Khushab District

Khushab District (Punjabi: ضِلع خُوشاب), is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan, with its administrative capital in Jauharabad. The district is named after the historical city of Khushab.

Khushab ضِلع خُوشاب
District of Punjab
Amb Temples
Khushab District highlighted within Punjab Province
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Division	Sargodha Division
Established	2 July 1982[1]
Headquarters	Jauharabad
Government
• Type	District Administration
• Deputy Commissioner	Dr. Farvah Aamir (PAS)
• District Police Officer	Touqeer Muhammad Naeem
• District Health Officer	Dr Rao Gulzar Yousaf
Area [2]
• District of Punjab	6,511 km2 (2,514 sq mi)
Population  (2023)[3]
• District of Punjab	1,501,089
• Density	230/km2 (600/sq mi)
• Urban	418,745
• Rural	1,082,344
Literacy [4]
• Literacy rate	Total: (62.52%) Male: (75.59%) Female: (49.03%)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
Area code	0454
Number of Tehsils	4
Main language	Punjabi
Website	khushab.punjab.gov.pk

The district consists of four tehsils: Khushab, Noorpur Thal, Quaidabad and Naushera.^[5] Khushab is home to the Heavy Water and Natural Uranium Research Reactor,^[6] part of Pakistan's Special Weapons Program.^[7] District Khushab shares boundaries with the districts of Sargodha, Jhelum, Chakwal, Mianwali, Bhakkar and Jhang.

History

The word Khushab is derived from two Persian words "Khush" (lit. 'sweet') and "Aab" (lit. 'water'), referring to the river Jhelum.^[8] The city was evidently well-established by the early 16th century; the Mughal ruler Babur mentions Khushab along with Bhera and Chiniot as the frontier cities between Hindustan and Kabul in his Baburnama.^[9] In the Ain-i-Akbari, written during the reign of Akbar in c. 1590, Khushab was enumerated as one of the parganas in the Sind Sagar sarkar of the Mughal province of Panjab.^[10]

After the decline of Mughal Empire in the 18th century, Khushab came under the control of Tiwana clan. Tiwanas built the fortified towns of Mitha Tiwana and Nurpur Tiwana, and expanded their landholdings at the expense of Awans of Salt Range and the Thal Nawabs. Khushab was annexed by Ranjit Singh in 1817, but the area was later restored to Fateh Khan Tiwana as jagir in return for military services.^[11] After the annexation of Punjab by the British in 1849, Khushab became part of the Shahpur District. In 1960, Khushab and Sargodha Districts were created after the bifurcation of Shahpur District.

Geography

Khushab is situated between the cities of Sargodha and Mianwali, near the river Jhelum. The district capital is Jauharabad (founded 1953, pop. 39,477).

Khushab consists of agricultural lowland plains, lakes, and hills. Parts of the Thal desert touch the district, which has a breadth of over 70 miles (110 km) and is situated between the Indus and Jhelum rivers.

There are three lakes (Ochali, Khabbaki, and Jahlar) in the district. Kanhatti Garden is the largest forest in Khushab district, near Khabbaki village in the Soon Valley. Khabikki Lake is a salt-water lake in the southern Salt Range. The lake is one kilometre wide and two kilometres long. Khabikki is also the name of a neighbouring village. Sakesar is the highest mountain in the Salt Range,^[12] and is the site of the ancient Amb Temples. Sakesar’s summit is 1,522 m (4,946 ft) high and is situated in Khushab District.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1951	268,118	—
1961	360,395	+3.00%
1972	543,314	+3.80%
1981	641,366	+1.86%
1998	905,711	+2.05%
2017	1,280,372	+1.84%
2023	1,501,089	+2.69%
Sources:[13]

As of the 2023 census, Khushab district has 248,304 households and a population of 1,501,089. The district has a sex ratio of 104.80 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 62.52%: 75.59% for males and 49.03% for females.^[14][15] 371,528 (24.75% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.^[16] 418,745 (27.90%) live in urban areas.^[14]

