Bahawalpur, city of Nawabs, lies at the edge of Cholistan Desert. This city is named after first Nawab, Mohamad Bahawal Khan II, ruled by 8 generations before being merged into Pakistan. It is the 11th major city in Pakistan with expected population of 798,509 serves as the entrance to nearby Lal Suhanra National Park. This city was founded in 1748 ruled by the Abbasi family of Nawabs until 1955. The spanning area of Bahawalpur is 45,911km near the convergence of the rivers Sutlej and Chenab. This city has five districts named as Ahmedpur Sharqia, Hasilpur Khairpur Tamewali and Yazman. The most fluent languages are Urdu, Punjabi and Saraiki used in this region. Majority lives in rural areas. People are very simple, hospitable, helpful and kind. KEY WORDS Noor Mahal Gulzar Mahal Durbar Mahal Derawar Fort This city is known for many unique places such as Patan Minara, Uch Sharif, Noor Mahal, Afeef General Store Place, Derawar Fort, Abbasi Mosque, Head Panjnad, Darbar Mahal, Gulzar-i-Sadiq, Central Library, Bahawalpur Zoo and SS World Family Park.
This unique city is not behind as far as sports is concerned. There is various sport stadiums in Bahawalpur named as The Bahawalpur Dring Stadium, Bhawalpur Tennis Club and Motiullah Hockey Stadium. These stadiums have jogging track, gym and pool facility for citizens. This wonderful city has produced many notable people among them are following: Former field hockey player, Samiullah Khan, Former Member of National Assembly Nawab Salahuddin Abbasi , Member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab, Samiullah , Former member of the National Assembly of Pakistan and elected member of the Provincial Assembly of Punjab Mumtaz Jaija and a Disabled Cricket Team Player Muhammad Zubair Saleem. Bahawalpur is also famous for its carpets, embroidery and pottery.
Bahawalpur Cantonment was declared on 14th February, 1968 through Gazette Notification by the Government of Pakistan dated 14-02-1968. At that time Improvement Trust, Bahawalpur also had its jurisdiction over certain areas which fall within the Cantonment limits. The Improvement Trust however was dissolved on 01-12-1969 by the virtue notification all the Improvements Trust were to hand over their assets and liabilities to Cantonment Board Bahawalpur.
