Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab (, ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the most populous Pakistani province.

Forming the bulk of the transnational Punjab region between Pakistan and India, it is bounded locally by Sindh to the south, Balochistan to the west, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the northwest, the Islamabad Capital Territory to the north, and the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir to the northeast. On its eastern side, it is bounded by the India–Pakistan border, sharing an international boundary with the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east and southeast, respectively, and a disputed boundary with the Indian-administered territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the northeast. The province's capital is Lahore—a cultural, historical, economic, and cosmopolitan centre of Pakistan, where the country's cinema industry and much of its fashion industry are based. Other major cities include Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Multan, and Sialkot. Punjab is also the world's fifth-most populous subnational entity, and the most populous outside of China and India.

Modern-day Pakistani Punjab has been inhabited since ancient times; the Indus Valley civilization, dating to 3300 BCE, was first discovered at Harappa. It features heavily in the Sanskrit-language Indian epic known as the Mahabharata, and is also home to Taxila, the site of what is considered by many scholars to be the oldest university in the world.Balakrishnan Muniapan, Junaid M. Shaikh (2007), "Lessons in corporate governance from Kautilya's Arthashastra in ancient India", World Review of Entrepreneurship, Management and Sustainable Development 3 (1):Radha Kumud Mookerji (2nd ed. 1951; reprint 1989), Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist (p. 478), Motilal Banarsidass Publ., :Radha Kumud Mookerji (2nd ed. 1951; reprint 1989), Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist (p. 479), Motilal Banarsidass Publ., : In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great defeated the ancient Indian king Porus in the Battle of the Hydaspes near Mong. Subsequently, Punjab formed part of the Maurya Empire, the Kushan Empire, and the Gupta Empire. In the 7th century, the region saw its first wave of Arab conquests, which introduced Islam; by the 8th century, the Umayyad Caliphate had largely conquered Punjab. In the subsequent centuries, the region was conquered by various dynasties, including the Hindu Shahis, the Ghaznavids, the Ghurids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire, the Afghan Empire, and the Sikh Empire. During the 18th century, an Iranian invasion of Mughal-ruled India under Iranian ruler Nader Shah caused Mughal authority in Punjab to collapse. Later, the region was conquered by the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani; the Afghan Empire eventually lost control of Punjab as a result of the Afghan–Sikh Wars. In 1799, the Sikh Empire was formally established under the rule of Ranjit Singh with its capital based in Lahore, and Punjab remained under Sikh rule until the arrival of the British Empire. The region was central to the independence movements of Pakistan and India, with Lahore being the site of both the Declaration of Indian Independence as well as the Lahore Resolution that called for the establishment of a separate state for Indian Muslims. The modern-day Pakistani province has its roots in the Punjab Province of British India, which was divided along religious boundaries by the Radcliffe Line during the partition of India in 1947.

Punjab is Pakistan's most industrialized province, with the industrial sector comprising 24 percent of the province's gross domestic product. It is known across Pakistan for its relative prosperity, and has the lowest rate of poverty among all Pakistani provinces.Islamabad Capital Territory is Pakistan's least impoverished administrative unit, but ICT is not a province. Azad Kashmir also has a rate of poverty lower than Punjab, but is not a province. However, a clear divide is present between the northern and southern portions of the province; with poverty rates in northern Punjab being among the lowest in Pakistan, while some in southern Punjab are among the most impoverished. Punjab is also one of the most urbanized regions of South Asia, with approximately 40 percent of its population being concentrated in urban areas.
 
It has been strongly influenced by Sufism, with numerous Sufi shrines spread across the province, attracting millions of devotees annually. Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was born in the town of Nankana Sahib, near Lahore. Punjab is also the site of the Katas Raj Temples, which feature prominently in Hindu mythology. Several of the World Heritage Sites listed by UNESCO are located in Punjab, including the Shalimar Gardens, the Lahore Fort, the archaeological excavations at Taxila, and the Rohtas Fort, among others.

Etymology
Though the name Punjab is of Persian origin, its two parts ( and ) are cognates of the Sanskrit words,  and , of the same meaning. The word pañjāb thus means 'The Land of Five Waters', referring to the rivers Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas."Punjab." Pp. 107 in Encyclopædia Britannica (9th ed.), vol. 20. All are tributaries of the Indus River, the Sutlej being the largest. References to a land of five rivers may be found in the Mahabharata, which calls one of the regions in ancient Bharat  Panchanada (). Persian place names are very common in Northwest India and Pakistan. The ancient Greeks referred to the region as Pentapotamía (),Lassen, Christian. 1827. Commentatio Geographica atque Historica de Pentapotamia Indica [A Geographical and Historical Commentary on Indian Pentapotamia]. Weber. p. 4: "That part of India which today we call by the Persian name ''Penjab'' is named Panchanada in the sacred language of the Indians; either of which names may be rendered in Greek by Πενταποταμια. The Persian origin of the former name is not at all in doubt, although the words of which it is composed are both Indian and Persian.... But, in truth, that final word is never, to my knowledge, used by the Indians in proper names compounded in this way; on the other hand, there exist multiple Persian names which end with that word, e.g., Doab and Nilab. Therefore, it is probable that the name Penjab, which is today found in all geographical books, is of more recent origin and is to be attributed to the Muslim kings of India, among whom the Persian language was mostly in use. That the Indian name Panchanada is ancient and genuine is evident from the fact that it is already seen in the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the most ancient Indian poems, and that no other exists in addition to it among the Indians; for Panchála, which English translations of the Ramayana render with Penjab...is the name of another region, entirely distinct from Pentapotamia...." which has the same meaning as the Persian word.

