Former administrative units of Pakistan
| Former administrative units of Pakistan | |||||
| Subdivision of Pakistan | |||||
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| Capital |
Karachi Islamabad |
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| History | |||||
| • | Established | 14 August 1947 | |||
| • | Disestablished | 1975 | |||
| Area | 947,940 km2(366,002 sq mi) | ||||
| Government of Pakistan | |||||
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The former administrative units of Pakistan are states, provinces and territories which mainly existed between 1947 and 1975 when the current provinces and territories were established. The former units have no administrative function today but some remain as historical and cultural legacies. In some cases, the current provinces and territories correspond to the former units – for example the province of Punjab includes almost all the territory of the former province of West Punjab.
At the time of independence in August 1947, Pakistan included the following provinces:
Between August 1947 and March 1948, the rulers of the following princely states (which had existed alongside but outside British India) acceded their states to Pakistan, giving up control of their external affairs, while all retaining internal self-government, at least to begin with. This was lost by stages, until by 1974 all of the states had been fully integrated into Pakistan.
The origins of most of the former administrative units lay in the set-up inherited from British India. From 1947 to 1971 newly independent Pakistan comprised two "wings" – 1600 kilometres apart and separated by India. The eastern wing comprised the single province of East Pakistan, which included the Sylhet District from the former Indian province of Assam. The politically dominant western wing united three Governor's provinces (North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), West Punjab and Sind), one Chief Commissioner's Province (Baluchistan), several princely states and parts of Kashmir. In 1948, the area around Karachi was separated from Sind province to form the Federal Capital Territory. In 1950 the North-West Frontier Province was expanded to include the small states of Amb and Phulra and the name of West Punjab province was changed to Punjab. The Baluchistan States Union was formed in 1952 by the four princely states of southwest Pakistan. Thus, between 1947 and 1955, Pakistan comprised five provinces and one territory:
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