West Pakistan

From 1947 to 1959, the government was only partially stable. Seven

On contrary perception, the provinces did not benefit from economic progress, but the One Unit program strengthened the central government.^[8] In West Pakistan, the four provinces also struggled hard for the abolition of One Unit which caused injustices to them as it was imposed on them.^[9]

The provisional powerful committees pressured the central government through the means of civil disobedience, violence on street, raising slogans against the martial law, and attacks on government machines such as police forces.^[8][9] For several weeks, the four provinces worked together and guided the "One Unit Dissolution Committee", towards resolving all outstanding issues in time set by the Yahya government.^[8][10] Finally, the committee's plan went into effect on 1 July 1970, when West Pakistan's "One Unit" was dissolved, and all power was transferred to the provinces of Balochistan, the North West Frontier Province, Punjab and Sindh.^[8][10]

In the

East Pakistan became the independent state of Bangladesh on 16 December 1971. The term West Pakistan became redundant.

Religion

West Pakistan had an estimated population of 33 million during (1947) just before partition, of which nearly 22.77 million were Muslims constituting (69%) of the West Pakistan's population, nearly 7.92 million Hindus were living in this region just constituting 24% of the population as a second largest community. Sikhs are about 2 million comprising 6% of the region population and are third largest community in Pakistan just after Muslims and Hindus before partition.^[13]

Migration

During British India's partition, it was estimated that 15 million were displaced, and nearly more than 2 million consisting of Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs were killed in the deadly riots.^[14] During the period between 1947 and 1950, 8.6 million Muslims had moved to specially Pakistan's West Punjab region and about 6.7 million Hindus and Sikhs had gone the other way to India's East Punjab region and thus changing the demography of Pakistan drastically and resulting in overwhelming Muslim majority to this region.^[15]

Demographics

According to the 1961 census, the total population of Pakistan was 93 million, with 42.8 million residing in West Pakistan and 50 million residing in East Pakistan. East Pakistan hence made up around 55% of Undivided Pakistan's population whilst remaining 45% was in West Pakistan. West Pakistan also had a marginally faster growing population than East Pakistan.^[16][17] The literacy rate in Pakistan was 19.2%, in which East Pakistan had a literacy rate of 21.5% while West Pakistan had a literacy rate of 16.9%.^[18][19] In West Pakistan, Muslims made up 97.2% of the population, Christians 1.4%, and the remaining 1.4% belonging to other religions.^[17] The major ethnic groups of West Pakistan was made up of Punjabis (who made up the overall majority of the province), Pashtuns, Sindhis, Muhajirs, and Balochis.

Government

West Pakistan went through many political changes, and had a multiple political party system. West Pakistan's political system consisted of the popular influential

Parliamentary republic

Since independence, Pakistan had been a

The Supreme Court of Pakistan was a judicial authority, a power broker in country's politics that played a major role in minimising the role of parliament. The Supreme Court was moved to Islamabad in 1965 and Chief Justice Alvin Robert Cornelius re-located the entire judicial arbiter, personnel and high-profile cases in Islamabad. The Supreme Court building is one of the most attractive places in Islamabad, yet the most largely beautiful building in the state capital.

This provisional parliament had no lasting effects of West Pakistan's affairs but it was a ceremonial legislature where the lawmakers would gather around to discuss non-political matters. In 1965, the legislative parliament was moved to Islamabad after Ayub Khan built a massive capitol. The assembly was renamed as the Parliament of Pakistan and staffed only with technocrats.

Governor and chief minister

The office of Governor of West Pakistan was a largely ceremonial position but later Governors wielded some executive powers as well. The first Governor was Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani, who was also the last Governor of West Punjab. Ayub Khan abolished the Governor's office and instead established the Martial Law Administrator of West Pakistan (MLA West).

