{{Short description|Town in Punjab, Pakistan}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{pp-move|small=yes}} {{POV|date=March 2025}} {{Use Pakistani English|date=February 2023}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox settlement | native_name = {{Nq|مریدکے}} | name = Muridke | settlement_type = City | image_skyline = {{Photomontage |size = 250 |photo1a = CBS Pics10.jpg |photo2a = tehsils-of-sheikhupura-district.jpg}} | imagesize = 270 | image_alt = | image_caption = [[Chand Bagh School|Chand Bagh School ground]] at night | image_map = | mapsize = 150 px | map_alt = | map_caption = | coordinates = {{Coord|31.802|74.255|region:PK_type:city|display=inline}} | pushpin_map = Pakistan Punjab#Pakistan | pushpin_label_position = <!-- left, right, top, bottom, none --> | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_mapsize = | pushpin_map_caption = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{Flag|Pakistan}} | subdivision_type1 = [[Subdivisions of Pakistan|Province]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab]] | subdivision_type2 = [[Divisions of Pakistan|Division]] | subdivision_name2 = [[Lahore]] | subdivision_type3 = [[Districts of Pakistan|District]] | subdivision_name3 = [[Sheikhupura District|Sheikhupura]] | population_total = 254291 | total_type = City | population_rank = [[List of largest cities in Pakistan|37rd, Pakistan]] | population_as_of = [[2023 Pakistani census|2023]] census | population_est = | pop_est_as_of = | population_footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web |title= Punjab (Pakistan): Province and Major Cities, Municipalities & Towns |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/cities/punjab |website=Punjab (Pakistan): Province and Major Cities, Municipalities & Towns |publisher=Citypopulation.de website |access-date=21 February 2023}}</ref> | area_total_km2 = | elevation_m = 205 | elevation_m_min = | elevation_m_max = | population_density_km2 = auto | leader_title = | leader_name = | leader_title1 = | leader_name1 = | area_code = | area_code_type = [[List of dialling codes of Pakistan|Calling code]] | timezone1 = [[Pakistan Standard Time|PST]] | utc_offset1 = +5 | footnotes = }}
'''Muridke''' ([[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] / {{Langx|ur|{{unq|مریدکے}}}}), is a city and headquarters of '''Muridke Tehsil''' of [[Sheikhupura District]] in Punjab, Pakistan. It is the [[List of most populous cities in Pakistan|37th most populous city of Pakistan]] as well 25th of the [[province]] [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]]. Muridke is a commercial area situated near the city of [[Lahore]], at an elevation of 205 m (675 ft).<ref name=":0">[https://www.fallingrain.com/world/PK/04/Muridke2.html Location of Muridke - Falling Rain Genomics]</ref>
== Geography == It is 215 meters above sea level, with the land around being largely flat.<ref name=":0" /><ref name="gn1169692">[{{Geonameslink|gnid=1169692|name=muridke}} Murīdke] at [{{Geonamesabout}} Geonames.org (cc-by)].</ref> The area is largely agricultural and is serviced by nearby canals.<ref name="nasalandcover">{{Cite web |title=NASA Earth Observations: Land Cover Classification |url=http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/view.php?datasetId=MCD12C1_T1 |access-date= |publisher=NASA/MODIS}}</ref><ref name="nasa">{{Cite web |title=NASA Earth Observations Data Set Index |url=http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/dataset_index.php |access-date= |publisher=NASA}}</ref>
== Temperature == The average temperature is 23 °C. The hottest month is June, at 39 °C, and the coldest is January, at 7 °C. The average rainfall is 955 millimetres (37 in) per year. The wettest month is September, at 289 millimetres (11 in) of rainfall, and the driest is November, at 11 millimetres (0.5 in).<ref name=":0" /><ref name="nasarain">{{Cite web |title=NASA Earth Observations: Rainfall (1 month - TRMM) |url=http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/view.php?datasetId=TRMM_3B43M |access-date= |publisher=NASA/Tropical Rainfall Monitoring Mission}}</ref><ref name="nasa" /> {| |{{climate chart|Murīdke|5|17|34|9|20|49|12|25|44|17|34|57|23|43|15|24|40|63|26|32|137|24|30|226|23|29|289|18|29|16|11|26|11|6|20|14|float=left|clear=left|source=<ref name = "nasa"/>}} |}
== Demographics ==
