Khushab
ضِلع خُوشاب
District of Punjab
Amb Temples
Khushab District highlighted within Punjab Province
Khushab District highlighted within Punjab Province
Country Pakistan
Province Punjab
DivisionSargodha Division
Established2 July 1982[1]
HeadquartersJauharabad
Government
 • TypeDistrict Administration
 • Deputy CommissionerCapt(R) Shoaib Ali (PAS)
 • District Police OfficerN/A
 • District Health OfficerN/A
Area
[2]
 • Total6,511 km2 (2,514 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[3]
 • Total1,501,089
 • Density230/km2 (600/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+5 (PST)
Number of Tehsils4
Main languagePunjabi
Websitekhushab.punjab.gov.pk

Khushab District (Punjabi, Urdu: ضِلع خُوشاب), is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan, with its administrative capital in Jauharabad. The district is named after the historical city of Khushab located within its boundaries. According to the 1998 census, the population was 905,711 with 24.76% living in urban areas. The district consists of four tehsils: Khushab, Noorpur Thal, Quaidabad and Naushera.[4] Khushab is home to the Heavy Water and Natural Uranium Research Reactor,[5] part of Pakistan's Special Weapons Program.[6]

Geography

Khushab is situated between the cities of Sargodha and Mianwali, near the river Jhelum. The district capital is Jauharabad (founded 1953, pop. 39,477).

Khushab consists of agricultural lowland plains, lakes, and hills. Parts of the Thal desert touch the district, which has a breadth of over 70 miles (110 km) and is situated between the Indus river and the Jhelum river.

There are three lakes (Ochali, Khabbaki, and Jahlar) in the district. Kanhatti Garden is the largest forest in Khushab district, near Khabbaki village in the Soon Valley. Khabikki Lake is a salt-water lake in the southern Salt Range. The lake is one kilometre wide and two kilometres long. Khabikki is also the name of a neighbouring village. Sakesar is the highest mountain in the Salt Range,[7] and is the site of the ancient Amb Temples. Sakesar’s summit is 1522 metres / 4946 feet high and is situated in Khushab District.

Demographics

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1951 268,118—    
1961 360,395+3.00%
1972 543,314+3.80%
1981 641,366+1.86%
1998 905,711+2.05%
2017 1,280,372+1.84%
2023 1,501,089+2.69%
Sources:[8]

At the time of the 2017 census, Khushab district had 209,466 households and a population of 1,280,372. Khushab had a sex ratio of 1008 females per 1000 males and a literacy rate of 59.75% - 75.31% for males and 44.64% for females. 352,960 (27.57%) lived in urban areas. 307,619 (24.03%) were under 10 years of age.[9] In 2023, the district had 248,449 households and a population of 1,501,089.[3]

Religion in Khushab district (2017)[9]
Religion Percent
Islam
 
 99.02%
Christianity
 
 0.82%
Other or not stated
 
 0.16%
Religion in Khushab District[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2]
Religion Population (1941)[10]: 42  Percentage (1941) Population (2017) Percentage (2017)
Islam 211,565 90.08% 1,267,776 99.02%
Hinduism [lower-alpha 3] 17,475 7.44% 12 0%
Sikhism 5,809 2.47% — —
Christianity 8 0% 10,511 0.82%
Ahmadi — — 2,058 0.16%
Others [lower-alpha 4] 2 0% 15 0%
Total Population 234,859 100% 1,280,372 100%

According to the 1998 census, the primary language of the district is Punjabi, spoken by 97.7% of the population, with Urdu being spoken by 1.5%.[11]: 22 

Languages of Khushab district (2017)[9]

  Punjabi (94.43%)
  Pashto (1.74%)
  Saraiki (1.72%)
  Urdu (1.05%)
  'Others' (0.97%)
  Others (0.09%)

At the time of the 2017 Census of Pakistan, 94.43% of the population spoke Punjabi, 1.74% Pashto, 1.72% Saraiki and 1.05% Urdu as their first language. 0.97% of the population spoke languages classified as 'Others'.[9] The dialects of Punjabi spoken here are Shahpuri.

