Punjab, Pakistan

Ancient period

The earliest evidence of human habitation in Punjab traces to the Soan Valley of the Pothohar, between the Indus and the Jhelum rivers, where Soanian culture developed between 774,000 BCE and 11,700 BCE. This period goes back to the first interglacial period in the second Ice Age, from which remnants of stone and flint tools have been found.^[29] The Punjab region was the site of one of the earliest cradle of civilisations, the Bronze Age Harrapan civilisation that flourished from about 3000 BCE. and declined rapidly 1,000 years later, followed by the Indo-Aryan migrations that overran the region in waves between 1500 and 500 BCE.^[30] The migrating Indo-Aryan tribes gave rise to the Iron Age Vedic civilisation, which lasted till 500 BCE. During this period, the Rigveda was composed in Punjab,^[31] laying the foundation of Hinduism. Frequent intertribal wars in the post-Vedic period stimulated the growth of larger groupings ruled by chieftains and kings, who ruled local kingdoms known as Mahajanapadas.^[30] Achaemenid emperor Darius the Great crossed the Indus in 518 BCE and annexed the land up to the river Jhelum.^[32] Taxila in Gandhara was the site of one of the oldest education centre of South Asia and was part of the Achaemenid province of Hindush.^[33][34]

One of the early kings in Punjab was Porus, who fought in the Battle of the Hydaspes against Alexander the Great.^[35] The battle is thought to have resulted in a decisive Greek victory; however, A. B. Bosworth warns against an uncritical reading of Greek sources who were obviously exaggerative.^[35] Porus refused to surrender and wandered about atop an elephant, until he was wounded and his force routed.^[35] When asked by Alexander how he wished to be treated, Porus replied "Treat me as a king would treat another king".^[36] Despite the apparently one-sided results, Alexander was impressed by Porus and chose to reinstate him.^{[37][38][39][37]} The battle is historically significant because it resulted in the syncretism of ancient Greek political and cultural influences on the Indian subcontinent, yielding works such as Greco-Buddhist art, which continued to have an impact for the ensuing centuries. In south-central Punjab, the Mallians, together with nearby tribes, gathered a large army to face the Greek army. This was perhaps the largest army faced by the Greeks in the entire Indian subcontinent.^[40] During the siege of the citadel, Alexander leaped into the inner area of the citadel, where he faced the Mallians' leader. Alexander was wounded by an arrow that had penetrated his lung, leaving him severely injured. The city was conquered after a fierce battle.^[41][42]

The region was then divided between the Maurya Empire and the Greco-Bactrian kingdom in 302 BCE. Menander I Soter conquered Punjab and made Sagala (present-day Sialkot) the capital of the Indo-Greek Kingdom.^[43][44] Menander is noted for becoming a patron and converting to Greco-Buddhism and he is widely regarded as the greatest of the Indo-Greek kings.^[45]

Medieval period

The Buddhist monk Xuanzang visited Punjab in the 7th century CE and described a large polity known as Takka Kingdom, which according to him covered territory between Indus and Sutlej and had capital at Sialkot. Following the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent at the beginning of the 8th century, Arab armies of the Umayyad Caliphate penetrated South Asia, introducing Islam into the Punjab. Umayyad decline was followed by formation of various Arab-ruled principalities, notably the Emirate of Multan, in 855. In the 9th century, the Odi Shahi dynasty originating from Gandhara replaced the Takka kingdom, ruling much of Punjab along with Kabulistan.^[46][47][48] The tribe of Gakhars formed a large part of the Odi Shahi army in the 10th century, according to the medieval historian Firishta.^[49]

Ghaznavids and Ghurids

Punjab was annexed by the Ghaznavid dynasty in the 11th century. Mahmud of Ghazni conquered Peshawar by defeating Maharaja Jayapala of Punjab in 1001.^[50] The ruler of Multan, Abul Fateh Daud was defeated in 1010.^[51] Nandana, the last Shahi capital, fell in 1014 and Punjab became part of expanding Ghaznavid Empire, which ruled for 157 years. Lahore became secondary, and after 1163, sole capital of the Ghaznavids. They gradually declined as a power until the Ghurids conquered Lahore under Muhammad of Ghor in 1186, deposing the last Ghaznavid ruler Khusrau Malik.^[52]

Following the assassination of Muhammad of Ghor at Dhamiak in 1206, the Ghurid state fragmented and was replaced in northern India by the Delhi Sultanate.^[40] The Delhi Sultanate ruled Punjab for the next three hundred years, led by five unrelated dynasties.

