Dominion of Pakistan (Bengali: পাকিস্তান অধিরাজ্য, Pakistan ôdhirajyô; Urdu: مملکتِ پاکستان, Mumlikāt-ē Pākistān), also usually called Pakistan; was an independent federal Dominion in South Asia that was established in 1947 on the Partition of British India into two sovereign countries (the other being the Dominion of India). The Dominion, which included modern-day Pakistan and Bangladesh, was to be for the Muslims of South Asia. It became the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1956. East Pakistan seceded from the union to become People's Republic of Bangladesh in 1971. |