FAISALABAD

formerly (until 1979) Lyallpur, city and district, Sargodha Division, 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 after 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 fibers, 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 two parks, several schools, the West Pakistan Agricultural University (established 1961), and a number of colleges affiliated with the University of the Punjab. Faisalabad District (area 3,516 sq mi [9,106 sq km]), constituted in 1904, consists of a fertile plain between the Chenab and Ravi rivers that is irrigated by the Lower Chenab Canal. Formerly a part of Multan Division, it was carved from the neighbouring districts of Jhang Maghiana, Shekhupura, Multan, and Sahiwal. The chief crops are wheat, cotton, and sugarcane. Pop. (1981 prelim.) city, 1,092,000; district, 4,656,000.