Khushab District (Punjabi, ), is a district in the province of Punjab, Pakistan, with its administrative capital in Jauharabad. The district is named after the historical city of Khushab located within its boundaries. According to the 1998 census, the population was 905,711 with 24.76% living in urban areas. The district consists of four tehsils: Khushab, Noorpur Thal, Quaidabad and Naushera. Khushab is home to the Heavy Water and Natural Uranium Research Reactor, part of Pakistan's Special Weapons Program. Nuclear installations On 21 March 2000, an article in the Christian Science Monitor claimed that satellite photos had revealed a nuclear reactor and missile base near the city of Khushab. Geography Khushab is situated between the cities of Sargodha and Mianwali, near the river Jhelum. The district capital is Jauharabad (founded 1953, pop. 39,477). Khushab consists of agricultural lowland plains, lakes, and hills. Parts of the Thal desert touch the district, which has a breadth of over and is situated between the Indus river and the Jhelum river. There are three lakes (Ochali, Khabbaki, and Jahlar) in the district. Kanhatti Garden is the largest forest in Khushab district, near Khabbaki village in the Soon Valley. Khabikki Lake is a salt-water lake in the southern Salt Range. The lake is one kilometre wide and two kilometres long. Khabikki is also the name of a neighbouring village. Sakesar is the highest mountain in the Salt Range, and is the site of the ancient Amb Temples. Sakesar’s summit is 1522 metres / 4946 feet high and is situated in Khushab District. Demographics At the time of the 2017 census the district had a population of 1,281,299, of which 637,474 were males and 642,791 females. Rural population is 927,412 while the urban population is 352,960. The literacy rate was 59.75%. Muslims were the predominant religious community with 99.02% of the population while Christians were 0.82% of the population. At the time of the 2017 census, 94.43% of the population spoke Punjabi, 1.74% Pashto, 1.72% Saraiki, and 1.05% Urdu as their first language. Education According to Pakistan District Education Ranking, a report released by Alif Ailaan, Khushab is ranked 42 nationally with an education score of 65.42 and learning score of 65.82. The readiness score of Khushab is 62.33. The infrastructure score of the district is 88.11, which indicates that the schools in Khushab have adequate facilities The issues reported in TaleemDo! app says that there are