Khanewal

Khanewal (Punjabi, Urdu: خانیوال) is a city and the capital of Khanewal District in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the 36th largest city of Pakistan by population.

Khanewal is named after the earliest settlers here who belonged to the Daha clan (A clan of Panwar Rajput) and used ‘Khan’ in their names. That is how the city came to be known as ‘khan-e-wal’.

The district contains four tehsils which are as follows:

• Khanewal Tehsil
• Mian Channu Tehsil
• Kabirwala Tehsil
• Jahanian Tehsil

Khanewal was made a separate district in 1985, previously it was a tehsil of Multan district. Khanewal area was populated by Zayadat Khan, the forefather of the Daha family. It is said that he was originally from Dharwar but then migrated to Bahawalpur. After trying his luck in Bahawalpur, he moved to Pak Pattan. Then in the 1820s, he moved to this region after getting employment under Dewan Sawan Mall. As an employee, he was made responsible for collection and payments from Talamba, Kamalia and Laden. He got famous in the region as Khan and thus this area was named Khanewala. This theory is also supported by an old book named Raesa e Punjab Page. As per that document, the first person to populate this region was Sangar Khan.

Sangar Khan was the 34th descendant of Tikkey Khan, the first Muslim in the Daha family. Sangar Khan is said to have moved to Khanewal (Khanewal Pakistan) from Pak Pattan. It is said that he built a castle in the area. The family lived here for a long time and Hasan Khan, the 37th descendant of Tikkey Khan, became one of the most prominent businessmen in the region. Hasan Khan was awarded Sanad by Pathan Government in 1768. According to this book, Khanewal was first populated in 1050 AD.