MIANWALI DISTRICT

     

Mianwali District – (A Quantitative outlook)

By  Muhammad Ahmed Sheikh

Abstract

This is a short descriptive report on District Mianwali, located in Province, Punjab, Pakistan and its related 3(three) units (Tehsils) covering aspects like history, demography, ethnicity, culture, economic sources, political dimensions, and civic and administrative structure and important institutions and places. The District has its unique history and people of the same have raised the stature of the country in the world and have played pivotal role in the politics within the country.

Introduction

The District Mianwali was established in 1901. The district is located on the banks of River Indus.

It is bounded on the north-east sides by District Attock (Punjab), north-west by District Karak and Lakki Marwat, east south by district Khushab and south west by district Bhakkar (Punjab) and D.I. Khan (KPK). The District is also connected with salt range leading to district Khushab etc. Mianwali also known as ‘Kachachi’ was a part of Bannu district till somewhere in the 16th century (District Census-1998). The name was changed to ‘Mianwali’ during this century after the name of a local saint, Mian Ali, who lived in a hamlet (Small village) on the eastern bank of the river Indus.

Until relatively recently i.e., till 1982, district Mianwali covered a much larger area as it also included Bhakkar district. The two dominant tribes of Mianwali are Niazis and Awans. Many Awans also write Malik as their last name. Awans usually associate themselves with Potohari Punjabi identity while Niazis associate themselves with Saraiki identity of South Punjab regions.

City is famous for the birth place of personalities like Poet Jangan Nath Azad (known by many as the creator of first National Anthem (Tarana) of Pakistan, Imran Khan Niazi( Chairman, PTI & Former Captain of Pakistan Cricket team), Ata ullah Isa Khelvi(Famous Singer) and Misbah Ul Haq(Present captain of Pakistan Cricket Team).  It is also the District where Ghazi ilam ud din shaheed was hanged by the British Raj.

Map of District Mianwali

Source: Three years rolling Plan, 2010-13, District Mianwali

Historic Perspective

Being part of the Indus Valley, this district is one of the oldest human inhabitation i.e., the Indus Civilization (District Census-1998). All major rulers and invaders of the Subcontinent have governed this area.

According to the ancient history records, this area was called “Hindu Shahi” when Alexander the Great invaded India in early 4th century B.C. Mahmud Ghaznavi, followed by Mohammad Ghori, annexed this area, along with a greater part of Punjab to the Ghazna empire. The large-scale conversions to Islam among the local population were initiated during this period. During the following period, the Niazi Pathans poured into the north-west of the area, pushing the Awans east-ward, beyond the Salt range.

The Mughal emperor Babur mentions Esakhel when he was on his mission to conquer the Pakhtuns and the Punjab in 1520. The Mughal ruled through the Ghakkar feudatories. The latter were uprooted by Niazis at the decline of the Mughal Empire and in the wake of Nadir Shah’s invasion of India.

Language and Dialects

As per the 1998 census of Pakistan, the following are the demographics of the Mianwali district, by spoken language:

Though Mianwali is claimed an integral part of the Saraiki speaking belt by the Saraiki language activists, Punjabi-Saraiki division seems to hold little influence on common people in this district. According to 1998 census three fourths (74.2 percent) of the population named their spoken language as Punjabi while only 12 per cent answered that they speak Saraiki. Inhabitants of Mianwali district speak a great variety of Punjabi dialects.

Religion

The Muslim population is by far the largest religious group (99.1%, according to the District Census-1998), followed by Christians who are concentrated mostly in the urban centres (hardly 1% of all). A small minority of Ahmadis inhabit the rural and urban areas of the district. There are 820 mosques in Mianwali (Brailvi = 640, Deoband=129, Ahle Hadis=11, Imam Bargha=40).; There are 06 churches in the District 

Geography and Climate

Mianwali district lies between 32.58’ north latitudes and 71 .57 east longitudes. The district covers an area of 1,426,000 acres or 5,840 sq. kms. A little more than one-third of this area (of Isakhel Tehsil) is in the trans-Indus zone of the Salt Range. The area in the north is a continuation of what is known as the Potohar Plateau and Kohistan-e-Namak. The district has extreme hot and cold climate. The maximum temperature during the summer shoots up to 51ºC while the minimum temperature recorded in winter is as low as 2ºC. The average rainfall in the district is about 250 mm. 

