List of 20 Major Cities in the Punjab.

Rank	City	State/Province/Territory	Country	Population
1	Delhi	National Capital Territory of Delhi	India	11,034,555
2	Lahore	Punjab	Pakistan	10,052,000
3	Faisalabad	Punjab	Pakistan	7,480,675
4	Peshawar	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Pakistan	4,201,659
5	Islamabad	Islamabad Capital Territory	Pakistan	1,900,000
6	Ludhiana	Punjab	India	1,618,879
7	Gurgaon	Haryana	India	1,514,432
8	Sargodha	Punjab	Pakistan	1,500,000
9	Abbottabad	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Pakistan	1,430,238
10	Faridabad	Haryana	India	1,414,050
11	Rawalpindi	Punjab	Pakistan	1,406,214
12	Multan	Punjab	Pakistan	1,202,595
13	Amritsar	Punjab	India	1,132,761
14	Gujranwala	Punjab	Pakistan	1,132,509
15	Chandigarh	Union Territory of Chandigarh	India	961,587
16	Jalandhar	Punjab	India	862,196
17	Patiala	Punjab	India	850,987
18	Gujrat	Punjab	Pakistan	738,558
19	Jammu	Jammu and Kashmir	India	657,314
20	Panipat	Haryana	India	442,277

Punjab is described as Pancha-Nanda in Mahabharata.

The word 'Punjab’ appeared for the first time in the Book "Tarikh-e-Sher Shah” (1580). It describes the construction of a fort by 'Sher Khan of Punjab’. A reference to the word 'Punjab’ can be found in "Ain-e-Akbari” Part 1 as well, which describes that the territory can be divided into provinces of Lahore and Multan. Even the second volume of 'Ain-e-Akbari’ contains the word 'Punjab’ in it. The word also occurs in the book of the Mughal King Jahangir, under the name 'Tuzk-i-Janhageeri’. However, the first mentioning of Punjab as a place occurs in the Great Hindu epic Mahabharata, where it is described as Pancha-Nanda means 'the country of five rivers’. Let us now delve into the origin and history of Punjab.

Archaeologists have discovered evidence of life in the Punjab region as early as 7000 B.C. By around 3000 BC, life grew in and around the Indus Valley, which gave rise to the Indus Valley Civilization. Then, there was the evolution of historic cities like Harappa (near Sahiwal in West Punjab) and Mohenjo Daro (near Sindh). After 19th century BC, there was the sudden decline in these civilizations. Next thousand years saw the dominance of Aryans, who migrated from the North-West (1500-100 BC), over the Indus region. The oldest book of human history, Rig Veda, is supposed to be written only in the region, during the Aryan period.

Punjab was continuously attacked by the Persian kings, as it was lying just at the outskirt of the Persian Empire. The Persian king, King Gustasp conquered the region in 516 BC. Consequently, Punjab became the wealthiest satrapy i.e. a province of the Persian kingdom. The Greeks, the strong competitors of the Persians, also had a lure for Punjab territory. In 321 BC, the Great Greek King Alexander invaded Punjab, breaking the authority of the Persian kings. He invited all the chieftains of the Persian Satrapy to come and surrender to him.

After a stretch of time, the Greek empire in the east was disrupted by the ascendancy of the Bacterians. In the second century BC, Bacterian king Demetrius I added Punjab to his kingdom. During the same period, the Northern Sakas successfully wrestled the power of the area from the Indo-Greeks. The White Huns established their rule over the state in the late 3rd century AD. Now, it was the turn of the Arabs to get attracted to the land. They conquered the area of Multan in 8th century AD. Meanwhile, Mahmud, the ruler of Ghazni, attacked Punjab 17 times during his reign. However, the Ghaznavids were uprooted by the Ghauris, who spreader as far as Delhi. Then, there were subsequent short-term rules of the Mamluks, Mongols, Khiljis and Tughluqs.