Religion in Khushab district (2023)[17]
Religion			Percent
Islam			98.85%
Christianity			1%
Other			0.15%

Religion in Khushab District^[a][b]

Religion	1941[18]: 42		2017[19]		2023[17]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	211,565	90.08%	1,267,776	99.02%	1,483,583	98.85%
Hinduism [c]	17,475	7.44%	12	0%	55	0%
Sikhism	5,809	2.47%	—	—	14	0%
Christianity	8	0%	10,511	0.82%	15,011	1.00%
Ahmadi	—	—	2,058	0.16%	2,123	0.14%
Others [d]	2	0%	15	0%	49	0%
Total Population	234,859	100%	1,280,372	100%	1,500,835	100%

According to the 1998 census, the primary language of the district is Punjabi, spoken by 97.7% of the population, with Urdu being spoken by 1.5%.^[20]: 22

Languages of Khushab district (2023)^[21]

  Punjabi (92.38%)

  Saraiki (2.39%)

  Pashto (2.05%)

  Urdu (1.43%)

  Others (1.75%)

At the 2023 census, 92.38% of the population spoke Punjabi, 2.05% Pashto, 2.39% Saraiki and 1.43% Urdu as their first language.^[22] The dialect of Punjabi spoken here is Shahpuri.

Education

According to Pakistan District Education Ranking, a report released by Alif Ailaan, Khushab is ranked 42 nationally with an education score of 65.42 and learning score of 65.82.

The readiness score of Khushab is 62.33. The infrastructure score of the district is 88.11, which indicates that the schools in Khushab have adequate facilities

Administrative divisions

Khushab got the status of district in 1982. At the start, the district was divided into two tehsils, Khushab, Noorpur Thal. Later on Quaidabad was given the status of Tehsil in March 2007^[23] and Naushera (Wadi e Soon) became 4th Tehsil of District Khushab in March 2013. In the local bodies delimitation of 2000 (before the creation of the Tehsil Quaidabad and Naushehra), it contained a total of fifty-one Union Councils.^[24] In the 2015 delimitation of District Khushab, 48 rural union councils and 7 urban Municipal Committees were created by the election Commission of Pakistan.^[25]

Khushab Tehsil

In 2000, Tehsil Khushab was subdivided into 32 Union councils; but in 2015, 10 urban Union councils (Khushab 5, Jauharabad 2, Hadali 2 and Mitha Tiwana 1) transferred to Municipal Committees whereas six Union councils have become the part of Tehsil Naushehra. Now Tehsil Khushab has 18 Union councils and 5 Municipal Committees:^[25]

Union Councils Botala Chak No.50/Mb Daiwal[24] Hassanpur Tiwana[24] Jabbi Shareef Katha Saghral[24] Kund

Union Councils Lukoo Mohibpur Dhak Janjua Nali Shumali Nari Padhrar Roda Sandral Talloker Waheer

Municipal Committee / Corporation Khushab Jauharabad Hadali Mitha Tiwana Girote

Noorpur Thal Tehsil

Noorpur Thal is subdivided into 12 Union Councils and 1 Municipal Committee.^[24]

Union Councils Adhi Kot[24] Adhi Sargal Biland Jamali Noorpur[24] Jaura Kalan Jharkal

Union Councils Khai Khurd Khatwan Pelowaince Rahdari Rangpur Noorpur Rural

Municipal Committee Noorpur[24]

Quaidabad Tehsil

Quaidabad is subdivided into 10 Union Councils and 2 Municipal Committees.^[23]

Union Councils Bandial Janubi Bijar Chak No.14/Mb Choha Goleywali Gunjial Janubi Gunjial Shumali Okhali Mohlah Utra Janubi Warcha

Municipal Committee Quaidabad Mitha Tiwana

Naushera Tehsil

Naushera (Wadi-e-Soon) is subdivided into 6 Union Councils and 1 Municipal Committee.^[25]

Union Councils Angah Khabaki Khura Kufri Mardwal Uchhali

Municipal Committee Naushera (Soon Valley)

