Divisions of Pakistan explained

Divisions of Pakistan
Map:File:Blank Divisions of Pakistan.svg
Caption:Map of divisions of Pakistan
Category:Second-level administrative division
Territory:Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Current Number:38
Number Date:January 2023
Government:Divisional government
Subdivision:Districts
Tehsils
Union councils

The four provinces, capital territory, and two autonomous territories of Pakistan are subdivided into 38 administrative "divisions", which are further subdivided into districts, tehsils, and finally union councils. These divisions were abolished in 2000, but restored in 2008.

The divisions do not include the Islamabad Capital Territory or the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which were counted at the same level as provinces, but in 2018, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas were subsumed into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and allocated to neighbouring divisions therein.

History

align=center Division
Urdu: {{nq|ڈویژن
Balochi

Hindi: ڈِوࢩژن

{{nq|ڈویزن
Pushto; Pashto: {{script/Arabic|څانګه
Sindhi: {{script/Arabic|ڊويزن

Administrative divisions had formed an integral tier of government from colonial times. The Governor's provinces of British India were subdivided into divisions, which were themselves subdivided into districts. At independence in 1947, the new nation of Pakistan comprised two wings – eastern and western, separated by India. Three of the provinces of Pakistan were subdivided into ten administrative divisions. The single province in the eastern wing, East Bengal, had four divisions – Chittagong, Dacca, Khulna and Rajshahi. The province of West Punjab had four divisions – Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sargodha. The North-West Frontier Province (as it was then called) had two divisions – Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar. Most of the former Sind Province became Hyderabad Division. Most of the divisions were named after the divisional capitals, with some exceptions.

From 1955 to 1970, the One Unit policy meant that there were only two provinces – East and West Pakistan. East Pakistan had the same divisions as East Bengal had previously, but West Pakistan gradually gained seven new divisions to add to the original six. The Baluchistan States Union became Kalat Division, while the former Baluchistan Chief Commissioner's Province became Quetta Division. Princely State of Khairpur and with some parts of Hyderabad division were joining to form Khairpur Division. The former princely state of Bahawalpur became Bahawalpur Division, therefore joining West Punjab. The Federal Capital Territory was absorbed into West Pakistan in 1959 and in 1960 merged with the district of Las Bela to form the Karachi-Bela Division. In 1969, the princely states of Chitral, Dir and Swat were incorporated into West Pakistan as the division of Malakand with Saidu as the divisional headquarters. In 1975, Khairpur division abolished and replace it with Sukkur Division. In 1980, Sukkur division(Formally Khairpur division) was bifurcated to create Larkana division. In 1990, Mirpurkhas division created by bifurcation of Hyderabad division.

In 2000, Government abolished division system in the Sindh Province. On 11 July 2011, Sindh government restored division in the province.

New Divisions

When West Pakistan was dissolved, the divisions were regrouped into four new provinces. Gradually over the late 1970s, new divisions were formed; Hazara and Kohat divisions were split from Peshawar Division; Gujranwala Division was formed from parts of Lahore and Rawalpindi divisions; Dera Ghazi Khan Division was split from Multan Division; Faisalabad Division was split from Sargodha Division; Sibi Division was formed from parts of Kalat and Quetta divisions; Lasbela District was transferred from Karachi Division to Kalat Division; Makran Division split from Kalat Division. The name of Khairpur Division was changed to Sukkur Division and Headquarters of Khairpur Division shifted from khairpur to Sukkur. Shaheed Benazirabad is also a new division in Sindh.

During the military rule of General Zia-ul-Haq, the Advisory Council of Islamize Ideology (headed by Justice Tanzilur Rahman) was tasked with finding ways to Islamic the country. One of its recommendations was that the existing four provinces should be dissolved and the twenty administrative divisions should become new provinces in a federal structure with greater devolution of power, but this proposal was never implemented.

In the recent past (i.e. in last three decades), Naseerabad Division was split from Sibi Division; Zhob Division was split from Quetta Division; Bannu Division was split from Dera Ismail Khan Division; Mardan Division was split from Peshawar Division; Larkana Division were split from Sukkur Division and Shaheed Benazirabad Division[1] Mirpur Khas Division was split from Hyderabad Division. Sahiwal Division was formed from parts of Lahore and Multan Divisions while Sheikhupura Division was formed from Lahore and Faisalabad Divisions. The capital of Kalat Division was moved from Kalat to Khuzdar. Rakhshan Division is recently added to Balochistan comprising parts of Quetta and Kalat Divisions with capital at Kharan.

Recently in June 2021, Loralai Division was added to Balochistan, by splitting off from Zhob Division. Recently on 17 August 2022 Gujrat Division was added to Punjab.[2] On January 14, 2023, Mianwali Division was added to Punjab.

Abolition

In August 2000, local government reforms abolished the "Division" as an administrative tier and introduced a system of local government councils, with the first elections held in 2001. Following that there was radical restructuring of the local government system to implement "the principle of subsidiarity, whereby all functions that can be effectively performed at the local level are transferred to that level". This meant devolution of many functions, to districts and tehsils, which were previously handled at the provincial and divisional levels. At abolition, there were twenty-six divisions in Pakistan proper – five in Sindh, six in Balochistan, seven in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and eight in Punjab. Abolition did not affect the three divisions of Azad Kashmir, which form the second tier of government.

