Dina, Pakistan

Dina is a city in Jhelum District of Punjab province, Pakistan. It is one of the oldest towns in Punjab. The city is named after the Saint Baba Dina Shaheed whose tomb lies near GT road in the Domeli Mohalla of Dina city. It is a bordering town of the Pothohar Plateau. There are many archaeological sites in Dina where the discovery of fossils, tools, coins showed remains of ancient Sohanian culture.
According to the 2023 census, 84,629 people live in Dina city. Dina has provided many soldiers to the British and later the Pakistan Army and is known as the city of soldiers or land of martyrs and warriors.

Location

Dina is located near the Pothohar Plateau, in the north of the Punjab province. It is the heart of Jhelum district. It is bordered by Jhelum and Sohawa to its south, Rohtas City to the southwest, Garh Mahal to the south and east, Mirpur to the east, Chakwal to the west, Mangla Cantt to the northeast, and Domeli to its north. The district of Jhelum stretches from the River Jhelum almost to the Indus. Nearby villages include Mota Gharbi, Khukha, Gaggar Kalan, Gaggar Khurd, Natain, Khojki, Dhok Padhal.
Dina is about from Jhelum and about from Sohawa, northwest of Lahore, southeast of Rawalpindi and around southeast of Islamabad, at the junction of roads, one leading to the Mangla Dam and Mirpur, and another to Rohtas Fort and Tilla Jogian mountain. The historic Grand Trunk Road passes through the centre of the city.

Economy

There is limited industrial activity including woodworking, ironworking and marble processing. The main source of income for residents is remittances from relatives working in the UK and the Persian Gulf region. Many residents join the Pakistan Army. There is some small-scale agriculture with wheat and pulses as the main crops.
Salt is quarried at the Mayo mine in the Salt Range hills. The chief centre of the salt trade is Pind Dadan Khan. Two coal mines in the district supply the North-Western Railway. They are the only working coal mines in Punjab province. Many businesses in Jhelum are owned by Arain and Ghakhar families.

History

Dina is the nearest town to the Pothohar Plateau, Mirpur which is rich in archaeological sites of the ancient Soanian culture.

Culture

The main languages spoken in Dina are Punjabi and Urdu.
Several poets and famous personalities were born in Dina, the popular Pakistani poet Zamir Jafri and the Indian poet Gulzar. Gulzar wrote the following lines for his birthplace:

Demographics

Dina's population was 84,629 in 2023. An overwhelming 82.39% of the population in Dina identified as Punjabi speaking, 8.01% identified their mother tongue as Pashto, another 7.01% identified as Urdu, 0.93% as Sindhi, and a further 1.66% identified with other languages of Pakistan.

Transport

The district is crossed by the main line of the North-Western railway of Pakistan Railways, and traversed along the south by a branch line.
The district us also crossed by main road N5.