The tribes known as Arain in the region sometimes claim descent from the Arab soldiers who accompanied Muhammad Bin Qasim.

The district capital Bahawalpur, which lies just south of the Sutlej River, was founded in 1748 by Muhammad Bahawal Khan and was incorporated as a municipality in 1874.

During the rule of the last Nawab Sir Sadiq Muhammad Khan Abbasi V, Bahawalpur State was merged with Pakistan.

The Nawabs of Bahawalpur originally came from Sindh and claimed descent from the Abbasid caliph of Baghdad; they formed a princely state and assumed independence in 1802.

The region surrounding Bahawalpur to the west, called the Sindh, is a fertile alluvial tract in the Sutlej River valley that is irrigated by floodwaters, planted with groves of date palms, and thickly populated.

It is chiefly desert irrigated by the Sutlej inundation canals and yields crops of wheat, cotton, and sugarcane.

Farther east, the Rohi, or Cholistan, is a barren desert tract, bounded on the north and west by the Hakra depression with mound ruins of old settlements along its high banks; it is still inhabited by nomads.

There are many historical sites in the area, including Uch, southwest of Bahawalpur, an ancient town dating from Indo-Scythian (Yüeh-chih) settlement (c. 128 BC to AD 450).

It is an important marketing centre for the surrounding areas and is located on the crossroads between Peshawar, Lahore, Quetta and Karachi.

The city of Bahawalpur is located favourably for commerce, lying at the junction of trade routes from the east, south-east, and south.

The average annual rainfall is only 12 cm, and the little cultivation that exists is made possible by underground wells, drawn up by the camels.

The water is stored in troughs, built by the tribes, between sandhills and din waterholes called tobas.

The forts here were built at 29 km intervals, which probably served as guard posts for the camel caravan routes.

Pakistan's longest national highway, N-5, also passes through town, connecting Bahawalpur to Karachi and Lahore.