Dominion of Pakistan

Pakistan
پاکستان (Urdu)
পাকিস্তান (Bengali)
1947–1956[1]
Anthem: Qaumi Taranah (1954–56)
Land controlled by the Dominion of Pakistan shown in dark green; land claimed but not controlled shown in light green
Land controlled by the Dominion of Pakistan shown in dark green; land claimed but not controlled shown in light green
CapitalKarachi
Official languagesEnglish[i]
Recognised national languagesUrdu[ii], Bengali[iii]
Demonym(s)Pakistani
GovernmentFederal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Monarch 
• 1947–1952
George VI
• 1952–1956
Elizabeth II
Governor-General 
• 1947–1948
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
• 1948–1951
Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin
• 1951–1955
Sir Ghulam Muhammad
• 1955–1956
Iskander Mirza
Prime Minister 
• 1947–1951
Liaquat Ali Khan
• 1951–1953
Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin
• 1953–1955
Mohammad Ali Bogra
• 1955–1956
Chaudhry Mohammad Ali
LegislatureConstituent Assembly
History 
14 August 1947[2]
23 March 1956
Area
• Total
1,030,373 km2 (397,829 sq mi)
CurrencyIndian rupee (1947–1948)
Pakistani rupee (1948–1956)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
British Raj
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Today part ofPakistan
Bangladesh [a]
  1. ^ Official Language: 14 August 1947
  2. ^ First National Language: 23 February 1948
  3. ^ Second National Language: 29 February 1956

The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan,[3] was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, existing between 14 August 1947 and 23 March 1956, created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created an independent Dominion of India.

Before its independence, Pakistan consisted of those Presidencies and provinces of British India which were allocated to it in the Partition of India. Until 1947, they had been ruled by the United Kingdom as a part of the British Empire.

During the year that followed its independence, the new country was joined by the Princely states of Pakistan ruled by princes who had previously been in subsidiary alliances with the British, which acceded to Pakistan, one by one, with their rulers signing Instruments of Accession. For many years, these states enjoyed a special status within the dominion and later the republic, but they were slowly incorporated into the provinces. The last remnants of their internal self-government had been lost by 1974.

Initially, the Dominion of Pakistan had two wings, one in the East, which is now Bangladesh, and another in the West, which is now Pakistan. After the Constitution of Pakistan of 1956 came into effect, the Pakistani monarchy was abolished, when the Islamic Republic of Pakistan was proclaimed.

The status as a federal dominion within the British Empire ended in 1956 with the completion of the Constitution of Pakistan, which established the country as a republic. The constitution also administratively split the nation into West Pakistan and East Pakistan, which were until then governed as a singular entity, despite being separate geographic exclaves. In 1971 following the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, East Pakistan seceded as the new nation of Bangladesh, whereas West Pakistan became Pakistan.

  1. ^ Timothy C. Winegard (29 December 2011). Indigenous Peoples of the British Dominions and the First World War (1st ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 2. ISBN 978-1107014930. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  2. ^ Singh Vipul (1 September 2009). Longman History & Civics Icse 10. Pearson Education India. pp. 132–. ISBN 978-81-317-2042-4. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  3. ^ As to official name being just "Pakistan" and not "Dominion of Pakistan": Indian Independence Act 1947, Section1.-(i) As from the fifteenth day of August, nineteen hundred and forty-seven, two independent Dominions shall be set up in India, to be known respectively as India and Pakistan."


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