Provinces of Pakistan

In 1900, the name Pakistan didn't exist. The land was part of India, which was a collection of British provinces under the direct sovereignty of the British crown, along with small states ruled by Indian princes under British hegemony. When India obtained its independence on 1947-08-15, the area hitherto known as India was divided into two countries along religious lines. Majority-Muslim areas were to go to Pakistan, majority-Hindu areas to India. As it worked out, Pakistan was created as two pieces on opposite sides of the Indian subcontinent. Pakistan became a Dominion of the British Commonwealth on 1947-08-14. Pakistan's eastern and western sections had conflicting interests. On 1971-03-26, East Pakistan declared its independence from Pakistan. A war ensued between India and Pakistan. On 1971-12-15, Pakistan accepted defeat, and East Pakistan became a separate country, now known as Bangladesh.

Other names of country: 

1. Danish: Pakistan
2. Dutch: Pakistan, Islamitische Republiek Pakistan (formal)
3. English: Islamic Republic of Pakistan (formal)
4. Finnish: Pakistan
5. French: Pakistan m
6. German: Pakistan n
7. Italian: Pakistan m
8. Norwegian: Den islamske republikk Pakistan (formal) (Bokmål), Den islamske republikken Pakistan (formal) (Nynorsk), Pakistan
9. Portuguese: Paquistão, República f Islâmica do Paquistão m (formal)
10. Spanish: Pakistán, República f Islámica de Pakistán (formal)
11. Swedish: Pakistan
12. Urdu: Islami Jamhuriya e Pakistan (formal)

Origin of name: 

Land of the spiritually pure: coined in 1933. It has been widely reported that the name was also chosen as an acronym for Punjab, Afghan (borderlands), Kashmir, Sind, and BaluchISTAN.

Primary subdivisions: 

Pakistan is divided into four provinces, two centrally administered areas, one territory, and one capital territory.

Postal codes: 

Pakistan uses five-digit postal codes.

Further subdivisions:

See the Divisions of Pakistan page.

The four provinces are each subdivided into divisions. Federally Administered Tribal Areas is equivalent to a single division. The divisions (including the territory) are subdivided into districts. The districts are further subdivided into tahsils.

Territorial extent: 

The modern divisions are fairly close counterparts of the pre-independence divisions listed here.

1. Azad Kashmir: part of Kashmir state
2. Balochistan: Baluchistan province, Kalat, Kharan, Las Bela, and Mekran states
3. Federally Administered Tribal Areas: Khyber, Kurram, Malakand, North Waziristan, and South Waziristan agencies
4. Islamabad: part of Punjab province
5. Northern Areas: Baltistan and Gilgit states
6. North-West Frontier: North-West Frontier province, Amb, Chitral, Dir, Nagir Phulra, and Swat states
7. Punjab: part of Punjab province, Bahawalpur state
8. Sindh: Sind province, Khairpur state

Origins of names: 

1. Azad Kashmir: Urdu azad: free
2. Balochistan: Land of the Baluch people
3. Punjab: Persian panj: five, ab: river (the area is drained by five tributaries of the Indus)
4. Sindh: from Sanskrit sindhu: river, district of the lower Indus River

Change history: 

In 1900, India included over 500 native states (also called princely states); the British provinces of Assam, Bengal, Berar, Bihar, Burma, Central Provinces, Orissa, Punjab, and North Western Provinces and Oudh; and the presidencies of Bombay and Madras. The presidency of Bombay contained the provinces of Bombay, Sind, and Aden. Burma was divided into Lower Burma and Upper Burma. The United Provinces of Agra and Oudh contained Oudh province and North Western Provinces.

1. 1901: North-West Frontier Area split from Punjab by taking parts of the districts of Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan, Hazara, Kohat, and Peshawar.
2. 1936-04-01: Status of Sind division of Bombay presidency changed to province.
3. 1947-08-14: Pakistan created. It consisted of East Bengal province (formed from part of Bengal province and most of Sylhet district of Assam); West Punjab province (part of Punjab province); and the entire provinces of Beluchistan, North-West Frontier, and Sind. The capital was Karachi. The native states and agencies became effectively independent. They were allowed to decide whether to accede to (merge with) India or Pakistan.
4. 1948-07-23: Federal Capital territory formed from Karachi and surrounding areas, totaling 2,103 sq. km.
5. ~1948: Baluchistan States Union formed as a part of Pakistan from the native states of Kalat, Kharan, Las Bela, and Mekran.
6. 1950: Native states of Amb and Nagir Phulra merged with North-West Frontier province. Name of West Punjab province changed to Punjab.
7. 1955: Name of East Bengal province changed to East Pakistan.
8. 1955-10-14: West Pakistan province of Pakistan formed by merging Bahawalpur state, Baluchistan province, Baluchistan States Union, Chitral state, Dir state, Hunza state, Karachi province, Khairpur state, Northwest Frontier province, Punjab province, Sind province, Swat state; i.e., all of Pakistan west of India except the Federal Capital territory. Its capital was Lahore.
9. 1958-09-08: Gwadar annexed to West Pakistan (Baluchistan) from Oman.
10. 1960-08-01: Capital of Pakistan moved from Karachi to Rawalpindi (provisional capital).
11. 1961: Federal Capital territory merged with West Pakistan province.
12. 1967: Capital of Pakistan moved from Rawalpindi to Islamabad.
13. 1970-07-01: West Pakistan split into the provinces of Baluchistan, Northwest Frontier, Punjab, and Sind, and the centrally administered area of Islamabad.
14. 1971-12-15: Secession of East Pakistan recognized by West Pakistan.
15. 1981: Status of Islamabad administered area changed to capital territory.
16. ~1990: Spelling of Baluchistan changed to Balochistan; Sind changed to Sindh.

Other names of subdivisions: 

1. Azad Kashmir: Cachemira (Portuguese); Cachemire libre (French); Kaschmir (German)
2. Balochistan: Baloutchistan, Béloutchistan (French); Baluchistan, Beluchistan (variant); Baluchistão (Portuguese); Belucistan (Italian); Belutschistan (German)
3. Federally Administered Tribal Areas: Áreas tribais sob administração federal (Portuguese); F A T A (variant); Zones tribales sous administration fédérale (French)
4. Islamabad: Federal Capital Territory, Federal Capital Territory Islamabad (variant); Territoire de la Capitale fédérale (French); Território da Capital Federal (Portuguese)
5. Northern Areas: Zones du Nord (French)
6. North-West Frontier: Fronteira Noroeste (Portuguese); Frontière du Nord-Ouest (French); Nordwestlich-Grenzprovinz (German); N.W.F.P. (variant); Provincia Fronteriza del Noroeste (Spanish)
7. Punjab: Panjab (German); Pendjab, Penjab (French)
8. Sindh: Sind (French, German, obsolete)

Population history:

See India for earlier years.