West Punjab

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

History
The independence of Pakistan in 1947 led to the divisions of the Punjab province into two new provinces. The East Punjab where most people were Sikh and Hindu became part of the new nation of India while the mainly 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.

People
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.

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.

TenureGovernor of West Punjab15th August 1947 - 2nd August 1949Sir Francis Mudie2nd August 1949 - 24th November 1951Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar24th November 1951 - 2nd May 1953Ismail Ibrahim Chundrigar2nd May 1953 - 24th June 1954Mian Aminuddin26th September 1954 - 26th November 1954Habib Ibrahim Rahmatullah27th November 1954 - 14th October 1955Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani14th October 1955Province of West Punjab dissolved

TenureChief Minister of West PunjabPolitical Party15th August 1947 - 25th January 1949Iftikhar Hussain Khan25th January 1949 - 5th April 1952Governor's Rule5th April 1951 - 3rd April 1953Mian Mumtaz DaultanaPakistan Muslim League3rd April 1953 - 21st May 1955Malik Firoz Khan NunPakistan Muslim League21st May 1955 - 14th October 1955Abdul Hamid Khan Dasti14th October 1955Province of West Punjab dissolved

Related pages
 Punjab (India)
 Haryana
 Bahawalpur (princely state)

References

Other websites
 Government of Punjab 
 Government of Pakistan
 Punjab Provincial Assembly Records 
 Population at 1951 census by Statoids.com

Category:Former subdivisions of Pakistan
Category:Punjab