Sialkot is a city situated in the north-east of the Punjab province in Pakistan at the feet of the snow-covered peaks of Kashmir near the Chenab river. Formerly, Sialkot has been the winter-capital of the State of Kashmir.
The city is about 125 km north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometres from Jammu. Its diverse district population of 3,500,000 mainly consists of Punjabis with a significant number of migrant Kashmiris and Pashtuns. In recent years, the arrival of Pashtun migrant workers from the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan and Afghan refugees have added to the population diversity of the city.
Sialkot is one of the major industrial centres of Pakistan and is well-known for its manufacture and export of surgical instruments, musical instruments, sports goods, leather goods, textile products and other light manufactures. A Pakistan Army base (Sialkot Cantonment) is situated adjacent to the city. Considerable developmnent has been taking place in this district and its people are well known for their entrepreneurial qualities. The Sialkot International Airport, Limited (SIAL) and the Sialkot Dry Port serve the Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujrat region. A University of Engineering Sciences and Technology is being set up in Sialkot (near Sambrial) by the Government of Pakistan in collaboration with the Government of Sweden. A Polytechnic Institute and a Paramedic Institute are already functional in Sialkot.
Papermaking in Sialkot dates back to the time of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and it was Raja Man Singh who, as the Governor of Kabul, initiated the industry. Sialkoti paper, also known as Man Singhi paper, was famous all over the world.
As with industrial clusters elsewhere in the world, the birth of Sialkot’s surgical industry can partly be explained by what Paul Krugman [U.S. economist] calls an "historic accident". The Damascene craftsmen of Sialkot (koftgars or koftars) were famous during the Mughal period for their fine swords and daggers, but the introduction of rifle in 1857, put them out of work. The opportunity for alternative work arose in 1905, when some broken equipment at the American Mission Hospital in Sialkot afforded a chance to adopt their skills. Encouraged by the hospital staff, they gradually started manufacturing replicas of originals. Before long, orders were received from other mission hospitals in British India. By 1920, Sialkot was exporting to all parts of the British empire including Afghanistan and Egypt and was later selected for supplying surgical instruments for the Allied forces in World War II. The Metal Industries Development Centre (MIDC) was established in 1942 to act as a supply and inspection agency for the Allied forces. Although the surgical instruments manufacturing factories were mostly owned by Hindus, the craftsmen were mostly Muslim and the industry was not affected by the partition of British India. At present, the surgical instruments manufacturing industry in Sialkot is one of the world's largest surgical instruments manufacturing industrial clusters second only to Tuttlingen, Germany. However, the quality of workmanship and raw materials are the issues that have been hindering the progress of this niche industry which is also likely to face increasing pressures from the rapid advances in the field of surgery (e.g., minimally-invasive endoscopic surgery).
According to a myth, the sport goods industry started in Sialkot because an English man broke his tennis racket and, since an immediate replacement was not possible, he asked a local to repair it. The man did a perfect job and the sports goods manufacturing industry took root in Sialkot. Recorded history of the industry goes back to 1895 when the city started becoming famous for its tennis racquets. By 1903, cricket bats were being crafted from imported English willow and exported to different parts of South Asia and beyond. In 1922, a local manufacturer was awarded the British Empire Export Award for supplying footballs to the British Army. Over the years the industry grew to include a variety of wood and leather-based sports equipment, and diversified into related industries such as sports apparel and riding equipment and even the Scottish bagpipes. International collaborations with the well-known sports brands like Adidas (Germany), Puma (Germany), Nike (USA), Dita (UK), Slazenger (UK - owned by Puma now) do exist but the issue of 'child labour' in this, predominantly, manual labour-oriented industry remains a controversial factor which has, sometimes, led to a lost of market share to the new entrants in the sports goods industry in Thailand, Korea and China.
