Mianwali District Punjab Province of Pakistan is bounded by district Attock on North-East, Chakwal and Khushab districts on East and Bhakkar on South and KPK on its West and North-West. River Indus flows across the district from North to South. In November 1901, the KPK was carved out of Punjab and present day towns of Mianwali, Isa Khel, Kalabagh, and Kundian were separated from Bannu District (KPK) and hence a new district was made with the headquarters in Mianwali city and placed in Punjab.
District Mianwali is spread over an area of 5,840 square kilometers comprising of following three tehsils.
· Mianwali
· Isakhel
· Piplan
Isa khel tehsil
Isakhel Tehsil is an administrative subdivision Tehsil of Mianwali District in the Punjab province of Pakistan The city of Isakhel is the headquarters of the tehsil which is administratively subdivided into 14 Union Council It is located between with an area of 678 square miles (1,760 km2) and contains the towns of Isakhel, Kammar Mushani and Kalabagh.
Mianwali Tehsil
Mianwali Tehsil is an administrative subdivision (tehsil) of Mianwali District in the Punjab province of Pakistan the tehsil is subdivided into 28 Union Councils – four of which form the capital Mianwali.
According to the 1901 census, compiled during British rule the population of the tehsil was 111,883 and contained 69 villages.
Piplan Tehsil
Piplan Tehsil is an administrative subdivision Tehsil of Mianwali in the Punjab province of Pakistan the tehsil is subdivided into 14 Union Councils – one of which forms the capital Piplan.
History of Mianwali
Traditionally all major rulers of South Asia governed this area in their turn. Mughal emperor Baburmentions Essa Khail (Isakhel) whilst he was fighting against the Pakistan as part of his campaign to conquer the Punjab during the 1520s (ref. Baburnama). Then came the Sikhs, that era was famous for lawlessness, and barbarism, they ruled until the annexation of Punjab in 1849 by the British. 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 D.I.Khan of Punjab Province.
The district of Mianwali was created in November 1901, when the N.W.F.P was carved out of Punjab and the towns of Mianwali, Isa Khel Kalabagh and Kundian were separated from Bannu District which became part of the NWFP. A new district was made with the headquarters in Mianwali city and placed in Punjab, the district became a part ofMultan Division Mianwali originally contained four Tehsils namely Mianwali, Isa Khel,Bhakkar, and Layyah, in 1909 Layyah was transferred to Muzaffargarh District. The district became a part of Sargodha Division in 1961 in 1982 Bhakkar tehsil was removed from Mianwali and became a separate district of Sargodha Division.
Climate
The district has extreme hot and cold climate. The maximum temperature during the summer shoots up to 51C while the minimum temperature recorded in winter is as low as 2C. The average rainfall in the district is about 250mm.
Literacy rate
Mianwali has a literacy rate of 28 to 35 percent which is very low in comparison, where Capital Islamabad leads the nation with an 82.4% literacy rate. Pakistan as a whole has literacy rate of 48.92%.
Natural Resouces
Agriculture
Major crops are wheat and sugarcane. Gram, Guar Seed, Ground Nut, Rice, Cotton, Moong, Mash and Masoor seed. In district Mianwali, there are seven flour mills.
Main fruits:
Citrus, Guavas, Mangoes, Jaman, Dates and Banana
Main Vegitable:
Turnip, Potato, Cauliflower, Peas, Bottle Gourd, Bitter Gourd, Chillies, Carrot, and Garlic
Forests
An area of 40,019 acres is under forest in the district. There is also linear plantation of 1080 Km alongside the roads/rails/canals in the district. Trees grown in the area are Mulbury, Bakain, Eucalyptus, Simbal, Popular, Sirin, Acacia, etc.
Minerals
District Mianwali is quite rich in minerals. Argillaceous Clay, Coal, Dolomite, Fire Clay, Gypsum, Limestone, Silica Sand and Rock Salt are excavated in commercial qualities. There is one cement factory operating in the district. However, there exists good scope for Dolomite Processing, Fire Bricks/Refractories, Hollow Glass-ware, Insulators/Capacitors and Ceramics Sanitary-ware. A careful study may also reflect a potential for a Coal based power generation unit, a Soda Ash unit based on Rock Salt and a steel mill based on iron-ore.