Punjab had a picture of chaos and disorder when Maharaja Ranjit Singh took over as its ruler, on 12th April 1801. Ahmad Shah Abdali's empire in Punjab had crumbled. Punjab has been under the Afghan rule since 1757 and they had to face the rising power of Sikhs. Sikhs joined hands to overthrow Taimul Shah and his Chief, Jalal Khan. Afghans had to return and Lahore came under the Sikhs in 1758. Jassa Singh Ahluwalia became the head of the Sikh sovereignty. Under his rule, the domain of Sikhs considerably grew over Punjab. After the death of Jassa Singh, Afghans started gaining power again. However, that was short term, as Maharaja Ranjit Singh built up a strong force to counteract them.

One of the main rivals to be defeated by Ranjit Singh was Shah Zaman. Shah Zaman, despite his previous defeats, attacked Lahore and surrounded Sikhs from all the sides. The Afghans now planned to attack Amritsar, which was well answered by the forces of Ranjit Singh. Ranjit Singh won the hearts of everyone in Punjab, irrespective of religion and status. It was on July 7, 1799 that the victorious Ranjit Singh entered Lahore. He finally acquired a kingdom in the Punjab, which stretched from the Sutlej river in the east to Peshawar in the west, and from the junction of the Sutlej and the Indus in the south to Ladakh in the north. Ranjit Singh died in 1839 and a succession struggle followed his death.

The British entered the province of Punjab with 32,000 troops by 1845 and moved to the Sutlej frontier. British and Sikh troops engaged in the First Anglo-Sikh War near Ferozepur, in the late 1845. The war ended the following year and the territory between the Sutlej and the Beas fell into the hands of the British rule, along with Kashmir. As per the Peace Treaty and the Treaty of Lahore, Punjab was totally annexed by the British East India Company in 1849 and Dhalip Singh, the minor Sikh ruler, was pensioned off. The blackest day of the Jalianwala Bagh Massacre occurred in Amritsar, in 1919. It agitated the Sikhs to revolt against the tyranny of the colonial rule. The 1940 Lahore Resolution of the Muslim League made Punjab the center of a bloodier struggle.

In 1946, communal tensions erupted between the majority Muslims of Punjab and the Hindu and Sikh minorities. The British Punjab province, which forms the present day Punjab province of Pakistan and the Punjab of India were partitioned in 1947, prior to independence. The Indian state of Punjab has never seen back after independence. The Green Revolution in the 1960s swept the land and consequently, it developed to become the bread-basket of the country. Punjab has grown ever since, both in the economic and moral matter.

2008 Election Caste Statics of Political Parties in Punjab.

A total of 149 candidates were reached the National Assembly in 2008 from Punjab.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has bagged 63 National Assembly seats.

The Pakistan People's Party (PPP), 44.

The PML-Quaid (PML-Q), 28.

The PML-Funtional (PML-F), 1.

Independent candidates have bagged 13 seats.

The 149 members of the National Assembly, those were elected from across Punjab, belong to various castes and tribes;

37 MNAs belong to the Jat tribe.

20 MNAs belong to the Rajput clan.

6 MNAs belong to the Jat/Rajput clan.

16 MNAs belong to the Arain.

13 MNAs belong to the Syed.

11 MNAs belong to the Baloch.

8 MNAs belong to the Awan.

8 MNAs belong to the Qureshi.

6 MNAs belong to the Kashmiri.

6 MNAs belong to the Pathan.

5 MNAs belong to the Sheikh.

2 MNAs belong to the Gujjar.

2 MNAs belong to the Abbasi.

2 MNAs belong to the Ansari.

2 MNAs belong to the Dogar.

1 MNA belong to the Mughal.

1 MNA belong to the Kakkezai.

1 MNA belong to the Mayo.

1 MNA belong to the Khatter.

1 MNA belong to the Lahr.

PML-N: Out of its 63 MNAs,

15 out of 20 Rajput.

9 out of 16 Arain.

6 out of 37 Jat.

6 out of 6 Kashmiri.

5 out of 13 Syed.

4 out of 8 Awan.

3 out of 8 Qureshi.

3 out of 5 Sheikh.

2 out of 2 Abbasi.

2 out of 11 Baloch.

2 out of 2 Dogar.

