Multan District

Multan District (), is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. Its capital is the city of Multan. The district has a population of million (as of 2017) and an area of 3,720 square kilometres. The district consists of tehsils of Multan saddar, Multan city, Jalalpur Pirwala and Shujabad. Recent History Vehari, Khanewal and Lodhran were Tehsils of Multan district. Vehari was made separate district in 1976. Khanewal was cut off from Multan and made a separate district in 1985. Lodhran was split off as a separate district in 1991. Multan region in Punjab province of Pakistan is one of the oldest settlements in South Asia, though its exact age has yet to be determined. Founded before 3000 BC era, Multan was home to ancient Aryan civilization of ethnic Iranian descent. Multan is known for its ancient heritage and historic landmarks. Situated at the heart of South Asian subcontinent, Multan region was centre of many civilizations. It has seen a lot of warfare because of its location on a major invasion route between South and Central Asia. Multan region was besieged by Alexander the great during Mallian campaign. Multan reached height of its splendour during the Arab rule of 9th and 10th century when it was made separate state of Emirate of Multan thereby ruling large parts of Punjab and Kashmir. It is famous for its Sufi shrines. Multan province was one of the largest provinces of Mughal Empire initially extending towards borders of Iran and Afghanistan. Location Multan District is surrounded by the Khanewal to the North and North East, the Vehari to the East and Lodhran to the South. The Chenab River passes on its Western side, across which lies Muzaffargarh. Demographics At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 4,746,166, of which 2,435,195 were males and 2,310,408 females. Rural population is 2,687,246 while the urban population is 2,058,920. The literacy rate was 60.21%. As per the 2017 census, Muslims were the predominant religious community with 99.37% of the population while Christians were 0.