=== Population === {{Historical populations|1951|...|1961|6757|1972|18507|1981|35419|1998|111,951|2017|166,652|2023|254,291|align=right|percentages=pagr|footnote=Sources:<ref>{{cite web |title=Population by administrative units 1951-1998 |url=https://repository.lahoreschool.edu.pk/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/13673/Administrative%20Units.pdf?isAllowed=y&sequence=1 |publisher = [[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]]}}</ref>}} According to [[2023 Pakistani census|2023 census]], Muridke had a population of 254,291. The city's population increased nearly ninefold between 1972 and 2017, from 18,507 to 166,652. Between 1998 and 2017, average annual growth was 2.1%, slightly lower than the national average of 2.4%.<ref>[http://www.citypopulation.de/Pakistan-100T.html Pakistan: Provinces and Major Cities] at ''citypopulation.de''</ref><ref name="rec23">[https://www.citypopulation.de/en/pakistan/cities/ Population of major cities of Pakistan] at ''citypopulation.de.''</ref>
== Education == [[File:CBS Pics16.jpg|thumb|[[Chand Bagh School]] in Muridke, Pakistan]] [[Chand Bagh School]] is a [[Private school|private]] [[boarding school]] for [[Boys school|boys]] in Muridke. It is situated on the Muridke-[[Sheikhupura]] Road. It follows the [[Cambridge International Examinations|Cambridge International Examination]] system.<ref name="tasleem">Nauman Tasleem, ''[http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2011/06/17/city/lahore/punjab-govt-donates-rs-60m-to-an-elite-school/ Punjab govt donates Rs 60m to an elite school]'' dated 17 June 2011 from ''[[Pakistan Today]]'' online at pakistantoday.com.pk. Retrieved 24 March 2012</ref>
==Landmarks== [[File:Muridke railway station.jpg|thumb|[[Muridke railway station]]]]
===Markaz-e-Taiba=== Muridke is known for being home to the Markaz-e-Taiba, the headquarters of [[Markaz Dawa wal Irshad]] (MDI) or [[Jamaat-ud-Dawa]] (JuD),{{Efn|The organisation took the name [[Jamaat-ud-Dawa]] in 2002 after facing a ban in Pakistan.<ref>{{citation |last=Brandt |first=Ben |chapter=Lashkar-e-Taiba |editor=Peter Chalk |title=Encyclopedia of Terrorism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-wwPNjSnxcYC&pg=PA410 |year=2013 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-0-313-30895-6 |pages=410–413}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=A Region in Turmoil: South Asian Conflicts Since 1947 |first=Rob |last=Johnson |publisher=Reaktion Books |year=2005 |isbn=9781861892577 |page=230 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sub5yWzftqoC&pg=PA230}}</ref> Considerable confusion persists regarding the relationship between the various organisations. According to journalist and author Arif Jamal, Jamaat-ud-Dawa is the central organisation and Lashkar-e-Taiba is just its India-facing branch.<ref>Benazir Shah, [https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/09/26/the-rise-of-lashkar-e-taiba-a-qa-with-arif-jamal/ The Rise of Lashkar-e-Taiba: A Q&A with Arif Jamal], Foreign Policy, 26 September 2014.</ref>}} the parent organisation of the militant group [[Lashkar-e-Taiba]] (LeT), located in the suburb of [[Nangal Sahdan]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Shahid |first=Kunwar Khuldune |date=May 31, 2025 |title=Pakistan and the Latest Reincarnation of Lashkar-e-Taiba |url=https://thediplomat.com/2025/05/pakistan-and-the-latest-reincarnation-of-lashkar-e-taiba/ |access-date=2025-06-01 |website=[[The Diplomat (magazine)|The Diplomat]] |language=en-US |quote=The Diplomat’s investigations reveal not just the PMML’s political connection with the LeT, but also the party’s spearheading of the madrassa network, including the Markaz-e-Taiba in Muridke, one of the sites hit by Indian strikes. In a video shared with The Diplomat by a student of the Markaz-e-Taiba, recorded days before the Pahalgam attack, a local PMML leader Naseer Ahmad can be heard telling a gathering in Muridke that “the ideological offspring of Hafiz Mohammed Saeed will continue his jihad.” ... In March, LeT cofounder Amir Hamza, a close aide of Hafiz Saeed, delivered a Friday sermon at the Markaz-e-Taiba urging “jihad against the kuffaar (infidels) including Israel and India.” The Markaz-e-Taiba frequently hosts Hafiz Saeed’s son Talha Saeed, along with PMML founders Saifullah Kasuri and Tabish Qayyum, both of whom were also cofounders of the Milli Muslim League. ... The funeral prayers for those who died in the Indian strike on the Markaz-e-Taiba were led by the LeT-affiliated, U.S.-designated terrorist Hafiz Abdul Rauf, who ran the group’s Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=29 April 2025 |title=Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) |url=https://kennisbankterrorisme.nctv.nl/organisaties/lashkar-e-tayyiba-let |access-date= |website=Kennisbank Terrorische Organisaties |publisher=[[National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism]] |quote=Daarnaast heeft LeT kaders ingedeeld in verschillende districten, waar trainingskampen zijn en kantoren vanwaar de financiering en rekrutering van nieuwe leden wordt geleid. Het hoofdkantoor bevindt zich in Muridke, bij Lahore. |trans-quote=LeT also has cadres organized into various districts, where training camps and offices are located, managing the financing and recruitment of new members. Its headquarters are located in Muridke, near Lahore.