Demography 

    • Total Population                                                              13,88,516
    • Total Area                                                                           5840 (square kilometers)
    • Annual growth rate                                                        2.24 %
    • Population density                                                     237 Per Sq. Km 

(i) Area-wise population

Area Population Percentage
Rural 1091343 78.60%
Urban 297173 21.40%

Source: Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, GOP, P&D, Bureau of statistics

 (ii) Gender-wise population

Gender Population Percentage
Male 702174 51%
Female 686342 49%

Source: Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, GOP, P&D,, Bureau of statistics 

(iii) Age wise- Population groups

Population Groups Standard Demographic (%) Estimated Population
Under 1 year of age 2.7 49015
Under 5 years 13.4 222163
Under 15 years 44 610947
Women in child bearing age (15-49 years) 22 305473
Married Child Bearing age Women 16 222163
Expected pregnancies 3.4 56929

Source:  Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, GOP, P&D, Bureau of statistics

  Education and Literacy

Literacy rate Male Female
Urban 87.6% 55.6%
Rural 72.1% 32.4%
Overall District 74.8% 38.3%

Source:  Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, GOP, P&D, Bureau of statistics 

 Civil Administration

District Mianwali has three sub-divisions or Tehsils:

  • 1) Mianwali- It is the largest tehsil of the District and has 28 Union council with the population of 676296
  • 2) Isakhel- It has 14 Union councils with the population of
  • 3) Piplan- It has 14 union councils with the population of

Deputy Commissioner is the Administrative Head of the District. It is assisted by Two Additional Deputy commissioners (Legal and General) and 3 Assistant Commissioners of each Tehsil. The Assistant Commissioners are assisted by three Tehsldars and 13 Naib Tehsildars. The latter are primarily responsible for collection of revenues. At Kot Chandan there is an Afghan Refugee Camp which is operated under the supervision of District Administration with the assistance of 8 village Administrators. There is one Municipal Committee and seven Town Committees in the district. The number of Mauzas or the smallest revenue units in the district is about 225. Of these 56 Mauzas have a population of above 5000 persons, 49 Mauzas have two to five thousand persons while 48 have one to two thousand persons and 21 are un-inhibited.

Organogram of District Management

Judiciary

The Head of Judiciary in District is District & Session Judge .He is assisted by  an Additional District & Session judge, Senior civil Judge/ Guardian Judge, civil judges, Judicial Magistrates, Civil judge cum Judicial Magistrates and special Judicial Magistrates

 

Organogram

Health

The following are the health indicators of Mianwali District:

  • Health Indicators
  • Infant Mortality Rate                                                   78/1000
  • Neonatal mortality Rate                                                   58/1000
  • Under 5 mortality Rate                                       113/1000
  • Maternal mortality Ratio                                       227/100000
  • Malnutrition (women and children)                            34/1000
  • Underweight prevalence                                            33
  • Stunting(low height for age) prevalence                               36
  • Wasting(very weak) prevalence                             18
  • Life expectancy  63-years for males

61-years for females

Proportion of children under 2 years immunized                                  88%

Sources: MICS 2007-2008, EDO (Health) Office Mianwali 

Organizational structure of District Health Administration

Executive District Officer (Health) acts as head of the district health department, under overall supervision of Deputy Commissioner. The organizational structure at district level Health Administration is as under:

Source: Three years Rolling Plan, 2010-13, District Mianwali

Public health facilities in the District include:

  • One(1) DHQ, Three (3) THQs,  Nine (9) RHCs,  Forty (40) BHU,  Thirteen(13) Rural Dispensaries, six(6) Maternity and Child Health care (MCH) centres,  Twenty (20) Sub Health Centres,  Two(2) T.B Clinics, one thousand and thirty five 1035 Health Houses. There are 15 Private Hospitals located at various places of District Mianwali

 Social Infrastructural Facilities 

Tehsil Primary/

Middle/

High school

 College Hospital Police station Railway station Post Office Bank
Mianwali 974 3 3 10 11 19 30
Isa Khel 518 2 2 5 5 10 12
Piplan 133 2 3 3 6 7 5
Total 1625 7 8 18 22 36 47

 

Economy

The Economy of District Mianwali may be explained through the indicators like:

  • Labor force (active Employment status& Occupation of Employed Population).
  • Farm-related Economic activities(land for cultivation, Land Ownership, Irrigation, Crops and Livestock),
  • wood & Timber,
  • Industry and Manufacture(Modern Industry & Traditional Artisanal activities),
  • Marginality and Poverty.

