Chakwal District
| Chakwal District ضِلع چکوال | |
|---|---|
| District | |
 | |
 | |
| Country | Pakistan |
| Province | Punjab |
| Capital | Chakwal |
| Government | |
| • District Coordination Officer | Ahmed Aziz Tarar |
| • District Police Officer | Kashif Mushtaq Kanju |
| Area | |
| • Total | 6,524 km2 (2,519 sq mi) |
| Population (1998) | |
| • Total | 1,083,725 |
| Time zone | PST (UTC+5) |
| District Council | seats |
| Number of Tehsils | 4 |
Chakwal District (Urdu: ضِلع چکوال) is located in Punjab, Pakistan.
Language
Inhabitants of Chakwal District speak Dhani and Majhi both being dialects of Punjabi Language.
Administration
The district of Chakwal, which covers an area of 6,524,[1] is subdivided into 5 tehsils,[2] these tehsils were formerly part of neighbouring districts:
- Chakwal of Jhelum District
- Talagang of Attock District and police station Choa Saidan Shah, carved out of subdivision Pind Dadan Khan, Jhelum District, and amalgamating it with sub-division Chakwal. Choa Saidan Shah was upgraded to the level of a sub-division in 1993.
At present district Chakwal consists of 5 subdivisions – Chakwal, Talagang, Choa Saidan Shah, Lawa and Kallar Kahar, 23 qanungois and 198 patwar circles. The police subdivisions correspond with those of the district administration and there are 11 police stations- Chakwal City, Saddar, Kallar Kahar, Dhumman, Nila, Dhudhial, Talagang City, Saddar, Tamman, Lawa and Choa Saidan Shah.
The district is administratively subdivided into four tehsils and 68 Union Councils[3]
| Name of Tehsil | No of Unions |
|---|---|
| Chakwal Tehsil | 30 |
| Kallar Kahar Tehsil | 8 |
| Choa Saidan Shah Tehsil | 7 |
| Talagang Tehsil | 23 |
| Total | 68 |
Constituencies
There is one district council, two municipal committees- Chakwal and Talagang and two town committees- Choa Saidan Shah and Kallar Kahar.
The district is represented in the National Assembly by two constituencies NA-60 and NA-61. The district is represented in the provincial assembly by four elected MPAs and in National Assembly by two MNAs who represent the following constituencies:[4]
| Constituency | MPA | Party |
|---|---|---|
| PP-20 | Chaudhary Liaqut Ali Khan | Pakistan Muslim League (N) |
| PP-21 | Malik Tanveer Aslam Sethi | Pakistan Muslim League (N) |
| PP-22 | Zulfiqar khan Dullah | Pakistan Muslim League (N) |
| PP-23 | Malik Zahoor Anwar | Pakistan Muslim League (N) |
| NA-60 | Maj retd Tahir Iqbal | Pakistan Muslim League (N) |
| NA-61 | Malik Mumtaz Khan Tamman | Pakistan Muslim League (N) |
Geography
Chakwal district borders the districts of Rawalpindi and Attock in the north, Jhelum in the east, Khushab in the south and Mianwali in the west. The total area of Chakwal district is 6,609 square kilometres, which is equivalent to 1,652,443 acres (6,687.20 km2).
The southern portion runs up into the Salt Range, and includes the Chail peak, 3,701 feet (1,128 m) above the sea, the highest point in the District. Between this and the Sohan river, which follows more or less the northern boundary, the country consists of what was once a fairly level plain, sloping down from 2,000 feet (610 m) at the foot of the hills to 1,400 feet (430 m) in the neighbourhood of the Sohan ; but the surface is now much cut up by ravines and is very difficult to travel over.[5]
Lying at the beginning of the Potohar plateau and the Salt Range, Chakwal is a barani district and the terrain is mainly hilly, covered with scrub forest in the southwest, and levelled plains interspaced with dry rocky patches in the north and northeast.
Demography
According to the 1998 census of Pakistan, the total population is 1,083,725 of which 12.01% only were urban making Chakwal the most rural district in Punjab.[6]
The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in the Chakwal District.
History
In 997 CE, Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, took over the Ghaznavid dynasty empire established by his father, Sultan Sebuktegin, In 1005 he conquered the Shahis in Kabul in 1005, and followed it by the conquests of Punjab region. The Delhi Sultanate and later Mughal Empire ruled the region. The Punjab region became predominantly Muslim due to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape of Punjab region. After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikh invaded and occupied Mianwali District. The Muslims faced severe restrictions during the Sikh rule. During British rule, Chakwal was a tehsil of Jhelum district, the population according to the 1891 census of India was 164,912 which had fallen to 160,316 in 1901. It contained the towns of Chakwal and Bhaun and 248 villages. The land revenue and cesses amounted in 1903-4 to 3–3 lakhs.[5] The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslims refugees from India settled down in the Chakwal District.
The boundaries and area of the tehsil were described by the Imperial Gazetteer of India as follows the tehsil "lies between 28° 45' and 30°05' N. and 72°32' and 73° 13' E., with an area of 1,004 square miles".[5]
Historical sites
Quite a number of historical sites lie in the undulations of Chakwal, the more important of which are:
Katas Raj
Katas Raj is a 3000-year-old town sacred to the Hindus and lies about 5 kilometres west of Choa Saidan Shah on the Choa-Kallar Kahar road. Its importance is derived from the fact that it contains over 100 temples built over a period of more than 1000 years by its Hindu Rajas. Some of these temples are dilapidated but a large number of them have been well maintained. Hindu pilgrims from all over Pakistan and India frequently visit this town to worship. Katas Raj at its peak time was the well renowned university; a famous mathematician Alberuni measured the circumference of the earth while he was studying the Sanskrit in that university.
Dulmial
Dulmial is located just 3 km from Katas Raj, a town which is very famous for the services rendered from its residents to all walks of life for Pakistan and also in British Army.[7] Dulmial is one of the two towns on Earth which was awarded with the Victoria Gun After WWI in 1920. The gun was received by Capt. Ghulam Mohammad Malik and other WWI veterans. Since the creation of Pakistan Dulmial has kept its reputation in the Pakistan Army as well, apart from the military services this town is also known for the reputation of its people working in high ranks in almost every important governmental and non governmental organisations.
PHOTAKI RAJGAN
Its located in a beautiful place of District Chakwal.
References
- ↑ Official Website of Chakwal District
- ↑ List to tehsils and districts
- ↑ Tehsils & Unions in the District of Chakwal. Nrb.gov.pk. Retrieved on 2012-04-21.
- ↑ CHAKWAL (PP-20 to PP-23) – Website of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 10, p. 126. Dsal.uchicago.edu. Retrieved on 2012-04-21.
- ↑ 1998 Census figures – Urban Resource Centre
- ↑ Wisdom and Waste In The Punjab Village, by M.L. Darling 1934, Page 51, "the Awan village of Dulmial close by produced more recruits in the war than any other village in India : 460 served out of a population (in 1921) of only 879 males"
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Coordinates: 33°40′38″N 72°51′21″E / 33.67722°N 72.85583°E