Divisions of Pakistan
Map of divisions of Pakistan
CategorySecond-level administrative division
LocationAdministrative units of Pakistan
Number39 (as of January 2023)
Government
  • Divisional Administration
Subdivisions
Division
Urdu: ڈویژن, romanized: -, lit. 'Balochi: بلۏچی'
Punjabi: ڈویژن
Pashto: څانګه‎‎
Sindhi: ڊويزن‎

The four provinces, capital territory and two autonomous territories of Pakistan are subdivided into 39 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

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.

On 24 April 2014, Create Banbhore Division by bifurcation of Hyderabad division and Shaheed Benazirabad Division by bifurcation of Sukkur, Hyderabad and Mirpur Khas division.

On 17 August 2022, Gujrat Division was established in Punjab Province. Recently, 1 new division was created in Punjab Province named Mianwali Division on 14 January 2023.

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 and Banbhore Division[2] were 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.[3] 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.[4]

In Sindh after the lapse of the Local Governments Bodies term in 2010 the Divisional Commissioners system was to be restored.[5][6][7]

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. As mentioned earlier, two new divisions added in Sindh i.e. Bhanbore and Shaheed Benazirabad divisions.[8]

Karachi district has been de-merged into its 5 original constituent districts namely Karachi East, Karachi West, Karachi Central, Karachi South and Malir. Recently Korangi has been upgraded to the status of a sixth district of Karachi. These six districts form the Karachi Division now.[9]

Current divisions

The following tables show the current 33 divisions by province with their respective populations as of the 2017 Census of Pakistan,[10] and the 6 divisions of Pakistani-administered Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Colours correspond to Divisions of the Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Divisions of the Province of the Punjab
Seven Divisions of the Province of Sindh

Provinces

Divisions of Balochistan Province
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census		Population
2017 Census		Capital
Kalat140,6121,443,7272,509,230Khuzdar
Makran52,067832,7531,489,015Turbat
Naseerabad16,946988,1091,591,144Dera Murad Jamali
Quetta64,3101,713,9524,174,562Quetta
Sibi27,055630,9011,038,010Sibi
Zhob46,200956,4431,542,447Zhob
Loralai Loralai
Rakhshan89,013409,473737,162Kharan
Divisions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census		Population
2017 Census		Capital
Bannu4,3911,165,6922,044,074Bannu
Dera Ismail Khan9,0051,091,2112,019,017Dera Ismail Khan
Hazara17,1943,505,5815,325,121Abbottabad
Kohat7,0121,307,9692,218,971Kohat
Malakand29,8724,262,7007,514,694Saidu Sharif
Mardan3,0462,486,9043,997,677Mardan
Peshawar4,0013,923,5887,403,817Peshawar
Divisions of Punjab Province
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census		Population
2017 Census		Capital
Bahawalpur45,5887,635,59111,464,031Bahawalpur
Dera Ghazi Khan38,7786,503,59011,014,398Dera Ghazi Khan
Faisalabad17,9179,885,68514,177,081Faisalabad
Gujranwala17,20611,431,05816,123,984Gujranwala
Gujrat8,232N/A (Part of Gujranwala)N/A (Part of Gujranwala)Gujrat
Lahore11,7278,694,62019,581,281Lahore
Mianwali N/A (Part of Sargodha) N/A (Part of Sargodha) N/A (Part of Sargodha) Mianwali
Multan17,9358,447,55712,265,161Multan
Rawalpindi22,2556,659,52810,007,821Rawalpindi
Sahiwal10,3025,362,8667,380,386Sahiwal
Sargodha26,3605,679,7668,181,499Sargodha
Divisions of Sindh Province
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census		Population
2017 Census		Capital
Banbhore28,1712,585,4173,566,300[11]Thatta
Hyderabad33,5274,610,0717,026,335Hyderabad
Karachi3,5289,856,31816,051,521Karachi
Sukkur24,5053,447,9355,538,555Sukkur
Larkana Larkana
Mirpur Khas28,1712,585,4174,228,683Mirpur Khas
Shaheed Benazirabad18,1753,510,0365,282,277Nawabshah

Administered territories

Divisions of Azad Kashmir
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census		Population
2017 Census		Capital
Mirpur4,3881,198,2491,651,018Mirpur
Muzaffarabad6,117745,7331,072,150Muzaffarabad
Poonch2,7921,028,5411,322,198Rawalakot
Divisions of Gilgit-Baltistan
DivisionArea (km2)Population
1998 Census		Population
2017 Census		Capital
Gilgit-Gilgit
Baltistan-Skardu
Diamer-Chilas

