World Tourism Directory

Elevation 210 m (689 ft) AMSL

Calling code (+92)0459

Time zone PST (UTC+5)

No. of Towns 10

Population 110359 (2007)

Infrastructure

Mianwali city is the economic and commercial hub of the district. There are several educational institutions up to post-graduate level, affiliated with the University of Punjab. The city has an airport built near the old World War II aerodrome. This is presently called PAF Base Mianwali. It is one of the major operational bases of the country.The No.1 Fighter Conversion Unit of the PAF is stationed here. There is also a railway connecting the city with Kundian and Multan to the south and Attock and Rawalpindi to the north. The railways were a part of the now obsolete "North Western Railways" (NWR), which was operational during British colonial rule in the subcontinent. After the partition of India in 1947 it was renamed "Pakistan Western Railways" and was again renamed after December 1971 as Pakistan Railways.

The main highways connecting the city to the other parts of the country include the Sargodha-Lahore road, Multan road, Talagang-Rawalpindi road, and the Kalabagh- Bannu road. The Balkassar interchange connects Mianwali to the M2 motorway. The Thal canal traverses the city and makes the surroundings a picturesque place.

The city is famous for the shrine of Sheikh Sultan Zakria whose father Mian Ali founded Mianwali village, in the 16th century. The son is said to have exhibited supernatural powers from an early age and many miraculous deeds are ascribed to him. His name is frequently taken as an oath , and his shrine is not uncommonly the scene of settlement of civil disputes, in which one party has bound himself to abide by any statement made at shrine by the other party.The Mianas of Mianwali are descendants of this holy man.

The city has its own FM Radio Station, a municipal library, a sports complex, a hockey stadium (the Tariq Niazi Hockey Stadium), and a couple of parks for recreation.

There is a pre-partition central jail which is notorious for imprisoning many state rebels and politicians such as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

History

Of the early history of the district nothing can be stated with any certainty, beyond the fact that its inhabitants were Hindus, and that before the Christian era the country formed an integral portion of the Graeco-Bactrian Empire of Kabul and the Punjab[1]

During British rule, the Indian empire was subdivided into province, divisions and districts, after the independence of Pakistan divisions remained the third tier of government until 2000. The British had made the towns of Mianwali and Isa Khel tehsil headquarters of Bannu District then part of Dera Ismail Khan Division of Punjab province. The population of Mianwali according to the 1901 census of India was 3,591[2]

In November 1901, the North-West Frontier Province was carved out of Punjab and the towns of Mianwali, Isa Khel, Kalabagh, and Kundian were separated from Bannu District (Bannu became part of NWFP) and hence a new district was made with the headquarters in Mianwali city and placed in Punjab. The district became a part of Rawalpindi Division. There were four tehsils namely Mianwali, Isa Khel, Bhakkar, and Layyah. Layyah was included in the Muzaffargarh District in 1909. The district became a part of Sargodha Division in 1961. Bhakkar tehsil was carved out of Mianwali district and was made a separate district inside Sargodha division w.e.f. 01-07-1982.

Reknowned men of letter

Haji Muhammad Aslam Khan Niazi (Ex. Librarian),Malik Ameer Muhammad Khan,Muhammad Ishfaq chughtai,Dr Ajmal Niazi,Mansoor Afaq,Sayed Naseer Shah,Muhammad Feroz shah,Munawar Ali Malik,Gulzar bokhari,Munawar Ali Malik,Khawar Naqvi,Asad Mustafa,Mazhar Niazi, Gul Hameed Khan Rokhri, Aamir Hayyat Khan Rokhri, DIG Habibullah Khan, Humair Hayyat Khan Rikhri, Ali Haider Noor Niazi,Sardar Sibtain Khan, Ghulam Rasool Khan Shadi Khel, Abaidullah Khan Shadi Khel

Pride of Mianwali

Imran Khan Niazi (born November 25, 1952) is a Pakistani cricketer and politician. Khan played for the Pakistani cricket team from 1971 to 1992, and led them as captain to his country's first and only World Cup victory in 1992. With a record of 3807 runs and 362 wickets in Test cricket, Khan is known as one of the finest all-rounders in the modern history of the game.[1] In April 1996, he founded the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice), a small and marginal political party, of which he is chairman as well as sole ever-elected member of Parliament.[2] He represented Mianwali as a member of the National Assembly from October 2002 to October 2007.