mainly urban minority of Christians numbering 11,951.

Religion in Mianwali District

Religious group	1941		2017		2023
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	266,984	88.91%	1,535,345	99.53%	1,783,687	99.32%
Hinduism	30,084	10.02%	21	0%	63	0%
Sikhism	2,869	0.96%	—	—	41	0%
Christianity	302	0.1%	7,044	0.46%	11,951	0.67%
Ahmadi	—	—	101	0.01%	45	0%
Others	47	0.02%	90	0.01%	110	0.01%
Total Population	300,286	100%	1,542,601	100%	1,795,897	100%
Note: 1941 figures are for Mianwali and Isakhel tehsils of the then Mianwali District, which roughly corresponds to present-day Mianwali district.

Religious groups in Mianwali District (British Punjab province era)

Religious group	1901		1911		1921		1931		1941
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	371,674	87.54%	299,971	87.87%	308,876	86.23%	357,109	86.77%	436,260	86.16%
Hinduism	50,202	11.82%	36,326	10.64%	45,974	12.83%	49,794	12.1%	62,814	12.41%
Sikhism	2,633	0.62%	4,881	1.43%	2,986	0.83%	4,231	1.03%	6,865	1.36%
Christianity	44	0.01%	168	0.05%	369	0.1%	380	0.09%	358	0.07%
Jainism	35	0.01%	31	0.01%	0	0%	20	0%	23	0%
Zoroastrianism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	5	0%	1	0%
Buddhism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Judaism	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Others	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%
Total population	424,588	100%	341,377	100%	358,205	100%	411,539	100%	506,321	100%
Note: British Punjab province era district borders are not 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.

Religion in the Tehsils of Mianwali District (1921)

Tehsil	Islam		Hinduism		Sikhism		Christianity		Jainism		Others		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Mianwali Tehsil	129,004	87.43%	17,177	11.64%	1,189	0.81%	183	0.12%	0	0%	0	0%	147,553	100%
Bhakkar Tehsil	122,437	83.22%	23,262	15.81%	1,335	0.91%	87	0.06%	0	0%	0	0%	147,121	100%
Isa Khel Tehsil	57,435	90.4%	5,535	8.71%	462	0.73%	99	0.16%	0	0%	0	0%	63,531	100%
Note: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.

Religion in the Tehsils of Mianwali District (1941)

Tehsil	Islam		Hinduism		Sikhism		Christianity		Jainism		Others		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Mianwali Tehsil	194,442	87.42%	25,488	11.46%	2,202	0.99%	251	0.11%	0	0%	33	0.01%	222,416	100%
Bhakkar Tehsil	169,276	82.16%	32,730	15.89%	3,996	1.94%	22	0.01%	0	0%	1	0%	206,035	100%
Isa Khel Tehsil	72,542	93.16%	4,596	5.9%	667	0.86%	51	0.07%	23	0.03%	1	0%	77,870	100%
Note1: British Punjab province era tehsil borders are not an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to tehsil borders — which since created new tehsils — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases. Note2: Tehsil religious breakdown figures for Christianity only includes local Christians, labeled as "Indian Christians" on census. Does not include Anglo-Indian Christians or British Christians, who were classified under "Other" category.

People

• Mian Sultan Zikria - Famous sufi saint from the Mianwali district
• Amjad Khan Niazi - Retired Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan Navy.
• Nawab Malik Amir Mohammad Khan - Chief of the Awan tribe, Nawab of Kalabagh, Former Governor of the West Pakistan.
• Tilok Chand Mehroom – Urdu poet
• Jagannath Azad – Urdu-Speaking poet of Hindu academic.
• Imran Khan Niazi – Former captain of the Pakistan cricket team, twice elected to the National Assembly of Pakistan from Mianwali and served as the 22nd Prime minister of Pakistan .
• Attaullah Khan Esakhelvi – Folk singer
• Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi – religious and political leader of Pakistan
• Misbah-ul-Haq – Pakistani cricketer
• Sher Afgan Niazi – Former Minister of Law and Member of Parliament
• Sardar Khan Niazi – Chief Editor and publisher of Daily Pakistan, Daily The Patriot, Daily Pak Watan, Daily Action, Daily Nawa-e-Nawabshah, Monthly Naya Rukh, and also Chairman of the Pakistan Group of Publications.
• Shadab Khan – Pakistani cricketer.
• Aqeela Asifi – Afghan refugee and teacher who has educated thousands of other Afghan refugee children in Mianwali
• Lt. Gen. Amir Abdullah Niazi - Commandent Army Eastern Command III Corps in East Pakistan
• Lt. Gen. Muhammad Aslam Shah- Corps Commander Pakistan Army
• Lt. Gen. Zarar Azim- Corps Commander Pakistan Army
• Maj. Gen. Sanaullah Khan Niazi - Two-star Major-General rank officer of Pakistan military, GOC Malakand, who embraced martyrdom in Pakistan's War on terrorism.
• Maj. Gen. Javed Sultan Khan- Two star Major-General rank officer of Pakistan military, GOC Kohat, who embraced martyrdom in Pakistan's War on terrorism.
• Maj. Gen. Hidayatullah Khan Niazi- Two-star Major-General rank officer of Pakistan military
• Maj. Gen. Inayatullah Khan Niazi- Two-star Major-General rank officer of Pakistan military
• Maj. Gen. Rafiullah Khan Niazi- Two star Major-General rank officer of Pakistan military
• Air Vice Marshal Abdul Razzaq Anjum- Two-star Air Vice Marshal of Pakistan Air Force
• Sher Shah Awan VC, commander of an ambushed platoon in the Burma Campaign where despite his shattered leg he crawled at the enemy to continue to fight
• Ayla Malik- Politician

