West 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.
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.
At independence there was a Muslim majority in West Punjab with significant minorities of Hindus and Sikhs. 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 alphabet.
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 the 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 |
|---|
| 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 |
| 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 |
*
Punjab region*
Punjab (Pakistan)*
Punjab (India)*
Haryana*
Bahawalpur State*
Government of Punjab*
Government of Pakistan*
Punjab Provincial Assembly Records*
Population at 1951 census by Statoids.com
