Punjab

Punjab, province of eastern Pakistan. It is bordered by the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir to the northeast, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, Sindh province to the south, Balochistān and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces to the west, and Islamabad federal capital area and Azad Kashmir to the north.

The provincial capital, Lahore, is located in the east-central region, near the border with India. The name Punjab means “five waters,” or “five rivers,” and signifies the land drained by the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers, which are tributaries of the Indus River. Punjab is Pakistan’s second largest province, after Balochistān, and the most densely populated.

The capital and largest city is Lahore which was the historical capital of the India during the Moghul times. Other important cities of Punjab include Gujrat, Multan, Faisalabad, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Jhelum and Rawalpindi.

Punjab is a mainly a fertile region along the river valleys, while in the southern belt deserts of Cholistan is a bare land. The landscape is amongst the most heavily irrigated on earth and canals can be found throughout the province.

Weather extremes are notable from the hot and barren south to the cool hills of the north. The foothills of the Himalayas are found in the extreme north as well.