 History 

 Ancient period 
right|thumb|upright|One of the first known kings of ancient Punjab, King Porus who fought against Alexander the Great.The Punjab region is noted as the site of one of the earliest urban societies, the Indus Valley Civilization that flourished from about 3000 B.C. and declined rapidly 1,000 years later, following the Indo-Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 B.C. Frequent intertribal wars stimulated the growth of larger groupings ruled by chieftains and kings, who ruled local kingdoms known as Mahajanapadas. The rise of kingdoms and dynasties in the Punjab is chronicled in the ancient Hindu epics, particularly the Mahabharata. In 326 B.C. The earliest known notable local king of this region was known as King Porus, who fought the famous Battle of the Hydaspes against Alexander the Great. His kingdom spanned between rivers Hydaspes (Jhelum) and Acesines (Chenab); Strabo had held the territory to contain almost 300 cities. He (alongside Abisares) had a hostile relationship with the Kingdom of Taxila which was ruled by his extended family. When the armies of Alexander crossed Indus in its eastward migration, probably in Udabhandapura, he was greeted by the-then ruler of Taxila, Omphis. Omphis had hoped to force both Porus and Abisares into submission leveraging the might of Alexander's forces and diplomatic missions were mounted, but while Abisares accepted the submission, Porus refused. This led Alexander to seek for a face-off with Porus. Thus began the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC; the exact site remains unknown. The battle is thought to be resulted in a decisive Greek victory; however, A. B. Bosworth warns against an uncritical reading of Greek sources who were obviously exaggerative. Alexander later founded two cities—Nicaea at the site of victory and Bucephalous at the battle-ground, in memory of his horse, who died soon after the battle. Later, tetradrachms would be minted depicting Alexander on horseback, armed with a sarissa and attacking a pair of Indians on an elephant. Porus refused to surrender and wandered about atop an elephant, until he was wounded and his force routed. When asked by Alexander how he wished to be treated, Porus replied "Treat me as a king would treat another king".Rogers, p.200 Despite the apparently one-sided results, Alexander was impressed by Porus and chose to not depose him. Not only was his territory reinstated but also expanded with Alexander's forces annexing the territories of Glausaes, who ruled to the northeast of Porus' kingdom. After Alexander's death in 323 BCE, Perdiccas became the regent of his empire, and after Perdiccas's murder in 321 BCE, Antipater became the new regent. According to Diodorus, Antipater recognized Porus's authority over the territories along the Indus River. However, Eudemus, who had served as Alexander's satrap in the Punjab region, treacherously killed Porus. The battle is historically significant because it resulted in the syncretism of ancient Greek political and cultural influences to the Indian subcontinent, yielding works such as Greco-Buddhist art, which continued to have an impact for the ensuing centuries. The region was then divided between the Maurya Empire and the Greco-Bactrian kingdom in 302 B.C.E. Menander I Soter conquered Punjab and made Sagala (present-day Sialkot) the capital of the Indo-Greek Kingdom. Menander is noted for having become a patron and convert to Greco-Buddhism and he is widely regarded as the greatest of the Indo-Greek kings. Greek influence in the region ended around 12 B.C.E. when the Punjab fell under the Sassanids.

 Medieval period 
Islam emerged as the major power in southern Punjab after the Umayyad caliphate conquered the region in 711 AD. The city of Multan became a center of the Ismaili sect of Islam. In the ninth century, the Hindu Shahi dynasty emerged in the Punjab, ruling much of Punjab and eastern Afghanistan. The 10th century Arab historian Masudi mentioned that in his time the kings of Gandhara were all called Hajaj, J.haj or Ch'hach, while the area itself was called "country of the Rahbūt" (Rajputs). The character transliterated to "Hahaj" and Alexander Cunningham had it equated to the Janjua tribe/clan. Rahman doubts this theory and instead transliterates to "J.haj", an Arabicised form of Chhachh, which is even today the name of the region around the Hindu Shahi capital of Hund. In the 10th century, this region was occupied by the tribe of the Gakhars/Khokhars, who formed a large part of the Hindu Shahi army according to the Persian historian Firishta.
thumb|193x193px|Horseman on a coin of Spalapati, i.e. the "War-lord" of the Hindu Shahis. The headgear has been interpreted as a turban.
The Turkic Ghaznavids in the tenth century overthrew the Hindu Shahis and consequently ruled for 157 years, gradually declining as a power until the Ghurid conquest of Lahore by Muhammad of Ghor in 1186, deposing the last Ghaznavid ruler Khusrau Malik. Following the death of Muhammad of Ghor in 1206, the Ghurid state fragmented and was replaced in northern India by the Delhi Sultanate. The Delhi Sultanate ruled the Punjab for the next three hundred years, led by five unrelated dynasties, the Mamluks, Khalajis, Tughlaqs, Sayyids and Lodis. 15th century saw rise of many prominent Muslims from Punjab. Khizr Khan established the Sayyid dynasty, the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate after the fall of the Tughlaqs. A contemporary writer Yahya Sirhindi mentions in his Takhrikh-i-Mubarak Shahi that Khizr Khan was a descendant of prophet Muhammad. Members of the dynasty derived their title, Sayyid, or the descendants of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, based on the claim that they belonged to his lineage through his daughter Fatima. However, Yahya Sirhindi based his conclusions on unsubstantial evidence, the first being a casual recognition by the famous saint Sayyid Jalaluddin Bukhari of Uch Sharif of his Sayyid heritage, and secondly the noble character of the Sultan which distinguished him as a Prophet's descendant. According to Richard M. Eaton, Khizr Khan was son of a Punjabi chieftain. He was a Khokhar chieftain who travelled to Samarkand and profited from the contacts he made with the Timurid society Later on, Delhi Sultanate, weakened by invasion of Emir Timur, could not control all regions of the Empire and different local kingdoms appeared. In 1407, Sultan Muzaffar Shah I, a Tank Rajput*