Delhi Sultanate

The first ruler of Delhi Sultanate was Qutb ud-Din Aibak, a Mamluk, who died in Lahore while playing polo in 1210. Following his death his successor Iltutmish transferred capital from Lahore to Delhi. The relocation of regional centre was necessitated by the rise of Mongol Empire in the west. Mongols under Genghis Khan first invaded Punjab in 1221 while chasing the retreating armies of Khwarezmian prince Jalal al-Din Mangburni; Genghis Khan annihilated the Khwarezmians at the Battle of the Indus besides modern Attock. Mongols plundered Punjab plains but returned due to the hot climate of Punjab.^[53]

Throughout the 13th-century, Punjab bore the brunt of numerous Mongol invasions, and the towns of Lahore, Multan and Dipalpur were repeatedly sacked. Mamluk sultan Balban led several campaigns against them. Alauddin Khilji and his generals Zafar Khan, Nusrat Khan, Ulugh Khan and Malik Kafur inflicted a series of defeats over them and large-scale raids by Mongol khanates stopped. Ghiyath al-Din Tughlaq, the former governor of Multan and Dipalpur, founded the Tughlaq dynasty in 1320. Earlier, he had served as the governor of Multan and had fought twenty-eight battles against Mongols from his base at Dipalpur, preserving Punjab and Sind from their advances. The mother of Ghiyath al-Din was from Punjab, as was the mother of Firuz Shah Tughlaq, who became the emperor in 1351.^[54]

The Tughlaqs declined towards the end of 14th century. In 1398 Delhi Sultanate faced a devastating invasion by Emir Timur, who massacred the citizens of Delhi and Multan. Following his return, Khizr Khan established the Sayyid dynasty, the fourth dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, with four rulers ruling from 1414 to 1451 for 37 years.^[55] Variously described as a Sayyid^[56] or a Khokhar chief,^[57][58] Khizr Khan initially ruled as the Timurid vassal of Multan, and conquered Delhi in 1414.^{[59][60][61][62][63]} During the reign of his successor Mubarak Shah, large parts of Punjab were conquered by Punjabi chieftain Jasrat and he spent his reign fighting against Jasrat.^[64][65][66] After the death of Mubarak Shah, his nephew, Muhammad Shah ascended the throne and styled himself as Sultan Muhammad Shah.^[67] Sayyids ruled the Sultanate until they were displaced by the Lodi dynasty on 19 April 1451,^[68] when the last ruler of the Sayyids, Ala ud-Din, voluntarily abdicated the throne of the Delhi Sultanate in favour of Bahlul Khan Lodi.^[69] Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, was born in the town of Nankana Sahib in 1470.^[70][71][72]

Langah Sultanate

In 1445, Rai Sahra, chief of Langah tribe,^[73][74][75] established the Langah Sultanate in Multan. The sultanate included regions of southern and central Punjab. A large number of Baloch settlers arrived and the towns of Dera Ghazi Khan and Dera Ismail Khan were founded.^[76]

Modern period

Mughal Empire

The Mughal emperor Babur defeated the Lodis in 1526, establishing Mughal Empire.^[77] During Mughal period Punjab region was divided into two provinces; Multan and Lahore.^[78][79] They were created as one of the original 12 Subahs of the Mughal Empire under the administrative reforms carried by Akbar in 1580.^[80][81] By the 16th century, Punjabi Muslims were the majority in the region and an elaborate network of mosques and mausoleums marked the landscape.^[82] They formed a small but notable part of Mughal nobility.^{[83][84][85][86]} Mughal-era was also marked by the flourishing of Punjabi literature. A number of Punjabi scholars and poets including Shah Hussain, Sultan Bahu, Abdullah Lahori, Bulleh Shah, Abdul Hakim Sialkoti, Mita Chenabi and Waris Shah wrote their works in the Mughal period.

The Mughal Empire ruled the region until it was severely weakened in the eighteenth century.^[30] After the death of the last viceroy, Adina Arain in 1758, large parts of Punjab were incorporated into Durrani Empire.^[30] The decline of Mughals resulted in the rise of Sikh principalities, called misls, as well as several Punjabi Muslim tribal polities, notably Chattha clan under Nur Muhammad,^{[89][90][91][92][93]} Gakhar clan under Muqarrab Khan and Sial clan under Inayatullah Khan.^[94][95][96] The 18th-century was marked by constant warfare between these principalities and by several foreign invasions.

