5 Kickass reasons to visit Sialkot Pakistan

Sialkot city lies on the artery that went all the way to Kashmir through Jammu. The colonial British drew a line that separated people who had been living together for centuries.

Route location of Sialkot

It takes 5 h to reach Sialkot from Islamabad, if you follow the GT Road – Wazirabad route.

If you used the Islamabad – Lahore ring road – Sialkot motorway route, it would take 5.5 h to get there.

The Sialkot – Lahore motorway is the recommended route.

Sialkot area Map

It is located at the North East Tip of Pakistan, if Kashmir is considered an independent territory.

Now the city has

• Jammu to the North East
• Shakargarh border to the South East
• Gujarat to the West
• Jhelum City to the North West
• Gujranwala to the South West.

Industry

This great city is  known as the industrial heartland “Golden Triangle” along with Gujrat and Gujranwala.

Sialkot history

History says that Greeks were followed by Buddhists, then Hindus, Mughals, Pathans’, Sikhs, then British in lording over the city.

Up until 1947, the city was mostly non-muslim

Major Kingdoms 

• Alexander of Macedon raised the city named Sangala in 326 BC.
• This was followed by Greco Bactrian Ruler Menander-1 in the 2nd century, making it predominantly Buddhist
• After this came the White Huns in 460 CE, Mihiragula followed by Toramana who made Sialkot their capital of Northern India.
• Mughals made the city part of Lahore Subah

This points to the multi-ethnic society of Sialkot.

Things to do in Sialkot

There are many interesting things to do in Sialkot, but these are my favourite:-

World Cup Football Factory

This city is now developing the FIFA world cup football for 2022, and it is called “Al Rihla”.

I got my own Telstar-18FIFA soccer, You have just have to visit Forwards sports outlet in the city. It costs Rs 3000 for the real thing.

Buy Sports Goods and Equipment

While you are there, buy

• A CA cricket bat,
• A grey’s field hockey,
• Ultra-fine leather gloves
• A leather bomber jacket.
• Scottish bagpipes
• Surgical tools and knives

All this for Rs 30,000 tops!

You can also get ultra-light, rust free, surgical tools in case you have the pathological need to carve someone up.

Get genuine Sport Brands

The place is heaven for sports gears of

• Nike,
• Adidas,
• Puma
• Slazenger etc.

Because this city exports it to the world.

Buy quality Sialkot Exports

This year, the city exported $ 3 billion worth of goods that includes rice, leather, instruments, and sports materials.

If you are kicking around a high-quality hand stitched football right now, know that it was probably prepared at Sialkot.

Pakistan is at No. 201 in the FIFA ranking, but no one builds balls better than us

All clothing brands, including Levis, Eden Robe, and Cotton & Cotton etc. have opened shop there. It’s a shopper’s paradise.

Visit Allama Iqbal Manzil

Visit the founding fathers Allama Iqbal Manzil home

The mansion is located inside a narrow lane, but the actual building is quite large.

Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah once addressed an independence crowd very close to Iqbal Manzil.

See Shah Wala Teja Singh Hindu Temple,

Teja Singh Temple has been recently renovated by Pakistan Government and is to be made functional for the local Hindu community. 

Shahwala Temple is still beautiful

 Teja Singh Hindu Temple, at the center of the city, still has the Hindu deities carved on its pillars.

The one I saw looked like Hanuman. It is a majestic structure — probably built with a lot of religious devotion.

This is the only temple in Pakistan that has a Greek look to its architecture – especially the Columns and arches. Could this Greek influence be because Macedonian Alexander leveled old Sialkot city in 326BC?

Temple construction is different from Kalyan Das & Krishna temples of Rawalpindi.

Visit Raghunath Temple

Raghunath Temple has a school inside it and nobody is allowed to go in.

Images of Hindu Gods are still preserved there.

The odd thing is that there was a very limited non-Muslim population here in 1947 – the reason for this is still unexplained.

View of the city from Sialkot Fort

This Fort has long been demolished but the higher fort ground overlooking the city remains.

