Ghakhar Mandi 

(Punjabi: ‫ )گکھڑ‬is a city in the Gujranwala District of Pakistan, located

between Wazirabad to the northwest and Gujranwala to the southeast. It is central to 33 villages,
and the home of Pakistan's second-largest electrical grid.

Ghakhar Mandi is famous for its hand made industry and floor mats. It is also known for the
production of rice, and wheat. It is also home to a historic railway station. Asia's oldest road,
the Grand Trunk Road, which was built nearly 500 years ago by Sher Shah Suri passes through this
city.

Mughal era[edit]

Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi passed through the Rawalpindi District after his defeat of Anand Pal. The
first mention of the Gakhars occurs in the memoirs of Babar, who gives an interesting account of the
capture of their capital, Paralah. It was strongly situated in the hills, and was defended with great
bravery by its chief Hati Khan, who escaped from one gate as the Mughal army marched in at the
other. Hati Khan died by poison in 1525; his cousin and murderer Sultan Sarang then submitted to
Babar, who conferred on him the area of Potwar. From that time on the Gakhar chieftains remained
firm allies of the Mughal dynasty, and provided significant aid to the Mughal in their struggle against
the house of Sher Shah. Salim Shah attempted in vain to subdue their country.

In 1553 Adam Khan, Sarang's successor surrendered the rebel prince Kamran to Humayun. Adam
Khan was subsequently deposed by Akbar, and his principality given over to his nephew Kamal Khan.
During the height of the Mughal empire, the family of Sarang retained its territorial possessions. Its
last and Gakhars chief, Mukarrab Khan, ruled over a kingdom that extended from the Chenab to the
Indus

The first mention of the earliest settlements of Rawalpindi, named after Bappa Rawal, dates from
when Mahmud of Ghazni destroyed Rawalpindi and the town was restored by the Gakhar chief Kai
Gohar in the early 11th century. The town fell into decay again after Mongol invasions in the 14th
century. Situated along an invasion route, the settlement did not prosper and remained deserted
until 1493, when Jhanda Khan re-established the ruined town, and named it Rawal.