Jauharabad
Encyclopedia
Jauharabad is a planned town situated in Khushab District
in the Punjab
province of Pakistan
. It has a population of approximately 40,000 and it is the district headquarters of Khushab District.
Jauharabad is named after Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, a prominent figure from the Pakistan independence movement. The etymology of the Urdu word "Jauharabad" also means "atomic city" in English
, although this is purely coincidential as the town was planned and constructed 33 years prior to the construction of the nearby Khushab Nuclear Complex, which lies 30 km south of Jauharabad.
until the site at Islamabad
was chosen to replace it in 1958. Later, because of its planned design, open spaces and wide avenues, the district headquarters of Khushab District was shifted to Jauharabad from Khushab city. Jauharabad is one of the few planned urban settlements in Pakistan (others being Faisalabad
(formerly Lyallpur), Islamabad
and Gwadar
), which have been developed from scratch under an urban master plan.
The famous Islamic thinker and scholar and Jewish convert to Islam, Muhammad Asad
(formerly Leopold Weiss), author of The Road to Mecca, The Message of the Qur'an and Principles of State and Government in Islam, stayed at Jauharabad in the 1950s, residing at the bungalow of the town's prominent resident, Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan
who, on the advice of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, had established the Dar ul Islam Trust Institutes first in Pathankot
, India
and, after Pakistan's independence, in Jauharabad.
and the Potohar Plateau in flat agricultural territory immediately south of the Salt Range
, marking the end of the Pothohar Plateau and the start of the Punjab plains. The Jhelum River
passes 7 km southeast of Jauharabad and on the west of Jauharabad lies the Thal Desert. On the east of Jahaurabad is the Khushab Reserve Forest spread over approximately 4 sq. km.
Khushab District
Khushab District is a rural tribal district located in Punjab, Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, the population was 905,711 with 24.76% living in urban areas. The district consists of 3 tehsils: Khushab, Nurpur, and Quaidabad, as well as a sub-tehsil Naushera...
in the Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
province of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
. It has a population of approximately 40,000 and it is the district headquarters of Khushab District.
Jauharabad is named after Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, a prominent figure from the Pakistan independence movement. The etymology of the Urdu word "Jauharabad" also means "atomic city" in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, although this is purely coincidential as the town was planned and constructed 33 years prior to the construction of the nearby Khushab Nuclear Complex, which lies 30 km south of Jauharabad.
History
Jauharabad was developed in 1953 under a master plan and was originally designated to be the new federal capital of PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
until the site at Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
was chosen to replace it in 1958. Later, because of its planned design, open spaces and wide avenues, the district headquarters of Khushab District was shifted to Jauharabad from Khushab city. Jauharabad is one of the few planned urban settlements in Pakistan (others being Faisalabad
Faisalabad
Faisalabad , formerly known as Lyallpur, is the third largest metropolis in Pakistan, the second largest in the province of Punjab after Lahore, and a major industrial center in the heart of Pakistan. Before the foundation of the city in 1880, the area was very thinly populated. The population has...
(formerly Lyallpur), Islamabad
Islamabad
Islamabad is the capital of Pakistan and the tenth largest city in the country. Located within the Islamabad Capital Territory , the population of the city has grown from 100,000 in 1951 to 1.7 million in 2011...
and Gwadar
Gwadar
Gwadar also known as Godar is a developing port city on the southwestern Arabian Sea coast of Pakistan. It is the district headquarters of Gwadar District in Balochistan province and has a population of approximately 50,000.Gwadar is strategically located at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the...
), which have been developed from scratch under an urban master plan.
The famous Islamic thinker and scholar and Jewish convert to Islam, Muhammad Asad
Muhammad Asad
Muhammad Asad , was an Austrian Polish Jew who converted to Islam, and a 20th century journalist, traveler, writer, social critic, linguist, thinker, reformer, diplomat, political theorist, translator and scholar...
(formerly Leopold Weiss), author of The Road to Mecca, The Message of the Qur'an and Principles of State and Government in Islam, stayed at Jauharabad in the 1950s, residing at the bungalow of the town's prominent resident, Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan
Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan
Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan , founder of the Dar ul Islam Movement and the Dar ul Islam Trust in South Asia and the Dar ul Islam Trust Institutes in Pathankot, India and Jauharabad, Pakistan, was a civil engineer, civil servant, landowner, agriculturalist and philanthropist...
who, on the advice of Allama Muhammad Iqbal, had established the Dar ul Islam Trust Institutes first in Pathankot
Pathankot
Pathankot became 22nd district on 28th July 2011 and a municipal corporation in the Indian state of Punjab. It was a part of the Nurpur princely state ruled by the Rajputs prior to 1849 AD. It is a meeting point of the three northern states of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and, after Pakistan's independence, in Jauharabad.
Geography
Jauharabad lies at the confluence of the Thal DesertThal Desert
The Thal desert is situated in Punjab, Pakistan. It is vast area mainly between the Jhelum and Sindh rivers near the Pothohar Plateau. Its total length from north to south is 190 miles, and its maximum breadth is while minimum breadth is 20 miles. This region is divided into the districts of...
and the Potohar Plateau in flat agricultural territory immediately south of the Salt Range
Salt Range
The Salt Range is a hill system in the Punjab province of Pakistan, deriving its name from its extensive deposits of rock salt. The range extends from the Jhelum River to the Indus, across the northern portion of the Punjab province. The Salt Range contains the great mines of Mayo, Khewra, Warcha...
, marking the end of the Pothohar Plateau and the start of the Punjab plains. The Jhelum River
Jhelum River
Jehlum River or Jhelum River , ) is a river that flows in India and Pakistan. It is the largest and most western of the five rivers of Punjab, and passes through Jhelum District...
passes 7 km southeast of Jauharabad and on the west of Jauharabad lies the Thal Desert. On the east of Jahaurabad is the Khushab Reserve Forest spread over approximately 4 sq. km.
Strategic importance
Situated roughly in the strategic centre of Pakistan's east-west axis (which was one of the reasons for it originally being selected as the site of Pakistan's federal capital in the early 1950s), Jauharabad lies within close proximity of some of Pakistan's most important strategic installations:- 45 km east of Jauharabad lies Pakistan's largest air force base, PAF Base Mushaf and the Central Ammunition Depot (CAD), both of which are in Sargodha
- 30 km south of Jauharabad lies the Khushab Nuclear Complex, which houses Pakistan's principal plutoniumPlutoniumPlutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
processing and heavy waterHeavy waterHeavy water is water highly enriched in the hydrogen isotope deuterium; e.g., heavy water used in CANDU reactors is 99.75% enriched by hydrogen atom-fraction...
production facilities - 42 km north-east of Jauharabad lies PAF Base Sakesar, one of the primary air defence radar stations in Pakistan