Places of interest

• Mari Indus railway station
• Kalabagh Dam
• Jinnah Barrage
• Chashma Barrage
• Namal Lake
• Kundian Railway Station
• Daud Khel Railway Station
• Mari Indus Railway Station

See also

• Mianwali
• Issa Khel
• Piplan
• Kundian

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 erstwhile Mianwali distirct, which roughly corresponds to the present district
2. ^ 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis
3. Including Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated
4. Including Anglo-Indian Christians, British Christians, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Tribals, others, or not stated

References

1. "Commissioner reviews revenue officers' performance". Pakistan Observer (newspaper). December 2023.
2. ^ "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2023)" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. Cite error: The named reference "2023 census" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
3. "Mianwali | Pakistan on Encyclopedia Britannica website".
4. "District Website". District Courts Bhakkar, Punjab Government website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
5. "Tareekh e Pakistan pdf - Available for Download". Yahya Amjad. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
6. "Brief History of Mianwali". District Courts Mianwali, Government of the Punjab website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
7. Reporter, News (14 January 2023). "ECP bars Punjab gov from notifying Mianwali as division". Duniya News. p. 1. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
8. Malik, Mansoor (15 January 2023). "Punjab cabinet approves upgrade of Mianwali as division". Dawn News. p. 1. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
9. "Mianwali Map | Pakistan Google Satellite Maps".
10. "Fig. 1. A map of Punjab Province, Pakistan, showing Potohar Plateau..." ResearchGate.
11. "PAKISTAN'S SALT MINES - Luke Duggleby Photography". Luke Duggleby website.
12. "Thal | region, Pakistan on Encyclopedia Britannica".
13. "Indus River | Irrigation System and Barrages in Mianwali District included". Encyclopedia Britannica. 8 October 2024.
14. "December Climate History for Mianwali District area | Local | Pakistan".
15. "Climate & Weather Averages in Mianwali, Pakistan". timeanddate.com website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
16. "Mianwali Climate". en.climate-data.org website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
17. ^ "Tehsils & Unions in the District of Mianwali". Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
18. "District Overview - History of Mianwali District". District Police Office Mianwali website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
19. "TABLE 1 : AREA, POPULATION BY SEX, SEX RATIO, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, CENSUS-2023, PUNJAB" (PDF).
20. "LITERACY RATE, ENROLMENT AND OUT OF SCHOOL POPULATION BY SEX AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS-2023" (PDF).
21. "Pakistan Census 2023" (PDF).
22. "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
23. ^ "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 1" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
24. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 12" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
25. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 5" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
26. "Census of India, 1941 Volume VI Punjab Province". Retrieved 21 July 2022.
27. "District census: Mianwali". pbs.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 2017.
28. "Census of India 1901. [Vol. 17A]. Imperial tables, I-VIII, X-XV, XVII and XVIII for the Punjab, with the native states under the political control of the Punjab Government, and for the North-west Frontier Province". 1901. p. 34. JSTOR saoa.crl.25363739. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
29. "Census of India 1911. Vol. 14, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1911. p. 27. JSTOR saoa.crl.25393788. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
30. Kaul, Harikishan (1911). "Census Of India 1911 Punjab Vol XIV Part II". p. 27. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
31. ^ "Census of India 1921. Vol. 15, Punjab and Delhi. Pt. 2, Tables". 1921. p. 29. JSTOR saoa.crl.25430165. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
32. "Census of India 1931. Vol. 17, Punjab. Pt. 2, Tables". 1931. p. 277. JSTOR saoa.crl.25793242. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
33. ^ India Census Commissioner (1941). "Census of India, 1941. Vol. 6, Punjab". p. 42. JSTOR saoa.crl.28215541. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
34. "Imran Khan (Cricketer of the Year - 1983)". ESPN Cricinfo website. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
35. "Atta Ullah Eesakhelvi and the Cassette Revolution". All Things Pakistan website. 22 November 2008. Retrieved 21 February 2023.

External links

• History of Niazi tribe
• Niazi chiefs in the service of Mughals
• Niazi uprising against the Sikhs (1829-30)
• History of Kalabagh
• Mianwali Online
• "Kundian – Welcome to Global Kundian". Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2023.

v t e Districts of Punjab, Pakistan
Provincial capital: Lahore
Bahawalpur	Bahawalnagar Bahawalpur Rahim Yar Khan
Dera Ghazi Khan	Dera Ghazi Khan Jampur Kot Addu Layyah Muzaffargarh Rajanpur Taunsa
Faisalabad	Chiniot Faisalabad Jhang Toba Tek Singh
Gujranwala	Gujranwala Narowal Sialkot
Gujrat	Gujrat Hafizabad Mandi Bahauddin Wazirabad
Lahore	Kasur Lahore Nankana Sahib Sheikhupura
Mianwali	Bhakkar Mianwali Talagang
Multan	Khanewal Lodhran Multan Vehari
Rawalpindi	Attock Chakwal Jhelum Murree Rawalpindi
Sahiwal	Okara Pakpattan Sahiwal
Sargodha	Khushab Sargodha

32°00′N 71°30′E / 32.000°N 71.500°E / 32.000; 71.500

• Mianwali District
• Districts of Punjab, Pakistan