Pakistan 1947-1958

1) Establishment of Pakistan .
In August 1947 PaKiStan became independent - the
name consists of P for Punjab, K for Kashmir and S for Sindh. There
was another part not mentioned in the name, (East Bengal,
separated from West Pakistan by 1600 km of Indian territory. While
the political center - capital Karachi (later Rawalpindi, then
Islamabad) and the economic centers (Karachi, Lahore) all are
located in the west, the majority of the population lived in East
Bengal.

Immediately after independence, Pakistan had to deal

with a massive refugee problem : while 5.3 million Hindus fled from
Punjab and Sindh into India, 5.9 million Muslims fled from India into
West Pakistan. 3.3 million Hindus fled East Bengal, 1.3 million
Muslims fled from India into East Bengal.

Another problem was formed by the 500+ Indian

principalities who had been 'indirectly' ruled by Britain.
Both India and Pakistan expected these to opt for either of them.
While this went through without major complication in most cases,
for instance Bahawalpur was integrated into Pakistan's province
of Punjab, the case of Kashmir was complex. The vast majority
of Kashmir was and is Muslim.

The fathers of Pakistan therefore counted on it forming

a central element of the new state. However, the Rajah of Jammu
and Kashmir, a Hindu, opted for India. The First Indo-Pakistani War
of 1948 was fought over the issue; the result was that Kashmir was
partitioned, the smaller western part being held by Pakistan, the
larger eastern and central part held by India. In Baluchistan and
the NWFP, sentiment for the establishment of an independent Kalat
respectively Pathan State was evident; Afghanistan claimed the
Pathan territory within Pakistan.

2) Government:- .
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and the
country's first governor-general, died in 1948, even before the brief
war. A provisional constitution was promulgated in 1951, ending the
status of Pakistan as a dominion. In March 1951, a conspiracy of
army officers with alleged Communist sympathies was uncovered.
Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan was assassinated Oct. 16th 1951. In
1955 the princely states were annexed into adjacent provinces. In
1956 Pakistan was declared a Federal Islamic Republic, the
constitution promulgated. Elections were held on provincial level,
the delegates to the federal parliament elected by the provincial
assemblies.

The government was moved from Karachi to Rawalpindi in 1958.

After a military coup d'etat in 1958, Gen. Ayub Khan assumed the
presidency in 1960.

3:Foreign Policy:-
Pakistan fought a war with India in 1948, which was
followed by an Indo-Pakistani Cold War. India in 1949 declared
Pakistan to be a foreign nation, and thus the Indo-Pakistani trade
subject to customs tariffs. India claimed full control over her
waterways; Pakistan's main rivers enter the country from Indian
territory. This question was of vital to Pakistan.

Pakistan was a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

and sought close cooperation with Islamic countries. Pakistan
established diplomatic relations with the United States in 1949, with
the USSR and the PRC in 1950. In 1954, Pakistan joined SEATO. In
1955, Pakistan and Iran acceded to the Baghdad Pact (also called
CENTO, between Great Britain, Turkey and Iraq). In June 1957,
diplomatic relations with Afghanistan were restored. In 1958 the
enclave of Gwadar (hitherto belonging to Oman) was annexed.

Domestic Policies .
The early years of Pakistani history (1947-1958) were
marked by political instability. The nation's geography posed
problems; not only was East Bengal remote from the larger West,
but also the connection of the new capital Karachi with the most
densely populated province of Punjab was poor. The partition of the
Punjab, Bengal and Kashmir caused further problems; the traditional
Punjabi capital of Lahore now found itself on the Indian border,
having lost the eastern part of its hinterland. East Bengal was cut off
from her traditional capital and port, Calcutta; Dacca had to be
developed as the administrative center, Chittagong as its main port.
The administration of Sind was relocated to Hyderabad, to create
room for the administration of Pakistan (BBY 1949).

In March 1954, the Muslim League suffered a crushing

defeat in elections in East Bengal. Bengali was declared official
language in East Bengal. Following riots, the state of emergency was
declared in East Bengal. In July 1954, Communist parties in both
parts of Pakistan were declared illegal. In 1955 the provinces were
abolished, replaced by East Bengal and West Pakistan. An act of
1957 abolished the separate electorates for Muslims and Non-
Muslims, established in 1909.

The Economy:-
In 1948-1951 Pakistan's economic policy was focussed on
solving problems of the day, the integration of large numbers of
refugees, questions arising from the development of Indo-Pakistani
relations. When Britain devaluated the Pound Sterling and the Indian
Rupee followed suit in 1951, Pakistan maintained the value of her
Rupee, which resulted in her main export products, to a large part
traditionally sold to markets within the British Empire and
Commonwealth, becoming more expensive; Pakistan experienced a
recession. Pakistan did devaluate her currency in July 1955.
According to the 1951 census, Pakistan had a population of 75.8
million, of whom 42.0 million lived in East Bengal, 33.8 million in
West Pakistan.

In June 1951 the National Development Plan was launched.

The partition of British India into India and Pakistan had left the
latter with a partially truncated infrastructure; the emphasis of the
NDP lay thus in infrastructure projects turning the existing
infrastructure into a functioning national one, while securing the
food supply and developing the country's industries. The projects
were financed with Colombo Plan credits and other overseas loans.
Several hydroelectric dams constructed in the NWFP, as part of the
NDP, had both economic and political purpose, as the Pakistani
government feared India might divert the headwaters of the main
rivers on which Pakistan depended for irrigation. In 1954
construction of a pipeline to transport gas from gas fields in
Baluchistan to Pakistan's industrial centers was begun.
A Five Year Development Plan for 1955-1960 was launched.

Cultural History:-
The Pakistan National Olympic Committee was formed in
1948 and recognized by the IOC the same year.