Restoration

In 2008, after the public elections, the new government decided to restore the divisions of all provinces.[3]

In Sindh after the lapse of the Local Governments Bodies term in 2010 the Divisional Commissioners system was to be restored.[4] [5] [6]

In July 2011, following excessive violence in the city of Karachi and after the political split between the ruling PPP and the majority party in Sindh, the MQM and after the resignation of the MQM Governor of Sindh, PPP and the Govt. of Sindh decided to restore the commissioner system in the province. As a consequence, the five divisions of Sindh have been restored namely, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas and Larkana with their respective districts. One new division was added in Sindh, the Shaheed Benazirabad division.[7]

Karachi district has been de-merged into its 5 original constituent districts namely Karachi East, Karachi West, Karachi Central, Karachi South and Malir. Korangi has been upgraded to the status of a sixth district of Karachi by splitting from Karachi East District. Recently Keamari District is formed by bifurcating Karachi West District. These seven districts form the Karachi Division now.[8]

Current divisions

The following tables show the current 32 divisions by province with their respective populations as of the 2023 Census of Pakistan,[9] and the 6 divisions of Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Provinces

See main article: Divisions of Balochistan, Divisions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Divisions of Punjab, Pakistan and Divisions of Sindh.

Divisions of Balochistan Province
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census
Population
2017 Census
Population
2023 Census[10]
Capital
Kalat91,7671,443,7272,509,2302,721,018Khuzdar
Loralai17,260870,000Loralai
Makran52,067832,7531,489,0151,875,872Turbat
Naseerabad15,129988,1091,591,1442,044,021Dera Murad Jamali
Quetta14,5591,713,9524,174,5624,259,163Quetta
Rakhshan98,596409,473737,1621,040,001Kharan
Sibi30,684630,9011,038,0101,156,748Sibi
Zhob27,128956,4431,542,447927,579Zhob
Divisions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census
Population
2017 Census
Population
2023 Census[11]
Capital
Bannu9,9751,165,6922,044,0743,092,078Bannu
Dera Ismail Khan18,8541,091,2112,019,0173,188,779Dera Ismail Khan
Hazara17,0643,505,5815,325,1216,188,736Abbottabad
Kohat12,3771,307,9692,218,9713,752,436Kohat
Malakand31,1624,262,7007,514,6949,959,399Saidu Sharif
Mardan3,1752,486,9043,997,6774,639,498Mardan
Peshawar9,1343,923,5887,403,81710,035,171Peshawar
Divisions of Punjab Province
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census
Population
2017 Census
Population
2023 Census[12]
Capital
Bahawalpur45,5887,635,59111,464,03113,400,009Bahawalpur
Dera Ghazi Khan38,7786,503,59011,014,39812,892,465Dera Ghazi Khan
Faisalabad17,9179,885,68514,177,08116,228,526Faisalabad
Gujranwala8,97511,431,05816,123,98418,778,868Gujranwala
Gujrat8,232N/A (Part of Gujranwala) N/A (Part of Gujranwala)N/A (Part of Gujranwala)Gujrat
Lahore11,7278,694,62019,581,28122,772,710Lahore
Mianwali16,925N/A (Part of Sargodha) N/A (Part of Sargodha)N/A (Part of Sargodha)Mianwali
Multan15,2118,447,55712,265,16114,085,102Multan
Rawalpindi22,2556,659,52810,007,82111,406,496Rawalpindi
Sahiwal10,3025,362,8667,380,3868,533,471Sahiwal
Sargodha12,3655,679,7668,181,4999,591,275Sargodha
Divisions of Sindh Province
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census
Population
2017 Census
Population
2023 Census[13]
Capital
Hyderabad48,6704,610,07110,596,04911,659,246Hyderabad
Karachi3,5289,856,31816,051,52120,382,881Karachi
Larkana15,2136,192,3807,093,706Larkana
Mirpur Khas28,1712,585,4174,228,6834,619,624Mirpur Khas
Shaheed Benazirabad18,1753,510,0365,282,2775,930,649Nawabshah
Sukkur27,1583,447,9355,538,5556,010,041Sukkur

Administered territories

Divisions of Azad Kashmir
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census
Population
2017 Census
Population
2023 Census
Capital
Mirpur4,3881,198,2491,651,018N/AMirpur
Muzaffarabad6,117745,7331,072,150N/AMuzaffarabad
Poonch2,7921,028,5411,322,198N/ARawalakot
Divisions of Gilgit-Baltistan
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census
Population
2017 Census
Population
2023 Census
Capital
Gilgit-N/AN/AN/AGilgit
Baltistan-N/AN/AN/ASkardu
Diamer-N/AN/AN/AChilas