* or a Khatri* Muslim from Punjab established the Gujarat Sultanate.left|thumb|Copper coin of Muzaffar Shah, founder of the Gujarat Sultanate.
In 1445, Sultan Qutbudin, chief of Langah, a Jat Zamindar tribe established the Langah Sultanate in Multan. Another prominent name is that of Jasrath Khokhar who helped Sultan Zain Ul Abideen of Kashmir to gain his throne and ruled over vast tracts of Jammu and North Punjab. He also conquered Delhi for a brief period in 1431 but was driven out by Mubarak Shah.

 Modern period 
The Mughals came to power in the early sixteenth century and gradually expanded to control all of the Punjab from their capital at Lahore. During the Mughal era, Saadullah Khan, born into a family of Jat agriculturalists belonging to the Thaheem tribe from Chiniot remained Grand vizier (or Prime Minister) of the Mughal empire in the period 1645-1656. Other prominent Muslims from Punjab who rose to nobility during the Mughal Era include Wazir Khan, Adina Beg Arain, and Shahbaz Khan Kamboh. The Mughal Empire ruled the region until it was severely weakened in the eighteenth century. As Mughal power weakened, Afghan rulers took control of the region. Contested by Marathas and Afghans, the region was the center of the growing influence of the Sikhs, who expanded and established the Sikh empire as the Mughals and Afghans weakened, ultimately ruling the Punjab, eastern Afghanistan, and territories north into the Himalayas.thumb|250x250px|Illustration of Ranjit Singh, founder of the Sikh Empire.
The Sikh Empire ruled the Punjab until the British annexed it in 1849 following the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars. Most of the Punjabi homeland formed a province of British India, though a number of small princely states retained local rulers who recognized British authority. The Punjab with its rich farmlands became one of the most important colonial assets. Lahore was a noted center of learning and culture, and Rawalpindi became an important military installation. Most Punjabis supported the British during World War I, providing men and resources to the war effort even though the Punjab remained a source of anti colonial activities. Disturbances in the region increased as the war continued. At the end of the war, high casualty rates, heavy taxation, inflation, and a widespread influenza epidemic disrupted Punjabi society. In 1919 a British officer ordered his troops to fire on a crowd of demonstrators, mostly Sikhs in Amritsar. The Jallianwala massacre fueled the indian independence movement. Nationalists declared the independence of India from Lahore in 1930 but were quickly suppressed. When the Second World War broke out, nationalism in British India had already divided into religious movements. Many Sikhs and other minorities supported the Hindus, who promised a secular multicultural and multireligious society, and Muslim leaders in Lahore passed a resolution to work for a Muslim Pakistan, making the Punjab region a center of growing conflict between Indian and Pakistani nationalists. At the end of the war, the British granted separate independence to India and Pakistan, setting off massive communal violence as Muslims fled to Pakistan and Hindu and Sikh Punjabis fled east to India.

The British Raj had major political, cultural, philosophical, and literary consequences in the Punjab, including the establishment of a new system of education. During the independence movement, many Punjabis played a significant role, including Madan Lal Dhingra, Sukhdev Thapar, Ajit Singh Sandhu, Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Bhai Parmanand, Choudhry Rahmat Ali, and Lala Lajpat Rai. At the time of partition in 1947, the province was split into East and West Punjab. East Punjab (48%) became part of India, while West Punjab (52%) became part of Pakistan.. Daily Times (10 May 2012). Retrieved 12 July 2013. The Punjab bore the brunt of the civil unrest following partition, with casualties estimated to be in the millions.

Another major consequence of partition was the sudden shift towards religious homogeneity occurred in all districts across Punjab owing to the new international border that cut through the province. This rapid demographic shift was primarily due to wide scale migration but also caused by large-scale religious cleansing riots which were witnessed across the region at the time. According to historical demographer Tim Dyson, in the eastern regions of Punjab that ultimately became Indian Punjab following independence, districts that were 66% Hindu in 1941 became 80% Hindu in 1951; those that were 20% Sikh became 50% Sikh in 1951. Conversely, in the western regions of Punjab that ultimately became Pakistani Punjab, all districts became almost exclusively Muslim by 1951.

Geography
Punjab is Pakistan's second largest province by area after Balochistan with an area of . It occupies 25.8% of the total landmass of Pakistan. Punjab province is bordered by Sindh to the south, the province of Balochistan to the southwest, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, and the Islamabad Capital Territory and Azad Kashmir in the north. Punjab borders Jammu and Kashmir in the north, and the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east.