The office Chief Minister of West Pakistan was the chief executive of the state and the leader of the largest party in the provincial assembly. The first Chief Minister was

Governors of West Pakistan

Chief Ministers of West Pakistan

Local government

The twelve divisions of West Pakistan province were

West Pakistan was extremely diverse in terms of geography, climate, and variety of wildlife. North-Western West Pakistan was mountainous, Punjab and Sindh were semi-arid, and the Baluchistan region in particular was predominantly desert. West Pakistan had a varied relief, consisting as it does of plains, plateaux and mountains watered by the Indus River and its tributaries. Climatically, West Pakistan had a continental type of climate without extensive rainfall. Due to its low rainfall, the main crops of West Pakistan were wheat, millets, and cotton and any crop that did not require much water.[21]

Administration

West Pakistan Province Comprises in 12 divisions, 45 districts and 6 agencies.

The administration of West Pakistan Province is given below:

Domestic affairs

Position toward East Pakistan

During West Pakistan's conflict with India, East Pakistan's military government remained silent and did not send any troops to exert pressure on

Due to West Pakistan's close relations with the United States and the capitalist states, the influence of socialism had far more deeper roots in the West Pakistan population. The population favoured socialism but never allied with communism.^{[citation needed]} The Pakistan Socialist Party had previously lost support due to its anti-Pakistan clauses during the time of the pre-independence movement. However, despite initiatives to improve the population during the Ayub Khan's government, the poor masses did not enjoy the benefits and reforms that were enjoyed by the middle and gentry classes of Pakistan.

After the

The long border between West Pakistan and Afghanistan was uneasy. This is due in part to the independent Pashtun tribes that inhabit the area. In addition, the physical boundary is uncertain: the 1893 Durand Line was used by West Pakistan to mark the border between the two countries, but Afghanistan has never recognised that frontier.^[25]

In 1955, diplomatic relations were severed with the ransacking of Pakistan's embassy. In 1961, the

India

West Pakistan had hostile relations with India, primarily due to aftermath of the 1947 independence from the British Empire and the issue of Kashmir.

In 1965, "

Subsequently, Pakistan launched Operation Grand Slam, which gained significant momentum. Grand Slam was aborted after India launched an all out attack on West Pakistan, for which Pakistani troops had to be diverted. The Soviet Union intervened in the conflict in September 1965 (for fear of escalation), and the month–long war ended with no permanent territorial changes. West Pakistan and India signed the Tashkent Declaration in January 1966, but the ceasefire was criticised both in India and Pakistan, and public resentment against each other grew. In West Pakistan, Ayub Khan deposed Bhutto as his Foreign minister, and Vice-Admiral Khan blamed Bhutto for the operation's failure. As an aftermath, Bhutto tapped into an anti-Ayub Khan movement and kicked off a storm of civil disobedience. Protests and spontaneous demonstrations broke out around the country, and Ayub Khan lost the control. In 1967, another martial law was imposed by another Army Commander-in-Chief, General Yahya Khan, who designated himself as the Chief Martial Law Administrator.

People's Republic of China

West Pakistan had positive relations with the People's Republic of China, with whom it shared a small northern border.

In 1950, Pakistan was among the first countries to end official diplomatic relations with the Taiwanese

Relations varied from cool to extremely strained between West Pakistan and the Soviet Union. This was during the Cold War, and Pakistan's close ties with the United States came at the expense of relations with the Soviets.

Soviet-Pakistan relations were further eroded during the

The USSR backed India during the

The United States was one of the first nations to establish relations with Pakistan upon its independence.^[citation needed]

Pakistan was allied with the US during the

A major factor in Pakistan's decision to ally with the West was their urgent need for aid.^[30] In the years that followed, the US supplied extensive economic, scientific, and military assistance to Pakistan.^[31]

This close relationship continued through Pakistan's years of democracy and military rule. Relations only soured after West Pakistan had dissolved into Pakistan, when the

See also

• East Pakistan
• Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
• List of speakers of the West Pakistan Legislative Assembly
• Pakistan Movement

Notes