West Punjab

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This article is about the former province. For other uses, see Punjab.

This article is part of the series

Former subdivisions of Pakistan

Original provinces

Princely states

Minor states

One-unit provinces

Other subdivisions

West Punjab

Capital	Lahore
Area	160,662 km²
Languages	Punjabi
Established	15th August 1947
Abolished	14th October 1955

Government of Punjab

West Punjab was a former province of Pakistan which existed from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of 160,622 km², including much of the current Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Territory, but excluding the former princely state of Bahawalpur. The capital was the city of Lahore and the province was composed of four divisions (Lahore, Sargodha, Multan and Rawalpindi). The province was bordered by the Indian states of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir to the east, the princely state of Bahawalpur to the south, the provinces of Balochistan and Sindh to the southwest, the Northwest Frontier Province to the northwest, and Azad Kashmir to the northeast.

1 History
2 Demographics
3 Government
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] History

The independence of Pakistan in 1947 led to the divisions of the Punjab province into two new provinces. The predominantly Sikh and Hindu East Punjab became part of the new nation of India while the predominantly Muslim West Punjab became part of the new nation of Pakistan. The name of the province was shortened to Punjab in 1950. West Punjab was merged into the province of West Pakistan in 1955 under the One Unit policy announced by Prime Minister Chaudhry Mohammad Ali. When that province was dissolved, the area of the former province of West Punjab was combined with the former state of Bahawalpur to form a new Punjab Province.

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[edit] Demographics

At independence there was a Muslim majority in West Punjab with significant minorities of Hindus and Sikhs. Nearly all of these minorities left West Punjab for India, to be replaced by large numbers of Muslims fleeing in the opposite direction. The official language of West Punjab was Urdu but most of the population spoke Punjabi using the Shahmukhi script.

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[edit] Government

The offices of Governor of West Punjab and Chief Minister of West Punjab lasted from August 15, 1947, until 14th October 1955. The first Governor was Sir Francis Mudie with Iftikhar Hussain Khan as the first Chief Minister. Both offices were abolished in 1955, when the province of West Pakistan was created. The last Governor of West Punjab, Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani, became the first Governor of West Pakistan.

Tenure	Governor of West Punjab^[1]
15th August 1947 - 2nd August 1949	Sir Francis Mudie
2nd August 1949 - 24th November 1951	Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar
24th November 1951 - 2nd May 1953	Ismail Ibrahim Chundrigar
2nd May 1953 - 24th June 1954	Mian Aminuddin
26th September 1954 - 26th November 1954	Habib Ibrahim Rahmatullah
27th November 1954 - 14th October 1955	Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani
14th October 1955	Province of West Punjab dissolved

Tenure	Chief Minister of West Punjab^[1]	Political Party
15th August 1947 - 25th January 1949	Iftikhar Hussain Khan
25th January 1949 - 5th April 1952	Governor's Rule
5th April 1951 - 3rd April 1953	Mian Mumtaz Daultana	Pakistan Muslim League
3rd April 1953 - 21st May 1955	Malik Firoz Khan Nun	Pakistan Muslim League
21st May 1955 - 14th October 1955	Abdul Hamid Khan Dasti
14th October 1955	Province of West Punjab dissolved