2 out of 2 Ansari

1 out of 6 Jat/Rajput.

1 out of 2 Gujjar.

1 out of 1 Kakkezai.

1 out of 1 Mughal.

Note: PMLN achieved 100% support of Kashmiri, Abbasi, Dogar, Ansari, Kakkezai, Mughal MNAs in the national assembly.

PMLN achieved 75% support of Rajput MNAs in the national assembly.

PMLN achieved +50% support of Arain, Sheikh, Awan MNAs in the national assembly.

PMLN achieved +25% support of Syed MNAs in the national assembly.

PMLN achieved +15% support of Jat, Jat/Rajput, Qureshi, Baloch MNAs in the national assembly.

PMLN achieved +0% support of Pathan, Khattar, Lahr, Mayo MNAs in the national assembly.

PPP: Out of its 44 MNAs,

13 out of 37 Jat.

5 out of 11 Baloch.

5 out of 13 Syed.

4 out of 16 Arain.

4 out of 8 Qureshi.

3 out of 20 Rajput.

2 out of 6 Jat/Rajput .

2 out of 6 Pathan.

1 out of 2 Gujjar.

1 out of 1 Khattar.

1 out of 1 Lahr.

1 out of 1 Mayo.

1 out of 5 Sheikh.

1 out of 8 Awan.

Note: PPP achieved 100% support of Khattar, Lahr, Mayo MNAs in the national assembly.

PPP achieved 75% support of Qureshi MNAs in the national assembly.

PPP achieved +50% support of Baloch, Gujjar MNAs in the national assembly.

PPP achieved +25% support of Jat, Arain, Syed, Pathan, Jat/Rajput MNAs in the national assembly.

PPP achieved +15% support of Rajput, Sheikh MNAs in the national assembly.

PPP achieved +10% support of Awan MNAs in the national assembly.

PPP achieved +0% support of Kashmiri, Abbasi, Dogar, Ansari, Kakkezai, Mughal MNAs in the national assembly.

PMLQ: Out of its 28 MNAs,

13 out of 37 Jat.

3 out of 11 Baloch.

3 out of 13 Syed.

2 out of 6 Jat/Rajput.

2 out of 8 Awan.

1 out of 8 Pathan.

1 out of 16 Arain.

1 out of 5 Sheikh.

1 out of 8 Qureshi.

1 out of 20 Rajput.

Note: PMLQ achieved +25% support of Jat, Baloch MNAs in the national assembly.

PMLQ achieved +15% support of Syed, Jat/Rajput, Awan, Pathan MNAs in the national assembly.

PMLQ achieved +5% support of Arain, Rajput, Qureshi MNAs in the national assembly.

PMLQ achieved +0% support of Kashmiri, Abbasi, Dogar, Ansari, Kakkezai, Mughal, Khattar, Lahr, Mayo MNAs in the national assembly.

The 13 Independent MNAs are;

4 out of 37 Jat.

2 out of 6 Jat/Rajput.

2 out of 8 Pathan.

1 out of 11 Baloch.

1 out of 16 Arain.

1 out of 20 Rajput.

1 out of 8 Awan.

1 out of 2 Gujjar.

PMLF got a single seat from Punjab, the MNA, Jahangeer Khan Tareen (RY Khan), belongs to Pathan clan out of 8 Pathan elected MNAs.

Political influence of different Castes in Punjab.

The system of caste and tribes has always played a crucial role in deciding the political fate of Punjab.

In February 18, 2008 election, 3 major castes i.e; Jat, Rajput, Arain won 79 seats out of 149 seats of Punjab, which is more than half the national assembly seats from Punjab and 7 minor castes i.e; Syed, Baloch, Awan, Qureshi, Kashmiri, Pathan, Sheikh won 57 seats out of 149 seats of Punjab, which is more than the one third of national assembly seats from Punjab.

These 3 major and 7 minor, total 10 castes won 136 seats in Punjab, which is the half figure of 272 members of the national assembly of Pakistan.

