Wikipedia
Bahawalpur ( Punjabi, ), is a city in Punjab, Pakistan. The city is capital of the Bahawalpur District and is the 13th most populous metropolitan area of Pakistan.
Bahawalpur was a princely state of British India and later, Pakistan, that existed from 1802 to 1955. It was a part of Punjab States Agency. The state covered an area of 45,911 km² (17,494 sq mi) and had a population of 1,341,209 in 1941. The capital of the state was the town of Bahawalpur.
Bahawalpur state was founded in 1802 by Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan Abbasi after the breakup of the Durrani Empire. His successor was Nawab Mohammad Bahawal Khan Abbasi III. On 22 February 1833, Abbasi III entered into subsidiary alliance with the British by which Bahawalpur was admitted as a princely state of British India. When India became independent of British rule in 1947 and partitioned into two states, India and Pakistan, Bahawalpur joined the Dominion of Pakistan. Bahawalpur remained an autonomous entity till 14 October 1955 when it was merged with the province of West Pakistan.