Tehsil[26]	Area (km²)[27]	Pop. (2023)	Density (ppl/km²) (2023)	Literacy rate (2023)[28]	Union Councils
Khushab	2,115	816,682	386.14	65.94%	18
Noorpur Thal	2,500	264,597	105.84	55.58%	12
Quaidabad	1,080	274,959	254.59	55.11%	10
Naushera (Wadi-e-Soon)	816	144,851	177.51	70.43%	6

Notable people

• Fateh Khan Tiwana, British Raj-era feudal landlord
• Khuda Buksh Tiwana, Pakistani politician
• Ehsan Ullah Tiwana, Pakistani politician
• Shakir Bashir Awan, politician and social activist
• Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, Urdu writer
• Wasif Ali Wasif, Sufi poet and writer
• Abdulqadir Hassan, writer and journalist
• Idris Azad, philosopher and poet
• Sardar Sobha Singh, Indian real estate developer
• Ujjal Singh, Indian politician
• Khushwant Singh, Indian novelist and politician
• Sohail Warraich, writer and journalist
• Naeem Khan Awan, Pakistani politician
• Sumaira Malik, Pakistani politician
• Feroz Khan Noon, Pakistani politician
• Sultan Khan, chess player

Notes

1. 1941 figures are for Khushab tehsil of the former Shahpur District, which roughly corresponds to present-day Khushab district
2. 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.
3. 1941 census: Including Ad-Dharmis
4. Including Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, or not stated

References

1. "District Courts Khushab".
2. "Khushab – Punjab Portal". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
3. "TABLE 1 : HOUSEHOLDS, POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 2023.
4. "Literacy rate, enrolments, and out-of-school population by sex and rural/urban, CENSUS-2023" (PDF).
5. "Tehsil Codes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
6. Special Weapons Program of Pakistan (Federation of American Scientists)
7. South Asia arms race - is it paranoia? (BBC News).
8. "District Khushab: Our History". Government of the Punjab.
9. Babur, Zahiru'd-din Muhammad (1922). Baburnama. Vol. I. Translated by Beveridge, Annette Susannah. London: Luzac & Co. pp. 380–384.
10. ‘Allami, Abul Fazl-i- (1949). 'Ain-i-Akbari. Vol. II. Translated by Jarrett, H.S.; Sarkar, Jadunath (2nd ed.). Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal. p. 326.
11. Talbot, Ian (2002). "The Tiwanas of Shahpur". Khizr Tiwana: The Punjab Unionist Party and the Partition of India. Karachi: Oxford University Press. pp. 23–31. ISBN 0-19-579551-2.
12. Sumra, Anwer Hussain (30 October 2013). "Sakesar a tourist spot". The Express Tribune. Pakistan. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
13. "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
14. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 1" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
15. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 12" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
16. "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 5" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
17. "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2023)" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
18. "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1941 VOLUME VI PUNJAB PROVINCE". Retrieved 21 July 2022.
19. "District census: Khushab". pbs.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 2017.
20. 1998 District Census report of Khushab. Census publication. Vol. 64. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.
21. "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2023)" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
22. "Pakistan Census 2023" (PDF).
23. "Tehsil status". Dawn (newspaper). 24 March 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
24. "Tehsils & Unions in the District of Khushab". National Reconstruction Bureau - Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 24 January 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
25. "Municipal Committees of the Punjab" (PDF). Election Commission of Pakistan website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
26. Divisions/Districts of Pakistan Archived 2006-09-30 at the Wayback Machine Note: Although divisions as an administrative structure has been abolished, the election commission of Pakistan still groups districts under the division names
27. "TABLE 1 : AREA, POPULATION BY SEX, SEX RATIO, POPULATION DENSITY, URBAN POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE, CENSUS-2023, PUNJAB" (PDF).
28. "LITERACY RATE, ENROLMENT AND OUT OF SCHOOL POPULATION BY SEX AND RURAL/URBAN, CENSUS-2023" (PDF).

External links

• Khushab District