Remaining 13 seats of Punjab were won by the 9 castes i.e; Gujjar. Abbasi. Ansari. Dogar. Mughal. Kakkezai. Mayo. Khatter. Lahr castes.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) has bagged 63 National Assembly seats.

The Pakistan People's Party (PPP), 44.

The PML-Quaid (PML-Q), 28.

The PML-Funtional (PML-F), 1.

Independent candidates have bagged 13 seats.

The 149 members of the National Assembly, those were elected from across Punjab, belong to various castes and tribes;

37 MNAs belong to the Jat tribe.

20 MNAs belong to the Rajput clan.

6 MNAs belong to the Jat/Rajput clan.

16 MNAs belong to the Arain.

13 MNAs belong to the Syed.

11 MNAs belong to the Baloch.

8 MNAs belong to the Awan.

8 MNAs belong to the Qureshi.

6 MNAs belong to the Kashmiri.

6 MNAs belong to the Pathan.

5 MNAs belong to the Sheikh.

2 MNAs belong to the Gujjar.

2 MNAs belong to the Abbasi.

2 MNAs belong to the Ansari.

2 MNAs belong to the Dogar.

1 MNA belong to the Mughal.

1 MNA belong to the Kakkezai.

1 MNA belong to the Mayo.

1 MNA belong to the Khatter.

1 MNA belong to the Lahr.

PML-N: Out of its 63 MNAs,

15 to Rajput.

9 to Arain.

6 to Jat.

6 to Kashmiri.

5 to Syed.

4 to Awan.

3 to Qureshi.

3 to Sheikh.

2 to Abbasi.

2 to Baloch.

2 of Dogar.

2 of Ansari

1 to Jat/Rajput.

1 to Gujjar.

1 to Kakkezai.

1 to Mughal.

The 15 Rajput MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Dr Chaudhry Tariq Fazal (Islamabad)

2. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan (Rawalpindi)

3. Raja Muhammad Safder (Jhelum)

4. Raja Afzal (Jhelum)

5. Rana Nazir (Gujranwala)

6. Rana Abdul Sattar (Sialkot)

7. Ahsan Iqbal (Narowal)

8. Rana Tanveer Hussain (Sheikhupura)

9. Rao Mazhar Hayat (Kasur)

10. Rana Ishaq (Kasur)

11. Ranan Mehmoodul Hassan (Multan),

12. Rana Zahid Hussain (Pakpattan).

13. Tehmina Daultana (Vehari).

The 9 Arain MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Naseer Ahmad Bhutta (Lahore)

2. Muhammad Riaz (Lahore)

3. Mian Merghoob Ahmad (Lahore)

4. Sardar Ayaz Sadiq (Lahore)

5. Junaid Anwar Choudhry (TT Singh)

6. Ayaz Amir (Chakwal)

7. Sumaira Naz (Narowal)

8. Mian Javeed Latif (Sheikhupura)

9. Saud Majeed (Bahawalpur).

The 6 Jat MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Sahibzada Fazle Kareem (Faisalabad)

2. Mehmood Bashir Virik (Gujranwala),

3. Justice (r) Iftikhar Cheema (Gujranwala)

4. Saira Afzal Tarrar (Hafizabad)

5. Barjees Tahir (Nankan Sahib)

6. Bilal Ahmad Virik (Nankan Sahib)

The 6 Kashmiri MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Khwaja Saad Rafique (Lahore)

2. Omar Sohail Zia Butt (Lahore)

3. Bilal Yaseen (Lahore)

4. Khwaja Muhammad Asif (Sialkot)

5. Abid Ali (Faisalabad)

6. Engineer Khurram Dastgir (Gujranwala)

The 5 Syed MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Syed Murtaza Amin (Sialkot)

2. Syed Javeed (Sargodha)

3. Imran Ahmad (Sahiwal)

4. Mohammad Salman (Pakpattan)

5. Saqlain Shah (Layyah)

The 4 Awan MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Malik Shakir Bashir (Khushab)

2. Muhammad Faiz Tumman (Chakwal)

3. Anjum Aqeek (Islamabad)

4. Muhammad Jameel Malik (Gujrat)

The 3 Sheikh MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Sheikh Aftab Ahmad (Attock)

