Mianwali District

File:Thal Canal.JPG

Thal Canal

The Mianwali District (Template:Langx) is a district located in the Sargodha Division of the Punjab province of Pakistan. 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 Talagang, 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 . 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.

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 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:

Tehsil	Area (km²)	Pop. (2023)	Density (ppl/km²) (2023)	Literacy rate (2023)	Union Councils	Municipal Committees
Isakhel	1,863	414,100	222.28	55.02%	13	3
Mianwali	2,689	908,405	337.82	66.09%	26	2
Piplan	1,288	475,763	369.38	63.46%	12	2
Total					51	7

Urban areasTemplate:Static row numbers

Name	Area (km²)	Pop. (2023)	Density (ppl/km²) (2023)	Literacy rate (2023)	Tehsil
Mianwali		129,500			Mianwali
Kundian		48,658			Piplan
Kamar Mashani		39,013			Isa Khel
Liaqatabad		35,297			Piplan
Daud Khel		33,141			Mianwali
Isa Khel		27,612			Isa Khel
Kalabagh		27,916			Isa Khel
Harnoli		22,316			Piplan

Demographics

Language

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

Religion in Mianwali district (2023)
Religion			Percent
Islam			99.32%
Christianity			0.67%
Other			0.01%

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 contemporary Mianwali District

Religious group	1941Template:Rp		2017		2023
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam File:Star and Crescent.svg	266,984		1,535,345		1,783,687	99.32%
Hinduism File:Om.svgTemplate:Efn	30,084		21		63	0%
Sikhism File:Khanda.svg	2,869		—	—	41	0%
Christianity File:Christian cross.svg	302		7,044		11,951	0.67%
Ahmadi	—	—	101		45	0%
Others	47		90		110	0.01%
Total Population	300,286		1,542,601		1,795,897	100%
Note: 1941 census data is for Mianwali and Isakhel tehsils of erstwhile Mianwali district, which roughly corresponds to contemporary Mianwali district. District and tehsil borders have changed since 1941.

Religious groups in Mianwali District (British Punjab province era)

Religious group	1901		1911		1921		1931		1941
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam File:Star and Crescent.svg	371,674		299,971		308,876		357,109		436,260
Hinduism File:Om.svgTemplate:Efn	50,202		36,326		45,974		49,794		62,814
Sikhism File:Khanda.svg	2,633		4,881		2,986		4,231		6,865
Christianity File:Christian cross.svg	44		168		369		380		358
Jainism File:Jain Prateek Chihna.svg	35		31		0		20		23
Zoroastrianism File:Faravahar.svg	0		0		0		5		1
Buddhism File:Dharma Wheel (2).svg	0		0		0		0		0
Judaism File:Star of David.svg	0		0		0		0		0
Others	0		0		0		0		0
Total population	424,588		341,377		358,205		411,539		506,321
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 File:Star and Crescent.svg		Hinduism File:Om.svg		Sikhism File:Khanda.svg		Christianity File:Christian cross.svg		Jainism File:Jain Prateek Chihna.svg		OthersTemplate:Efn		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Mianwali Tehsil	129,004		17,177		1,189		183		0		0		147,553
Bhakkar Tehsil	122,437		23,262		1,335		87		0		0		147,121
Isa Khel Tehsil	57,435		5,535		462		99		0		0		63,531
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 File:Star and Crescent.svg		Hinduism File:Om.svgTemplate:Efn		Sikhism File:Khanda.svg		Christianity File:Christian cross.svg		Jainism File:Jain Prateek Chihna.svg		OthersTemplate:Efn		Total
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Mianwali Tehsil	194,442		25,488		2,202		251		0		33		222,416
Bhakkar Tehsil	169,276		32,730		3,996		22		0		1		206,035
Isa Khel Tehsil	72,542		4,596		667		51		23		1		77,870
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

File:Nammal dam.jpg

A view of Namal Lake in Mianwali Salt range

File:PR ZE class 230 train, en route to Lakki Marwat from Mari Indus (ca. 1987).jpg

"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.)

Chashma Barrage

Chashma barrage near Kundian (Mianwali)

• 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

• Divisions of Pakistan
  • Mianwali Division
• Tehsils of Pakistan
  • Tehsils of Punjab, Pakistan
  • Tehsils of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
  • Tehsils of Balochistan, Pakistan
  • Tehsils of Sindh, Pakistan
  • Tehsils of Azad Kashmir
  • Tehsils of Gilgit-Baltistan
• Districts of Pakistan
  • Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
  • Districts of Punjab, Pakistan
  • Districts of Balochistan, Pakistan
  • Districts of Sindh, Pakistan
  • Districts of Azad Kashmir
  • Districts of Gilgit-Baltistan

Further reading

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

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