Chenab is a 1086 km long river which originates in the Kulu and Kangra Districts of Himachal Pradesh in India and is fed by the tributaries - Chandra and Bagha as it enters Jammu & Kashmir near Kishtwar. After cutting across the Pir Panjal range, it enters the Sialkot district in Pakistan where the Marala Barrage was built across the river in 1968 with a maximum discharge of 1.1 million ft³/s. Two major water channels originate at the Marala headworks - the Marala-Ravi Link Canal and the Upper Chenab Canal. This resulted in the loss of Choapala village that was cut away by the river. It was one of the biggest and most well-built villages of Pakistan and its people were later relocated to a new place where new Choapala village now stands.
A 6-lane motorway from Sialkot to Lahore, the two important industrial centers of Punjab, has been planned which will give impetus to economic activities in the province. The proposed motorway will pass through Gujranwala and will be linked with Wazirabad, Muridke and other industrial centers through highways. Gujrat will be linked with the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway by constructing a bridge on the Chenab river near Shahbazpur. This motorway will be called "Shahrah-e-Sanat". It will reduce the distance between Sialkot and Lahore to just 45 minutes. The purpose of the mega project is to facilitate export of products grown or produced in Punjab which will have a positive impact on the country’s economy. The project will be completed by the end of 2007.
The construction work for a project to set up a world-class engineering university at Sialkot will start by the end of 2007 and the university will be able to take students by the end of 2008.
The University of Engineering Science and Technology (UEST) at Sialkot will be established in collaboration with Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology. It will be established on under construction Sialkot-Lahore Motorway and will also have a technology park.
The university will be one of the six new engineering universities to be established in different cities of Pakistan in collaboration with technologically-advanced countries as announced by the Government of Pakistan.
The Government of Pakistan, through the Higher Education Commission (HEC), will finance and build the campus while the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) will be responsible for the provision of technical support which includes course contents specification, university management, human resource development and education quality control. The campus and laboratories will be built according to the Swedish institute’s specifications. The land has been acquired for the university in Sialkot.
The city is about 125 km north-west of Lahore and only a few kilometres from Jammu. Its diverse district population of 3,500,000 mainly consists of Punjabis with a significant number of migrant Kashmiris and Pashtuns. In recent years, the arrival of Pashtun migrant workers from the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan and Afghan refugees have added to the population diversity of the city.
Sialkot is one of the major industrial centres of Pakistan and is well-known for its manufacture and export of surgical instruments, musical instruments, sports goods, leather goods, textile products and other light manufactures. A Pakistan Army base (Sialkot Cantonment) is situated adjacent to the city. Considerable developmnent has been taking place in this district and its people are well known for their entrepreneurial qualities. The Sialkot International Airport, Limited (SIAL) and the Sialkot Dry Port serve the Sialkot, Gujranwala and Gujrat region. A University of Engineering Sciences and Technology is being set up in Sialkot (near Sambrial) by the Government of Pakistan in collaboration with the Government of Sweden. A Polytechnic Institute and a Paramedic Institute are already functional in Sialkot.
Industry
Papermaking in Sialkot dates back to the time of the Mughal Emperor Akbar and it was Raja Man Singh who, as the Governor of Kabul, initiated the industry. Sialkoti paper, also known as Man Singhi paper, was famous all over the world.
As with industrial clusters elsewhere in the world, the birth of Sialkot’s surgical industry can partly be explained by what Paul Krugman [U.S. economist] calls an "historic accident". The Damascene craftsmen of Sialkot (koftgars or koftars) were famous during the Mughal period for their fine swords and daggers, but the introduction of rifle in 1857, put them out of work. The opportunity for alternative work arose in 1905, when some broken equipment at the American Mission Hospital in Sialkot afforded a chance to adopt their skills. Encouraged by the hospital staff, they gradually started manufacturing replicas of originals. Before long, orders were received from other mission hospitals in British India. By 1920, Sialkot was exporting to all parts of the British empire including Afghanistan and Egypt and was later selected for supplying surgical instruments for the Allied forces in World War II. The Metal Industries Development Centre (MIDC) was established in 1942 to act as a supply and inspection agency for the Allied forces. Although the surgical instruments manufacturing factories were mostly owned by Hindus, the craftsmen were mostly Muslim and the industry was not affected by the partition of British India. At present, the surgical instruments manufacturing industry in Sialkot is one of the world's largest surgical instruments manufacturing industrial clusters second only to Tuttlingen, Germany. However, the quality of workmanship and raw materials are the issues that have been hindering the progress of this niche industry which is also likely to face increasing pressures from the rapid advances in the field of surgery (e.g., minimally-invasive endoscopic surgery).
