Punjab, Pakistan
province of Pakistan
Punjab is a province of Pakistan. With a population of over 127 million, it is the most populous Pakistani province and the second most populous subnational polity in the world. Located in the central-eastern region of the country, it has the largest economy, contributing the most to national GDP in Pakistan. Lahore is the capital and largest city of the province. Other major cities include Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Multan.
It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the north-west, Balochistan to the south-west and Sindh to the south, as well as Islamabad Capital Territory to the north-west and Azad Kashmir to the north. It shares an international border with the Indian states of Rajasthan and Punjab to the east and Indian-administered Kashmir to the north-east.
The province forms the bulk of the transnational Punjab region, partitioned in 1947 between Pakistan and India. The most fertile province of the country, Punjab is considered the breadbasket of the nation, in addition to being the most industrialised. It is one of the more urbanised regions in South Asia, with approximately 40 per cent of its population being urban.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Punjab, Pakistan” is province of Pakistan. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Punjab, Pakistan and province, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “province of Pakistan” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4478. VIAF identifies the subject as 105144814393019265730. The Library of Congress control number is n80152695. Authority coordinates are 31.330, 74.210. 4 of 6 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1947.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Punjab, Pakistan”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Punjab, Pakistan primary sources, Punjab, Pakistan archive and Punjab research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Punjab, Pakistan”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Punjab, Pakistan” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.