WAZIRABAD

town, northern Punjab province, Pakistan, just east of the Chenab River. It is an important rail junction, with the Sialkot and Faisalabad (formerly Lyallpur) lines of the Pakistan Western Railway branching off and crossing the Chenab River at the Alexandra Bridge. Industries include boatbuilding, cutlery, and box manufacture, and the town is a timber, cloth, grain, and sugar market. It was supposedly founded by Wazir Khan in the 18th century, and in 1809 it was acquired by Ranjit Singh and made the headquarters of his Italian general, Avitabile, who built the new town. Pop. (1981) 62,725.