The district is predominantly rural and the population depends upon farm and related activities for its survival and subsistence. The total land for agriculture in the district is 1,426,000 acres, of which slightly less than half is cultivated. Of the total economically active population, 71% reported registered as self-employed: (70% males and 28.5% females). Self-employment is understandably higher in rural areas (71%) than in urban areas (56%) as they are mostly owner-farmers, business, etc.

 

Political Participation and Governance

Total No of Verified voters in District are 730,286.Total Population is 1388216.Vote bank of parties has been swaying time to time. Pakistan Tehrik Insaaf (PTI) has emerged as the largest party in terms of successful candidates in the recent elections 2013(it won one seat in National Assembly and 3 in provincial assembly), the runner-up is PML-N ( won one seat in National Assembly and one in Provincial Assembly).

  • National Assembly
  • Obaid Ullah Khan shadi khel (PML-N) Won NA-71          (By-Election)
  • Amjad Ali Khan (PTI) NA-72
  • Provincial Assembly
  • Amanat Ullah Khan Shadi khel(PML-N) PP-43
  • Doctor Salah U Din Khan (PTI)  PP-44
  • Ahmad Khan Bhachar (PTI) PP-45
  • Muhammad Sibtain Khan (PTI) PP-46 

Notables

Major Politicians from Mianwali include:

  • Maulana Kausar Niazi
  • Maulana Abdus sattar khan Niazi
  • Malik Amir Mohammad khan (Nawab of Kala Bagh),ex- governor west Pakistan
  • Imran khan Niazi( Chairperson PTI, Former Captain of Cricket Team)
  • Sher Afgan khan Niazi
  • Amjad Ali khan
  • Haji Ghulam Rasool khan shadi khel
  • Ubaid ullah khan Shadi khel
  • Malik Mumtaz Ahmad Bhacher
  • Malik Ghulam Shabbir Joyia
  • Ms .Zakia Shah Nawaz khan

Others Notables Include:

  • Jagan Nath Azad (ISA KHELVI)- creator of First National Anthem of Pakistan.
  • Lance Naik Sher Shah  (The WW II Victoria Cross Medal Group, Born on 14 February 1917 in Chakrala, Mianwali)
  • Allah Yar (Roll of Honour World War II, born in Dhurnaka Mianwali)
  • Khawaja Khurshid Anwar- Famous Film Maker, Composer, Music Director
  • Atta Ullah Isa Khelvi- Famous Singer
  • Naheed Niazi (Singer)
  • Tariq Niazi (Ex- Hockey Olympian)
  • Misbah ul Haq ( Present Captain of Pakistan Cricket team)
  • Mahmood Niazi (Scientist)
  • Afzal Aajaz (Poet)
  • Asad Mustafa (Poet)

 

Famous Places

The famous places of Mianwali District are as Under:

  • Chashma Barrage: it is the most famous visiting point and about 15 km far from Mianwali near Kundian City. It is a famous Barrage on the Indus River.
  • Jinnah Barrage: Another Barrage near Kalabagh city 35 km from Mianwali on Islamabad Road near Kot chandna, Distt. Mianwali.
  • Kalabagh City(Salt Range and Sakesar Hills)
  • Kalabagh Railway Bridge
  • Mianwali Jail( where Ghazi Ilam Ud Din shaheed and Baghat singh were detained and hanged by the British Raj )
  • PAF air Base
  • Chashma Nuclear Power Plant
  • Kafir Kot
  • Namal Dam

 Famous Educational Institutions 

  • NAMAL Engineering College(Affiliated with Bradford University)
  • Abdul Qadir Khan Institute of Technology.
  • Sargodha University Sub-Campus
  • PAF college

References

  1. Multiple Cluster Survey (MICS), Punjab, 2007, Volume: 36, Mianwali, GOP, P&D Department, Bureau of Statistics.
  2. Three Year Rolling Plan, 2010-13, District Government, Mianwali, 2010.
  3. wikipedia.com
  4. 786isakhel.com
  5. gulemianwali.com
  6. mianwalionline.com
  7. mianwali.dc.lhr.gov.pk

 

 

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