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ThePrincely States of Pakistan (Urdu:پاکستان کی نوابی ریاستیں) wereprincely states of theBritish Indian Empire whichacceded to the newDominion of Pakistan in 1947 and 1948, following thepartition of British India and itsindependence.
At the time of the withdrawal of British forces fromthe subcontinent on 15 August 1947,West Pakistan was less than half of its ultimate size. The States were incorporated following a year of negotiations and interventions.[1][2]
With the withdrawal of the British from the Indian subcontinent, in 1947, theIndian Independence Act provided that the hundreds ofprincely states which had existed alongside but outside British India were released from all theirsubsidiary alliances and other treaty obligations to the British, while at the same time the British withdrew from their treaty obligations to defend the states and keep the peace. The rulers were left to decide whether to accede to one of the newly independent states ofIndia or Pakistan (both formed initially from theBritish possessions) or to remain independent outside both.[3] As stated bySardar Patel at a press conference in January 1948, "As you are all aware, on the lapse of Paramountcy every Indian State became a separate independent entity."[4]
Only two rulers acceded to Pakistan in the first month of its independence, August 1947, while the others considered what to do, but most of those states with a Muslim majority population had acceded to Pakistan within a year, prompted in several cases by theIndo-Pakistani War of 1947.
TheInstruments of Accession made available for the rulers to sign transferred only limited powers to the Dominion of Pakistan, namely external relations, defence, and communications; in most cases signing was believed to leave the states in the position they had under thesuzerainty of the British Crown. TheWali of Swat commented that the states' accession "did not change very much".[5] However, within a generation all of the princely states had lost their internal autonomy. The last to be annexed wereHunza andNagar, in October 1974.[6]
The princely state ofJunagadh, a coastal state on theKathiawar peninsula, had a mostly Hindu population but a Muslim ruler,Muhammad Mahabat Khan III, and in August 1947, he decided to accede to Pakistan, the first ruler of a state to do so. The Nawab's dewan,Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, delivered the Instrument of Accession toJinnah in person, and on 13 September Jinnah accepted the accession. However, some of the Hindu subjects from the majority of the population revolted, and seeking to force the Nawab of Junagadh to change his decision, India imposed a blockade on the state.[7] On 8 November, after giving up on all hope of assistance from Pakistan, Bhutto asked the Indian government to take over the administration of the state as a temporary measure to restore order.[8] This arrangement was pending a final settlement through negotiations and did not mean that Junagadh had acceded to India.[9] The Government of India installed a governor and arranged areferendum on the status of the state, which took place on 20 February 1948 and voted overwhelmingly for union with India.[10] This led to theintegration of Junagadh into India.[11] India maintained that it had not invaded Junagadh, but had taken it over only after the Nawab's government had completely collapsed.[12]
Ghulam Moinuddin Khanji, Khan ofBantva Manavadar, a subordinate or vassal state of Junagadh, also signed an accession to Pakistan on 24 September 1947. The Indian police invadedManavadar on 22 October, and the Khan was arrested. Following a plebiscite, the state was merged with the newly federated state ofSaurashtra on 20 February 1949. The Khan was released as a result of theLiaquat–Nehru Pact of 8 April 1950. He lived in Karachi from 1951, where he continued to be recognized as a prince. He became president of thePakistan Hockey Federation and died in 2003.[13]
On 3 October 1947, after some delay, the Nawab (or Ameer) ofBahawalpur, SirSadiq Mohammad Khan V, acceded his state to Pakistan, becoming the first ruler to do so successfully.[14][15] As tens of thousands of Muslim refugees flooded into the state from the new Dominion of India, the Ameer of Bahawalpur Refugee Relief and Rehabilitation Fund was instituted to provide for their relief. In 1953, the Ameer of Bahawalpur represented Pakistan at thecoronation ofQueen Elizabeth II. In 1955, he signed an agreement with theGovernor-General of Pakistan,Sir Malik Ghulam Muhammad, under which Bahawalpur became part of the province ofWest Pakistan, with effect from 14 October 1955, and the Ameer received a yearlyprivy purse of 32 lakhs of rupees, keeping his titles.[16]
The state ofKhairpur also acceded to Pakistan on 3 October 1947.[14][17]George Ali Murad Khan (born 1934), who from 19 July 1947 to 14 October 1955 was the last Amir (or Nawab) of Khairpur, was aminor for much of his reign, so it was aRegent,Mir Ghulam Hussain Khan Talpur, who acceded to Pakistan on his behalf.[18]
In 1950, the Amir introduced a form of democracy, with universal adult franchise. In 1955, the state was integrated into West Pakistan.[17] The royal privileges of the Amir were abolished in 1972.