}}</ref><ref name="IISS15May">{{Cite web |last=Roy-Chaudhury |first=Rahul |date=15 May 2025 |title=India–Pakistan drone and missile conflict: differing and disputed narratives |publisher=[[International Institute for Strategic Studies]] |url=https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/online-analysis/2025/05/indiapakistan-drone-and-missile-conflict-differing-and-disputed-narratives/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250515193358/https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/online-analysis/2025/05/indiapakistan-drone-and-missile-conflict-differing-and-disputed-narratives/ |archive-date=15 May 2025|quote=Significantly, these included the headquarters of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the group blamed for the Pahalgam attack, in Muridke, 50 kilometres from Lahore; and the headquarters of the Jaish-e-Mohammed terror group in Bhawalpur, over 100 km from the Indian border.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Yasmeen |first=Samina |author-link=Samina Yasmeen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XZRODwAAQBAJ&pg=PA52 |title=Jihad and Dawah: Evolving Narratives of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamat ud Dawah |date=1 October 2017 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-1-84904-975-7 |page= |quote=MDI also acquired land for a larger centre at Muridke, 37 kilometres north of Lahore. Covering 200 acres, the centre was named Markaz-e-Taiba, once again invoking a direct link with the first Islamic state of Medina. |access-date=31 May 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Sajjad |first1=Mohammad Waqas |last2=Jawad |first2=Ahmad |date=June 2014 |title=Lashkar-e-Tayyiba and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa: the case for a Pakistani narrative |url=https://www.issi.org.pk/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/1328591409_76813750.pdf |website=[[Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad]] |quote=Funded by the State and from the Middle East, the Markaz had a huge complex in Muridke, near Lahore, which is still in use by the JuD as its organizational base and head office.}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Calle |first=Marie-France |date=2009-10-12 |title=Muridke, pépinière tranquille du terrorisme au Pakistan |trans-title=Muridke, a quiet hotbed of terrorism in Pakistan |url=https://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2009/10/12/01003-20091012ARTFIG00454-muridke-pepiniere-tranquille-du-terrorisme-au-pendjab-.php |access-date=2025-05-31 |website=[[Le Figaro]] |language=fr |trans-quote=Except for this: in this region of Pakistani Punjab, at a place called Nangal Saidwalla, is Markaz-e-Taiba, reputed to be one of the most active nurseries of terrorists in Pakistan. ... Officially, this huge 75-acre complex, surrounded by barbed wire, is none other than the headquarters of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), an ultra-religious Islamist charity. But all experts will tell you that the JuD is above all the showcase of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), a formidable jihadist formation. Worse still, while the LeT was banned in 2002 by former President Pervez Musharraf and the JuD was placed on the list of international terrorist organizations by the United Nations last December, the authorities in Islamabad continue to turn a blind eye to the activities of the two terrorist entities, which are now one. ... At the beginning of October, there is little activity on the "campus" as it is called here. Yet it houses a hospital, a mosque, a madrasa, workshops, apartments, student rooms, an Islamic university, two primary schools? ... He is above all the son-in-law of Hafiz Saeed, the man who created the Markaz-e-Taiba and founded the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa in the 1980s.}}</ref> The Markaz is a large 200-acre complex that has a range of infrastructure established by [[Hafiz Saeed|Hafiz Muhammad Saeed]] in 1990.<ref name=":1">{{citation |last=Fair |first=C. Christine |title=In Their Own Words: Understanding Lashkar-e-Tayyaba |pages=97 |year=2018 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zR2DDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA97 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780190062033}}</ref><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{citation |last=Shafqat |first=Saeed |title=Pakistan: Nationalism Without A Nation |date=2002 |page=142 |editor-last=Jaffrelot |editor-first=Christophe |editor-link=Christophe Jaffrelot |chapter=From Official Islam to Islamism: The Rise of Dawat-ul-Irshad and Lashkar-e-Taiba |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I2avL3aZzSEC&pg=PA142 |publisher=Zed Books |isbn=978-1-84277-117-4}}</ref> [[Osama bin Laden]], the former leader of [[Al-Qaeda]], is believed to have contributed approximately PKR 10 million (roughly USD 100,000 at the time) towards the development of the complex.