The capital and largest city is Lahore which was the historical capital of the wider Punjab region. Other important cities include Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Multan, Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Sheikhupura, Jhelum and Sahiwal. The undivided Punjab region was home to six rivers, of which five flow through Pakistan's Punjab province. From west to east, the rivers are: the Indus, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej. It is the nation's only province that touches every other province; it also surrounds the federal enclave of the national capital city at Islamabad.

Topography
thumb|Punjab features mountainous terrain near the hill station of Murree.
Punjab's landscape consists mostly consists of fertile alluvial plains of the Indus River and its four major tributaries in Pakistan, the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej rivers which traverse Punjab north to south – the fifth of the "five waters" of Punjab, the Beas River, lies exclusively in the Indian state of Punjab. The landscape is amongst the most heavily irrigated on earth and canals can be found throughout the province. Punjab also includes several mountainous regions, including the Sulaiman Mountains in the southwest part of the province, the Margalla Hills in the north near Islamabad, and the Salt Range which divides the most northerly portion of Punjab, the Pothohar Plateau, from the rest of the province. Sparse deserts can be found in southern Punjab near the border with Rajasthan and near the Sulaiman Range. Punjab also contains part of the Thal and Cholistan deserts. In the South, Punjab's elevation reaches  near the hill station of Fort Munro in Dera Ghazi Khan.

Climate

thumb|Sunset in Punjab, during summer
Most areas in Punjab experience extreme weather with foggy winters, often accompanied by rain. By mid-February the temperature begins to rise; springtime weather continues until mid-April, when the summer heat sets in.
thumb|The route from Dera Ghazi Khan to Fort Munro
The onset of the southwest monsoon is anticipated to reach Punjab by May, but since the early 1970s, the weather pattern has been irregular. The spring monsoon has either skipped over the area or has caused it to rain so hard that floods have resulted. June and July are oppressively hot. Although official estimates rarely place the temperature above 46 °C, newspaper sources claim that it reaches 51 °C and regularly carry reports about people who have succumbed to the heat. Heat records were broken in Multan in June 1993, when the mercury was reported to have risen to 54 °C. In August the oppressive heat is punctuated by the rainy season, referred to as barsat, which brings relief in its wake. The hardest part of the summer is then over, but cooler weather does not come until late October.

Recently the province experienced one of the coldest winters in the last 70 years.

Punjab's region temperature ranges from −2° to 45 °C, but can reach 50 °C (122 °F) in summer and can touch down to −10 °C in winter.

Climatically, Punjab has three major seasons:

 Hot weather (April to June) when temperature rises as high as .
 Rainy season (July to September). Average rainfall annual ranges between 96 cm sub-mountain region and 46 cm in the plains.
 Cold / Foggy / mild weather (October to March). Temperature goes down as low as .

Weather extremes are notable from the hot and barren south to the cool hills of the north. The foothills of the Himalayas are found in the extreme north as well, and feature a much cooler and wetter climate, with snowfall common at higher altitudes.

 Demographics 

 Historical population figuresThe figures for 1998 are from pop by province – statpak.gov.pk. The estimates for 2012 are from Population shoots up by 47 percent since 1998 . Thenews.com.pk. Retrieved on 12 July 2013.  Census  Population  Urban  Rural 1941  17,309,857  N/A  N/A 1951  20,540,762  3,568,076  16,972,686 1961  25,463,974  5,475,922  19,988,052 1972  37,607,423  9,182,695  28,424,728 1981  47,292,441  13,051,646  34,240,795 1998  73,621,290  23,019,025  50,602,265 2017  110,012,615  40,401,164  70,008,451

 Population 
The province is home to over half the population of Pakistan, and is the world's fifth-most populous subnational entity, and the most populous outside China or India. Punjab has the lowest poverty rates in Pakistan, although a divide is present between the northern and southern parts of the province. Sialkot District in the prosperous northern part of the province has a poverty rate of 5.63%, while Rajanpur District in the poorer south has a poverty rate of 60.05%.

 Languages 

The major native language spoken in the Punjab is Punjabi, representing the largest language spoken in the country. Punjabi is recognized as the provincial language of Punjab but is not given any official recognition in the Constitution of Pakistan at the national level.

Several languages closely related to Punjabi are spoken in the periphery of the region. In the southern half of Punjab, the majority language is Saraiki, while in the north there are speakers of Hindko and Pothwari. Pashto is also spoken in some parts of Punjab, especially in Attock, Mianwali and Rawalpindi districts.
thumb|A demonstration by Punjabis at Lahore, Pakistan, demanding to make Punjabi as official language of instruction in schools of the Punjab.The use of Urdu and English as the near exclusive languages of broadcasting, the public sector, and formal education have led some to fear that Punjabi in Pakistan is being relegated to a low-status language and that it is being denied an environment where it can flourish. Several prominent educational leaders, researchers, and social commentators have echoed the opinion that the intentional promotion of Urdu and the continued denial of any official sanction or recognition of the Punjabi language amounts to a process of "Urdu-isation" that is detrimental to the health of the Punjabi language"Inferiority complex declining Punjabi language: Punjab University Vice-Chancellor". PPI News Agency In August 2015, the Pakistan Academy of Letters, International Writer's Council (IWC) and World Punjabi Congress (WPC) organised the Khawaja Farid Conference and demanded that a Punjabi-language university should be established in Lahore and that Punjabi language should be declared as the medium of instruction at the primary level. In September 2015, a case was filed in Supreme Court of Pakistan against Government of Punjab, Pakistan as it did not take any step to implement the Punjabi language in the province. Additionally, several thousand Punjabis gather in Lahore every year on International Mother Language Day.

