Dera Ghazi Khan

Dera Ghazi Khan, town, Punjab province, central Pakistan, in the floodplain of the Indus River. The town was founded by Ghāzī Khān, son of a Baloch chieftain and vassal of the Langah sultans of Multan. Incorporated as a municipality in 1867, the town was partially destroyed by a flood of the Indus in 1908–09. The new town (founded 1911) is connected with Multan by road over the Taunsa Barrage and with Ghazi Ghat and Muzaffargarh by a bridge of boats over the Indus at low water. Rug and carpet weaving and the production of wooden toys are traditional industries; newer industries include rice and flour milling, cotton textiles, and rope and fibre products. The town has a hospital and a college affiliated with the University of the Punjab. Wheat, millet, and dates are the chief crops grown in the surrounding area, and cattle breeding is widespread. Pop. (1981) 102,007; (1998) 188,149.