Piplan
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
District	Mianwali District
Time zone	PST (UTC+5)

Piplan is a town and tehsil of Mianwali District, situated in southern Punjab, Pakistan.^[1] It is almost 52 km (by road) from the district capital Mianwali which lies to the north. Piplan is surrounded by many other similar towns: In the south the towns of DOABA ,

Kundian and Mianwali, in the east, Harnauli and Qaidabad, and in the north, Kaloor-Kot; in the west is also the Indus River.

History [link]

The town (Tehsil) name Piplan itself was given historically before the India-Pakistan partition in 1947. Many Hindus used to live in Piplan and the name of this small town was Peepul or Peepul wala (Peepul: fig tree, regarded as sacred by both Hindus and Buddhists, who call it a "bo tree"). Later, after the partition of 1947, the name was changed to Peepul-Aan, now written as Piplan. Many people say the tree was located near to the main railway station of Piplan, however the tree has been cut down.^{[citation needed]} In a recent research by two well known researcher of Punjab University, Piplan is also the birth place of famous Hindu ruler "Chandar Gupat Moria".

1947 Massacre of Hindus

There was a huge massacre of the Hindu residents who decided to flee the area after partition in 1947. They all had gathered at the station and were waiting for the train, suddenly struck by the locals with guns and arms, they were all killed in less than an hour, all the dead bodies numbering hundreds were buried in a well near the station. The well still exists but is filled with sand and beneath it lies the unseen remains of the doomed Hindus and Sikhs.

PAF Jet Air Crash

On 29 May 2009, a PAF Jet that was on its routine patrolling mission crashed into the very adjacent constituency of Musa Wali at a school teacher (PST)Amir Abbas Joya's home. Two girls and cattle were killed. Eight people were taken to the nearby hospital. Both the pilots survived the crash but were found unconscious near the crash site as they had ejected just at eleventh hour. After first aid from the nearby private clinic they were discharged.

Sports activities [link]

Piplan has always been a hub of sports activities for the surrounding areas. The sports include cricket, volleyball, badminton, tug of war, wrestling, hockey, and football. There used to be annual school based games in which the high schools from the surrounding areas participated.

Muhammad Iqbal Zafar is a famous volleyball player who played at national and international levels, representing Pakistan's National Volleyball team as captain. He is currently serving as a member of the Punjab Police. Syed Amir Hider Naqvi was a player of Kabadi before partition and remained unbeatable in the subcontinent. He won all major tournaments of Kabadi held in major cities of the subcontinent from 1935 to 1947.

Languages [link]

Though Piplan is a town of Mianwali District, unlike Mianwali it has no cultural influence from the Pakhtun tribe. Majority of the People speak Saraiki language. Those who speak Saraiki are called native people locally. A large number of people living in the town and the surrounding chakook speak Punjabi in Lahori or Faisal Abadi ascent and constitute a large portion of the population. They belong to the Arain, Gujjar and Jatt families. Most of them have farming as their profession. In the education system only Urdu and English are spoken and written, but in offices and businesses Saraiki is commonly used. There could also be found Nomad Pushtun tribesmen scatterd around the city and the adjoining villages who speak Pushtu as their first language and Saraiki as second language. Afghan refugees could also be found around Jal Janoobi and Muhallah Mustafa Abad. Chunks of Merwat and Mohmand pushtuns could also be found with a few Khattaks who speak Pushtu as first and Saraiki and Urdu as their second language.

Geography and Environment [link]

Latitude:32.2867, Longitude:71.3664
Altitude (feet) 610,(meters)185
Time zone: UTC+5

Nearby Cities and Towns

 Chak No 3/4 ML (9.0 km)

Climate [link]

Piplan (as does the whole district of Mianwali) has extreme weather. Summer lasts from May to September; June is the hottest month with an average monthly temperature of 42°C with a maximum of up to 50°C. In winter, however, the December and January temperature is as low as a 3 to 4°C average monthly.

Politics and Administration [link]

Mianiwali district is divided into 56 union councils, of these 14 are under part of the Piplan administration. These are: Alluwali, Chak No 7 ML at Hafizwala, Dabb Balouchan, Doaba, Gujrat, Hernoli (Rural), Hernoli (Urban), Khola AT Khanqah Sirajia, Kundian-II, Kundian (Rural), Kundian-I, Piplan, Tibba Mehrban Shah, Vichvin Bala.

Business and Trade [link]

Agriculture is the main source of income, although between 1957-1982 there was a textile mill owned by Kohinoor Textile Mills in operation which employed around 3000 people in Piplan. After the closure of the mill in October 1982, unemployment increased in the area.

The city has a ghalla mandi, having around 45 business establishments. There are three markets or bazaars.

Agriculture [link]

Piplan lies in the irrigated zone of Pakistan. There are two main seasons Rabi (October–March) and Kharif (April–September).

Education [link]

There is a number of government and private educational institutions in the town. A degree college for boys, a degree college for women, three government secondary schools for boys and girls and quite a few elementary and primary public and private schools are in and around the town. One reputable elementary school namely Tehsil Public School (Piplan) is run and managed by "Tehsil Welfare Council" (Registered). The NGO has innitiated few other welfare projects like vocational institute in Central Jail Mianwali and coordinaton with anti-norcotics force and donating quite some good money for these projects.

The president of the NGO is also the chairman of District Coordination Council for NGOS. Recently an educational institution for science and commerece named 'ALHUDA SCINCE AND COMMERCE COLLEGE'(Reg.) has started working. Two other public schools - OWAIS PUBLIC MODEL SCHOOL ( Reg.)running under the patronage of Ch. Muhammad Yaqoob and LEARNERS SYSTEM OF SCHOOL are also rising to heights of popularity.

References [link]

• List Of Permanent Closed Mills in Pakistan 1980-1991
• NRB Tehsil Municipal administration

Coordinates: 32°17′N 71°22′E / 32.283°N 71.367°E / 32.283; 71.367