Hafiz Saeed, chief of Jama'at-ud-Da'wah (JuD) has questioned Pakistan's decision to adopt Urdu as its national language in a country where majority of people speak Punjabi language, citing his interpretation of Islamic doctrine as encouraging education in the mother-tongue."Pakistan should have adopted Punjabi as national language: Hafiz Saeed" Zee News. 6 March 2016 The list of thinktanks, political organisations, cultural projects, and individuals that demand authorities at the national and provincial level to promote the use of the language in the public and official spheres includes:
 Cultural and research institutes: Punjabi Adabi Board, the Khoj Garh Research Centre, Punjabi Prachar, Institute for Peace and Secular Studies, Adbi Sangat, Khaaksaar Tehreek, Saanjh, Maan Boli Research Centre, Punjabi Sangat Pakistan, Punjabi Markaz, Sver International
 Trade unions and youth groups: Punjabi Writers Forum, National Students Federation, Punjabi Union-Pakistan, Punjabi National Conference, National Youth Forum, Punjabi Writers Forum, National Students Federation, Punjabi Union, Pakistan, and the Punjabi National Conference.
 Notable activists include Tariq Jatala, Farhad Iqbal, Diep Saeeda, Khalil Ojla, Afzal Sahir, Jamil Ahmad Paul, Mazhar Tirmazi, Mushtaq Sufi, Biya Je, Tohid Ahmad Chattha and Bilal Shaker Kahaloon, Nazeer Kahut"Mind your language—The movement for the preservation of Punjabi". The Herald. 2 September 2106."Punjabi in schools: Pro-Punjabi outfits in Pakistan threaten hunger strike". The Times of India. 4 October 2015."Rally for Ending the 150-year-old Ban on Education in Punjabi" The Nation. 21 February 2011.

 Religions 

+ Religion in Punjab, Pakistan Religion Population(1941) Percentage(1941) Population(2017) Percentage(2017) Islam 15px  12,983,076 107,559,164  Hinduism 15px 2,376,309 220,024  Sikhism 15px 1,527,345 N/A N/A Christianity 15px 382,669 2,068,233  Others 40,458 3,455 Total Population 17,309,857 110,012,442
The Punjabi people first practiced Hinduism, the oldest recorded religion in the Punjab region. The historical Vedic religion constituted the religious ideas and practices in the Punjab during the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE). It is one of the major traditions which shaped Hinduism, though present-day Hinduism is markedly different from the historical Vedic religion. The bulk of the Rigveda was composed in the Punjab region between circa 1500 and 1200 BC, while later Vedic scriptures were composed more eastwards, between the Yamuna and Ganges rivers. An ancient Indian law book called the Manusmriti, developed by Brahmin Hindu priests, shaped Punjabi religious life from 200 BC onward. Later, the spread of Buddhisim and Jainism in the Indian subcontinent saw the growth of Buddhism and Jainism in the Punjab. Islam was introduced via southern Punjab in the 8th century, becoming the majority by the 16th century, via local conversion. There was a small Jain community left in Punjab by the 16th century, while the Buddhist community had largely disappeared by the turn of the 10th century. The region became predominantly Muslim due to missionary Sufi saints whose dargahs dot the landscape of the Punjab region. The rise of Sikhism in the 1700s saw some Punjabis, both Hindu and Muslim, accepting the new Sikh faith. A number of Punjabis during the colonial period of India became Christians, with all of these religions characterizing the religious diversity now found in the Punjab region.

The population of Punjab (Pakistan) is estimated to be 110,012,442, of which as per as 2017 census, 107,559,164 i.e. (97.2%) Muslim with a Sunni Hanafi majority and a Shia Ithna 'ashariyah minority. The largest non-Muslim minority is Christians and make up 2,068,233 i.e. (2.5%) of the population. Hindus form about 220,024 people I.e (0.2%) of the population. The other minorities include Sikhs, Parsis and Baháʼís.

Provincial government

thumb|200px|Punjab assembly, Lahore
The Government of Punjab is a provincial government in the federal structure of Pakistan, is based in Lahore, the capital of the Punjab Province. The Chief Minister of Punjab (CM) is elected by the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab to serve as the head of the provincial government in Punjab, Pakistan. The current Chief Minister is Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi He got elected by the National Assembly on 26 July 2022. The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the province of Punjab, which is located in Lahore in eastern Pakistan. The Assembly was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakistan as having a total of 371 seats, with 66 seats reserved for women and eight reserved for non-Muslims.

There are 48 departments in Punjab government. Each Department is headed by a Provincial Minister (Politician) and a Provincial Secretary (A civil servant of usually BPS-20 or BPS-21). All Ministers report to the Chief Minister, who is the Chief Executive. All Secretaries report to the Chief Secretary of Punjab, who is usually a BPS-22 Civil Servant. The Chief Secretary in turn, reports to the Chief Minister. In addition to these departments, there are several Autonomous Bodies and Attached Departments that report directly to either the Secretaries or the Chief Secretary.