<ref>Ryan Clarke. "[https://press.armywarcollege.edu/monographs/348 Lashkar-I-Taiba: The Fallacy of Subservient Proxies and the Future of Islamist Terrorism in India]". [[United States Army War College|US Army War College Press]], 2010. p. 1-2. "Osama bin Laden is reported to have contributed Pakistani rupees (Rs.) 10 million to the construction of a mosque at MDI’s headquarters in Muridke, Pakistan, and is also believed to have built a guesthouse that he himself has stayed in. ... Muridke still serves as LeT’s headquarters and is largely financed by Middle Eastern and Pakistani donors. This joint complex now consists of a madrassa, hospital, market, residences for scholars and faculty members, a fish farm, and agricultural tracts. In addition, some claim that LeT operates around 16 Islamic institutions, 135 secondary schools, an ambulance service, blood banks, and several seminaries across Pakistan."</ref> The complex includes the Umm al-Qura Mosque, a [[madrasa]], a religious preaching centre, residential quarters, a school, a hospital, a market, a garment factory, an iron factory, a woodwork factory, a stable, a swimming pool, a fishfarm, agricultural tracts and various administrative buildings.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Khan |first1=M. Ilyas |last2=Fair |first2=C. Christine |author-link2=C. Christine Fair |date=2025-05-07 |title=Jamaat-ud-Dawa and the Pakistan Army's Narratives |url=https://www.hudson.org/security-alliances/jamaat-ud-dawa-pakistan-armys-narratives |access-date=2025-06-01 |website=[[Hudson Institute]] |language=en |quote=MDI’s headquarters (Markaz) was built in 1989 on a 200-acre campus in Muridke in Pakistan’s Punjab province, some 30 kilometers from Lahore. Punjab, unlike the FATA, is one of the most militarized provinces in Pakistan. Of the nine regular Pakistan Army corps, six are in Punjab alongside the Army Air Defense Command and Strategic Forces Command, which are treated as corps. The MDI Markaz, which is now the headquarters for JuD, hosts numerous amenities and businesses, including a madrasa (seminary), large jamia mosque, hospital, market, large residential area for scholars and faculty members, garment factory, iron factory, woodworking factory, stable, swimming pool, fish farm, and agricultural tracts.}}</ref><ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fair |first=C. Christine |author-link=C. Christine Fair |date=2014-02-23 |title=Insights from a Database of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Militants |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/01402390.2013.811647 |journal=[[Journal of Strategic Studies]] |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=259–290 |doi=10.1080/01402390.2013.811647 |issn=0140-2390 |quote=LeT first emerged in 1993 as the military wing of the Punjab-based Markaz Daawat ul Irshad (MDI). Headquartered in Muridke, some 30 kilometers from Lahore, the provincial capital, MDI was founded in 1986 by two Pakistani engineering professors, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and Zafar Iqbal. The ISI was a crucial partner of LeT from the start; Abdullah Azzam, a close of associate of Osama bin Laden, also provided assistance to the fledgling organization. ... The bans were farcical: Pakistani intelligence gave advance notice of the impending ban to LeT's Hafiz Saeed and the leaders of other militant groups, allowing them to transfer their financial assets to new accounts and quickly re-emerge under new names. Saeed announced that his organization would be restructured and renamed Jamaat-ud-Dawa, the vast majority of the assets and personnel into JuD, and organizational nodes and operatives continued to function under the name of LeT. As organizational continuity between the various organizations, Hafez Saeed remains the amir, or leader, of JuD. ... LeT, now exclusively known as JuD, continues to be headquartered at its sprawling 200-acre facility in Muridke, although it maintains offices in most of the major cities of Pakistan.