Khushab District

Infobox Pakistan district
district = Khushab District
خوشاب
area =
population =
pop_year =
density =
caption = Location of Khushab within in Punjab.
region = Punjab
established =
nazim = Malik Ghulam Muhammad Tiwana
naib_nazim = Malik Atta Ullah [ [http://www.nrb.gov.pk/lg_election/results.asp?state=1 Zila Nazims & Naib Zila Nazims in the Province of Punjab] ]
seats =
tehsils =2
languages =
website =

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Khushab District ( _ur. خوشاب) is a rural district located in Punjab, Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, the population was 9,05,711 with 24.76% living in urban areas [ [http://www.urckarachi.org/Population%20Table-5.htm Urban Resource Centre (1998 Census)] )] . The district consists of 3 tehsils: Khushab, Nurpur, and Quaidabad, as well as a sub-tehsil Noshehra [ [http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/admin_unit/admin_list_tehsil.html Tehsil statistics (Government of Pakistan, Statistics Division)] ] . Khushab is home to the Heavy Water and Natural Uranium Research Reactor [ [http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/pakistan/facility/khushab.htm Special Weapons Program of Pakistan (Federation of American Scientists)] ] , a critical part of the Pakistan's Special Weapons Program, which has come under much heated scrutiny [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/south_asia/5212718.stm South Asia arms race - is it paranoia? (BBC News)] ] .

Location

Khushab is situated between Sargodha and Mianwali, near the river Jhelum. The district is headquartered at Jauharabad (founded 1953, pop. 39,477).

Khushab is one of the most important cities especially from a defencive (atomic) point of view. The district is full of natural beauty containing Jhelum River, Fields, Mountains(Skaisar) and Thal desert. Its main towns included Quaida-bad, Jauhara-bad, Mithtawana and Nowshera. Jauharabad (atomic city) is beautiful city for residence having wide roads and streets. Neighbour cities are Sargodha, Mianwali, Bhakher, Jhelum and Jhang.the south ends at the town Mari Shah Sakhira.

Education

The education rate is increasing in the district. The top Schools and colleges include Fauji Foundation Khusha and DPS Khushab. Now there is a campus of Arid University in Khushab.

There are many schools in the area mostly Secondary or Higher Secondary Education institutions. Students have to go to the other cities for higher education and further education. The literacy rate of Khushab is about 65% and due to recent research projects in the area, the literacy rate is increasing.

Administration

The district is divided into two tehsils, Khushab and Noorpur Thal, which contain a total of fifty one Union Councils [ [http://www.nrb.gov.pk/lg_election/union.asp?district=15&dn=Khushab Tehsils & Unions in the District of Khushab - Government of Pakistan] ] .

Khushab Tehsil

Khushab is subdivided into 41 Union Councils.

Noorpur Thal tehsil

Noorpur Thal is subdivided into 10 Union Councils.

Notable places

The Soon valley Sakasir is one of the most beautiful areas of the district.

There is three beautiful lakes(Ochali, Khabbaki and Sodhi Jay Wali) and a beautiful Garden Kanhatti Garden near Khabbaki village, located here in the Soon valley area is the largest forest in Khushab district.

*Katha Saghral - is semi-hilly and mineral area. Dozens of minerals including coal and salt are being mined in the surrounding area of this village.

*Khabikki Lake is a salt water lake in the southern Salt Range area in Pakistan. This lake is formed due to the absence of drainage in the range. Earlier its water was brackish. Now the water is sweet and a Chinese breed of fish is introduced in it.

The lake is one kilometre wide and two kilometres long. Khabikki is also the name of a neighbouring village. Boats are also available and there is a rest house beside the lake. A hill gently ascended on the right side of the lake. The lake and the green area around provide a good scenery.

*Sakaser is the highest mountain in the Salt Range area in Pothohar in Pakistan. It is 1522 metre / 4946 feet high. It is situated in Khushab District but it can be seen from adjoining districts of Mianwali and Chakwal.

*Uchhali Lake is just below the Sakaser mountain, it is a salt water lake in the southern Salt Range area in Pakistan. This lake is formed due to the absence of drainage in the range. Sakaser (1522 metre / 4946 feet), the highest mountain in the Salt Range, looms over the lake. Due to its brackish water the lake is lifeless. But it offers a picturesque scenery.It is a good picnic spot and moderately tough walking point. At its top there is a radar.

Main Towns

*Satellite Town Khushab
*Satellite Town Jauharabad
*New Satellite Town Jauharabad
*Model Town Jauhurabad
*Civil lines Jauharabad

Tribes

The population of the district is from many tribes including:

{|
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*Arain
* Wadhal Tiwana
* Sheikh Tiwana
* Sunmbli Tiwana
* Mundial Tiwana
* Mastial Tiwana
*Awan
*Balochs
*Johiya
*Syeds
*Tiwana
*Virk

Geography

Khushab consists of agricultural lowland plains, lakes, and hills. Parts of the Thal desert touch the district and the Jhelum runs alongside it making it highly fertile for agriculture. The district is rich in natural resources (salt & coal). Most people are associated with farming and agriculture. One third of the district is hilly and is dominated by Awans and other minor tribes. Since there is no agriculture in the area, this part of Khushab district has been favoured by governments since British times as being fertile ground for armed services recruitment - a majority of the population from this area goes into the armed forces. The other two parts are irrigated lands between Khushab and Quaiadabad and the desert area of Tehsil Noorpur Thal which is dominated by Balochs. This desert area is the beginning of large Thal desert that continues into India's Rajasthan. In the 1980s the district was classified as a tax relief zone for new industries. This led to the establishment of many industries including cement, sugar, and textiles. But this exist only in the Headquarter (Jauharabad) so the benefits are getting the Elite ones. Masses have still a very hard life.