The last Amir is one of the few surviving princes.[19]
The Mehtar ofChitral,Muzaffar-ul-Mulk (1901–1949), stated his intention to accede to Pakistan on 15 August 1947.[20] However, his formal accession was delayed until 6 October.[14][5] He died in January 1949. His son,Saif-ur-Rahman (1926–1954), had been exiled by the Government of Pakistan and a board of administration composed of Chitrali noblemen was to govern the state in his absence. In October 1954, Saif-ur-Rahman was allowed to return from exile to take charge of Chitral, but he died in a plane crash on the way home, leaving his four-year-old sonMohammad Saif-ul-Mulk Nasir (1950–2011) as ruler. His uncle,Shahzada Asad ur-Rahman, acted as regent until he came of age and was invested with full powers as Mehtar atChitral Fort in May 1966.[21]
On 28 July 1969, PresidentYahya Khan announced the full integration of the states of Chitral, Dir, and Swat into Pakistan,[22] and the dispossessed young ruler, then aged nineteen, agreed to take up a diplomatic career. He joined the Foreign Service in 1973 and served as First Secretary atAnkara, 1974–1979, as Deputy Chief of Protocol in theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, 1979–1985, and as Assistant Consul-General inHong Kong, 1985–1989.[21]
TheWāli of Swat,Miangul Abdul Wadud, acceded his state to Pakistan on 3 November 1947.[14] The last Wali,Miangul Jahan Zeb (1908–1987), continued to exerciseabsolute rule until Pakistan took control, when on 28 July 1969 Yahya Khan announced the full integration of the states of Swat, Chitral, and Dir into Pakistan.[22][23]
Hunza was a small princely state to the north ofJammu and Kashmir, and had been subject to thesuzerainty of theMaharajah ofJammu and Kashmir since 1891. In 1931, its population was reported as 13,241.[24] Having once been under Chinese protection, after the departure of the British from the subcontinent in August 1947, Hunza received approaches from theRepublic of China, which wished the Mir to return to Chinese protection. However, on 3 November 1947, theMir of Hunza,Mohammad Jamal Khan (1912-1976), who had been ruler only since 1946, sent a telegram to Jinnah stating that he wished to accede his state to theDominion of Pakistan.[25] This action came one week after the decision by SirHari Singh, Maharajah of Kashmir, to accede to India, following the invasion byPashtunMehsud tribals, backed by Pakistani paramilitary forces,[26] in October 1947 under the code name "Operation Gulmarg" to seize Kashmir. On 27 October,Indian Army troops had moved into Kashmir. Hunza's formal accession took place on 18 November.[27] On 25 September 1973, following local protests, the Mir's rule came to an end whenZulfikar Ali Bhutto,Prime Minister of Pakistan, abolished the Mir's government and annexed the state to theNorthern Areas of Pakistan, under the federal government. Two years after his forced abdication, the Mir died.[citation needed]
Nagar was another small valley state to the north of Kashmir and shared the language and culture of Hunza.[27] In 1931 it had a population of 13,672, much the same as that of Hunza.[24] On 18 November 1947, its ruler,Shaukat Ali Khan (1917–2003), who had come to the throne in 1940, joined his neighbour in acceding to Pakistan.[27] They did this after resisting considerable pressure from Hari Singh of Jammu and Kashmir to enter into new subsidiary alliances with him.[28]
In 1968,Syed Yahya Shah, a politician of the valley, demanded civil rights from the Mir of Nagar. On 25 September 1973, not long after thePakistan People's Party underZulfiqar Ali Bhutto had come to power, the new government forced the lastMir of Nagar, BrigadierShaukat Ali Khan, to abdicate his power, as with theMir of Hunza, and like Hunza, Nagar was merged into the Northern Areas, although the Mir of Nagar was left with some of his purely ceremonial role.[29]
On 31 December 1947,Muhammad Farid Khan, Nawab ofAmb, acceded to Pakistan.[14][30] Amb continued to be an autonomous state within Pakistan until 1969, when following the death of the Nawab it was incorporated into theNorth West Frontier Province (now known asKhyber-Pakhtunkhwa). In 1971, recognition of the royal status of the Nawabs by the Government of Pakistan came to an end.
