Khushab

This article is about the city in Pakistan. For the district, see Khushab District. For places in Iran, see Khvoshab (disambiguation).
Khushab
خُوشاب
City
Khushab

Location in Pakistan

Coordinates (Punjab): 32°18′N 72°20′E / 32.30°N 72.34°E / 32.30; 72.34Coordinates: 32°18′N 72°20′E / 32.30°N 72.34°E / 32.30; 72.34
Country Pakistan
Province Punjab, Pakistan
District Khushab
Population (2009)[1]
 • Total 110,868
Time zone PST (UTC+5)
 • Summer (DST) PDT (UTC+6)
Postal code 41000
Area code(s) 0454
District Government Khushab Official Website

Khushab (Urdu: خُوشاب‎) is a city as well as a district in the Punjab province of Pakistan.[2] The word Khushab means "sweet water." Khushab city also serves as the headquarters of Khushab Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of the district Khushab.[3]

The city of Khushab is home to the Khushab Nuclear Complex,[4] a critical part of the Pakistan's Special Weapons Program, which has come under much heated scrutiny.[5]

Demographics

The population according to the 1901 census was 11,403.[6]

Khushab Nuclear Complex

On March 21, 2000, The Christian Science Monitor published an article written by Alexander Colhoun, in which a high-resolution aerial satellite photo revealed a nuclear reactor, Khushab Nuclear Complex, and a missile base in the city of Khushab. These pictures had mixed views, one of the expression of power that could shackle or reshape diplomatic landscapes[7] of a region and another of the ethical question about the usage of satellite imagery in terms of privacy and national sovereignty of a nuclear-capable nation. The report was published at a time when American President Bill Clinton was due to visit India, and it sparked concerns worldwide. According to a more recent ISIS analysis of imaging the Khushab Nuclear Complex has totally 4 heavy water reactors and a heavy water production plant. Moreover, the plutonium produced in this site as reported by a Pakistani official is prepared to build small, short range nuclear weapons such as tactical nuclear-tipped missiles.[8]

Etymology

"Khushab" is a combination of two Persian words: khush (Persian: خوش‎‎), meaning "sweet or tasty," and aab (Persian: آب‎‎), meaning "water." A common belief is that the Persians from the west first used the word khush-aab in admiration of the sweet and tasty water found in the historical city situated on the bank of Jhelum River. In time the city was known as Khushab.[9]

Language

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

References

  1. ↑ World Gazetteer estimate (01-01-2006)
  2. ↑ Tehsil statistics (Government of Pakistan, Statistics Division)
  3. ↑ Tehsils & Unions in the District of Khushab - Government of Pakistan
  4. ↑ Special Weapons Program of Pakistan (Federation of American Scientists)
  5. ↑ South Asia arms race - is it paranoia? (BBC News)
  6. ↑ Khushāb Town - Imperial Gazetteer of India, v. 15, p. 298.
  7. ↑ Top-Secret Kodak Moment In Space Shakes Global Security, The Christian Science Monitor (March 21, 2000)
  8. ↑ http://www.isis-online.org/uploads/isis-reports/documents/Construction_Continues_at_Khushab_August12_2015_Final.pdf
  9. ↑ "District Courts Khushab"., Retrieved 24 December 2013.
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