Punjab is Pakistan's second largest province and is located at the northwestern edge of the geologic Indian plate in South Asia . Other important cities include Multan , Faisalabad , Sialkot , and Rawalpindi . The province is home to six rivers: the Indus, Beas, Sutlej, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi . Nearly 60% of Pakistan 's population lives in the Pakistani Punjab, it is the nation's only province that touches Balochistan, North-West Frontier Province, Sindh and Azad Kashmir, and contains the federal enclave of the national capital city at Islamabad . This geographical position and a large multi-ethnic population strongly influence Punjab's outlook on National affairs and induces in Punjab a keen awareness of the problems of the Pakistan 's other important provinces and territories.

The province is a mainly a fertile region along the river valleys, while sparse deserts can be found near the border with India and Balochistan. The region contains the Thar and Cholistan deserts. The Indus River and its many tributaries traverse the Punjab from north to south. The landscape is amongst the most heavily irrigated on earth and canals can be found throughout the province. Weather extremes are notable from the hot and barren south to the cool hills of the north. The foothills of the Himalayas are found in the extreme north as well.

Geography

Punjab is Pakistan 's second largest province at 205,344 km² (79,284 square miles) and is located at the northwestern edge of the geologic Indian plate in South Asia . The provincial level-capital and main city of the Punjab is Lahore , which has been the historical capital of the region. The province is home to six rivers: the Indus, Beas, Sutlej, Chenab, Jhelum, Ravi . Nearly 60% of Pakistan 's population lives in the Pakistani Punjab, it is the nation's only province that touches Balochistan, North-West Frontier Province, Sindh and Azad Kashmir, and contains the federal enclave of the national capital city at Islamabad .

The province is a mainly a fertile region along the river valleys, while sparse deserts can be found near the border with India and Balochistan. The region contains the Thar and Cholistan deserts. The Indus River and its many tributaries traverse the Punjab from north to south. The landscape is amongst the most heavily irrigated on earth and canals can be found throughout the province. Weather extremes are notable from the hot and barren south to the cool hills of the north. The foothills of the Himalayas are found in the extreme north as well.

Climate

Most areas in Punjab experience fairly cool winters, often accompanied by rain. By mid-February the temperature begins to rise; springtime weather continues until mid-April, when the summer heat sets in.

The onset of the southwest monsoon is anticipated to reach Punjab by May, but since the early 1970s the weather pattern has been irregular. The spring monsoon has either skipped over the area or has caused it to rain so hard that floods have resulted. June and July are oppressively hot. Although official estimates rarely place the temperature above 46°C, newspaper sources claim that it reaches 51°C and regularly carry reports about people who have succumbed to the heat. Heat records were broken in Multan in June 1993, when the mercury was reported to have risen to 54°C. In August the oppressive heat is punctuated by the rainy season, referred to as barsat, which brings relief in its wake. The hardest part of the summer is then over, but cooler weather does not come until late October.

Demographics and society

The population of the province is estimated to be 86,084,000 in 2005 and is home to over half the population of Pakistan . The major language spoken in the Punjab is Punjabi (which is written in a Perso-Arabic script called Shahmukhi,in Pakistan ) and Punjabis comprise the largest ethnic group (and overlap into neighbouring India ). Punjabis themselves are a heterogeneous group comprising different tribes and communities, although caste in Pakistani Punjab has more to do with traditional occupations such as blacksmiths or artisans as opposed to rigid social stratifications.

The most important tribes within Punjab include the Rawals, the Arains, the Gakhars, the Gujjars, the Jats, the Rajputs, the Punjabi Shaikhs and the Syeds. Other smaller tribes are the Awans, Rawns, the Maliks, and the Naichs . In Central Punjab, there is a significant population who are descendants of settlers from the Kashmir Valley . In addition, there is a significant shift towards the usage of Urdu by the educated classes of the province as the Punjabis are the most ardent supporters of the nation-state of Pakistan and all of its national institutions. There is also a nationalist movement amongst the somewhat related Seraikis in the south of Punjab, in and around the city of Multan and many wish to see a separate the region into a new province of Seraikistan . Other smaller ethnic groups in the province include the Hindko, Pakhtuns, the Baloch, Kashmiris, Sindhis and Muhajirs.

Economy

Despite lack of a coastline, Punjab is the most industrialized province of Pakistan ; its manufacturing industries produce textiles, sports goods, machinery, electrical appliances, surgical instruments, metals, bicycles and rickshaws, floor coverings, and processed foods. In 2003, the province manufactured 90% of the paper and paper boards, 71% of the fertilizers, 65% of the sugar and 40% of the cement of Pakistan .

Despite its dry climate, extensive irrigation makes it a rich agricultural region. Its canal-irrigation system established by the British is the largest in the world. Wheat and cotton are the largest crops. Other crops include rice, sugarcane, millet, corn, oilseeds, pulses, fruits, and vegetables. Livestock and poultry production are also important.

The province is playing also a leading role in agricultural production. It contributes about 68% to annual food grain production in the country. 51 million acres (210,000 km²) is cultivated and another 9.05 million acres (36,600 km²) are lying as cultivable waste in different parts of the province.

Cotton and rice are important crops. They are the cash crops that contribute substantially to the national exchequer. Attaining self-sufficiency in agriculture has shifted the focus of the strategies towards small and medium farming, stress on barani areas, farms-to-market roads, electrification for tube-wells and control of water logging and salinity.

Punjab has also more than 48 thousand industrial units. The small and cottage industries are in abundance. There are 39,033 small and cottage industrial units. The number of textile units is 11,820. The ginning industries are 6,778. There are 6,355 units for processing of agricultural raw materials including food and feed industries.

Lahore and Gujranwala Divisions have the largest concentration of small light engineering units. The district of Sialkot excels in sports goods, surgical instruments and cutlery goods.

Punjab is also a mineral rich province with extensive mineral deposits of coal, rock salt, dolomite, gypsum, and silica-sand. The Punjab Mineral Development Corporation is running over a dozen economically viable projects.

Education

The literacy rate has increased greatly since independence. In 2003, over 53% of the population of the province was estimated to be literate by the Labour Force Survey.