East Pakistan

This article is part of the series Former subdivisions of PakistanOriginal provinces

Baluchistan
East Bengal
Federal Capital Territory
NWFP
Sind
West Punjab

Princely states

Baluchistan States Union
Amb
Bahawalpur
Chitral
Dir
Hunza
Kalat
Khairpur
Kharan
Las Bela
Makran
Nagar
Phulra
Swat

Minor states

Jhalawan
Phulra
Sarawan

One-unit provinces

East Pakistan
West Pakistan

Other subdivisions

Gilgit Agency
Trans-Karakoram Tract
Marri-Bugti Country
Divisions of Pakistan

East Pakistan
مشرقی پاکستان Capital DhakaArea 144,000 km² Languages BengaliEstablished October 14, 1955Abolished March 25, 1971
(Independence declared)
December 16, 1971
(Recognized)

Government of Bangladesh

East Pakistan (Urdu: مشرقی پاکستان Mashriqi Pakistan, Bengali: পূর্ব পাকিস্তান Purbo Pakistan) was a former province of Pakistan which existed between 1955 and 1971. East Pakistan was created from Bengal Province based on a plebiscite in what was then British India in 1947. Eastern Bengal chose to join Pakistan and became a province of Pakistan by the name East Bengal. East Bengal was renamed East Pakistan in 1955 and later became the independent country of Bangladesh after the bloody Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. Large sections of East Pakistan's people felt that they were colonised and suppressed by the West Pakistanis.

1 Post-independence
2 Independence of East Pakistan (Bangladesh)
3 Government of East Pakistan
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

Post-independence

British India was partitioned in 1947, into the independent states of Pakistan and India. The Province of Bengal was split between them. The western part became a state of India and the eastern part became East Bengal, a Pakistani province with an overwhelming Muslim majority and a large Hindu minority with smaller minorities of Buddhists and Animists. East Bengal formed one of the five provinces of unified Pakistan. The other four Pakistani provinces (West Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, and the North-West Frontier Province) were positioned on the other side of India, forming West Pakistan.

Stamp showing both the East and West divisions of Pakistan Before the secession of Bangladesh.

After independence from British rule, East Bengal was neglected by the central government based in the Western wing, which was at times under military or martial law. A major cause of resentment among the Bengalis was economic exploitation. For example, between 1948 and 1960, East Pakistan's export earnings had been 70% of national total, while it only received 25% of the earnings.[citation needed] Between 1950 and 1970, only 34% of the development expenditure was spent in East Bengal despite having more than half the population.[citation needed] Growing tensions led to the One-Unit Policy, implemented in 1955, which abolished the provinces. Under this policy, West Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh, and the Northwest Frontier were merged under the nominal designation of West Pakistan and East Bengal became East Pakistan.

Tensions peaked in 1971, following the cancellation by Pakistani President Yahya Khan of election results that gave the Awami League a majority in the parliament. The Awami League won almost all the seats in East Pakistan, but none in West Pakistan. East Pakistan had more than half the parliamentary seats because it was home to more than half the population. Although the Awami League was in a position to form a government without any coalition partner, it was forced to start negotiations with the Pakistan Peoples Party which had won most of the seats in West Pakistan. The negotiations failed and a 'military government' cancelled the results of the elections in East Pakistan. Under the leadership of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh began its struggle for independence. The official onset followed a harsh repression carried out by the Pakistan army on Bengali civilians on 25th March, 1971, with an estimated 1-3 million Bengali deaths during the war.[1]

Independence of East Pakistan (Bangladesh)

Government of East Pakistan

On 14 October 1955, the last governor of East Bengal (Amiruddin Ahmad) became the first Governor of East Pakistan. At the same time the last Chief Minister of East Bengal became the first Chief Minister of East Pakistan. This system lasted until the military coup of 1958 when the post of Chief Minister was abolished in both East Pakistan and West Pakistan. From 1958 to 1971 the administration was largely in the hands of the President of Pakistan and the Governor of East Pakistan who at times held the title of Martial Law Administrator.

Tenure Governor of East Pakistan[2]14 October 1955- March 1956 Amiruddin Ahmad March 1956 - 13 April 1958 A. K. Fazlul Huq 13 April 1958- 3 May 1958Hamid Ali (acting) 3 May 1958- 10 October 1958Sultanuddin Ahmad 10 October 1958- 11 April 1960 Gov Zakir Husain 11 April 1960- 11 May 1962Lt Gen Azam Khan 11 May 1962- 25 October 1962 Ghulam Faruque 25 October 1962- 23 March 1969Abdul Monem Khan 23 March 1969- 25 March 1969Mirza Nurul Huda 25 March 1969- 23 August 1969Major General Muzaffaruddin (acting martial law administrator as he was the GOC 14th Infantry Division) 23 August 1969- 1 September 1969Lt General Sahabzada Yaqub Khan(martial law administrator) 1 September 1969- 7 March 1971Vice Admiral Syed Mohammad Ahsan (governor) 7 March 1971- 31 August 1971Lt General Tikka Khan(martial law administrator and governor) 31 August 1971- 14 December 1971Abdul Motaleb Malik (governor) 14 December 1971- 16 December 1971Lt General Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi(martial law administrator) 16 December 1971Province of East Pakistan dissolved

Tenure Chief Minister of East Pakistan[2]Political Party August 1955 - September 1956 Abu Hussain Sarkar Krishan Sramik Party September 1956 - March 1958 Ata-ur-Rahman Khan Awami LeagueMarch 1958 Abu Hussain Sarkar Krishan Sramik Party March 1958 - 18 June 1958Ata-ur-Rahman Khan Awami League 18 June 1958- 22 June 1958Abu Hussain Sarkar Krishan Sramik Party 22 June 1958- 25 August 1958Governor's Rule 25 August 1958- 7 October 1958Ata-ur-Rahman Khan Awami League 7 October 1958Post abolished 16 December 1971Province of East Pakistan dissolved