History
The district capital Bahawalpur, which lies just south of the Sutlej River, was founded in 1748 by Muhammad Bahawal Khan and was incorporated as a municipality in 1874. Bahawalpur became a vassal of the Sikh empire built by Ranjit Singh. In 1836 Bahawalpur stopped paying tribute and openly declared independence. The founder of the State of Bahawalpur was Nawab Bahawal Khan Abbasi I. The Abbasi family ruled over the State for more than 200 years (1748 to 1954). During the rule of the last Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V, Bahawalpur State was merged with Pakistan. During the 1960s (1954) the Nawab agreed (Agreement Dated 3 October 1947) for Bahawalpur to be absorbed into modern Pakistan. He was however given special privileges including the right to import several cars duty free each year. Bahawalpur was formerly the capital of the state and now is the District and Divisional Headquarters of Bahawalpur Division.
The Nawabs of Bahawalpur originally came from Sindh and claimed descent from the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad ; they formed a princely state and assumed independence in 1802.
The predominantly Muslim population supported Muslim League and Pakistan Movement. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the minority Hindus and Sikhs migrated to India while the Muslim refugees from India settled in the Bahawalpur District.
Read more about this topic: Bahawalpur District
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