Old Name
Pakpattan is the city of the great Saint Baba Farid of Chishti. The original name of Pakpattan was "Ajodhan". It was renamed Pakpattan after it was used for the first time by Baba Farid-ud-Din Ganj Shakar. The word Pakpattan consists of two words 'Pak' and 'Pattan' meaning "Clean dockland" (Pattan means a dockland or place where ships or boats stop). The city is given this name by the Saint Farid. It is narrated that once Saint Farid was having ablution on the bank of the River Sutlej, a local man came to him and told Saint that this water is unclean and the place is dirty, to which the Saint Farid replied saying "No the water and place are both clean' in the local language, hence the name "Pakpattan''.
Agriculture
The Pakpattan District is known for the fertility of its soil and most of the population of the Pakpattan district makes a living on agriculture. The main crops are wheat, rice, cotton, maize (corn), sugar cane, etc. The primary fruits and vegetables that are harvested are mango, guava, carrots, potatoes, oranges, and okra.
Markets
There are many business markets and bazaars such as Shaheedi Bazar, Sahiwal Road, Dargah Bazar, Mandi Bazar, etc. Shaheedi Bazar is one of the busiest business centers where clothes, jewelry, and shoe shops are in abundance.
Festivals (Urs and Mela)
In Pakpattan and surrounding areas, many Urs and Mela(s) are celebrated every year such as Urs of Baba Farid and Mela of Chan Pir, etc. Urs of Baba Farid attracts more than 500,000 people every year between 1st to the 10th of Moharram (Islamic month of Hijri Calendar), so is the case with Mela Chan Pir which is held every year at the beginning of summer in the outskirt of Pakpattan, at Chan Pir (located on the south side of the city about 3km far from where the shrine of Chan Pir and Sakhi Ghulam Qadir are located. The village is named Chan Pir or Basti Sakhi Ghulam Qadir.
Current Conditions
Nowadays Pakpattan is one of the poorest/non-industrial areas in the region. The only big industry is one sugar mill that is called "Ittefaq Sugar Mills' which employs a small number of workers from Pakpattan and the surrounding areas. Most of the city is unplanned and un-urbanized. Small houses and unpaved roads are full of pitfalls. There is no intercity transport system, only transportation is by the Rickshaw (Qinqi rickshaw). Before the advent of rickshaws, transportation was done by horse-drawn carriages called Tanga. Once there was a big industry of Tangas and its accessories were developed in the city as hundreds of workers were employed by this industry. Pakpattan was recorded as a city with the most Tanga carriages in the country. Now only a few Tanga carriages can be seen on the roads. Today most of the people are employed in the shop keeping business. The old city area called Dhaki has old and unique designed houses with carved work on its doors and small and narrow streets. There is no modern housing colony or urbanized housing structure in the city. A small Public Library is run by the local Municipal Committee with a few hundred books. A few years back, a big Public library with thousands of books, was destroyed by a lack of Municipal Authorities' interests. Pakpattan is situated at the borders of the south and north Punjab. It is the last district of south Punjab and the start of north Punjab. The local language is Punjabi and its accent is nearer to Lahore's Punjabi accent but has some Saraiki impression as well. People are courteous and hospitable. A small Christian community also lives here and has a small Protestant Church. Most of the Christian community is employed in the sanitary department of the local Municipal Committee.
Major ethnic groups found in the region are:
- Arian, Rao, Gujar, Watoo, Jutt, Sheikh, Butt, etc.
Famous Food
Tosha is a special sweet which was produced first in Pakpattan. It is also sold in India as a delicacy originally made in Pakpattan.
Education
In Pakpattan, the postgraduate degree college for males is known as Faridia Degree College, at College Road, and a female degree college known as Government Girls Degree College for Women is at Kachehri Road in Northside of the city near District Courts. There are some good government-funded and private-owned schools. Some of these are Govt. Fazilka Islamia High School, Govt. High School, Govt. Girls High School, OPF school (overseas Pakistanis Foundation), DPS (District Public School), Laureate Cadet High School, Little Chums High School, Punjab School System, Punjab Cadet School, Punjab Girls High School, Al-Waqar Public School, etc. There are some private tuition academies as well which are providing different undergraduate and postgraduate courses including M.A, LL.B, etc. Co-education is given in private schools and academies. There is one Commerce College and Vocational Training School as well in the city where different technical and vocational courses are taught. Allama Iqbal Open University's sub-office is here as well. The Virtual University of Pakistan has set up its campus in the center of the city near the Municipal Committee office. There is one nursing school that is under the supervision of District Hospital and EDO (Executive District Officer) Health. A local NGO named Baba Farid Ganj Shakar Educational and Welfare Trust is trying to establish a Baba Farid Islamic International University/Islamic Madrassa at 9km Sahiwal road, Pakpattan.