Princely states of Pakistan

The Princely States of Pakistan (Urdu: پاکستان کی نوابی ریاستیں; Sindhi: پاڪستان جون نوابي رياستون) were princely states of the British Indian Empire which acceded to the new Dominion of Pakistan between 1947 and 1948, following the partition of British India and its independence.

At the time of the withdrawal of British forces from the subcontinent on 15 August 1947, West Pakistan was less than half of its ultimate size.

However, some of the Hindu subjects who formed 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.

[12] Ghulam Moinuddin Khanji, Khan of Bantva Manavadar, a subordinate or vassal state of Junagadh, also signed an accession to Pakistan on 24 September 1947.

[13] On 3 October 1947, after some delay, the Nawab (or Ameer) of Bahawalpur, Sadeq Mohammad Khan V, acceded his state to Pakistan, becoming the first ruler to do so successfully.

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 son Mohammad 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 the full powers as Mehtar at Chitral Fort in May 1966.

[21] On 28 July 1969, President Yahya 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.

[citation needed] Nagar was another small valley state to the north of Kashmir and shared the language and culture 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.

[14][30] Amb continued to be an autonomous state within Pakistan until 1969, when following the death of the Nawab it was incorporated into the North West Frontier Province (now known as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa).

That came to an end in 1955, when Las Bela was incorporated into the new West Pakistan province and became part of the Kalat division.

In 1962, Las Bela was detached from West Pakistan and merged with the Federal Capital Territory to form Karachi-Bela.

[14] On 21 March 1948, the rulers of Kharan, Makran, and Las Bela all announced that they were acceding their states to the Dominion 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.

[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.

The next day, Iskandar Mirza declared martial law, which led to disturbances in Balochistan lasting about a year.