Sadiqabad is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. Sadiqabad is also the administrative centre of Sadiqabad Tehsil, which is a sub-division of Rahimyar Khan District. The city has an estimated population of 205,797 with the tehsil as a whole having 760,769 inhabitants.[Sadiqabad is the largest tehsil of Rahimyar Khan District, covering 865¼ square miles (2249 km²).
Sadiqabad is named after Amir Sadeq Mohammad Khan V of Bahawalpur state. The construction of the new part of the city started in 1948.
Sadiqabad is located on the main railway line and KLP road at 28°18’0″ North, 70°8’0″ East and is the southern most city of Punjab province. To the east of Sadiqabad is Rahimyar Khan Tehsil, on the west Ghotki, in the north Rajanpur District and to the south the Indian border. A canal flows through the city roughly dividing the old and new city. Besides Sadiqabad, the other smaller towns and places part of the [tehsil] are Adam Sahaba, Chandrami, Ahmed Pur Lama, Bangla Acha, Bangla Manthar, Bangla Tillu, Roshan Bhait, Bhong, Jamal Din Wali, Kot Sabzal,mohib shah, Rahimabad, Walhar, Machi Goth, Walana, and SanjarPur.
The culture is mix of three different traditions Siraiki,Urdu and Punjabi. People are religious and conservative. The two main languages are Siraiki and Punjabi but a considerable number of Pathan, Balochi and Sindhi speaking people are settled in the city.
There are two libraries in Sadiqabad The Municipal Library and Jinnah Library. Recently construction of a new auditorium and a sports complex named Ghazi Sports Complex has been completed.
Over the last 20 years educational institutes have improved in the city mostly by the effort of private citizens. There are separate Government Degree College for boys and girls additionally three private colleges for girls and boys each. There are many Arabic teaching and Hifz-e Quran institutions and mosque madrassas in Sadiqabad. A Government Commercial Training Institute for Boys and a Vocational Institute for Girls are also established in the city.
Leading private schools are Bismillah Higher Secondary School, Rahnuma Model High School, Pak Grammar school, MTB Higher Secondary School, FFC Grammar College and School and a branch of Beacon House School Systems. The pioneer of education in private sector was Iqra Public School founded in 1980 by concerned citizens this institute now provides education up to Masters in certain disciplines.
The city is a major transport hub and is well-served by transport systems. Most of the trains call at Sadiqabad.Road transport is available for most of the major cities of Pakistan. The Korean company Daewoo has also started bus service from Sadiqabad to Lahore. The nearest airport is in Rahimyar Khan about 30 Kilometres away from the city centre.
Sadiq Abad is major local trading hub, it has number of cotton mills and a large plant to produce fertilizers. A Grain market was established in 1948 that has provided employment and prosperity to the area.
Most of the workers are employed in agriculture, making it by far the most common occupation. However, the relative significance of farming has dropped steadily. Major cash crops are cotton, wheat and sugar cane. Mango and citrus are also a major produce.
The biggest industrial unit near the city is Fauji Fertilizer Company, which is also the largest fertilizer unit in the country. There is a big unit of textile mills in city. Sharex Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company has a factory in the city. Recently a factory for the assembling of motorcycles has started production. There are about 56 cotton ginning factories, over 100 oil mills and about 30 floor mills in Sadiqabad. Two sugar mills Jamal Din Wali Sugar Mills and United Sugar Mills in Walhar also provide employment. Fatima Fertilizer Company are also constructing new fertilizer unit.
” Lakker Mandi (Wood Market)).
One of the biggest gardens (100 acer around 484000 sq.yard) in the area is about 5 kilometres from the city. Its privately owned by Meer family. The garden is open to public at prescribed hours and days.
The private library owned by Meer family has a collection of old Islamic books and manuscripts. This library is open to public.
Bhong Mosque is located in the village of Bhong about 30 kilometres from Sadiqabad.The compound was designed and constructed over a period of nearly 50 years (1932-1982) and won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1986.