“Make Kharian a district”

 Attaullah Cheema

Kharian is an important and large tehsil of Punjab in terms of population. At present, out of the forty-one (41) districts of Punjab, six districts – Murree – Tala Gang – Wazirabad – Taunsa Sharif – Hafizabad and Jhelum – are smaller than Kharian Sarai Alamgir in terms of population. In contrast, the seventh district, Kot Addu, is equal to Kharian in terms of population. Therefore, Kharian also has the right to make Kharian district consisting of Tehsil Kharian and Tehsil Sarai Alamgir, or rather, Lala Musa should be given the status of the third tehsil.  Lalamusa is the third largest city in Gujrat district, with a population of 123,036 according to the 2023 census. It is a major business centre and old market, surrounded by hundreds of villages.  Punjab currently has eight districts consisting of two tehsils, of which Murree-Tala Gang-Hafizabad-Wazirabad-Sahiwal-Pakpattan-Dera Ghazi Khan-Kot Addu are noteworthy. Of these eight districts, two, Sahiwal and Dera Ghazi Khan, are also the divisional headquarters.

Pakistan’s richest tehsil is Kharian, the majority of whom live abroad, especially in Europe, for employment, and send a large amount of foreign exchange to Pakistan. Tehsil Kharian consists of 43 union councils and three municipal committees. Asia’s largest cantonment is also located adjacent to Kharian City. Currently, Tehsil Sarai Alamgir has eleven union councils and one municipal committee. Thus, if Kharian is formed as a district, its 54 union councils and four municipal corporations will be. Now, if we compare it with the neighbouring district of Jhelum, Jhelum was formed as a district in 1849 when Punjab was ruled by the Sikhs. Still, it has 44 union councils and in terms of population, Jhelum has a population of 1382300 while Kharian has a population of 1473207, meaning that Jhelum is a smaller district than Kharian. Jhelum has two constituencies of the National Assembly, and Kharian Sarai Alamgir also has two constituencies of the National Assembly. It is also worth mentioning that Murree and Hafizabad districts have one constituency of the National Assembly each.

 The people of Kharian, the land of Nishan-e-Haider, demand from the government of the day that Kharian, the land of martyrs and ghazis, should also be given the status of a district, which is the right of the people of Kharian Sarai Alamgir. The land of Kharian should be given regional and political identity. At present, Kharian is deprived of financial, political and governmental status. If Kharian becomes a district, a separate budget will be allocated for it and construction and development will begin. Welfare and welfare projects will be started, including the establishment of a university – the establishment of a medical college – the establishment of an industrial zone – flyovers and bridges – bypasses. Gas supply in rural areas – employment opportunities. In addition, the work of district offices with a population of 1.5 million will also be at their doorsteps and the residents of rural areas of Kharian will not waste their time and money.  The political leadership of Kharian Tehsil, Chaudhry Naseer Abbas Sidhu MNA – Chaudhry Abid Raza Kotla, former MNA – Malik Hanif Awan, former MNA – Malik Jamil Awan, former MNA – Chaudhry Jafar Iqbal, former Minister of State, Mian Tariq Mahmood, former MPA and former Federal Minister of the coalition party, Qamar Zaman Kaira, are also requested to use their influence and play a role in making Kharian a district.