|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lashkar-e- Toiba (LeT) Terrorist Group, Jammu & Kashmir |url=https://www.satp.org/terrorist-profile/india-jammukashmir/lashkar-e--toiba-let |access-date=2025-05-31 |website=South Asia Terrorism Portal |quote=LeT's headquarters (200 acres), are located in Muridke, 30 kms from Lahore. The building was constructed with contributions and donations from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia being the biggest benefactor. The headquarters house a Madrassa (seminary), a hospital, a market, a large residential area for 'scholars' and faculty members, a fish farm and agricultural tracts.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Riedel |first=Bruce |author-link=Bruce Riedel |url=https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/avoidingarmageddon_chapter.pdf |title=Avoiding Armageddon: America, India, and Pakistan to the Brink and Back |date=2013 |publisher=[[Brookings Institution Press]] |pages=17 |quote=Its main headquarters in Muridke, near Lahore, has a campus of several hundred acres with schools and dormitories for thousands of students, a garment factory, an iron foundry, and a huge mosque.}}</ref> While it presents itself as a religious and educational institution, multiple international intelligence assessments and security reports have identified it as a hub for indoctrination, [[Terrorist training camp|militant training]] and terrorist recruitment.<ref name=":2" /> In 2009, following the [[2008 Mumbai attacks|Mumbai attacks]], the Punjab government took over the complex, and JuD continued to operate from there.<ref>{{citation |last=Tankel |first=Stephen |title=Storming the World Stage: The Story of Lashkar-e-Taiba |pages=46–47 |year=2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Iu1wBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT47 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-023803-2}}</ref> The federal and provincial governments in Pakistan continued to allocate funds to the organisation.<ref name=":1" />
The complex was targeted in an airstrike conducted by the [[Indian Air Force]] as part of [[Operation Sindoor]] on the night between on 7 May 2025.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news |date=7 May 2025 |title='It felt like the sky turned red', says witness to India strike in Pakistan |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd7v7pdr095o |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=[[BBC News]]}}</ref><ref name="AJ">{{cite news |last1=Hussain |first1=Abid |title=Inside Muridke: Did India hit a 'terror base' or a mosque? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2025/5/8/inside-muridke-did-india-hit-a-terror-base-or-a-mosque |access-date=9 May 2025 |work=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rashid |first=Hashim bin |date=2025-06-01 |title=India-Pakistan conflict smoulders on |url=https://mondediplo.com/2025/06/04pakistan-india |access-date=2025-05-31 |website=[[Le Monde diplomatique]] |language=en |quote=But it was the first time since the 1971 war that either country’s military had hit locations outside the disputed Kashmir region, with missiles striking Muridke and Bahawalpur, in central and southern Punjab respectively, both areas known for harbouring Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Pakistani Islamist group which the UN designates as a terrorist organisation and New Delhi blames for coordinating the 22 April attack with Islamabad’s support.}}</ref> The Government of Pakistan has said that the complex is a civilian facility run by the Government. [[The Diplomat (magazine)|''The Diplomat'']] magazine said that [[Amir Hamza (Lashkar-e-Taiba)|Amir Hamza]], a co-founder of LeT, gave a Friday sermon at the Markaz in March, and a leader of [[Pakistan Markazi Muslim League]], an affiliate of JuD/LeT, was seen telling a gathering just a few weeks earlier that the "jihad" would continue.<ref name=":3" /> Several high-profile attackers, including [[Ajmal Kasab]] and [[David Headley]] underwent training at these facilities.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Behind the walls of Lashkar's rumoured breeding ground |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/behind-the-walls-of-lashkar-s-rumoured-breeding-ground-1.917706 |access-date=2025-06-24 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref>
==Notable people== * [[Iqbal Masih]], former child slave and later activist<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://myhero.com/Iqbal|title = Iqbal Masih}}</ref> * [[Jaffar Nazir]], first-class [[cricket]]er<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/pakistan/content/player/40919.html|title=Jaffar Nazir|website=Cricinfo|access-date=2023-02-21}}</ref> * [[Bilawal Bhatti]], international [[cricket]]er * [[Imran Nazir (cricketer)|Imran Nazir]], international [[cricket]]er
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{Reflist}} {{Coord|31.802|74.255|display=title}} {{Sheikhupura District}}
[[Category:Populated places in Sheikhupura District]]