Divisions

thumb|Map of the Pakistani Punjab divisions
 Sr. No. Division Headquarters Area(km2) Population(2017)1BahawalpurBahawalpur45,58811,464,0312Dera Ghazi KhanDera Ghazi Khan38,77811,014,3983FaisalabadFaisalabad17,91714,177,0814GujranwalaGujranwala17,20616,123,9845LahoreLahore16,10419,398,0816MultanMultan21,13712,265,1617RawalpindiRawalpindi22,25510,007,8218SahiwalSahiwal10,3027,380,3869SargodhaSargodha26,3608,181,49910GujratGujrat

When the divisions were restored as a tier of government in 2008, a tenth division – Sheikhupura Division – was created from part of Lahore Division.

Districts

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 Sr. No. District Headquarters Area(km2) Population(2017) Density(people/km2) Division1AttockAttock6,8581,883,556274Rawalpindi2BahawalnagarBahawalnagar8,8782,981,919335Bahawalpur3BahawalpurBahawalpur24,8303,668,106147Bahawalpur4BhakkarBhakkar8,1531,650,518202Sargodha5ChakwalChakwal6,5241,495,982229Rawalpindi6ChiniotChiniot2,6431,369,740518Faisalabad7Dera Ghazi KhanDera Ghazi Khan11,9222,872,201240Dera Ghazi Khan8FaisalabadFaisalabad5,8567,873,9101344Faisalabad9GujranwalaGujranwala3,6225,014,1961384Gujranwala10GujratGujrat3,1922,756,110863Gujranwala11HafizabadHafizabad2,3671,156,957488Gujranwala12JhangJhang8,8092,743,416311Faisalabad13JhelumJhelum3,5871,222,650340Rawalpindi14KasurKasur4,7963,454,996720Lahore15KhanewalKhanewal4,3492,921,986671Multan16KhushabKhushab6,5111,281,299196Sargodha17LahoreLahore1,77211,126,2856278Lahore18LayyahLayyah6,2911,824,230290Dera Ghazi Khan19LodhranLodhran2,7781,700,620612Multan20Mandi BahauddinMandi Bahauddin2,6731,593,292596Gujranwala21MianwaliMianwali5,8401,546,094264Sargodha22MultanMultan3,7204,745,1091275Multan23MuzaffargarhMuzaffargarh8,2494,322,009523Dera Ghazi Khan24NarowalNarowal2,3371,709,757731Gujranwala25Nankana Sahib No data is yet available on the recently created district of Nankana.Nankana Sahib2,9601,356,374458Lahore26OkaraOkara4,377 3,039,139694Sahiwal27PakpattanPakpattan2,7241,823,687669Sahiwal28Rahim Yar KhanRahim Yar Khan11,8804,814,006405Bahawalpur29RajanpurRajanpur12,3191,995,958162Dera Ghazi Khan30RawalpindiRawalpindi5,2865,405,6331322Rawalpindi31SahiwalSahiwal3,2012,517,560786Sahiwal32SargodhaSargodha5,8543,703,588632Sargodha33SheikhupuraSheikhupura5,9603,460,426580Lahore34SialkotSialkot3,0163,893,6721291Gujranwala35Toba Tek SinghToba Tek Singh3,2522,190,015673Faisalabad36VehariVehari4,3642,897,446663Multan

Major cities

 List of major cities in Punjab Rank City District Population Image 1  Lahore  Lahore  11,126,285  200px 2  Faisalabad  Faisalabad  3,204,726  200px 3  Rawalpindi  Rawalpindi  2,098,231  200px 4  GujranwalaGujranwala 2,027,001  200px 5  MultanMultan 1,871,843  200px 6  BahawalpurBahawalpur 762,111  200px 7  Sargodha  Sargodha  659,862  200px 8  SialkotSialkot 655,852  200px 9  SheikhupuraSheikhupura 473,129  200px 10  Rahim Yar KhanRahim Yar Khan 420,419  200px 11  Jhang  Jhang  414,131  200px 12  Dera Ghazi KhanDera Ghazi Khan 399,064  200px 13  GujratGujrat 390,533  200px 14  SahiwalSahiwal 389,605  200px 15  Wah CantonmentRawalpindi 380,103  200px Source: pbscensus 2017 This is a list of city proper populations and does not indicate metro populations.

Economy

thumb|right|GDP by Province
Punjab has the largest economy in Pakistan, contributing most to the national GDP. The province's economy has quadrupled since 1972. Its share of Pakistan's GDP was 54.7% in 2000 and 59% as of 2010. It is especially dominant in the service and agriculture sectors of Pakistan's economy. With its contribution ranging from 52.1% to 64.5% in the Service Sector and 56.1% to 61.5% in the agriculture sector. It is also a major manpower contributor because it has the largest pool of professionals and highly skilled (technically trained) manpower in Pakistan. It is also dominant in the manufacturing sector, though the dominance is not as huge, with historical contributions ranging from a low of 44% to a high of 52.6%. In 2007, Punjab achieved a growth rate of 7.8% and during the period 2002–03 to 2007–08, its economy grew at a rate of between 7% to 8% per year.A PricewaterhouseCoopers study released in 2009, surveying the 2008 GDP of the top cities in the world, calculated Faisalabad's GDP (PPP) at $35 billion. The city was third in Pakistan behind Karachi ($78 billion) and Lahore ($40 billion). Faisalabad's GDP is projected to rise to $37 billion in 2025 at a growth rate of 5.7%, higher than the growth rates of 5.5% and 5.6% predicted for Karachi and Lahore.[2][ "PricewaterhouseCoopers Media Centre". Ukmediacentre.pwc.com. 1 June 2005.]– Last Paragraph and during 2008–09 grew at 6% against the total GDP growth of Pakistan at 4%.

