Faisalabad

Faisalabad, city, east-central Punjab province, Pakistan, in the Rechna Doab upland. The city, the district headquarters, is a distributing centre centrally located in the Punjab plain and connected by road, rail, and air with Multan and Lahore and by air with Lahore and Karachi. When founded in 1890, it was named for Sir Charles James Lyall, lieutenant governor of the Punjab. It became headquarters of the Lower Chenab colony and in 1898 was incorporated as a municipality. Industries produce chemical fertilizer, synthetic fibres, drugs and pharmaceuticals, canned products, ghee (clarified butter), oil, soap, textiles, hosiery, sugar, and flour. It is also a wholesale market for cloth and grain. Amenities include several parks, many schools, and the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (established 1961). It also includes a number of colleges affiliated with the University of the Punjab.

The surrounding region consists of a fertile plain between the Chenab and Ravi rivers that is irrigated by the Lower Chenab Canal. The chief crops are wheat, cotton, and sugarcane. Pop. (2007 est.) urban agglom., 2,617,000; (2017) urban agglom., 3,766,866.