punjab

The Punjab  is the most populous province of Pakistan, with about 56% of the country's total population The neighbouring areas are Pakistan-administered Kashmir to the north, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the south, the province of Balochistan to the southwest, the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the west, and the Islamabad Capital Territory to the north. The Punjab is

home to the Punjabis and various other groups. The main languages are Punjabi and Saraiki and the dialects of Mewati and Potowari. Punjab has been known as the "Land of the Five Rivers" since Vedic times. The name Punjab derives from the Persian words Panj  (Five), and Āb  (Water), i.e. (the) Five Waters - referring to the Indus River and its four primary tributaries of Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, and Sutlej, that flow through Punjab.

History

The current

administrative units are derived from the administrative units inherited from British India. From independence in 1947 to 1971, Pakistan comprised two wings that were separated by 1600 kilometres of Indian territory. The eastern wing comprised the single province of East Bengal which included the Sylhet District from the former Indian province of Assam. The western wing was formed from three full provinces (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (then NWFP), West Punjab and Sind), one Chief Commissioner's Province (Baluchistan), thirteen princely states and parts of Kashmir. In 1948, the area around Karachi was separated from Sind province to form the Federal Capital Territory. In 1950 Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (then NWFP) province was expanded to include the small states of Amb and Phulra and the name of West Punjab was changed to Punjab. The four princely states of southwest Pakistan formed the Baluchistan States Union in 1952.