2. Rohil Asgher (Lahore)

3. Waseem Akhter (Kasur)

The 3 Qureshi MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Javeed Hashmi (Rawalpindi, Lahore and Multan)

The 2 Abbasi MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Shahid Khakan Abbasi (Rawalpindi)

2. Hanif Abbasi (Rawalpindi)

The 2 Dogar MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Sardar Muhammad Irfan (Sheikhupura)

2. Mansab Ali Dogar (Pakpattan)

The 2 Baloch MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Saifudin Khosa (DG Khan)

2. Arshad Khan Leghari (RY Khan).

The 2 Ansari MNAs of the PML-N are;

1. Muhammad Akram (Faisalabad)

2. Usman Ibrahim (Gujranwala)

The 1 Jat/Rajput MNA of the PML-N is;

Malik Afzal Khokhar (Lahore).

The 1 Kakkezai MNA of the PML-N is;

Zahid Hamid (Sialkot)

The 1 Gujjar MNA of the PML-N is;

Malik Ibrar (Rawalpindi)

The 1 Mughal MNA of the PML-N is;

Mughal Muhammad Baleeghul Rehman (Bahawalpur)

PPP: Out of its 44 MNAs,

13 to Jat.

5 to Baloch.

5 to Syed.

4 to Arain.

4 to Qureshi.

3 to Rajput.

2 to Jat/Rajput .

2 to Pathan.

1 to Gujjar.

1 to Khattar.

1 to Lahr.

1 to Mayo.

1 to Sheikh.

1 to Awan.

The 13 Jat MNAs of the PPP are;

1. Nadeem Afzal Gondal (Sargodha)

2. Tariq Bajwa (Faisalabad)

3. Malik Nawab Sher (Faisalabad)

4. Saeed Iqbal (Faisalabad)

5. Ijaz Virik (Faisalabad)

6. Imtiaz Safder Warraich (Gujranwala)

7. Tariq Tarra (MB Din)

8. Nazar Gondal (MB Din)

9. Farid Kathia (Sahiwal)

10. Hina Rabbani Khar (Muzaffargarh)

11. Afzal Sindhu (Bahawalnager)

12. Javed Iqbal Warraich (RY Khan)

13. Chaudhry Ahmad Mukhatr (Gujrat)

The 5 Baloch MNAs of the PPP are;

1. Rahila Perveen (Faisalabad)

2. Mir Dost Mazari (Rajanpur)

3. Jamsheed Dasti (Muzaffargarh)

4. Qayyum Jatoi (Muzaffargarh)

5. Moazzem Jatoi (Muzaffargarh)

The 5 Syed MNAs of the PPP are;

1. Syed Anayat Ali (Jhang)

2. Yousaf Gilani (Multan)

3. Syed Mumtaz Alam (Multan)

4. Hamid Saeed (Multan)

5. Syed Sumsan Ali (Okara)

The 4 Qureshi MNAs of the PPP are;

1. Tasneem Ahmad Qureshi (Sargodha)

2. Shah Mehmood Qureshi (Multan)

3. Makhdom Shahbuddin (RY Khan)

4. Mohsin Ali (Muzaffargarh)

The 4 Arain MNAs of the PPP are;

1. Saima Khalid Ghurki (Lahore)

2. Sardar Asif Ahmad (Kasur)

3. Iftikhar Nazir (Khanewal)

4. Zahid Iqbal (Sahiwal)

The 3 Rajput MNAs of the PPP are;

1. Raja Pervaiz Ashraf (Rawalpindi)

2. Liaqat Ali Khan (Multan)

3. Azeem Daultana (Vehari)

The 2 Jat/Rajput MNAs of the PPP are;

1. Cap (r) Mujtaba Kharral (Okara)

2. Liaqat Abbas Bhatti (Hafizabad).

The 2 Pathan MNAs of the PPP are;

1. Hayat Tochi Khan (Vehari)

2. Hayatullah Tareen (Lodhran)

The 1 Awan MNA of the PPP is;

Dr Ferdoos Ashiq (Sialkot)

The 1 Gujjar MNA of the PPP is;

Omar Zaman Kaira (Gujrat)

The 1 Sheikh MNA of the PPP is;

Sheikh Waqas Akram (Jhang)

The 1 Mayo MNA of the PPP is;

Taiq Shabir Advocate (Lahore)

The 1 Lahr MNA of the PPP is;

Mian Abdul Sattar (RY Khan)

The 1 Khattar MNA of the PPP is;

Sardar Saleem Haider (Attock)

PMLQ: Out of its 28 MNAs,

13 to Jat.

