Piplan

لِياقت آباد
City
piplan
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
District	Mianwali District
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)

Liaqatabad (Urdu: لِياقت آباد‎), previously called Piplan (Urdu: پِپلاں‎), is a town in Piplan Tehsil in Mianwali District, situated in Punjab, Pakistan. ^[1] It is almost 52 km (by road) from the district capital Mianwali which lies to the north. Piplan is surrounded by many other similar towns: To the south are the towns of Musa WaliMattha, Churkin,Jhanbir and Kaloor Kot,to the north areDoaba, Kundian and Mianwali; to the east, Harnauli and Quaidabad; to the north, Kaloorkot; and to the west is the Indus River.

History

The town (Tehsil) name Piplan itself was given historically before the independence of Pakistan in 1947. Many Hindus used to live in Piplan and the name of this small town was Peepul or Peepul wala (Peepul: fig tree, regarded as sacred by both Hindus and Buddhists, who call it a "bo tree"). Later, after the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the name was changed to Peepul-Aan, now written as Piplan. Many people say the tree was located near to the main railway station of Piplan, however, the tree has been cut down.

There was a huge massacre of the Hindu residents who decided to flee the area after the independence of Pakistan in 1947. They were gathered at the station waiting for the train; suddenly struck by the locals with guns and arms, they were all killed in less than an hour; the bodies, numbering hundreds, were buried in a well near the station. The well still exists, but is filled with sand and beneath it lie the remains of the Hindus and Sikhs.

Sports

Piplan has always been a hub of sports activities for the surrounding areas. The sports include cricket, volleyball, badminton, tug of war, wrestling, hockey, and football. There used to be annual school based games in which the high schools from the surrounding areas participated.

Muhammad Iqbal Zafar is a volleyball player who played at national and international levels, serving as captain of Pakistan's National Volleyball team. He is currently a member of the Punjab Police.

Syed Amir Hider Naqvi was a player of kabaddi before independence and remained unbeatable in South Asia. He won all major tournaments of kabaddi held in major cities of the subcontinent from 1935 to 1947.

Languages

Though Piplan is a town of Mianwali District, unlike Mianwali it has no cultural influence from the Pakhtun tribe. Majority of the People speak Saraiki language. There are also many punjabi families which are now settle there. Those who speak Saraiki are called native people locally. A large number of people living in the town and the surrounding chakook belong to the Rangar Rajpoot families. Rangar spoke Haryanvi also called Rangari. The Rangar use the titles of Rana or Rao. Living In the surrounding chakook also a large number of people speak Punjabi in Lahori or Faisalabadi ascent and constitute a large portion of the population. They belong to the Arain, Gujjar and Jatt families. Most of them have farming as their profession. In the education system only Urdu and English are spoken and written, but in offices and businesses Saraiki is commonly used. There could also be found Nomad Pushtun tribesmen scatterd around the city and the adjoining villages who speak Pushtu as their first language and Saraiki as second language. Afghan refugees could also be found around Jal Janoobi and Muhallah Mustafa Abad. Chunks of Merwat and Mohmand pushtuns could also be found with a few Khattaks who speak Pushtu as first and Saraiki and Urdu as their second language.

Education

There are a number of government and private educational institutions in the town: A degree college each for men and women, three government secondary schools for boys and girls and quite a few primary public and private schools are in and around the town. One reputable elementary school, Tehsil Public School (Piplan), is run by "Tehsil Welfare Council" (Registered). This NGO has initiated other welfare projects, such as a vocational institute in Central Jail Mianwali and coordination with anti-narcotics force in addition to donating money for these projects.

The president of the NGO is also the chairman of District Coordination Council for NGOS. Recently a school for science and commerce named Alhuda Science and Commerce College has opened. Another institute of learning in this area is Jan Academy Of Natural Sciences, or JANS.

Geography and environment

Latitude:32.2867, Longitude:71.3664
Altitude (feet) 610,(meters)185
Time zone: UTC+5

Nearby Cities and Towns

West	North	East	South
Dost Muhammad Khanwala (2.4 km)	Jaal (1.8 km)	Liaqatabad (Piplan) (0.5 km) Chak No 3/4 ML (9.0 km)	Musewali (2.1 km)
Banda Sardar Khan (2.4 km)	Jaal (1.4 km)	Hafizwala (7.5 km)	Nuranwala (1.5 km) [Jhangiwala/Raoji] (7.5 km.)

Climate

Piplan (as does the whole district of Mianwali) has extreme weather. Summer lasts from May to September; June is the hottest month with an average monthly temperature of 42°C with a maximum of up to 50°C. In winter, however, the December and January temperature is as low as a 3 to 4°C average monthly.

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high °C	19	21	26	33	38	45	39	37	37	33	28	21	31
Avg low temperature °C	3	6	12	17	22	27	27	26	23	16	9	4	16
Rainfall in. (Cm)	1.6	2.1	4.1	2.4	1.9	1.8	7.6	11	4.5	0.7	0.1	0.9	38.5
Source: Weatherbase

Politics and administration

Mianiwali district is divided into 56 union councils, of these 14 are under part of the Piplan administration. These are: Alluwali, Chak No 7 ML at Hafizwala, Dabb Balouchan, Doaba, Gujrat, Harnauli (Rural), Harnauli (Urban), Khanqah Sirajia, Kundian-II, Kundian (Rural), Kundian-I, Piplan, Tibba Mehrban Shah, Vichvin Bala.

Agriculture

Piplan lies in the irrigated zone of Pakistan. There are two main seasons Rabi (October–March) and Kharif (April–September).

References

1. Tehsils & Unions in the District of Mianwali - Government of Pakistan

• List Of Permanent Closed Mills in Pakistan 1980-1991
• NRB Tehsil Municipal administration

Coordinates: 32°17′N 71°22′E / 32.283°N 71.367°E