Jhelum District is in
Pothohar Plateau of the
Punjab province of
Pakistan. Jhelum is one of the oldest districts of Punjab. It was established on 23 March 1849. According to the 1998
census, the
district had a population of 936,957, of which 31.48% were urban. Jhelum District has a diverse population of 1,103,000 (2006) which mainly consists of
Punjabis.
Jhelum is known for providing a large number of soldiers to the
British and later to the
Pakistan armed forces due to which it is also known as
city of soldiers or
land of martyrs and warriors. The district of Jhelum stretches from the
river Jhelum almost to the
Indus. Salt is quarried at the Mayo mine in the
Salt Range. There are two coal-mines in the district from which the North-Western railway obtains parts of its supply. These are the only coal-mines in Punjab province which are in working condition. The chief centre of the salt trade is
Pind Dadan Khan. The district is crossed by the main line of the North-Western railway, and also traversed along the south by a branch line. It is located in the north of the Punjab province, Jhelum district is bordered by
Sargodha and
Mandi Bahauddin to its south,
Khushab to its south west,
Jhelum River to its south and east,
Gujrat to its east,
Chakwal to its west,
Mirpur to its north east, and
Rawalpindi to its north.