According to a myth, the sport goods industry started in Sialkot because an English man broke his tennis racket and, since an immediate replacement was not possible, he asked a local to repair it. The man did a perfect job and the sports goods manufacturing industry took root in Sialkot. Recorded history of the industry goes back to 1895 when the city started becoming famous for its tennis racquets. By 1903, cricket bats were being crafted from imported English willow and exported to different parts of South Asia and beyond. In 1922, a local manufacturer was awarded the British Empire Export Award for supplying footballs to the British Army. Over the years the industry grew to include a variety of wood and leather-based sports equipment, and diversified into related industries such as sports apparel and riding equipment and even the Scottish bagpipes. International collaborations with the well-known sports brands like Adidas (Germany), Puma (Germany), Nike (USA), Dita (UK), Slazenger (UK - owned by Puma now) do exist but the issue of 'child labour' in this, predominantly, manual labour-oriented industry remains a controversial factor which has, sometimes, led to a lost of market share to the new entrants in the sports goods industry in Thailand, Korea and China.
Head Works Marala
Chenab is a 1086 km long river which originates in the Kulu and Kangra Districts of Himachal Pradesh in India and is fed by the tributaries - Chandra and Bagha as it enters Jammu & Kashmir near Kishtwar. After cutting across the Pir Panjal range, it enters the Sialkot district in Pakistan where the Marala Barrage was built across the river in 1968 with a maximum discharge of 1.1 million ft³/s. Two major water channels originate at the Marala headworks - the Marala-Ravi Link Canal and the Upper Chenab Canal. This resulted in the loss of Choapala village that was cut away by the river. It was one of the biggest and most well-built villages of Pakistan and its people were later relocated to a new place where new Choapala village now stands.
Sialkot-Lahore Motorway
A 6-lane motorway from Sialkot to Lahore, the two important industrial centers of Punjab, has been planned which will give impetus to economic activities in the province. The proposed motorway will pass through Gujranwala and will be linked with Wazirabad, Muridke and other industrial centers through highways. Gujrat will be linked with the Sialkot-Lahore Motorway by constructing a bridge on the Chenab river near Shahbazpur. This motorway will be called "Shahrah-e-Sanat". It will reduce the distance between Sialkot and Lahore to just 45 minutes. The purpose of the mega project is to facilitate export of products grown or produced in Punjab which will have a positive impact on the country’s economy. The project will be completed by the end of 2007.
University of Engineering Science and Technology (UEST), Sialkot
The construction work for a project to set up a world-class engineering university at Sialkot will start by the end of 2007 and the university will be able to take students by the end of 2008.
The University of Engineering Science and Technology (UEST) at Sialkot will be established in collaboration with Sweden’s Royal Institute of Technology. It will be established on under construction Sialkot-Lahore Motorway and will also have a technology park.
The university will be one of the six new engineering universities to be established in different cities of Pakistan in collaboration with technologically-advanced countries as announced by the Government of Pakistan.
The Government of Pakistan, through the Higher Education Commission (HEC), will finance and build the campus while the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) will be responsible for the provision of technical support which includes course contents specification, university management, human resource development and education quality control. The campus and laboratories will be built according to the Swedish institute’s specifications. The land has been acquired for the university in Sialkot.
