Chakwal

For the district, see Chakwal District. For other uses, see Chakwal (disambiguation).

Chakwal (Punjabi and Urdu: چکوال) is a city in Chakwal District in the Potohar region of Punjab, Pakistan.^[1]

Chakwal چکوال
City
Map of Chakwal city
Chakwal Location of Chakwal Show map of Punjab, Pakistan Chakwal Chakwal (Pakistan) Show map of Pakistan
Coordinates: 32°55′49″N 72°51′20″E
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
Division	Rawalpindi
District	Chakwal
Government
• Type	Municipal Corporation
• Mayor of Chakwal	None (Vacant)
• Deputy Commissioner	Qurat-ul-Ain Malik (BPS-18 PAS)
Population  (2017)[1]
• City	138,214
• Rank	63rd, Pakistan
Time zone	UTC+5 (PKT)
Postal code	48800
Dialling code	0543
Number of Union councils	5

It is the 48th largest city of Pakistan by population.^[2] Chakwal is located 90 kilometres south-west of the federal capital, Islamabad and 270 kilometres from the provincial capital, Lahore. It is accessible by both the Islamabad International Airport as well as the Lahore International Airport.^[3]

Geography

Chakwal's landscape features the canyons in Thirchak-Mahal. There are man-made and natural lakes around the city in neighbouring communities.^[4]

Administration

Chakwal was created as an independent district of Rawalpindi in 1985 by combining sub division Chakwal of district Jhelum, sub division Talagang of district Attock and the police station Choa Saidan Shah, carved out of sub division Pind Dadan Khan of district Jhelum.^[5]

In addition to being the district headquarters, Chakwal city is also the administrative centre of Chakwal tehsil (a subdivision of the district). The Chakwal District is divided into three Tehsils, namely, Kalar-Kahar, Choa Saidan Shah and Chakwal itself. The city of Chakwal itself is divided into five Union councils,^[6] and Chakwal district is divided into 68 union councils.

Demographics

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1951	13,310	—
1961	16,843	+2.38%
1972	29,143	+5.11%
1981	43,670	+4.60%
1998	80,508	+3.66%
2017	138,146	+2.88%
2023	218,356	+7.93%
Sources:[7]

According to 2023 census, Chakwal had a population of 218,356.

Religion

Religious groups in Chakwal City (1881−2017)^[a]

Religious group	1881[9][10]: 520		1901[11]: 44 [12]: 26		1911[13]: 23 [14]: 19		1921[15]: 25 [16]: 21		1931[17]: 26		1941[8]: 32		2017[18]
	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%	Pop.	%
Islam	3,279	57.36%	3,853	59.1%	3,834	59.91%	4,442	59.82%	5,585	58.53%	6,684	56.48%	136,235	98.57%
Hinduism	2,045	35.77%	1,946	29.85%	1,310	20.47%	1,878	25.29%	2,461[b]	25.79%	2,718[b]	22.97%	19	0.01%
Sikhism	393	6.87%	717	11%	1,253	19.58%	1,103	14.86%	1,466	15.36%	2,388	20.18%	—	—
Christianity	—	—	4	0.06%	3	0.05%	2	0.03%	30	0.31%	40	0.34%	1,935	1.4%
Ahmadiyya	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	25	0.02%
Others	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	0	0%	5	0.04%	0	0%
Total population	5,717	100%	6,520	100%	6,400	100%	7,425	100%	9,542	100%	11,835	100%	138,214	100%

Notable people

• Sub. Abdul Khaliq (23 March 1933 – 10 March 1988), Fastest Man of Asia, Flying Bird of Asia, Olympian, Pride of Performance (Presidential Award) holder
• Sukh Dev, Indian Organic Chemist
• Amir Gulistan Janjua, Governor of North West Frontier Province, Ambassador to Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Ayaz Amir, journalist, columnist, and a senior politician
• Fozia Behram, politician
• Talib Chakwali (1900–1988), Indian Urdu poet
• Sadaf Hussain, cricketer
• Colonel Imam (died January 2011), member of Special Service Group (SSG) and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) of Pakistan Army
• Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Dullah, politician
• Iftikhar Khan (10 January 1907 – 13 December 1949), designated to become the first Commander-in-Chief of Pakistan Army, died in air crash.
• Khudadad Khan (20 October 1888 – 8 March 1971), was the first South Asian recipient of the Victoria Cross.
• Muhammad Khan (1910 – 23 October 1999), veteran of World War II
• Yahya Khan (4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980), third President of Pakistan
• Allah Bakhsh Malik, academic, researcher, development economist, social scientist, management and institutional development specialist
• Lt.(R) General Faiz Hameed, Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence
• Madan Mohan, music director of India
• Malik Munawar Khan Awan, Major rank officer in the Pakistan Army
• Lt. General Abdul Qayyum, retired three-star General
• Manmohan Singh, former Prime Minister of India
• Awais Zia, cricketer
• Mudassar Ali Khan, former Field Hockey Player of Pakistan and Olympian

See also

• List of Cities of Punjab, Pakistan by Area

Notes

1. 1881-1941: Data for the entirety of the town of Chakwal, which included Chakwal Municipality.^[8]: 32
2. 1931-1941: Including Ad-Dharmis