Ranjit Singh, born in Gujranwala in the ruling family of one such principality, established the Sikh Empire which ruled Punjab from 1799 until the British annexed it in 1849 following the First and Second Anglo-Sikh Wars.^[90]

British Rule

Most of the Punjabi homeland formed a province of British India, though a number of small princely states retained local rulers who recognised British authority.^[97] In the Revolt of 1857, a Kharal sardar Rai Ahmad Khan led rebellion against the British Raj in the Bar region, as did Dhund tribe in Murree. However, most Punjabis were divided with regards to their allegiance and many did not feel loyalty towards the Mughal emperor in Delhi. British recruited a number of Sikh, Pathan and Muslim troops to quell the revolt. The Punjab with its rich farmlands became one of the most important colonial assets.^[30] Lahore was a noted center of learning and culture, and Rawalpindi became an important military installation.^[30]

A large number of Punjabis were recruited in the British Indian Army during World War I, even though the Punjab remained a source of anti-colonial activities.^[98] Disturbances in the region increased as the war continued.^[30] At the end of the war, high casualty rates, heavy taxation, inflation, and a widespread influenza epidemic disrupted Punjabi society.^[30] In 1919 a British officer ordered his troops to fire on a crowd of demonstrators, mostly Sikhs in Amritsar. The Jallianwala massacre fuelled the Indian independence movement.^[30] Nationalists declared the independence of India from Lahore in 1930 but were quickly suppressed.^[30] Various social and independence movements and organisations originated from or had prominent influence in Punjab against the British during first half of 20th century, such as Silk Letter movement, Ghadar movement, Khaksar movement, and Majlis-e Ahrar-e Islam.

When the Second World War broke out, nationalism in British India had already divided into religious movements.^[30] 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.^[30] 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.^[30]

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 Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi, Agha Shorish Kashmiri, Syed Ata Ullah Shah Bukhari, Madan Lal Dhingra, Sukhdev Thapar, Bhagat Singh, Udham Singh, Kartar Singh Sarabha, Bhai Parmanand, Choudhry Rahmat Ali, and Lala Lajpat Rai.

After Independence

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.^[99] The Punjab bore the brunt of the civil unrest following partition, with casualties estimated to be in the millions.^{[100][101][102][103]}

Another major consequence of partition was the sudden shift towards religious homogeneity that 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.^[104]

Topography

Punjab's landscape 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. In the South, Punjab's elevation reaches 2,327 metres (7,635 ft)^{[citation needed]} near the hill station of Fort Munro in Dera Ghazi Khan. A portion of Thar desert lies in south of Punjab along the border with Indian state of Rajasthan, known as Cholistan. Another semi-arid desert lies in the Sind Sagar Doab known as Thal.

Climate

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. 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.

In early 2007, the province experienced one of the coldest winters in the last 70 years.^[108]

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:^[109]

• Hot weather (April to early June) when temperature rises as high as 123 °F (51 °C).
• Rainy season (late June to September). Average annual rainfall ranges between 950 and 1300 mm sub-mountain region and 500–800 mm in the plains.
• Cold / Foggy / mild weather (October to March). Temperature goes down as low as 35.6 °F (2.0 °C).

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.^{[citation needed]}

Population

The province is home to over half the population of Pakistan, and is the world's second-most populous subnational entity, and the most populous outside of India and China. The capital and largest city is Lahore which has been the capital of the wider Punjab region since 16th-century. Other important cities include Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Multan, Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Sheikhupura, Jhelum, Rahim Yar Khan and Sahiwal.

As per a 2025 Dawn News report, based on data compiled by research organisation Population Council, UK Aid and the United Nations Population, Pakistan's Punjab had an annual growth rate of 2.53%. According to demographic projections, if the province’s current total fertility rate of 3.4 children per woman remains unchanged, Punjab’s population could more than double to approximately 253 million by 2050.^[123]

Languages

The major native language spoken in Punjab is Punjabi, representing the largest language spoken in the country. The Punjabi language is spoken in the form of many dialects across the province, including Majhi, Pothwari, Thali, Jhangvi, Dhanni, Shahpuri, and Doabi. In addition to Punjabi, other closely related languages such as Saraiki in the south (including Multani, Derawali, and Riasti dialects) and Hindko in the northwest (including Chachhi, Ghebi, and Awankari dialects) are also spoken widely. Both Saraiki and Hindko have been enumerated separately from Punjabi in the Pakistani censuses of 1981 and 2017.

