Sharaqpur

For the village in Punjab, India, see Sharakpur.

Sharaqpur is a town of Sheikhupura District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. The city is tehsil headquarters of Sharaqpur Tehsil of Sheikhupura District. It is located at coordinates 31°27′48″N 74°6′0″E

It is located close to Lahore on eastern bank of river Ravi. It is located 32 kilometres (20 mi) from Lahore on Lahore-Sharaqpur-Jaranwala Road. It is 20 kilometres (12 mi) from third exit of the M2 motorway and is very close to second exit of M3 motorway.The Upper Chanab Canal also called Daek Nala passes close to the town.

The old town of Sharaqpur was walled with a number of gates most famous of them is ‘Malkana Darwaza’.

Sharaqpur had sizeable Hindu and Sikh communities prior to 1947. According to official sources about ten percent of population of Sharaqpur were Hindu and Sikh which emigrated to India at time of partition. There were few incidents of violence during 1947 partition and apart from it the town and its surroundings remained calm and peaceful. Currently there is a sizeable Christian community which is living in harmony with Muslim community and any incidents of communal violence are unheard of.

The main castes of the area are Arain and Sheikh.The Arains have major landholdings in the surrounding of the town.

Sharaqpur is famous for its delicacies especially gulab jamun and breakfast including halwa puri and qatlamma. The street originating from ‘Malkana Darwaza’ is called ‘Food Street’ due to a number of restaurants and food vendors.

Sharaqpur boost a rich cultural heritage and is hosting ‘Jamaat Mela’ on 8th of March every year for centuries.

It is a very prosperous market town and serves as a commercial hub for surrounding villages and towns.It is a fertile region with extensive production of various fruits and vegetables. It also known as ‘City of Guava’ due to extensive guava orchards in its surroundings. There are sizeable lychee orchards and strawberry plantation in its surroundings as well. However the agricultural production is showing a decreasing trend due to development of residential colonies over the fertile agricultural lands.There are number of cold storage facilities in its surroundings which play an important role in maintaining supply chain of various agricultural commodities to other regions especially Lahore. Sharaqpur is also famous all over Punjab for its special handmade shoes called Khusah.

Sharaqpur is well connected to Lahore and a number of residents are employed in Lahore and commute to Lahore on daily basis.

The city is famous for the shrine of Hazrat Mian Sher Muhammad Sharaqpuri;it is also birthplace of the 18th century Governor of Punjab Nawab Adina Beg Khan