Pakistani Educational Leadership Project at Plymouth State University

Contributed by and posted on behalf of one of our alumni

Introduction

Tounsa Sharif, or Taunsa, is a town of Dera Ghazi Khan district in Punjab province, Pakistan It is located on the Karachi-Peshawar Highway which is also known as Indus high way, it is approximately 975km from Karachi and 600km from Lahore. Taunsa is also the location of one of the headworks on the Indus River called Taunsa Barrage, located several kilometres south of Taunsa city.

Demography

The main language of the area is Sariki and Balochi whilst the city itself contains a range of ethnic groups, the adjacent towns and rural areas in the Tehsil are primarily occupied by Balouch tribes including the Buzdar, Sakhani, Malkani, Qaisrani, Lashari,Mirani, Nutkani, Khetran,Khosa and Kulachi. Most of the mentioned tribes including Buzdar,Khosa and Qaisrani are part of the Baloch tribe, Buzdar is the largest tribe of the Tehsil while Nutkani is the second largest.

Importance

Taunsa is valued mainly for the shrine of Pir Phatan Hazrat Khawaja Shah Suleman Taunsavi ( a very well known scholar of Pakistan). It has the highest literacy in the Punjab province and is known as the ‘Unan-e-Saghir’ or Mini Greece for its high literacy rate. It has produced many scholars, business men, Govt officials and writers. Among its notable personalities is ‘Fikar taunsavi’ , a great writer of his time. The Taunsa barrage is also important for the irrigation system of the koh-e-sulaiman belt and D.G.Khan city. Taunsa is even sacred to some ethnic groups, who visit it for the shrines. Taunsa produced has the largest number of doctors when compared to other areas, especially female doctors. In a recent survey it was known that the people of Taunsa had the highest I.Q level in Pakistan. Taunsa is also important culturally as it holds many festivals annually locally called the ‘Urs’. They are attended by thousands of the followers of the saints especially the Pir Pathan.

Problems faced by the people of Taunsa

Despite its importance, Taunsa is a poverty stricken and deprived area of Pakistan. The city lacks even basic infrastructure and facilities. Although the literacy rate is high, employment rate and job oppurtunities are very low. Many literate boys and girls are forced to work on low-paid jobs despite the fact that they have studied from high class institutions. The main cause of this is the constant political instability due to which very low concern has been shown on industrialization and developing the economy. Another cause is the social restraint and extremism shown by some groups on religious ground especially for female education. The politicians also don’t emphasize on developing the area.

Suggestions for developing the area

Taunsa has the potential to become the most developed area of Pakistan. If the people are given job opportunities which go exactly for their education and the basic infrastructure is developed, the city can contribute very much to the economy of the country. The Govt can earn large amount of revenue from developing tourism in the area as many people visit it for the shrines. Placing industries will increse employment rate ultimately increasing living standards.

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