Religions

According to the 2023 census, the population of Punjab, Pakistan was 127,688,922.^[127] With 124,462,897 adherents, Muslims comprise the largest religious group, with a Sunni Hanafi majority and a Shia Ithna 'ashariyah minority, forming approximately 97.75 per cent of the population.^[127] As of 2026, there were more than 80,000 mosques in the province.^[128] The largest non-Muslim minority is Christians with 2,458,924 adherents, forming roughly 1.93 per cent of the population.^[127] Hindus form 249,716 people, comprising approximately 0.20 per cent of the population.^[127] The other minorities include Sikhs and Parsis.^[127]

More information Religious group, 1951: 12–21 ...

Religion in Punjab, Pakistan (1881–2023)

Religious group	1881[120][121][122][129][k]		1891[117][118][119][130][j]		1901[116][131][i]		1911[114][115][h]		1921[113][g]		1931[112][f]		1941[132][e]		1951[133]: 12–21		1998[134]		2017[125][135]		2023[127][136]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	6,201,859	78.09%	6,766,545	76.07%	7,951,155	76.25%	8,494,314	76.49%	8,975,288	75.49%	10,570,029	75.28%	13,022,160	75.06%	20,200,794	97.89%	71,574,830	97.22%	107,541,602	97.77%	124,462,897	97.75%
Hinduism [l]	1,449,913	18.26%	1,727,810	19.42%	1,944,363	18.65%	1,645,758	14.82%	1,797,141	15.12%	1,957,878	13.94%	2,373,466	13.68%	33,052	0.16%	116,410	0.16%	211,641	0.19%	249,716	0.2%
Sikhism	272,908	3.44%	366,162	4.12%	483,999	4.64%	813,441	7.33%	863,091	7.26%	1,180,789	8.41%	1,530,112	8.82%	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	5,649	0.004%
Christianity	12,992	0.16%	30,168	0.34%	42,371	0.41%	144,514	1.3%	247,030	2.08%	324,730	2.31%	395,311	2.28%	402,617	1.95%	1,699,843	2.31%	2,063,063	1.88%	2,458,924	1.93%
Jainism	4,352	0.05%	4,408	0.05%	5,562	0.05%	5,977	0.05%	5,930	0.05%	6,921	0.05%	9,520	0.05%	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a
Zoroastrianism	354	0.004%	215	0.002%	300	0.003%	377	0.003%	309	0.003%	413	0.003%	312	0.002%	195	0.001%	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	358	0.0003%
Buddhism	0	0%	0	0%	6	0.0001%	168	0.002%	172	0.001%	32	0.0002%	87	0.001%	9	0%	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a
Judaism	—N/a	—N/a	17	0.0002%	9	0.0001%	36	0.0003%	16	0.0001%	6	0%	7	0%	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a
Ahmadiyya	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	—N/a	181,428	0.25%	158,021	0.14%	140,512	0.11%
Others	21	0.0003%	17	0.0002%	0	0%	0	0%	8	0.0001%	0	0%	19,534	0.11%	35	0.0002%	48,779	0.07%	15,328	0.01%	15,249	0.01%
Total responses	7,942,399	100%	8,895,342	100%	10,427,765	100%	11,104,585	100%	11,888,985	100%	14,040,798	100%	17,350,103	100%	20,636,702	99.93%	73,621,290	100%	109,989,655	100%	127,333,305	99.72%
Total population	7,942,399	100%	8,895,342	100%	10,427,765	100%	11,104,585	100%	11,888,985	100%	14,040,798	100%	17,350,103	100%	20,651,140	100%	73,621,290	100%	109,989,655	100%	127,688,922	100%

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Divisions

Districts

This section is an excerpt from List of districts in Punjab, Pakistan § List of the Districts by area, population, density, literacy rate etc..[edit]

Below you will find a list of all 41 districts in the province of Punjab, along with the division it belongs to, the area of the district, the population and population density of the district, the average annual population growth rate of each district (between 1998 and 2017), and a map showing its location. The districts are initially listed in alphabetical order, but they can be sorted in different ways by clicking the headers of the table.

More information District, Headquarter ...

List of the Districts by area, population, density, literacy rate etc.