3 to Baloch.

3 to Syed.

2 to Jat/Rajput.

2 to Awan.

1 to Pathan.

1 to Arain.

1 to Sheikh.

1 to Qureshi.

1 to Rajput.

The 13 Jat MNAs of the PMLQ are;

1. Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi (Attock)

2. Ch Ghais Ahmad (Sargodha)

3. Anwar Ali Cheema (Sargodha)

4. Ghulam BiBi Bherwana (Jahang)

5. Farkhanda Amjad Warraich (TT Singh)

6. Riaz Fatiana (TT Singh)

7. Wajahat Hussain (Gujrat)

8. Sardar Talib Nakai (Kasur)

9. Raza Hiraj (Khanewal)

10. Hamid Hiraj (Khanewal)

11. Nauman Langrial (Sahiwal)

12. Nazir Ahmad Jatt (Vehari)

13. Bahader Khan Sehar (Layyah)

The 3 Baloch MNAs of the PMLQ are;

1. Sadiq Baloch (Lodhran)

2. Farooq Leghari (DG Khan)

3. Jaffar Leghari (Rajan Pur)

The 3 Syed MNAs of the PMLQ are;

1. Faisal Saleh Hayat (Jhang)

2. Dewan Syed Ashiq (Multan)

3. Mian Riaz Pirzada (Bahawalpur)

The 2 Jat/Rajput MNAs of the PMLQ are;

1. Akhtar Khadim (Bahawalnager)

2. Liaqat Abbas Bhatti (Hafizabad).

The 2 Awan MNAs of the PMLQ are;

1. Mehboob Sultan (Jhang)

2. Sumaira Malik (Khushab)

The 1 Arain MNA of the PMLQ is;

Muhammad Asim Nazir (Faisalabad)

The 1 Rajput MNA of the PMLQ is;

Asif Tauseef (Faisalabad)

The 1 Qureshi MNA of the PMLQ is;

Pir Aslam Bodla (Khanewal)

The 1 Sheikh MNA of the PMLQ is;

Sheikh Waqas Akram (Jhang)

The 1 Pathan MNA of the PMLQ is;

Khwaja Sheraz (DG Khan)

The 13 Independent MNAs are;

4 to Jat.

2 to Jat/Rajput.

2 to Pathan.

1 to Baloch.

1 to Arain.

1 to Rajput.

1 to Awan.

1 to Gujjar.

The 4 Jat Independent MNAs are;

1. Saima Akhter Bharwana (Jhang)

2. Mudasser Qayyum Nahra (Gujranwala)

3. Saeed Ahmad (Nankana Sahib)

4. Malik Amir Waran (Bahawalpur)

The 2 Jat/Rajput Independent MNAs are;

1. Mian Manzoor Watto (Okara)

The 2 Pathan Independent MNAs are;

1. Humair Hayat Rokhri (Mianwali)

2. Abdul Majeed Khan (Mianwali)

The 1 Baloch Independent MNA is;

Rashid Akber Niwani (Bhakkar)

The 1 Arain Independent MNA is;

Sajjadul Hassan (Okara)

The 1 Rajput Independent MNA is;

Rana Farooq Saeed (Faisalabad)

The 1 Awan Independent MNA is;

Nawabzada Malik Ahmad Khan (Mianwali)

The 1 Gujjar Independent MNA is;

Tariq Anees (Narowal).

PMLF got a single seat from Punjab, the MNA, Jahangeer Khan Tareen (RY Khan), belongs to Pathan clan.