Jhelum District (Urdu and ), is partially in Pothohar Plateau, and partially in Punjab Plain of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Jhelum is one of the oldest districts of Punjab. It was established on 23 March 1849. According to the 1998 census, the district had a population of 936,957, of which 31.48% were urban. Jhelum District has a diverse population of 1,103,000 (2006). Jhelum is known for providing many soldiers to the British and later to the Pakistan armed forces due to which it is also known as 'city of soldiers' or 'land of martyrs and warriors'. The district of Jhelum stretches from the river Jhelum almost to the Indus. Salt is quarried at the Mayo mine in the Salt Range. There are two coal mines in the district from which the North-Western railway obtains parts of its supply. These are the only coal mines in Punjab province which are in working condition. The chief center of the salt trade is Pind Dadan Khan. The district is crossed by the main line of the North-Western railway and also traversed along the south by a branch line. It is located in the north of the Punjab province, Jhelum district is bordered by Sargodha and Mandi Bahauddin to its south, Khushab to its southwest, Jhelum River to its south and east, Gujrat to its east, Chakwal to its west, Mirpur to its northeast, and Rawalpindi to its north.
The district of Jhelum, which covers an area of , Jhelum City is the main city of the district.
District is administratively divided into four tehsils
Jhelum
Sohawa
Pind Dadan Khan
Dina,
which are divided into 53 Union Councils.
History of Jhelum
The history of the district dates back to the Hindu mythological period of the Mahabharata. The epic represents the Salt Range as the refuge of the five Pandava brethren during the period of their exile, and every salient point in its scenery is connected with some legend of the national heroes. Modern research has fixed the site of the conflict between Alexander and Porus as within Jhelum district, though the exact spot at which the Macedonian king affected the passage of the Jhelum (or Hydaspes) has been hotly disputed.