A small state, in 1958 Amb was reported to have an area of 1,520 square kilometres (585 square miles) and a population of 48,656.[31]
Phulra was akhanate near Amb, with a population of about 8,000 and an area of only 93 square kilometres (36 square miles).[31] Almost all of its people lived in ninety-eight villages.[32] Its last Khan wasNawab Abdul Latif Khan. In 1949, the khanate came to an end when it was merged into theNorth West Frontier Province.[33]
The Nawab ofDir, SirNawab Shah Jahan Khan, sent troops to support Pakistan in the First Kashmir War of 1947, and he signed an instrument of accession to Pakistan on 8 November, but it was not until 8 February 1948 that his state's accession was accepted by Jinnah as Governor-General.[14][30] In 1961, Yahya Khan exiled Jahan Khan and replaced him as Nawab with his sonMohammad Shah Khosru Khan, who was a Major General in thePakistan Army, but the real control passed to the state'spolitical agent. On 28 July 1969, Yahya Khan announced that the states of Dir, Chitral, and Swat were being incorporated into Pakistan.[22]
Las Bela's rulerGhulam Qadir Khan (1920–1988) acceded to Pakistan on 7 March 1948, and the accession was accepted by Pakistan on 17 March.[14][34] The state was a member of theBaluchistan States Union from 3 October 1952 to 14 October 1955, but it retained its internal autonomy. That came to an end in 1955, when Las Bela was incorporated into the new West Pakistan province and became part of theKalat division. In 1962, Las Bela was detached from West Pakistan and merged with theFederal Capital Territory to formKarachi-Bela. In 1970, it became theLasbela District of the new province ofBalochistan.
With an area of 47,940 square kilometres (18,508 square miles) and a population reported in 1951 as 33,833,[35] Kharan was one of the princely states of Balochistan which retained some degree of their independence for several years. Its last Nawab wasHabibullah Khan Nausherwani (1897–1958), who was in power from 1911 until 1955.[36]
The state acceded to Pakistan on 17 March 1948, which was accepted on the same day.[14] On 21 March 1948, the rulers of Kharan, Makran, and Las Bela all announced that they were acceding their states to theDominion of Pakistan.[34]
Also on 17 March 1948,Makran acceded to Pakistan,[14][34] and on 3 October 1952, it formed the Baluchistan States Union with Kalat, Kharan and Las Bela. Makran was dissolved on 14 October 1955, when it was merged into the province of West Pakistan. In 1970, the area of the former state was organized as theMakran District (later the Makran Division) of the province of Baluchistan.
TheKhanate of Kalat, which covered the substantial area of 139,850 km2 (53,995 sq mi), was reported in 1951 to have a population of 253,305.[35] It remained fully independent from 15 August 1947 until 27 March 1948, when its ruler,Ahmad Yar Khan (1904–1979), finally acceded to Pakistan. On 3 October 1952, the state of Kalat entered into theBaluchistan States Union with three neighbouring states, Kharan, Las Bela, and Makran, with the Khan of Kalat at the head of the Union with the title of Khan-e-Azam. The khanate came to an end on 14 October 1955, when it was incorporated into West Pakistan.[37]
On 20 June 1958,Mir Sir Ahmad Yar Khan Ahmedzai, theKhan of Kalat, declared theBaluchistan revolt.[38] On 6 October 1958, the Balochistan police captured theKalat Palace and arrested the Khan for sedition. The next day,Iskandar Mirza declaredmartial law, which led to disturbances in Balochistan lasting about a year.[39] The Khan was eventually forgiven and released.
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