Divisions by population

Data from 1981, 1998, and 2017 censuses[12][13]
DivisionPop-2017Pop-1998Pop-1981Area
(km2)		Density/
(km2) (2017)		CapitalProvince
Azad Kashmir 4,045,366 2,972,523 1,980,000 13,297 304.23 Muzaffarabad Azad Kashmir
Bahawalpur 11,464,031 7,635,591 4,068,636 45,588 251.47 Bahawalpur Punjab
Bannu 2,044,074 1,165,692 710,786 4,391 465.51 Bannu KPK
Dera Ghazi Khan 11,014,398 6,503,590 3,746,837 38,778 284.04 Dera Ghazi Khan Punjab
Dera Ismail Khan 2,019,017 1,091,211 635,494 9,005 224.21 Dera Ismail Khan KPK
Faisalabad 14,177,081 9,885,685 6,667,425 17,917 791.26 Faisalabad Punjab
F.A.T.A. 5,001,676 3,176,331 2,198,547 27,220 183.75 Islamabad F.A.T.A.
Gujranwala 16,123,984 11,431,058 7,642,118 17,206 937.11 Gujranwala Punjab
Hazara 5,325,121 3,505,581 2,701,257 17,194 309.70 Abbottabad KPK
Hyderabad (including Banbhore) 10,592,635 6,829,537 4,678,290 64,963 163.06 Hyderabad Sindh
Islamabad 2,006,572 805,235 340,286 906 2214.76 Islamabad Islamabad
Kalat 2,509,230 1,457,722 1,044,174 140,612 17.85 Khuzdar Balochistan
Karachi 16,051,521 9,856,318 5,437,984 3,528 4549.75 Karachi Sindh
Kohat 2,218,971 1,307,969 758,772 7,012 316.45 Kohat KPK
Lahore 19,398,081 12,015,649 7,183,097 11,727 1654.14 Lahore Punjab
Larkana 6,192,380 4,210,650 2,746,201 15,543 398.40 Larkana Sindh
Makran 1,489,015 832,753 652,602 52,067 28.60 Turbat Balochistan
Malakand 7,514,694 4,262,700 2,466,767 29,872 251.56 Saidu KPK
Mardan 3,997,677 2,486,904 1,506,500 3,046 1312.43 Mardan KPK
Mirpur Khas 4,228,683 2,585,417 1,501,882 28,171 150.11 Mirpur Khas Sindh
Multan 12,265,161 8,447,557 5,408,561 17,935 683.87 Multan Punjab
Nasirabad 591,144 1,076,708 699,669 16,946 34.88 Dera Murad Jamali Balochistan
Gilgit-Baltistan 910,000 562,000 72,520 Gilgit Gilgit-Baltistan
Peshawar 7,403,817 3,923,588 2,281,752 4,001 1850.49 Peshawar KPK
Quetta 4,174,562 1,699,957 880,618 64,310 64.91 Quetta Balochistan
Rawalpindi 10,007,821 6,659,528 4,432,729 22,255 449.69 Rawalpindi Punjab
Sargodha 8,181,499 5,679,766 3,930,628 26,360 310.38 Sargodha Punjab
Sahiwal 5,362,866 4,271,247 10,302 520.57 Sahiwal Punjab
Shaheed Benazirabad 5,282,277 3,510,036 2,560,448 18,175 290.63 Shaheed Benazirabad Sindh
Sibi 1,038,010 630,901 305,768 27,055 38.37 Sibi Balochistan
Sukkur 5,538,555 3,447,935 2,103,861 34,752 159.37 Sukkur Sindh
Zhob 1,542,447 956,443 749,545 46,200 33.39 Loralai Balochistan

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Shaheed Benazirabad made division". 25 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Bhanbhore made sixth division of Sindh". www.thenews.com.pk.
  3. ↑ "New division, two districts created in Balochistan". DAWN.COM. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  4. ↑ "Commissionerate system restored". Archived from the original on 2010-01-09. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  5. ↑ "502 Bad Gateway". www.emoiz.com.
  6. ↑ "Commissioner system to be restored soon: Durrani". Archived from the original on 2012-07-31.
  7. ↑ "Sindh: Commissioner system may be revived today". Archived from the original on 2019-01-06. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  8. ↑ "Commissioners, DCs posted in Sindh". Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2011-07-13.
  9. ↑ anjum (11 July 2011). "Sindh back to 5 divisions after 11 years | Pakistan Today". Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  10. ↑ "District wise census results census 2017" (PDF). www.pbscensus.gov.pk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-08-29.
  11. ↑ "Block Wise Provisional Summary Results of 6th Population & Housing Census-2017 [As on January 03, 2018] | Pakistan Bureau of Statistics".
  12. ↑ "Info" (PDF). www.pbs.gov.pk.
  13. ↑ "Pakistan Divisions". www.statoids.com.
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