Divisions by population

Data from 1981, 1998, and 2017 censuses[14] [15] ! Division !! Pop-2017 !! Pop-1998 !! Pop-1981 !! Area
(km2) !! Density/
(km2) (2017)!! Capital !! Province
Azad Kashmir 4,045,3662,972,523 1,980,000 13,297 304.23Muzaffarabad Azad Kashmir
Bahawalpur 11,464,031 7,635,591 4,068,636 45,588251.47Bahawalpur Punjab
Bannu 2,044,0741,165,692710,786 4,391 465.51Bannu KPK
Dera Ghazi Khan 11,014,3986,503,5903,746,837 38,778284.04Dera Ghazi Khan Punjab
Dera Ismail Khan 2,019,0171,091,211 635,494 9,005 224.21Dera Ismail Khan KPK
Faisalabad 14,177,0819,885,685 6,667,42517,917791.26Faisalabad Punjab
F.A.T.A. 5,001,6763,176,331 2,198,547 27,220 183.75Islamabad F.A.T.A.
Gujranwala 16,123,98411,431,058 7,642,11817,206 937.11Gujranwala Punjab
Hazara 5,325,121 3,505,581 2,701,257 17,194309.70Abbottabad KPK
Hyderabad10,592,6356,829,537 4,678,290 64,963163.06Hyderabad Sindh
Islamabad2,006,572805,235 340,286906 2214.76Islamabad Islamabad
Kalat 2,509,2301,457,722 1,044,174 140,612 17.85Khuzdar Balochistan
Karachi 16,051,5219,856,318 5,437,984 3,5284549.75Karachi Sindh
Kohat 2,218,971 1,307,969 758,772 7,012 316.45Kohat KPK
Lahore 19,398,081 12,015,6497,183,09711,7271654.14Lahore Punjab
Larkana 6,192,3804,210,650 2,746,201 15,543398.40Larkana Sindh
Makran 1,489,015 832,753 652,602 52,06728.60Turbat Balochistan
Malakand 7,514,6944,262,700 2,466,767 29,872251.56Saidu KPK
Mardan 3,997,6772,486,904 1,506,500 3,0461312.43Mardan KPK
Mirpur Khas 4,228,6832,585,417 1,501,88228,171150.11Mirpur Khas Sindh
Multan 12,265,1618,447,557 5,408,56117,935683.87MultanPunjab
Nasirabad 591,1441,076,708 699,66916,946 34.88Dera Murad JamaliBalochistan
Gilgit-Baltistan910,000 562,000 72,520 Gilgit Gilgit-Baltistan
Peshawar 7,403,8173,923,588 2,281,752 4,001 1850.49Peshawar KPK
Quetta 4,174,562 1,699,957 880,618 64,31064.91Quetta Balochistan
Rawalpindi 10,007,8216,659,528 4,432,729 22,255449.69Rawalpindi Punjab
Sargodha 8,181,4995,679,766 3,930,628 26,360310.38Sargodha Punjab
Sahiwal 5,362,8664,271,247 10,302 520.57Sahiwal Punjab
Shaheed Benazirabad5,282,2773,510,0362,560,44818,175290.63Shaheed BenazirabadSindh
Sibi 1,038,010630,901305,768 27,055 38.37Sibi Balochistan
Sukkur 5,538,5553,447,935 2,103,86134,752159.37Sukkur Sindh
Zhob 1,542,447956,443749,545 46,200 33.39Loralai Balochistan

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Shaheed Benazirabad made division. . 25 May 2014.
  2. Web site: . 2021-06-30 . New division, two districts created in Balochistan . 2022-05-05 . DAWN.COM . en.
  3. Web site: Commissionerate system restored . 26 October 2008 . 2010-04-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100109092219/http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/26-Oct-2008/Commissionerate-system-restored . 2010-01-09 . live .
  4. Web site: 502 Bad Gateway. www.emoiz.com. 2010-04-26. 2018-12-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20181226145022/http://www.emoiz.com/win.php. dead.
  5. Web site: Commissioner system to be restored soon: Durrani . https://archive.today/20120731171324/http://www.geo.tv/5-26-2009/42856.htm . dead . 2012-07-31 .
  6. Web site: Sindh: Commissioner system may be revived today. 2010-04-26. 2019-01-06. https://web.archive.org/web/20190106213139/https://eproperty.pk/news/2009/07/31/sindh-commissioner-system-may-be-revived-today. dead.
  7. Web site: Commissioners, DCs posted in Sindh . 12 July 2011 . 2011-07-13 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110713092405/http://nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/12-Jul-2011/Commissioners-DCs-posted-in-Sindh . 2011-07-13 . live .
  8. Web site: anjum . Sindh back to 5 divisions after 11 years Pakistan Today . 11 July 2011 . 2022-05-05 . en-GB.
  9. Web site: District wise census results census 2017. www.pbscensus.gov.pk. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20170829164748/http://www.pbscensus.gov.pk/sites/default/files/DISTRICT_WISE_CENSUS_RESULTS_CENSUS_2017.pdf. 2017-08-29.
  10. https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/balochistan/pcr/table_1.pdf
  11. https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/kp/pcr/table_1.pdf
  12. https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/punjab/pcr/table_1.pdf
  13. https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/sindh/pcr/table_1.pdf
  14. Web site: Info . www.pbs.gov.pk .
  15. Web site: Pakistan Divisions . www.statoids.com.