Khushab District

Khushab District
ضِلع خُوشاب
District
Country Pakistan
Province Punjab
Established July 02, 1982 [1]
Headquarters Jauharabad
Government
  District Coordination Officer Zia ur Rehman
Time zone PST (UTC+5)
Number of Tehsils 4
Website http://khushab.gop.pk/

Khushab District (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.[2] The district consists of Four tehsils, Khushab, Noorpur Thal, Quaidabad and Naushera.[3] Khushab is home to the Heavy Water and Natural Uranium Research Reactor,[4] part of the Pakistan's Special Weapons Program.[5]

Language

Inhabitants of the Khushab district speak a variety of Punjabi dialects,[6] including:

Pakistan's national language, Urdu, is spoken and understood by the majority of the population, whereas English is understood by people with a higher education background.

Nuclear installations

On March 21, 2000, an article in the Christian Science Monitor claimed that satellite photos had revealed a nuclear reactor and missile base near the city of Khushab.[7] The apparent presence of a military nuclear capability raised concerns worldwide. On June 14, 2000 the Dawn newspaper alleged that the nuclear reactor and reprocessing plant at Khushab were producing 8 to 10 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium per year for military use.

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.[8] Its summit is 1522 metres / 4946 feet high and is situated in Khushab District.

Education

Khushab has a total of 1,001 government schools out of which 38 percent (379 schools) are for girl students. The district has an enrolment of 148,728 in public sector schools.[9]

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 [10] and Naushera (Vadi e Soon) became 4th Tehsil of District Khushab in March 2013. In local bodies delimitation 2000 (before to the creation of the Tehsil Quaidabad and Naushehra), it contained a total of fifty-one Union Councils.[11] In 2015 delimitation of District Khushab, 48 rural union councils and 7 urban Municipal Committees have been created by the election Commission of Pakistan.[12]

Khushab Tehsil

In 2000, Tehsil Khushab was subdivided into 32 Union councils; but in 2015, ten 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 19 Union councils and 4 Municipal Committees:[12]

Union Councils

Union Councils

Municipal Committee / Corporation

Noorpur Thal Tehsil

Noorpur Thal is subdivided into 12 Union Councils and 1 Municipal Committee.[11]

Union Councils

Union Councils

Municipal Committee

Quaidabad Tehsil

Quaidabad is subdivided into 11 Union Councils and 1 Municipal Committee.[10]

Naushera Tehsil

Naushera (Vadi e Soon) is subdivided into 6 Union Councils and 1 Municipal Committee.[12]

Union Councils

Municipal Committee

Notable people

References

Bibliography

http://khushab.gop.pk/html/About_District.html#About_District_Intro

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