Dominion of Pakistan
The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, 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.
Pakistan | |||||||||
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| 1947–1956 | |||||||||
Emblem (1954–1956)
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| 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 | |||||||||
| Capital | Karachi | ||||||||
| Official languages | English | ||||||||
| Recognised national languages | Urdu, Bengali | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Pakistani | ||||||||
| Government | Federal 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 | ||||||||
| Legislature | Constituent Assembly | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| 14 August 1947 | |||||||||
| 23 March 1956 | |||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 1,030,373 km2 (397,829 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Currency | Indian rupee (1947–1948) Pakistani rupee (1948–1956) | ||||||||
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| Today part of | Pakistan Bangladesh | ||||||||
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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.