Las Bela (princely state)

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State of Las Bela
This article is part of the series: Historical regions of Pakistan

Capital	Las Bela
Area	18,254 km²
Main language(s)	Balochi Sindhi
Established	1742
Abolished	14 October 1955
Historic regions of Pakistan
Original Provinces Baluchistan East Bengal Federal Capital Territory North West Frontier Province Sind West Punjab One-Unit Provinces East Pakistan West Pakistan	Former States Amb Bahawalpur Chitral Dir Hunza Kalat Khairpur Kharan Las Bela Makran Nagar Phulra Swat
Other subdivisions Baluchistan States Union Gilgit Agency Trans-Karakoram Tract Divisions of Pakistan
Government of Balochistan

This article is about the former State of Las Bela. For other uses, see Lasbela.

The State of Las Bela was princely state of Pakistan and British India which existed until 1955. The state occupied an area of 18,254 km² in the extreme southeast of the Balochistan province with an extensive coastline on the Arabian Sea to the south. Las Bela was bordered by the princely states of Kalat and Makran to the north and west. To the east lay the province of Sind and to the southeast lay the Federal Capital Territory around the city of Karachi.

1 History
2 Demographics
3 Geography and climate
4 Government
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

The State of Las Bela was founded in 1742 by Ali Khan I. His descendants ruled Las Bela until 1955 when the state became part of West Pakistan. For a period of three years between 3 October 1952 and 14 October 1955, Las Bela was part of the Baluchistan States Union but retained internal autonomy. In 1955, Las Bela was incorporated into the new province of West Pakistan and became part of Kalat division. In 1962, the area of Las Bela was detached from Kalat division and merged with the former Federal Capital Territory to form the division of Karachi-Bela. When the provincial system was changed in 1970, Las Bela became part of the new province of Balochistan.

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[edit] Demographics

The main ethnic groups in Las Bela were Baluchis and Sindhis. The population was mainly Muslim but there was a significant population of Hindus.

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[edit] Geography and climate

Las Bela has a hot, dry tropical desert climate. It is only a few degrees north of the Tropic of Cancer. The sea breezes though make the weather less extreme than inland Balochistan, where 50°C in the summer and a foot of snow in the winter is usual.

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[edit] Government

The hereditary rulers of Las Bela were styled as Jam Sahib.

Tenure	Jams of Las Bela
1742 - 1765	Jam Ali Khan I (surnamed Kathuria)
1765 - 1776	Jam Ghulam Shah
1776 - 1818	Mir Khan I
1818 - 1830	Ali Khan II
1830 - 1869	Mir Khan II (1st time)
1869 - 1886	Ali Khan III (1st time)
1886 - 21 January 1888	Mir Khan II (2nd time)
21 January 1888 - May 1896	Ali Khan III (2nd time)
May 1896 - March 1921	Kamal Khan
March 1921 - 1937	Ghulam Mohammad Khan
1937 - 14 October 1955	Ghulam Qadir Khan
14 October 1955	State of Las Bela dissolved