SIALKOT

city and district, Lahore division, Punjab Province, Pakistan. The city, the district headquarters, lies just north of the Aik Nala (Aik Stream) and south of the Jammu Hills and is connected by rail with Wazirabad and Jammu and by road with Lahore and Gujranwala. It was once famous as a centre for the manufacture of damascened ware and paper; its modern industries include flour and cotton mills and the production of sporting goods. It is said to have been founded by Raja Sala, uncle of the Pandavas of the epic Mahabharata, and refounded by Raja Salivahan in the time of Vikramaditya; it may be the site of ancient Sakala (Sagul), capital of the Indo-Greek Menander (Milinda) and Mihirakula the Hun (died AD 540). Several townships have grown up around the original city, which was incorporated as a municipality in 1867. There are two libraries and several hospitals, and colleges affiliated with the University of the Punjab. Sialkot was the birthplace of the poet-philosopher Muhammad Iqbal and houses several shrines, including that of the first Sikh guru, Nanak. The district (area 2,067 sq mi [5,354 sq km]) stretches from the Ravi valley on the southeast to the Chenab River on the northwest. The northern portion is very fertile; the southern, less fertile, is irrigated by the Upper Chenab Canal. About nine-tenths of the cultivable area is under crops. The chief crops are wheat, barley, rice, corn (maize), millet, and sugarcane. Pop. (1981 prelim.) city, 296,000; district, 2,706,000.