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Pano Aqil Cantonment

Pakistan's largest cantonment is located in Pano Akil. Pano Akil is a tehsil of Sukkur District and as of 2006, Pano Akil city has an estimated population of 73000. It is most famous for the presence of a cantonment here as its construction was a bone of contention among nationalists in mid 80s. On the other hand the cantonment is strategically located owing to a big curve inward in International boundary. A quick look at the map can show the importance of this town. Pano Akil is served by Railways too.

Pano Akil Cantonment is located 40km away from Sukkur, in Sindh, Pakistan. The first cantonment was established in interior Sindh at Pano Aqil [Pano Akil] Jacobabad district in 1988. Pano Aqil is an excellent example of how the establishment of military cantonments could assist in uplift of the area and improvement. The establishment of army cantonments in Badin, Pano Aqil, Dadu, and Moenjodaro aroused indignation among the Sind nationalists. The people of Sindh raised voice against the establishment of the Pano Aqil Cantonment, since at that time there were already eleven Cantonments in Sindh.

Cadet College Pano Aqil cost Rs 160 billion. He said this project was started by Sindh government in 1991. However, a great injustice was done to the people of this area by abandoning this project after dismissal of PPP government in 1996. The establishment of a cadet college in Pano Aqil which already had a cantonment is a big achievement of the new PPP government. The Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani announced 11 January 2009 that the Federal Government will provide upto Rs 40 crore for the development of Cadet College, Pano Aqil. He also announced an amount of Rs 40 crore for proposed Cadet College, Ghotki.

Pano Akil is a railway station on Rohri-Lahore main railway 24 miles from Rohri. The town was founded in the 18th century by Akil Khan. In 1904, the mahal of Pano Akil was converted into a taluka. The new District was divided into three subdivisions. Ghotki Taluka of Sukkur District, Sind, Bombay, lying between 27° 40' and 28° 11' N. and 69° 4' and 69° 35' E., with an area of 518 square miles, including the Pano Akil wa^a/(168 square miles). The population rose from 67,743 in 1891 to 72,019 in 1901. The tdluka contains one town, Ghotki (population, 3,821), the headquarters; and 129 villages. The density, 139 persons per square mile, is much above the District average. The land revenue and cesses in 1903-4 amounted to 2-2 lakhs. The taluka is liable to floods, and depends for the irrigation of its jowar and wheat upon small canals leading direct from the Indus. The zamindars were mostly small holders and impoverished. Much forest land fringes the banks of the river.

Sukkur District 5 165 km², population 908 373, has four talukas (Pano Aqil 1 233 km², population 245 187, Rohri population 224 362, Salehpat population 64 646, Sukkur 274 km², population 374 178). Sukkur (335 551) has an area of 14.0 km² and an estimated population of 300 000. Pano Aqil Cantonment, a military base, has an area of 8.5 km² and an estimated population of 25 000. Pano Aqil (41 255) has an area of 3.3 km² and an estimated population of 40 000.

Sukkur occupies an important position in the annals of History from Alexander the Great to the defeat of Mirs of Khairpur & Hyderabad from the hands of Sir Charles Napier in 1843 a captain of British Army. The original Sukkur District was bifurcated into three districts viz.Sukkur,Ghotki and Shikarpur. In 1883 Sukkur became the headquarters of the district instead of Shikarpur and since that time public offices have been gradually transferred to it.

The cities of Sukkur (300 000), Nawabshah (140 000), Khairpur (100 000) and the major town of Ghotki (40 000) are district capitals in the area. The major towns of Pano Aqil (40 000) and Pano Aqil Cantonment (25 000) in Sukkur District, Moro (25 000) and Kandiaro (22 000) in Naushahro Feroze District, and Sakrand (20 000) in Nawabshah District are also in the area.

The Sukkur Barrage (completed 1932), a dam on the Indus, has sixty-six spans with separate gates to control water flow. It acts as a switching system, distributing water to irrigation channels on both sides of the river which irrigate about 25 000 km² of land. At the time of construction, the Sukkur Barrage was the largest irrigation project in the world.

Pano Akil can be accessed by railway link as it is located on main railway line of Pakistan, the national highway also passes by west of the city. Similarly, buses and A.C coaches can also be caught from various cities including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Sukkur etc. to reach Pano Akil. The international airport of Sukkur is also at a distance of few kilometres from here. The city is inter-connected through roads and streets. Mustafai Choke, Baiji Choke, Saduja Choke, Eid Gah Choke, Sanwal Waro Choke and Garibabad chowk are major stops of the city.

Pano Akil is basically an agricultural area as its land is fertile while water is also available in appropriate quantity.But some agro-based industries including Mahar Cotton Factory, Habib cotton(Indher Colony), Mahar Floor Mill, Najeeb Boon Mills, Bhutta Group of Industries and Wood Factories. It supplies major amount of vegetables, fruits and cotton crops to the other parts of country. Besides a major population of Hindu community and some Christian families also have residence and business in the city.