Pakpattan District ضلع پاکپتّن | |
|---|---|
  Top: Mosque at shrine ofFariduddin Ganjshakar Bottom: Tibbi Lal Baig | |
 Location of Pakpattan in Punjab. | |
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province |  Punjab |
| Division | Sahiwal |
| Headquarters | Pakpattan |
| Government | |
| • Type | District Administration |
| • Deputy Commissioner | Asif Raza (PML-N) |
| • MNA | Ahmad Raza Maneka |
| • MPA | Chaudhry Javed Ahmad |
| Area | |
| 2,724 km2 (1,052 sq mi) | |
| Population | |
| 2,136,170 | |
| • Density | 784.2/km2 (2,031/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 472,575 |
| • Rural | 1,663,595 |
| Literacy | |
| • Literacy rate |
|
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| Area code | 0457 |
| Number ofTehsils | 2 |
| Website | pakpattan |
Pakpattan District (Punjabi andPunjabi:ضلع پاکپتّن), is adistrict ofPunjab province inPakistan,Pakpattan city is the district capital.
The district is divided into two tehsils, which contain a total of 63Union Councils:[3]
| Tehsil[4] | Area (km2)[5] | Pop. (2023) | Density (ppl/km2) (2023) | Literacy rate (2023)[6] | Union Councils |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arifwala[3] | 1,641 | 1,999,278 | 805.22 | 58.24% | 33 |
| Pakpattan[3] | 1,483 | 1,136,892 | 766.62 | 56.11% | 30 |
The capital Pakpattan is located about 179 km fromLahore and 205 km fromMultan. The district is bounded to the northwest bySahiwal District, to the north byOkara District, to the southeast by theSutlej River andBahawalnagar District, and to the southwest byVehari District.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 380,678 | — |
| 1961 | 440,091 | +1.46% |
| 1972 | 615,742 | +3.10% |
| 1981 | 843,623 | +3.56% |
| 1998 | 1,286,680 | +2.51% |
| 2017 | 1,824,228 | +1.85% |
| 2023 | 2,136,170 | +2.67% |
| Sources:[7] | ||
As of the2023 census, Pakpattan district has 344,546 households and a population of 2,136,170. The district has a sex ratio of 103.30 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 57.13%: 64.70% for males and 49.27% for females.[1][8] 613,557 (28.73% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age.[9] 472,575 (22.12%) live in urban areas.[1]
| Religion | Percent | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Islam | 99.49% | |||
| Christianity | 0.50% | |||
| Other or not stated | 0.01% | |||
| Religious group | 1941[11]: 42 | 2017[12] | 2023[10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | |
Islam | 214,966 | 64.46% | 1,818,324 | 99.68% | 2,124,641 | 99.49% |
Hinduism [a] | 61,197 | 18.35% | 97 | 0.01% | 61 | 0% |
Sikhism | 54,047 | 16.21% | N/a | N/a | 22 | 0% |
Christianity | 3,234 | 0.97% | 5,741 | 0.31% | 10,655 | 0.5% |
| Ahmadi | N/a | N/a | 58 | 0% | 51 | 0% |
| Others[b] | 31 | 0.01% | 8 | 0% | 81 | 0% |
| Total Population | 333,475 | 100% | 1,824,228 | 100% | 2,135,511 | 100% |
| Note: 1941 census data is for Pakpattan tehsil of the formerMontgomery District, which roughly corresponds to contemporary Pakpattan district. District and tehsil borders have changed since 1941. | ||||||
At the time of the 2023 census, 95.42% of the population spokePunjabi and 3.50%Urdu as their first language.[13]
According to the 1998 census, the predominant first language[14] isPunjabi, spoken by 95.9% of the population, followed byUrdu with 3.7%.[15]: 17 Haryanvi, also calledRangari, is spoken amongRanghar,Rajput.
Pakpattan was originally known as Ajodhan (Hindi: अजोधन) until the 16th century.Ajodhan may be aSanskrit term that can be interpreted as "eternal wealth" or "eternal prosperity," withAja meaning "unborn" or "eternal" andDhana meaning "wealth" or "prosperity." It is believed that the name of the city has changed over time, and anecdotally, it may have been known by various names prior to being called Ajodhan.
Pakpattan derives its current name from the combination of two Punjabi words:Pak, meaning "pure," andPattan, meaning "dock"; this name references a ferry service across theSutlej River, frequented by pilgrims visiting the Shrine of Baba Farid. The ferry symbolized a metaphorical journey of salvation, with the saint’s spirit guiding believers across the river.
During the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal eras, including the reigns of Akbar and Aurangzeb, the city continued to be known as Ajodhan. However, as the shrine of Baba Farid grew in significance, the name "Pakpattan" gained popular use and eventually eclipsed the older name. Akbar’sAin-i-Akbari mentions the region, indicating that both names—Ajodhan and Pakpattan—were likely used interchangeably in local and administrative records.
Notable educational institutes in the city include:
Provincial capital:Lahore | ||
| Bahawalpur |  | |
| Dera Ghazi Khan | ||
| Faisalabad | ||
| Gujranwala | ||
| Gujrat | ||
| Lahore | ||
| Mianwali | ||
| Multan | ||
| Rawalpindi | ||
| Sahiwal | ||
| Sargodha | ||
30°18′N73°16′E / 30.300°N 73.267°E /30.300; 73.267
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
