West Pakistan
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| Missing image Pakistan-1971.png West Pakistan as part of Pakistan | ||||
| Map of Pakistan before 1971. | ||||
| Independent
(as part of Pakistan) | from British Empire
- August 14, 1947 | |||
| Separated from | as Pakistan
- March 26, 1971 | |||
| Capital | Karachi | |||
| Language | Urdu, English | |||
West Pakistan consisted of the western part of Pakistan from 1947 until 1971, when East Pakistan became Bangladesh and West Pakistan became the present-day Pakistan.
When the United Kingdom left India, India was divided based on religious variation. Pakistan was created, and gained independence on August 14 1947 following the end of British rule over the subcontinent, in order to form a separate Muslim nation.
It was composed of the Muslim majority territories in the West and East of India. From 1947 through to 1971 the state consisted of two units: West Pakistan and East Pakistan, separated from one another by India. The Western zone was popularly (and for a period of time, also officially) called West Pakistan and the Eastern zone (current day Bangladesh) was called East Bengal.
The capital Karachi was in the geographically larger though less populous West Pakistan. The capital was moved later to Islamabad in 1958
General elections held in December 1970 saw east pakistani party winning the election but west pakistan dominated leadership didn't allow them to come in the power. Though Muslim, the ethnic composition of the former East Pakistan differed from that of West Pakistan. The government of Pakistan before 1971 was dominated by West Pakistan, with the East Pakistanis were discriminated against in government. The Awami League, which advocated autonomy for the more populous East Pakistan, swept the East Pakistan seats to gain a majority in Pakistan as a whole.But west pakistani's didn't want them to rule the country. Consequently, East Pakistan demanded independence, which led to civil war in 1971.Once 20 million rufugees came to india, india was forced to intervene and help east pakistan.93000 pakistan's armymen surrendered to indian army, which believed to be biggest surrender in human history in modern times, and were taken as POW.But all of them were returned safely by india after pakistan signed the peace treaty.
In that war, troops of West Pakistan, under Yahya Khan, killed an estimated 3 million people in an attempt to subdue the rebellion. India helped East Pakistan and supported them to get their rights.
Governors and Chief Ministers of West Pakistan
The positions of Governor of West Pakistan and Chief Ministers lasted from October 14, 1955, until July 1, 1970. In this way, the provinces of Balochistan, the North West Frontier Province, Punjab, and Sindh were reorganized in order to create the single province of West Pakistan.
| Tenure | Governor of West Pakistan | Political Party |
|---|---|---|
| October 14, 1955 – August, 1957 | Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani | |
| August, 1957 – April, 1960 | Akhtar Hussain | |
| April, 1960 – September 18, 1966 | Malik Amir Mohammad Khan | |
| September 18, 1966 – March 20, 1969 | Mohammad Musa | |
| March 20, 1969 – September 1, 1969 | Yusuf Haroon | |
| September 1, 1969 – February 1, 1970 | Nur Khan | |
| February 1, 1970 – July 1, 1970 | Atiqur Rahman |
With the independence of East Pakistan, this province was abolished and the previous territorial organization was reestablished.