Wazirabad

Wazirabad is an industrial city located in Gujranwala District, Punjab, Pakistan.Wazirabad is situated on the banks of the Chenab River nearly 100 kilometres north of Lahore on the Grand Trunk Road. It is 45 kilometres from Sialkot, 30 kilometres from the district capital - Gujranwala and about 12 kilometres from Gujrat. The city of Wazirabad is the headquarters of Wazirabad Tehsil, an administrative subdivision of the district, the city is itself subdivided into 5 Union Councils.HistoryThe town was first take over by Charat Singh around 1760 together with other towns in the District. Maharja Ranjit Singh occupied the town in 1809 and Avitabile was appointed as the Nazim of the city. He built an entirely new town, with a straight broad bazar running through it, and side streets at right angles.British ruleDuring British rule Wazirabad was the headquarters of the old Wazirabad District, broken up in 1851-2, and was the site of a cantonment removed to Sialkot in 1855.The municipality was created in 1867, the population according to the 1901 census was 18,069. The income during the ten years ending 1902-3 averaged Rs. 20,800, and the expenditure Rs. 21,400. In 1903-4 the income was Rs. 20,800, chiefly from octroi; and the expenditure was Rs. 19,200. The town had a considerable trade in timber, which comes down the Chenab from Jammu territory. The smiths of Wazirabad had a reputation for the manufacture of small articles of cutlery, and the village of Nizamabad within a mile of the town is famed for its weapons. Wazirabad was an important junction on the North-Western Railway, as the Sialkot-Jammu and Lyallpur lines both branch off of here.