Education

According to Pakistan District Education Ranking, a report released by Alif Ailaan, Khushab is ranked 42 nationally with an education score of 65.42 and learning score of 65.82.

The readiness score of Khushab is 62.33. The infrastructure score of the district is 88.11, which indicates that the schools in Khushab have adequate facilities

The issues reported in TaleemDo! app says that there are some areas where there are no government schools for girls. Another major issue reported was that teachers don't do their jobs properly and don't do justice to their profession.

Administrative divisions

Khushab got the status of district in 1982. At the start, the district was divided into two tehsils, Khushab, Noorpur Thal. Later on Quaidabad was given the status of Tehsil in March 2007[12] and Naushera (Wadi e Soon) became 4th Tehsil of District Khushab in March 2013. In the local bodies delimitation of 2000 (before the creation of the Tehsil Quaidabad and Naushehra), it contained a total of fifty-one Union Councils.[13] In the 2015 delimitation of District Khushab, 48 rural union councils and 7 urban Municipal Committees were created by the election Commission of Pakistan.[14]

Khushab Tehsil

In 2000, Tehsil Khushab was subdivided into 32 Union councils; but in 2015, 10 urban Union councils (Khushab 5, Jauharabad 2, Hadali 2 and Mitha Tiwana 1) transferred to Municipal Committees whereas six Union councils have become the part of Tehsil Naushehra. Now Tehsil Khushab has 18 Union councils and 5 Municipal Committees:[14]

Noorpur Thal Tehsil

Noorpur Thal is subdivided into 12 Union Councils and 1 Municipal Committee.[13]

Quaidabad Tehsil

Quaidabad is subdivided into 10 Union Councils and 2 Municipal Committees.[12]

Naushera Tehsil

Naushera (Vadi e Soon) is subdivided into 6 Union Councils and 1 Municipal Committee.[14]

Notable people

Notes

  1. ↑ 1941 figures are for Khushab tehsil of the former Shahpur District, which roughly corresponds to present-day Khushab district
  2. ↑ Historic district borders may not be an exact match in the present-day due to various bifurcations to district borders — which since created new districts — throughout the historic Punjab Province region during the post-independence era that have taken into account population increases.
  3. ↑ 1941 census: Including Ad-Dharmis
  4. ↑ Including Jainism, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, Judaism, or not stated

References

  1. ↑ "District Courts Khushab".
  2. ↑ "Khushab – Punjab Portal". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  3. 1 2 "TABLE 1 : HOUSEHOLDS, POPULATION, HOUSEHOLD SIZE AND ANNUAL GROWTH RATE" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. 2023.
  4. ↑ "Tehsil Codes" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  5. ↑ Special Weapons Program of Pakistan (Federation of American Scientists)
  6. ↑ South Asia arms race - is it paranoia? (BBC News).
  7. ↑ Sumra, Anwer Hussain (30 October 2013). "Sakesar a tourist spot". The Express Tribune. Pakistan. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  8. ↑ "Population by administrative units 1951-1998" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "District Wise Results / Tables (Census - 2017)". www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
  10. ↑ "CENSUS OF INDIA, 1941 VOLUME VI PUNJAB PROVINCE". Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  11. ↑ 1998 District Census report of Khushab. Census publication. Vol. 64. Islamabad: Population Census Organization, Statistics Division, Government of Pakistan. 2000.
  12. 1 2 "Tehsil status". Dawn (newspaper). 24 March 2007. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Tehsils & Unions in the District of Khushab". National Reconstruction Bureau - Government of Pakistan website. Archived from the original on 24 January 2008. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 "Municipal Committees of the Punjab" (PDF). Election Commission of Pakistan website. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
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