Bahawalpur - WikiHQ

Bahawalpur (Urdu: ; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 13th most populous city of Pakistan and 8th most populous of Punjab. Bahawalpur is the capital of Bahawalpur Division.

Founded in 1748 by the Daudpotra family of Sindh, Bahawalpur was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur, ruled by the Nawabs of Bahawalpur until 1955. The Nawabs left a rich architectural legacy, and Bahawalpur is known for its monuments dating from that period. The city lies at the edge of the Cholistan Desert, and serves as the gateway to the nearby Lal Suhanra National Park.

History

Bahawalpur was among the 584 princely states before the Partition of India.

Early history

thumb|The [[Noor Mahal was the seat of the city's ruling Nawabs.]]

thumb|Darbar Mahal was built by Nawab [[Bahawal Khan V in 1905 as a palace for his wife.]]

Bahawalpur State was home to various ancient societies. It contains ruins from the Indus Valley Civilisation, as well as ancient Buddhist sites such as the nearby Patan minara. British archaeologist Sir Alexander Cunningham identified the Bahawalpur region as home of the Yaudheya kingdoms of the Mahābhārata. Prior to the establishment of Bahawalpur, Cholistan region's major city was Uch Sharif – a regional metropolitan centre between the 12th and 17th centuries that is renowned for its collection of historic shrines dedicated to Muslim mystics from the 12–15th centuries built in the region's vernacular style.

Establishment

Bahawalpur was established in 1748 by Nawab Bahawal Khan I, after he migrated to the region around Uch from Shikarpur, Sindh. Bahawalpur replaced Derawar as the clan's capital city. The city initially flourished as a trading post on trade routes between Afghanistan and central India.

Durrani attacks

In 1785, the Durrani commander Sirdar Khan attacked Bahawalpur city and destroyed many of its buildings on behalf of Mian Abdul Nabi Kalhora of Sindh. Bahawalpur's ruling family, along with nobles from nearby Uch, were forced to take refuge in the Derawar Fort, where they successfully repulsed further attacks. Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan III signed a treaty with the British on 22 February 1833, guaranteeing the independence of the Nawab and the autonomy of Bahawalpur as a princely state. The treaty guaranteed the British a friendly southern frontier during their invasion of the Sikh Empire. The city's silk was noted to be of higher quality than silk works from Benares or Amritsar. Bahawalpur was constituted as a municipality in 1874. Bahalwapur's Nawab celebrated the Golden Jubillee of Queen Victoria in 1887 in a state function at the Noor Mahal palace.

Joining Pakistan

British Princely states were given the option to join either Pakistan or India upon British withdrawal from the Sub-Continent in August 1947. The city and the princely state of Bahawalpur acceded to Pakistan on 7 October 1947, under Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V Bahadur. Following independence, the city's minority Hindu and Sikh communities migrated to India en masse, while Muslim refugees from India settled in the city and the surrounding region.

Modern

Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, the sixth president of Pakistan, died in an aircraft crash on 17 August 1988 in Bahawalpur near the Sutlej River after departing from the Bahawalpur Airport. Zia's close assistant Akhtar Abdur Rehman, American diplomat Arnold Lewis Raphel and 27 others also died in the crash.

In the years following the 2019 Pulwama attack, Pakistani authorities launched a crackdown on Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), leading to the takeover of several affiliated sites in Bahawalpur, including Madressatul Sabir and Jama-e-Masjid Subhanallah, by the Punjab government. During the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict, Bahawalpur was one of the cities targeted by Indian missile strikes under "Operation Sindoor", launched in response to the 2025 Pahalgam attack. Pakistani authorities confirmed that a strike occurred in the city, with reports of civilian casualties near a mosque formerly associated with JeM.

District statistics

There are 6 tehsils in District Bahawalpur, with 109 union councils, 714 villages, and 5 municipal committees.

Climate

Bahawalpur lies some above sea level. The climate is dry; according to the Köppen-Geiger system, it is classified as semi arid (BSh). The rainfall is around per year. The average annual temperature is .

Flora and Fauna

Flora

Kikar
Shisham
Sufaida
Neem
Siris
Toot
Sohanjana

Fauna

Blackbuck
Rabbit
Deer

Economy

thumb|[[Fareed Gate]]

thumb|[[Alluvial plains form much of the immediate region around Bahawalpur.]]

The main crops for which Bahawalpur is recognised 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 revolutionised and liberalised 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. Sheep and cattle are raised for export of wool and hides.

Crafts

Bahawalpur is famous for its carpets, embroidery, and pottery. The Punjab government has set up a Craft Development Centre from where handicrafts can be purchased. These handicrafts are mostly manufactured in the Cholistan area. Following is the list of some of the mementos manufactured in the city:

Flassi: It is made up of camel hair and can be used as a carpet or wall hanging
Gindi: A colourful combination of cotton cloth with delicate needlework. It can be used as a blanket, carpet, or bed cover
Changaries: Made up of palm leaves. They can be used as a decorative wall hanging or can be used to store chapatis / wheat bread
Khalti: A kind of purse with multi-coloured threadwork
Artwork: Special traditional embroidery done on kurta, chaddar/shawl etc.

Demographics

According to the 2023 Census of Pakistan, Bahawalpur Metropolitan Corporation had a population of 815,202. 12.37% of the population is under 5 years of age. The city has a sex ratio of 103.66 males per 100 females and a literacy rate of 71.67%: 75.53% for males and 67.62% for females.

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Bahawalpur emerged as a centre of Chishti Sufism following the establishment of a khanqa by Noor Muhammad Muharvi in the mid-18th century. Most residents are Muslims with a small minority being Hindus and Christians. There are about 2000 Christian families with one church, St. Dominic's Church built in 1962 by the Government of Punjab (the Dominican Convent School for girls and St. Dominican's Middle School for Boys were also built under the same project). Father Zafar Iqbal was the first Parish priest of the church until his death on 19 February 2009.

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|+ Religious groups in Bahawalpur City (1881−2023)