Despite the lack of a coastline, Punjab is the most industrialised province of Pakistan; its manufacturing industries produce textiles, sports goods, heavy machinery, electrical appliances, surgical instruments, vehicles, auto parts, metals, sugar mill plants, aircraft, cement, agricultural machinery, bicycles and rickshaws, floor coverings, and processed foods. In 2003, the province manufactured 90% of the paper and paper boards, 71% of the fertilizers, 69% of the sugar and 40% of the cement of Pakistan.
190px|thumb|right|Industrial Zones Punjab, Source:
Despite its tropical wet and dry climate, extensive irrigation makes it a rich agricultural region. Its canal-irrigation system established by the British is the largest in the world. Wheat and cotton are the largest crops. Other crops include rice, sugarcane, millet, corn, oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, and fruits such as kinoo. Livestock and poultry production are also important. Despite past animosities, the rural masses in Punjab's farms continue to use the Hindu calendar for planting and harvesting.

Punjab contributes about 76% to annual food grain production in the country. Cotton and rice are important crops. They are the cash crops that contribute substantially to the national exchequer. Attaining self-sufficiency in agriculture has shifted the focus of the strategies towards small and medium farming, stress on barani areas, farms-to-market roads, electrification for tube-wells and control of water logging and salinity.

Punjab has also more than 68 thousand industrial units. There are 39,033 small and cottage industrial units. The number of textile units is 14,820. The ginning industries are 6,778. There are 7,355 units for processing of agricultural raw materials including food and feed industries.

Lahore and Gujranwala Divisions have the largest concentration of small light engineering units. The district of Sialkot excels in sports goods, surgical instruments and cutlery goods. Industrial estates are being developed by Punjab government to boost industrialization in province, Quaid e Azam Business Park Sheikhupura is one of the industrial area which is being developed near Sheikhupura on Lahore-Islamabad motorway.

Punjab is also a mineral-rich province with extensive mineral deposits of coal, iron, gas, petrol, rock salt (with the second largest salt mine in the world), dolomite, gypsum, and silica-sand. The Punjab Mineral Development Corporation is running over a hundred economically viable projects. Manufacturing includes machine products, cement, plastics, and various other goods.

The incidence of poverty differs between the different regions of Punjab. With Northern and Central Punjab facing much lower levels of poverty than Western and Southern Punjab. Those living in Southern and Western Punjab are also a lot more dependent on agriculture due to lower levels of industrialisation in those regions.

Education
thumb|Government College University, Lahore
The literacy rate has increased greatly over the last 40 years (see the table below). Punjab has the highest Human Development Index out of all of Pakistan's provinces at 0.564.

 Year  Literacy Rate 1972  20.7% 1981  27.4% 1998  46.56% 2009  59.6%	 	 2021  66.3%

Sources:

This is a chart of the education market of Punjab estimated by the government in 1998.
 Qualification  Urban  Rural  Total  Enrollment Ratio(%) –  23,019,025  50,602,265  73,621,290  — Below Primary  3,356,173  11,598,039  14,954,212  100.00 Primary  6,205,929  18,039,707  24,245,636  79.68 Middle  5,140,148  10,818,764  15,958,912  46.75 Matriculation  4,624,522  7,119,738  11,744,260  25.07 Intermediate  1,862,239  1,821,681  3,683,920  9.12 BA, BSc... degrees  110,491  96,144  206,635  4.12 MA, MSc... degrees  1,226,914  764,094  1,991,008  3.84 Diploma, Certificate...  418,946  222,649  641,595  1.13 Other qualifications  73,663  121,449  195,112  0.26

Public universities
thumb|Main entrance to The university of Sargodha
thumb|A women's college in Rawalpindi
thumb|University of the Punjab
thumb|University of Agriculture, Faisalabad
thumb|King Edward Medical University, Lahore
Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore
Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan
COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Lahore
COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, Sahiwal
Fatima Jinnah Women University, Rawalpindi
Ghazi University D.G.Khan, D.G.Khan
Government College University, Lahore
Government College University, Faisalabad
Gujranwala Medical College, Gujranwala
Khawaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology, Rahim Yar Khan
King Edward Medical College, Lahore
Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore
Lahore College for Women University, Lahore
Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Agriculture, Multan
Muhammad Nawaz Sharif University of Engineering & Technology, Multan
National College of Arts, Lahore
National Textile University, Faisalabad
NFC Institute of Engineering and Technology, Multan
Nishtar Medical College, Multan
Sargodha Medical College, Sargodha
Rawalpindi Women University
The Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur
University College of Agriculture, Sargodha
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad
University of Arid Agriculture, Rawalpindi
University of Education, Lahore
University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore
University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila
University of Gujrat, Gujrat
University of Health Sciences, Lahore
University of Sahiwal
University of Sargodha, Sargodha
University of the Punjab, Lahore
University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore
Virtual University of Pakistan, Lahore
Women University Multan, Multan

