District Khanewal is located in the Punjab province of Pakistan and the Khanewal City is the 36th largest city of the country by population. Khanewal is named after the earliest settlers here who belonged to the caste ‘Daha’ (a sub-caste of Panwar Rajput) and used ‘Khan’ in their names. That is how the city came to be known as ‘khan-e-wal’.
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 Pakpattan. 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 Tulamba, Kamalia and Laden. He got famous in the region as Khan and thus this area was named Khanewala. 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 from Pakpattan. It is said that he built a castle in the area. The family lived here for a long time and Hasan Khan, 37th descendant of Tikkey Khan, became one of the most prominent businessmen in the region. Hasan Khan was awarded Sanad from Pathan Governments in 1768. As per credible sources of the history, Khanewal was first populated in 1050 AD.
Administrative Divisions
For the purpose of administration, District Khanewal is divided into 04 tehsils and 168 union councils including 114 rural and 54 urban whose elected representatives formulate Zila and Tehsil councils. Political constituencies include 04 national seats and 07 provincial seats of legislative assemblies. The four tehsils of the district are as following:
- Tehsil Khanewal
- Tehsil Mian Channu
- Tehsil Kabirwala
- Tehsil Jahanian
Mughal Era
The earliest settlers of the khanewal were Daha and Khatters who use Khan in their names. Under the Mughal Era, the region of Khanewal was flourished and was notable for trade and commerce. After Mughal's decline, the Sikh Empire occupied the region, and Muslims faced many Sikh rule restrictions.
British Era
British rulers ruled the area till Pakistan's independence due to the junction of Khanewal-Wazirabad railway junction and considered British rulers’ well-planned town. khanewal contained a population of Hindus and Sikhs who migrated to India after partition. The people became Muslims dominantly due to missionary Sufi Saints.
It was declared a district in 1985 by taking two tehsils from District Multan, Kabirwala and Mian Channu.