Country Pakistan Established July 02, 1982 Time zone PST (UTC+5) Area 6,511 km² | Province Punjab Headquarters Jauharabad Number of Tehsils 4 | |
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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. The district consists of Four tehsils, Khushab, Noorpur Thal, Quaidabad and Naushera. Khushab is home to the Heavy Water and Natural Uranium Research Reactor, part of the Pakistan's Special Weapons Program.
Contents
- Map of Khushab District Pakistan
- Language
- Nuclear installations
- Geography
- Education
- Administrative divisions
- Khushab Tehsil
- Noorpur Thal Tehsil
- Quaidabad Tehsil
- Naushera Tehsil
- Notable people
- References
Map of Khushab District, Pakistan
Language
According to the 1998 census the major first language of the district is Punjabi, spoken by 96.8% of the population, while Urdu accounted for 1.5%.
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. 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. 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.
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 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. In 2015 delimitation of District Khushab, 48 rural union councils and 7 urban Municipal Committees have been created by the election Commission of Pakistan.
Khushab Tehsil
In 2000, Tehsil Khushab was subdivided into 32 Union councils; but in 2015, 10 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:
Noorpur Thal Tehsil
Noorpur Thal is subdivided into 12 Union Councils and 1 Municipal Committee.
Quaidabad Tehsil
Quaidabad is subdivided into 11 Union Councils and 1 Municipal Committee.
Naushera Tehsil
Naushera (Vadi e Soon) is subdivided into 6 Union Councils and 1 Municipal Committee.