Dominion of Pakistan
Pakistan | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1947–1956 | |||||||||
| Anthem: قومی ترانہ (Urdu) Qaumi Taranah (1954–56) "The National Anthem" | |||||||||
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 | Khawaja Nazimuddin | ||||||||
• 1951–1955 | Malik Ghulam Muhammad | ||||||||
• 1955–1956 | Iskander Mirza | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 1947–1951 | Liaquat Ali Khan | ||||||||
• 1951–1953 | 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) | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Pakistan Bangladesh India | ||||||||
.svg){kind=link}
The Dominion of Pakistan, officially Pakistan, was an independent federal dominion in the British Commonwealth of Nations, which existed from 14 August 1947 to 23 March 1956. It was created by the passing of the Indian Independence Act 1947 by the British parliament, which also created an independent Dominion of India.
The new dominion consisted of those presidencies and provinces of British India which were allocated to it in the Partition of India. Until 1947, these regions had been ruled by the United Kingdom as a part of the British Empire.
Its 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. Until then, these provinces had been governed as a singular entity, despite being separate geographic exclaves. Eventually, the East became Bangladesh and the West became Pakistan.
During the year that followed its independence, the new country was joined by the princely states of Pakistan, which were ruled by princes who had previously been in subsidiary alliances with the British. These states acceded to Pakistan one by one as their rulers signed 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 were lost by 1974.