Hear the story of Pooran da Khu

A visit to Pooran Da Khoo,  20 minutes’ drive from Sialkot, reminds me of the Story of Prince Pooran, whose limbs were amputated by his father, the Raja of Sil-not, for allegedly assaulting his beloved first wife — several centuries ago.

The hapless mutilated prince was thrown into the well at kror and left to die. A Hindu hermit pulled him out and let him preach there as a sadhu too.

A Hindu temple was built there in honor of the sadhu prince and he was buried in its courtyard.

There is no evidence of any tomb at the site, but prince Pooran still lives in Punjabi lore.

Folk lore is always interesting

Stay at Beautiful Sialkot Cantonment

Cantonment was built by the British between two rivulets – meant to act as natural defenses on two sides. The streams have long dried up. Now that the city has grown, it appears in-between Ravi and Chenab rivers.

British Raj brought their Caucasian POWs from wars in South Africa to Sialkot to rest here.

The only reason for the British to build such a well-equipped cantonment here was to keep an eye on the Strategic Jammu road — just in case, the Dogra Sarkar of Kashmir get adventurous.

Jammu is a stone throw away (44 Kms). Sialkot Cantt is a sight for the sore eyes.

Get holy with Holy Trinity Church

Even the present-day Sialkot city is clean, well maintained, green, and beautiful. All the roads of the city, that includes Cantt, have been carpeted by the exporter community there in a 50:50 deal with the government.

Have fish at Head Marala Picnic point

Head Marala, irrigation headworks is situated an hour’s drive from the city. It diverts Chenab river water to two irrigation channels. It also produced 20 MW of electricity.

It is a bird sanctuary and a picnic area.

A lovely place to go to except for the occasional dead bodies of drowning victims from India that get snagged on these headworks.

Hang out with the Loving people 

The best thing about this city is the loving and beautiful people. The combination of Mughal, Persian, Pathan, Kashmiri ancestry has built a society that is not only beautiful to see but very industrious.

When the British wanted bats for their Connelly park stadium (Jinnah stadium), the Sialkot people complied. When the British wanted surgical instruments for their soldiers in WW-2, Sialkot complied.

Similarly, when Germans ask for kinky leather accessories and pants, Sialkot people deliver them in time.

These Sialkotis are the jolliest, happiest and enterprising people I have ever met.

Seeing is believing. You must go there at least once! They are the happiest and the most enterprising people I have ever met.

Facts about Sialkot

• Sialkot is probably the cleanest city of Pakistan after Lahore.
• It has remained as the winter capital of Kashmir as well for the Dogra and the British representative of Kashmir.
• Fertile lands and ample water all around have produced green gold for their owners for centuries. Sialkot’s rice is exported all over the world.
• The city  has been awarded Hilal e Istaklal for their gallantry in the 1965 war.
• Sialkot war is also called the Battle of Chawinda (1965), one of the largest tank battles in the history of the world – which Pakistan won against India.
• Its Fortunes declined initially after independence when it was severed from Jammu and its trading cities that ended with India.

Sialkot Weather

The city mostly stays hot and humid all year round, with high temperatures in summers topping 45 degrees Celsius

Sialkot international Airport

Their chamber of commerce and industry is one of the most active business bodies in Pakistan and their crowning jewel is the Sialkot international airport.

The postcode of the Sialkot export hub is 51310.

Question about Sialkot

Villages of Sialkot

This District has about three dozen large villages mentioned here

Population

District population is about 0.8 million people

What is Sialkot famous for?

The city has the best quality of sports goods, rice and surgical tools.

Which language do the Sialkot people speak?

In Sialkoti people mostly speak Punjabi

What was the Sialkot Incidence?

A rape took place on the Motorway, where the perpetrators were caught.

I love the city because of my school and lovely class fellows…

Conclusion

Sialkot city is definitely worth visiting because it is a relatively modern city with rural values.

If you guys need anything from Sialkot or you want to visit the place, text me at 923005111523