Rahim Yar Khan

For the district, see Rahim Yar Khan District. For the tehsil, see Rahim Yar Khan Tehsil.

Rahim Yar Khan (Urdu: رحیم یار خان, romanized: Rahīm Yār Khān; Urdu pronunciation: [ɾəɦiːm jɑːɾ xɑːn]) is a city in the Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 16th most populous city in Pakistan and is the capital of the Rahim Yar Khan District. The city's administration is divided into nine Union Councils.^[2]

Rahim Yar Khan رحیم یار خاں
City
Rahim YAR Khan
Bhong Mosque
Rahim Yar Khan Location of Rahim Yar Khan Show map of Punjab, Pakistan Rahim Yar Khan Rahim Yar Khan (Pakistan) Show map of Pakistan
Coordinates: 28°25′12″N 70°18′0″E
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
District	Rahim Yar Khan
Area
• Total	210.2 km2 (81.2 sq mi)
Elevation	83 m (272 ft)
Population (2023 Census)[1]
• Total	517,000
• Density	2,500/km2 (6,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
Postal code	64200
Calling code	068
Number of tehsils	4
Number of Union councils	139
Website	rykhan.punjab.gov.pk

Famous Places

• City Pull
• City Centre
• Royal Desert Palm Hotel
• Taj Mahal Marquee
• Etihad Club
• Rehmat General Hospital
• Shaikh Zayed International Airport
• Gulberg Town
• Dari Sangi Canal
• KFUEIT
• Etihad Town
• Zam Zam Ladies Park
• Jugnoo Park
• City Park RYK
• Press Club Chok
• Town Hall
• Abbasia Under Pass
• Govt. Khawaja Fareed Graduate College
• Dua Chowk
• Bhong Mosque
• Patan Minara
• Islam Garh Fort

History

Rahim Yar Khan has been renamed several times over the last 5,000 years. The earliest recorded name was AROR or ALOR, and then it became City of Pattan, Phul Wada, Noshehra and now Rahim Yar Khan. The ancient tower of Pattan Minarah stands 13 km to the south of the city center in its original form. Umayyads led by Muhammad Bin Qasim conquered the cities of Aror, Uch and Multan after conquest of Sindh.^[3]

Rahim Yar Khan region was part of Multan province of Mughal Empire.^[4] In 1881, Nawab of Bahawalpur gave the city its current name by naming it after his first born son and crown prince Rahim Yar Khan.

Rahim Yar Khan has had the status of a separate district since 1943. The district derives its name from its headquarters, the city of Rahim Yar Khan, which was known as "Naushehra" until 1881. To avoid confusion with the similarly named city of Nowshera, the ruler of Bahawalpur, Nawab Sadiq Khan IV, renamed it after his first son, Rahim Yar Khan (1877–1881).^[5]

Demographics

The population of the city is 517,000 during the 2023 census.^[1]

Education

Universities and colleges

• Army Public School and College
• Islamia University of Bahawalpur, RYK campus
• Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology
• National College of Business Administration and Economics
• Punjab Colleges
• Shaikh Zayed Medical College and Hospital

Schools

• Army Public School and College
• Beaconhouse School System
• The City School (Pakistan)
• Lahore Grammar School

Transport

Flyover in Rahim Yar Khan City

Airport

Shaikh Zayed International Airport is located in Rahim Yar Khan. It serves the people of city with domestic and international flights.^[6] There are daily flight from this airport to Karachi, twice in a week to/from Lahore, and once a week to Islamabad.

Railway

Rahim Yar Khan railway station

Rahim Yar Khan is connected with rest of the country by rail. The Rahim Yar Khan railway station is a major railway station of Pakistan Railways on the Karachi-Peshawar Railway Line.

Notable people

• Aima Baig, singer
• Asim Saleem Bajwa, Lieutenant general (Pakistan)
• Talha Chahour, actor
• Saima Akram Chaudhry, Pakistani screenwriter
• Abdullah Darkhawasti, Pakistani Sunni Islamic scholar
• Fida-Ur-Rehman Darkhawasti, Islamic scholar, academic person and politician
• Muniba Mazari, social activist