Gurudwara Bair Sahib at Sialkot City

When Guru Nanak Dev Ji reached Sialkot via Jammu he found the whole city in the grip of terror. Guru Dev Ji inquired and learnt that someone had failed to keep his promise made to a great saint called Hazrat Hamza Ghaus. He had flown into a rage and made a vow to meditate for 40 days and at the completion of his meditation the whole city would be doomed. Hearing this Sat Gur sat down under a Bair tree close to the place where Hazrat Hamza was meditating and sang his verse in a loud tone. It disturbed the maditation of Hamza Ji, who came to Guru Nanak and angrily asked who he was and why he wanted to save those liars. Guru Ji replied "Hamza, you are not supposed to punish a whole city for the misconduct of a single person." Hamza Ji was not satisfied. Guru Ji then explained to him that there were many souls. in the city who understood the purpose of life. Guru Ji gave two paisas to Bhai Mardana to buy "falsehood" and "truth" from the market. Some people ridiculed Mardana Ji but there was a Karar (a Hindu sect) named Maula who took two paisas and wrote two chits. On one chit he wrote, "Life is bitter" while on the other chit he wrote, "Death is truth". Bhai Mardana presented both the chits to Sat Gur Nanak Dev Ji. Guru Ji handed over the two pieces of paper to Hamza Ghaus Ji who after reading the same, pardoned the residents of Sialkot.

Maula Karar remained with Guru for some time during his travels. According to Guru'sbiographies, once Guru Ji went to fetch Maula Karar. He, at the instance of his wife, hid himself inside the dark portion of his house and his wife told Guru Dev Ji that he was not at home. Guru Ji came back and a little later it was learnt that Maula Karar had died of snake bite in the darkness.guru

The site where Guru Nanak Ji stayed is still called "Baba Bair". A beautiful and grand Gurdwara has been built at the site. The Bair tree under which Guru Dev Ji had stayed is still present. A few years back a grave of a Muslim fakir has been constructed under the tree.
Shaheed Natha Singh Ji had built this beautiful shrine with great love and affection. Gian Singh Ji wrote his "History of Khalsa" while staying with the Mahant of this Gurdwara. The Shaheed Gang of Shaheed Natha Singh is within the precinct of the Gurdwara.

A big well was also constructed by him inside this Gurdwara and many Persian wheels worked in it. A beautiful tank was also there. Estate worth Rs 8000 belonging to Natha Singh Ji is now in the name of Gurdwara. which includes a garden, a pool and residential rooms. Two squares of land endowed to it is in distt Layyalpur (Faisalabad). This sacred place had to suffer great damage in the wake of Babari Masjid dispute. There used to be a very high temple which was razed to ground when it was demolished by an unruly mob. The Gurdwara is in urgent need of repairs.
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Sialkot Cantonment Board

Sialkot Cantonment is cantonment area in Sialkot adjacent to city area. It is one of the oldest and most important Cantonments of Pakistan. It was established in 1852 by the British Indian Army. As gleaned from the old records, the Sialkot Cantonment is the precursor of Wazirabad Garrison which stood established for a sojourn from 1849-52. The site of Sialkot Cantonment was chosen by Sir Charles Napier, GCB, the then Commander-in-Chief, in 1851. The Wazirabad Cantonment was vacated and the garrison shifted to “Seealkot Cantt”, as it was then called, where actual occupation was effected in 1852. "Cantt" is an abbreviation for cantonment.
The congenial climate, prospects of meeting military requisites and close proximity to the Jammu and Kashmir state led to the genesis of Sialkot Cantt. The Sialkot Cantonment is primarily flanked by two rivulets called nullas in vernacular i.e. nullah “Palkhu” towards the north and nullah “Bhed” towards the south, both originating from the Indian Kashmir.
It serves as a military base and residential establishment. The civil population of Sialkot Cantonment is approximately 191,000 . The cantonment maintains its own infrastructure of civic facilities and is outside the jurisdiction of Sialkot District Government. Its civic facilities are managed by Sialkot Cantonment Board. Sialkot Cantonment houses two divisions of infantry. There is also a small Sialkot Cantonment Airport in Sialkot Cantt in use by Army aviation.


Sialkot Cantonment Board is aministrative body of Sialkot Cantonment. It covers an area of 6781.77 Acres (27.445 Square Kilometers) including four Bazar Areas and a very posh living Bungalow Area.

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Sialkot Lahore Motorway

A 6-lane motorway from Sialkot to Lahore, the two important industrial centers of Punjab, was to be constructed which would have given impetus to economic activities in the province. NHA recognized this motorway as M11, however it was also known as LSM, SLM, Lahore-Sialkot Motorway or Shahrah-e-Sanat (Industrial highway). Gujrat would have been linked with the Sialkot Lahore Motorway (SLM) by constructing a bridge on the Chenab river near Shahbazpur. It was supposed to reduce the distance between Sialkot and Lahore to just 45 minutes. The purpose of the mega project was to facilitate export of products grown or produced in Punjab which will have a positive impact on the country’s economy. The project was to be completed by the end of 2010.

Route
SLM will be six laned, having seven interchanges, eight flyovers, 40 bridges and 70 underpasses. Three industrial zones and two universities would also be established along the project. It will be linked with M2 and N5 through Lahore link road near Kala Shah Kaku. Originally it was planned to be built via Pasrur which was the shortest and direct link between Lahore and Sialkot but now the route has been changed and it will be running parallel to GT road, passing west of Daska, east of Wazirabad and ending up in Gujrat. It will be like a second GT road parallel to the first GT road. It will be useful to the people of Sialkot, Pasrur, Chawinda, Zafarwal, Narowal and Shakargarh districts.

History
The SLM was conceived by Ex Chief Minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in 2006 and foundation stone was laid in 2007, by President Pervez Musharraf. In 2010, the SLM would have been opened to the public but the Punjab government has shelved this grand project of Sialkot-Lahore Motorway due to non-availability of the funds.

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