Sahiwal

Sahiwal, formerly Montgomery, city, east-central Punjab province, eastern Pakistan. It lies on the vast Indus River plain in the densely populated region between the Sutlej and Ravi rivers. The city was founded in 1865 and was named for Sir Robert Montgomery, then lieutenant governor of the Punjab in British-controlled India. It was constituted a municipality in 1867. The city acquired its present name in 1969.

Sahiwal is located close to Pakpattan, a famous medieval town and Muslim Sufi pilgrimage site. Pakpattan owes its sanctity and modern name, ‘the holy ferry’, to the shrine of the great Muslim Sufi Fariduddin Ganjshakar Shaikh-ul-Islam, Farid-ul-Hakkwa-ud-Din, Shakar Ganj (1173–1265) which was visited by old great traveler and historian Ibn Batuta in 1334. The native population converted to Islam by Sufi missionaries.

After the decline of the Mughal Empire, the Sikh took control of Sahiwal. The inhabitants were treated benevolently during Sikh rule. The district came under direct British rule in 1849, when the district was officially formed with its headquarters at Pakpattan.

The district was expanded to include the trans-Ravi portion in 1852, and the district headquarters were moved to Gogera. In 1865, when the railway was opened, a village on the railway side, was named “Montgomery” and became the capital of the district.