Pakpattan District

Administrative division

The district is divided into two tehsils, which contain a total of 63 Union Councils:

Location

The capital Pakpattan is located about 179 km from Lahore and 205 km from Multan. The district is bounded to the northwest by Sahiwal District, to the north by Okara District, to the southeast by the Sutlej River and Bahawalnagar District, and to the southwest by Vehari District.

Demographics

As of the 2023 census, Pakpattan district has 344,546 households and a population of 2,136,170. The district has a sex ratio of 103.30 males to 100 females and a literacy rate of 57.13%: 64.70% for males and 49.27% for females. 613,557 (28.73% of the surveyed population) are under 10 years of age. 472,575 (22.12%) live in urban areas.

Languges

At the time of the 2023 census, 95.42% of the population spoke Punjabi and 3.50% Urdu as their first language.

According to the 1998 census, the predominant first language is Punjabi, spoken by 95.9% of the population, followed by Urdu with 3.7%.Haryanvi, also called Rangari, is spoken among Ranghar, Rajput.

Etymology

Pakpattan was originally known as Ajodhan (Hindi: अजोधन) until the 16th century. Ajodhan may be a Sanskrit term that can be interpreted as "eternal wealth" or "eternal prosperity," with Aja meaning "unborn" or "eternal" and Dhana meaning "wealth" or "prosperity." It is believed that the name of the city has changed over time, and anecdotally, it may have been known by various names prior to being called Ajodhan.

Pakpattan derives its current name from the combination of two Punjabi words: Pak, meaning "pure," and Pattan, meaning "dock"; this name references a ferry service across the Sutlej River, frequented by pilgrims visiting the Shrine of Baba Farid. The ferry symbolized a metaphorical journey of salvation, with the saint’s spirit guiding believers across the river.

During the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal eras, including the reigns of Akbar and Aurangzeb, the city continued to be known as Ajodhan. However, as the shrine of Baba Farid grew in significance, the name "Pakpattan" gained popular use and eventually eclipsed the older name. Akbar’s Ain-i-Akbari mentions the region, indicating that both names—Ajodhan and Pakpattan—were likely used interchangeably in local and administrative records.

Education

Notable educational institutes in the city include:

Government Faridia Degree College Pakpattan

Ibadat International University Pakpattan Campus

Virtual University Pakpattan Campus

Punjab College Pakpattan Campus

Superior College Pakpattan Campus

Cambridge College Pakpattan

Abaid Ullah Group Of Colleges

Notable personalities

Rana Iradat Sharif Khan

Iqbal Tikka

Hamid Rana

Azhar Rangeela

Villages

Chak 87 EB

Chak Shafi

Chak Kalyana

Chak Bodla

Chak 16/SP