The Thal desert

The Thal desert is a dry desert with scarce vegetation — mostly thorny bushes — over a breadth of convert|70|mi|km and is situated between the Indus river and the Jhelum river. In Thal the whole land is arid and depends upon the weather condition, but now with the project of greater thal cannal the most part of the desert will be irrigated. Gram is the main crop.People are hardworking. Pelowance and katimar are two towns of this tehsil which are famous due to high standard of educatin. Noor Pur Thal has ten Union councils having degree college for men and as well as for women. Thal desert is basically is a triangle between the districts of Khushab, Bhakkar, Mianwali, Jhang, Leyiha and Muzzafargarh. Thal has very hot days and pleasant nights.

The Soon Valley

The Soon Valley is the cultural hub of Awan tribe. The heirline of the Awan tribe reaches a common ancestor Qutab Shah who supposedly lived here, so the valley holds a special meaning to the tribe. One of the villages of the soon valley namely Pail piran is inhabited by the descendants of Bahauddin Zakkarya Multani ,and are Hashmite Sadats(Syeds), who's ancestor Pir Khawja Noori son of Pir Ali Qatal made many people of region embrace Islam. Pirs of Pail-Piran are closely related to Pirs of Bhera Sharif and Pir the Khara. Few leading personalities of Pail-Piran included Pir Nowbahar Shah, dr. Pir Walayat Shah(Dr.Wali Pir),Pir Kalu Shah,and lately Dr.Syed Wajid H.Pirzada.Mazar of Pir Khawja Noori is located in Pail-piran.The Soon Valley is important as a hill station after Murree in the province of Punjab. The valley has beautiful lakes and gardens.

Prominent Politicians

* Malik Khuda Bakhash Tiwana - Ex-Provincial Minister
* Malik Naeem Khan Awan - Ex-Federal Ministercite web
url=http://www.dawn.com/2005/08/29/top18.htm
title=Alliances await CMs nod for Khushab slots
publisher=DAWN Newspaper
accessdate=2008-05-29]
* Malik Ehsan Ullah Khan Tiwana Ex Zila Nazim
* Malik Bashir Awan - chief of Tanzeem-Al-Awan in Pakistan.
* Malik Shakir Bashir Awan - MNA and ex-naib nazim.
* Malik Muhammad Riaz Awan - Nazim Jauharabad
* Malik Ghulam Rasool Sangha - Khushab tehsil nazim
* Malik Ghulam Muhammad Tiwana - District nazim [cite web
url=http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/08/nat19.htm
title=New district nazims
publisher=DAWN Newspaper
accessdate=2008-05-29]
* Malik Saleh Muhammad [cite web
url=http://www.pap.gov.pk/legislators/present/dist6.htm
title=Khushab, pp.39-42
accessdate=2008-05-29]

*Malik Muhammad Ghazanfar wadhal tiwana Chairman District Accounts Committee, Nazim Hadali (BOLA).
*Sultan Sikandar Nadeem Tiwana Nazim Hamoka, Chairman Cricket association Khushab.
*Malik Ayub Tiwana Nazim Mitha Tiwana
*Malik Muhammad Qasim Tiwana President Officer's Club Khushab.
* Malik Tahir Raza Baghoor - Ex-Noorpur Thal naib nazim [cite webMalik Muhammad Ghazanfar wadhal tiwana Chairman District Accounts Committee, Nazim Hadali (BOLA.Sultan Sikandar Nadeem Tiwana Nazim Hamoka, Chairman Cricket association Khushab.Malik Ayub Tiwana Nazim Mitha TiwanaMalik Muhammad Qasim Tiwana President Officer's Club Khushab.
url=http://www.nrb.gov.pk/lg_representative/batch_01/tehsil.asp?district=15&dn=Khushab
title=Tehsil Nazims & Naib Tehsil Nazims in the District of Khushab
accessdate=2008-05-29]

The Nuclear Weaponry Program

A stark intervention of prying eyes of a privately owned satellite, at the eve of President Bill Clinton's arrival to the Indian Sub-continent, captured a nuclear weapons base in Khushab in 2000 and declared that Nuclear Weaponry Program in Pakistan was second only to the United States.

Controversies and debates

On March 21, 2000, the Christian Science Monitor published an article written by Alexander Colhoun, a high-resolution aerial satellite photo revealed a nuclear reactor and a missile base in the city of Khushab. These pictures had mixed views, one of the expression of power that could shackle or reshape diplomatic landscapes [ [http://www.oss.net/dynamaster/file_archive/040319/64a00635330d775e658f3a2d1901b24f/OSS2000-01-20.pdf Top-Secret Kodak Moment In Space Shakes Global Security, Christian Science Monitor (March 21, 2000)] ] of a region and another of the ethical question about the usage of satellite imagery in terms of privacy and national sovereignty of a nuclear-capable nation. The report was published at a time when American President Bill Clinton was due to visit India and sparked concerns worldwide. It was later clearly stated in the Dawn newspaper on June 14, 2000 that this particular nuclear reactor at Khushab and its reprocessing plant were generating between 8 to 10 kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium per year, dedicated for military use.

China, a nuclear friend

Some reports around the time of the satellite imagery stunt revealed that China is helping Pakistan mount nuclear warheads atop mobile M-11 missiles for which garages were supposedly build underground at Sargodha. If the case be, Pakistan had a head-start in the nuclear game. John E. Pike, spokesperson for the Federation of American Scientists told a press conference nuclear powers, in the past, or presumed nuclear powers, except the U.S., had only one organisation for making uranium and plutonium bombs because of the high costs involved but, Pakistan had two.

References