Subdivisions of Pakistan

Currently, the internationally recognized territory of Pakistan is subdivided into four provinces and two territories. In addition, the portion of Kashmir that is administered by the Pakistani government is divided into two separate administrative units.

Local Governments

The provinces are divided into a total of 105 zillas (Districts.) A zilla is further subdivided into tehsils (roughly equivalent to counties.) Tehsils may contain villages or municipalities. There are over five thousand local governments in Pakistan. Since 2001, these have been led by democratically elected local councils, each headed by a Nazim (the word means "supervisor" in Urdu, but is sometimes translated as "mayor.") Women have been allotted a minimum of 33% seats in these councils; there is no upper limit to the number of women in these councils.

History

In the 1960s, Pakistan was simply divided into two "units" of East Pakistan and West Pakistan. After East Pakistan became independent as Bangladesh, West Pakistan reverted to a system with four provinces. The provinces consisted of subunits called "divisions", which were further subdivided into districts, tehsils, and villages or municipalities.

In August 2000, Pervez Musharraf's local government reforms abolished the "division" as an administrative tier. A system of local government councils was established, with the first elections being held in 2001. Since the 2001 Local Government Ordinances, Pakistan has embarked on a radical restructuring of the local government system. The government is implementing a devolution plan which, in its words, "follows the principle of subsidiarity, whereby all functions that can be effectively performed at the local level are transferred to that level. This has meant the decentralization to the districts and tehsils of many functions previously handled by the provincial governments."

Provinces and territories

Provinces:

Territories:

Pakistani-administered portions of Kashmir region:

External links

Subdivisions of Pakistan Map.JPG

Provincial government websites

Punjab: http://www.punjab.gov.pk
Sindh: http://www.sindh.gov.pk/
NWFP: http://www.nwfp.gov.pk
Balochistan http://www.balochistan.gov.pk/

Federal government websites relating to local governments

Decentralization Support Program: http://www.decentralization.org.pk/
National Reconstruction Bureau: http://www.nrb.gov.pk/

Subdivisions by country | Subdivisions of Pakistan