Private universities
Beaconhouse National University, Lahore
Forman Christian College, Lahore
GIFT University, Gujranwala
Hajvery University, Lahore
Imperial College of Business Studies, Lahore
Institute of Management Sciences, Lahore, Pak-AIMS, Lahore
Lahore School of Economics, Lahore
Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore
Minhaj International University, Lahore
National University of Computer & Emerging Sciences, Lahore
Pakistan Institute of Fashion and Design, Lahore
Sargodha Institute of Technology, Sargodha
University of Central Punjab, Lahore
University of Faisalabad, Faisalabad
University of Health Sciences, Lahore
University of Lahore, Lahore
University of Management and Technology, Lahore
University of South Asia, Lahore
University College Lahore, Lahore
University of Wah, Wah Cantonment
HITEC University, Taxila Cantonment
Institute of Southern Punjab, Multan
Pakistan Institute of Engineering and Technology, Multan
Multan Medical and Dental College, Multan
Lahore Garrison University, Lahore

Culture

thumb|Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam, Multan (1320 AD)The culture in Punjab grew out of the settlements along the five rivers, which served as an important route to the Near East as early as the ancient Indus Valley civilization, dating back to 3000 BCE. Agriculture has been the major economic feature of the Punjab and has therefore formed the foundation of Punjabi culture, with one's social status being determined by landownership. The Punjab emerged as an important agricultural region, especially following the Green Revolution during the mid-1960's to the mid-1970's, has been described as the "breadbasket of both India and Pakistan".

 Fairs and festivals 
The Islamic festivals are typically observed.Official Holidays 2016, Government of Punjab – Pakistan (2016)Official Holidays 2016 , Karachi Metropolitan, Sindh, Pakistan Non-Islamic festivals include Lohri, Basant and Vaisakhi, which are usually celebrated as seasonal festivals.Census of India, 1961: Punjab. Manage of Publications The Islamic festivals are set according to the lunar Islamic calendar (Hijri), and the date falls earlier by 10 to 13 days from year to year.; Eid ul-Fitar, Ramzan Id/Eid-ul-Fitar in India, Festival Dates

Some Islamic clerics and some politicians have attempted to ban the participation of non-Islamic festivals because of the religious basis,The ban on fun, IRFAN HUSAIN, Dawn, 18 February 2017 and they being declared haram (forbidden in Islam).The barricaded Muslim mind, Saba Naqvi (28 August 2016), Quote: "Earlier, Muslim villagers would participate in Hindu festivals; now they think that would be haraam, so stay away. Visiting dargahs is also haraam"

 Tourism 

thumb|The Lahore Fort, a landmark built during the Mughal era, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site|250x250px
left|thumb|Rohtas Fort, a UNESCO world heritage site, was built upon a hill overlooking the Pothohar Plateau.
Tourism in Punjab is regulated by the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab. The province has a number of large cosmopolitan cities, including the provincial capital Lahore. Major visitor attractions there include Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens, which are now recognised World Heritage Sites. The Walled City of Lahore, Badshahi Mosque, Wazir Khan Mosque, Tomb of Jahangir and Nur Jahan, Tomb of Asaf Khan, Chauburji and other major sites visited by tourists each year.

Rawalpindi is a famous hill station stop for tourists. The Pharwala Fort, which was built by an ancient Hindu civilisation, is on the outskirts of the city. The city of Sheikhupura also has a number of sites from the Mughal Empire, including the World Heritage-listed Rohtas Fort near Jhelum. The Katasraj temple in the city of Chakwal is a major destination for Hindu devotees. The Khewra Salt Mines is one of the oldest mines in South Asia. Faisalabad's clock tower and eight bazaars were designed to represent the Union Jack.
thumb|Facade and entrance of Noor Mahal, Bawalpur
The province's southward is arid. Multan is known for its mausoleums of saints and Sufi pirs. The Multan Museum and Nuagaza tombs are significant attractions in the city. The city of Bahawalpur is located near the Cholistan and Thar deserts. Derawar Fort in the Cholistan Desert is the site for the annual Cholistan Jeep Rally. The city is also near the ancient site of Uch Sharif which was once a Delhi Sultanate stronghold. The Noor Mahal, Sadiq Ghar Palace, Darbar Mall were built during the reign of the Nawabs. The Lal Suhanra National Park is a major zoological garden on the outskirts of the city.

Social issues
One social/educational issue is the status of Punjabi language. According to Manzur Ejaz, "In Central Punjab, Punjabi is neither an official language of the province nor it is used as medium of education at any level. There are only two daily newspapers published in Punjabi in the Central areas of Punjab. Only a few monthly literary magazines constitute Punjabi press in Pakistan".Sarah Veach, Katy Williamson, Punjabi Culture and Language Manual  (archived), Texas State University, p. 6, retrieved 14 May 2016.

Notable people
List of people from Punjab, Pakistan, also includes people born in what is today Indian Punjab but moved to Pakistan after partition
List of Punjabi people, also includes people of Punjabi ethnicity from India and elsewhere

 See also 

 Punjab
 List of people from Punjab, Pakistan

Notes

 References 

Bibliography
 

External links

 Guide to Punjab, Pakistan

 
Category:Provinces of Pakistan
Category:1970 establishments in Pakistan
Category:States and territories established in 1970
Category:Punjabi-speaking countries and territories