Editing West Pakistan (section)

==Government==
[[File:Pakistan.ogv|thumb|left|1950 film about West Pakistan]]
West Pakistan went through many political changes, and had a multiple political party system. West Pakistan's political system consisted of the popular influential [[Socialism in Pakistan|Left-wing sphere]] against elite [[Zia regime|Right-wing circles]].

===Parliamentary republic===
Since independence, Pakistan had been a [[Federalism|federal]] [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] [[constitutional monarchy]] (even as of today, the parliamentary system is the official form of government of Pakistan) with a Prime minister as the [[head of the government]] and a [[List of heads of state of Pakistan#Monarch (1947–1956)|Monarch]] as the [[List of heads of state of Pakistan|head of state]] in a ceremonial office.

The [[Constitution of Pakistan of 1956|1956 Constitution]] provided the country with Parliamentary form of Government and the office of President was inaugurated the same year. The career [[Civil Service of Pakistan|civil service officer]] [[Major-General]] (retired) [[Iskander Mirza]] became the country's first President, but the system did not evolve for more than the three years, when Mirza imposed the martial law in 1958. Mirza appointed [[Commander in Chief of the Pakistan Army|army commander-in-chief]] General Ayub Khan as [[Chief Martial Law Administrator]]; he later turned his back on the President and exiled him to Great Britain after the military government was installed.

The [[Supreme Court of Pakistan]] was a judicial authority, a power broker in country's politics that played a major role in minimising the role of [[Parliament of Pakistan|parliament]]. The Supreme Court was moved to Islamabad in 1965 and [[Chief Justice of Pakistan|Chief Justice]] [[Alvin Robert Cornelius]] re-located the entire judicial arbiter, personnel and high-profile cases in Islamabad. The Supreme Court building is one of the most attractive places in Islamabad, yet the most largely beautiful building in the state capital.

This provisional parliament had no lasting effects of West Pakistan's affairs but it was a ceremonial legislature where the lawmakers would gather around to discuss non-political matters. In 1965, the legislative parliament was moved to [[Islamabad]] after Ayub Khan built a massive capitol. The assembly was renamed as the [[Parliament of Pakistan]] and staffed only with technocrats.

===Governor and chief minister===
The office of Governor of West Pakistan was a largely ceremonial position but later Governors wielded some executive powers as well. The first Governor was [[Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani]], who was also the last Governor of West Punjab. Ayub Khan abolished the Governor's office and instead established the Martial Law Administrator of West Pakistan (MLA West).

The office Chief Minister of West Pakistan was the chief executive of the state and the leader of the largest party in the provincial assembly. The first Chief Minister was [[Khan Abdul Jabbar Khan|Abdul Jabbar Khan]] who had served twice as Chief Minister of the [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province]] prior to independence. The office of Chief Minister was abolished in 1958 when Ayub Khan took over the administration of West Pakistan.

====Governors of West Pakistan====
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Tenure||Governor of West Pakistan<ref name="worldstatesmen">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Pakistan_states.html#West-Pakistan| title=Pakistan Provinces| author=Ben Cahoon, WorldStatesmen.org| access-date=3 October 2007}}</ref>
!Party Background
!Form of Government
|-
|14 October 1955 – 27 August 1957||[[Mushtaq Ahmed Gurmani]] ||[[Muslim League (Pakistan)|Muslim League]] || [[Democratic government]]
|-
|September 1957 – 12 April 1960||[[Akhter Husain]] || [[Independent (politician)|Independent]]|| [[Military dictatorship|Martial Law]]
|-
|12 April 1960 – 18 September 1966||[[Amir Mohammad Khan]] ||[[Muslim League (Pakistan)|Muslim League]] || Martial Law
|-
|18 September 1966 – 20 March 1969||General [[Musa Khan (general)|Muhammad Musa]]|| [[Independent (politician)|Independent]] || [[Direct rule|President's Rule]]
|-
|20 March 1969 – 25 March 1969||[[Yusuf Haroon]]|| [[Civil government|Civilian Government]] || President's Rule
|-
!Tenure Term
!Martial Law Administrator
!Type of Government
!Service in effect
|-
|25 March 1969 – 29 August 1969||[[Lieutenant-General]] [[Attiqur Rahman]] || [[Martial Law]] || [[Pakistan Army]]
|-
|29 August 1969 – 1 September 1969||Lieutenant-General [[Tikka Khan]] ||Martial Law || [[Pakistan Army]]
|-
|1 September 1969 – 1 February 1970||[[Air Marshal]] [[Nur Khan]]|| Martial Law|| [[Pakistan Air Force]]
|-
|1 February 1970 – 1 July 1970||Lieutenant-General Attiqur Rahman || Martial Law || [[Pakistan Army]]
|-
|1 July 1970||''Province of West Pakistan dissolved''
|}

====Chief ministers of West Pakistan====
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Tenure||Chief Minister of West Pakistan<ref name="worldstatesmen" />||Political Party
|-
|14 October 1955 – 16 July 1957||[[Dr Khan Sahib]]||[[Pakistan Muslim League]]/[[Republican Party (Pakistan)|Republican Party]]
|-
|16 July 1957 – 18 March 1958||[[Sardar Abdur Rashid Khan]]||[[Republican Party (Pakistan)|Republican Party]]
|-
|18 March 1958 – 7 October 1958||[[Nawab Muzaffar Ali Khan Qizilbash]]||[[Republican Party (Pakistan)|Republican Party]]
|-
|7 October 1958||Office of Chief Minister abolished
|}

===Local government===
The twelve divisions of West Pakistan province were [[Bahawalpur]], [[Dera Ismail Khan]], [[Hyderabad, Pakistan|Hyderabad]], [[Kalat District|Kalat]], [[Khairpur District|Khairpur]], Lahore, [[Malakand Agency|Malakand]], [[Multan]], [[Peshawar]], [[Quetta]], Rawalpindi, and [[Sargodha]]; all named after their capitals except the capital of Malakand was Saidu, and Rawalpindi was administered from Islamabad. The province also incorporated the former [[Oman]]i enclave of [[Gwadar]] following its purchase in 1958, and the former Federal Capital Territory (Karachi) in 1958; the latter in 1960 forming a new division in its own right.

In 1970, the Martial Law Office was dissolved by General Yahya Khan who disestablished the state of West Pakistan. On 1 July 1970, the [[:Category:Provincial Assemblies of Pakistan|provisional assemblies]] of [[Provincial Assembly of Balochistan|Balochistan]], [[Provincial Assembly of the Punjab|Punjab]], [[Provincial Assembly of Sindh|Sindh]], and [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly|Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]], [[Prime minister of Pakistan|Office of Prime minister]], and much of the civil institutions were revived and re-established by the decree signed by Yahya Khan. The four [[Provinces of Pakistan|provinces]] and four [[Administrative units of Pakistan|administrative units]] retained their current status and [[Local government in Pakistan|local governments]] were constitutionally established in 1970 to manage and administer the provisional autonomy given to the provinces in 1970.