District	Headquarter	Area (km2)[138]	Population (2023)[138]	Density (ppp/km2)[138]	Literacy rate (2023) [139]	Average Annual Population Growth Rate (1998 - 2017) [140]	Map	Division
Attock	Attock	6,858	2,170,423	316.7	80.22%	2.08%		Rawalpindi
Bahawalnagar	Bahawalnagar	8,878	3,550,342	399.6	67.01%	1.95%		Bahawalpur
Bahawalpur	Bahawalpur	24,830	4,284,964	172.3	63.35%	2.18%		Bahawalpur
Bhakkar	Bhakkar	8,153	1,957,470	240.5	65.68%	2.39%		Sargodha
Chakwal	Chakwal	6,524	1,734,854	266.2	87.79%	1.71%		Rawalpindi
Chiniot	Chiniot	2,643	1,563,024	591.3	65.05%	1.85%		Faisalabad
Dera Ghazi Khan	Dera Ghazi Khan	11,922	3,393,705	285.8	56.78%	2.98%		Dera Ghazi Khan
Faisalabad	Faisalabad	5,856	9,075,819	1,551.7	83.41%	1.98%		Faisalabad
Gujranwala	Gujranwala	2,426	4,966,338	2,045.4	86.77%	2.06%		Gujranwala
Gujrat	Gujrat	3,192	3,219,375	1,007.0	91.37%	1.57%		Gujrat
Hafizabad	Hafizabad	2,367	1,319,909	557.0	75.77%	1.74%		Gujrat
Jhang	Jhang	6,166	3,065,639	497.6	69.45%	2.03%		Faisalabad
Jhelum	Jhelum	3,587	1,382,308	385.7	90.65%	1.41%		Rawalpindi
Kasur	Kasur	3,995	4,084,286	1,021.4	72.85%	2.03%		Lahore
Khanewal	Khanewal	4,349	3,364,077	774.3	70.97%	1.83%		Multan
Khushab	Jauharabad	6,511	1,501,089	230.8	72.52%	1.84%		Sargodha
Lahore	Lahore	1,772	13,004,135	7,336.6	89.62%	3.00%		Lahore
Layyah	Layyah	6,289	2,102,386	334.5	71.83%	2.59%		Dera Ghazi Khan
Lodhran	Lodhran	2,778	1,928,299	693.5	61.68%	1.97%		Multan
Mandi Bahauddin	Mandi Bahauddin	2,673	1,829,486	683.1	80.27%	1.68%		Gujrat
Mianwali	Mianwali	5,840	1,798,268	307.4	72.87%	2.01%		Sargodha
Multan	Multan	3,720	5,362,305	1,441.1	71.41%	2.23%		Multan
Muzaffargarh	Muzaffargarh	4,778	3,528,567	738.50	43.74%	...		Dera Ghazi Khan
Nankana Sahib[141]	Nankana Sahib	2,216	1,634,871	737.0	73.12%	1.37%		Lahore
Narowal	Narowal	2,337	1,950,954	834.3	85.28%	1.59%		Gujranwala
Okara	Okara	4,377	3,515,490	802.2	70.25%	1.64%		Sahiwal
Pakpattan	Pakpattan	2,724	2,136,170	785.3	67.13%	1.85%		Sahiwal
Rahim Yar Khan	Rahim Yar Khan	11,880	5,564,703	468.2	57.94%	2.26%		Bahawalpur
Rajanpur	Rajanpur	12,319	2,381,049	193.3	46.09%	3.16%		Dera Ghazi Khan
Rawalpindi	Rawalpindi	4,547	5,745,964	1,868.79	93.22%	2.52%		Rawalpindi
Sahiwal	Sahiwal	3,201	2,881,811	900.6	74.77%	1.64%		Sahiwal
Sargodha	Sargodha	5,854	4,334,448	740.1	76.73%	1.73%		Sargodha
Sheikhupura	Sheikhupura	3,744	4,049,418	1,080.3	78.88%	2.22%		Lahore
Sialkot	Sialkot	3,016	4,499,394	1,492.5	88.37%	1.90%		Gujranwala
Toba Tek Singh	Toba Tek Singh	3,252	2,524,044	776.2	81.38%	1.59%		Faisalabad
Vehari	Vehari	4,364	3,430,421	787.7	69.10%	1.74%		Multan
Talagang	Talagang	2,932	602,246	226.33	75.50	1.90%		Rawalpindi
Murree	Murree	738	372,947	480	84.79	...		Rawalpindi
Taunsa	Taunsa	8,108	...	...	57.96	...		Dera Ghazi Khan
Kot Addu	Kot Addu	3,471	1,486,758	428.34	58.19	...		Dera Ghazi Khan
Wazirabad	Wazirabad	1,206	993,412	690	77.39	...		Gujrat

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Fairs and festivals

The Islamic festivals are typically observed.^[187][188] Non-Islamic festivals include Lohri, Basant and Vaisakhi, which are usually celebrated as seasonal festivals.^[189] 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.^[190]

Some Islamic clerics and some politicians have attempted to ban the participation of non-Islamic festivals because of the religious basis,^[191] and they being declared haram (forbidden in Islam).^[192]