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Punjab
History The
land of 5-rivers, population-wise the largest, and once known as the
granary of east, the Punjab is the lifeline of Pakistan. To
the north of the Punjab is the NWFP (North West Frontier Province)
and the Federal capital area of Islamabad. To the north east is the
Azad Kashmir. To its east and south is India (Indian Punjab &
Rajesthan). To the south west is the province of Sind. To the west
is Baluchistan Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
(FATA). The
province is predominantly on level plain. There are, however, some
mountainous and hilly areas in the northwest and extreme southwest.
There is also a plateau adjacent to the mountains known as the
Potohar plateau and a desert belt in the south eastern part known as
Cholistan. All the major rivers of the country namely Indus, Jhelum,
Chanab, Ravi, & Sutlaj flow through this province. They
originate from the Himalayas and pass from north west to south west.
They are primeval in nature and the volume of water increases in
summer after monsoon rains, resulting sometimes in floods. Punjab
is the most populous province of Pakistan. According to 1998 census,
the population of the Province is 7,25,85,000. The population
density is 353 persons per square kilometer as compared to the
national figure of 164. It contains several major cities of the
country: Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Multan and Gujranwala. In
religion, the province is almost entirely Muslim, with a small
Christian minority. Punjabi is the mother tongue of 90 percent of
the population. The main language used in writing is Urdu, followed
by English. The major ethnic groups are the Jat, Rajput, Arain,
Gujar and Awan. The Province of Punjab comprises eight Administrative Divisions and 34 districts. It extends over an area of 2,05,345 square kilometers (97,192 square miles) which is 25.8 percent of the total area of Pakistan.
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