Bahawalpur (also Bhawalpur or Bhawulpore) (Urdu: بÛاولپور ) is a city of (1998 pop. 403,408) located in Bahawalpur District, Punjab Pakistan. Saraiki is the local language of the area. Urdu and English are also spoken by the people. Bahawalpur is located south of the Sutlej River and it lies in the Cholistan region. It is situated 90 km from Multan, 420 km from Lahore and about 700 km from the national capital Islamabad. It was the capital of the former princely state of Bahawalpur.