1948 in Pakistan

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1948 in Pakistan
««« 1947 1946 1945 1944 1943	1948 in Pakistan	»»» 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953
Decades: 1940s • 1950s • 1960s Centuries:  •  • 20th • 21st See also: Other events of 1948 List of years in Pakistan

See also: 1947 in Pakistan, other events of 1948, 1949 in Pakistan and the Timeline of Pakistani history.

Contents  [hide] 1 Events 1.1 January 1.2 February 1.3 March 1.4 April 1.5 May 1.6 June 1.7 July 1.8 August 1.9 September 1.9.1 Hyderabad State falls 1.10 October 1.11 December

[edit]Events

• Widespread violence and massacres of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs
• Nearly 10 million people migrate to Pakistan and India. Muslims to Pakistan while Hindus and Sikhs to India

[edit]January

• January 11, Lahore: Trade Union meeting; a central labour organisation formed – Faiz Ahmad Faiz among its members
• January 17, UN adopts a resolution to set up a Commission of international members on Kashmir.
• January 18, Ayub Khuro, CM, against more immigrants to Sindh
• January 29, SC, UNO decrees plebiscite in Kashmir
• January 31, Govt offices closed as Pakistan mourns Gandhi, assassinated yesterday
• January 17, Sir Zafrullah pleads Pakistan’s case in the UNO Security Council

[edit]February

• February 4, Jang turns into a 6-page daily
• February 23-Mar 26, Constituent Assembly sessions (22 sittings)

[edit]March

• March 1, A new ministry has been created to organise and direct the economy on sound and scientific lines. Separate from the Ministry of Finance, the new portfolio will be called the Ministry of Economic Affairs
• March 22, Naqoosh, new Urdu literary quarterly launched; Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi and Hajira Masroor compile the first issue

[edit]April

• April, 1 Raj currency imprinted “Govt of Pakistan”; new currency notes for Rs.1 and coins issued
• April, 1 Government of Pakistan accuses the East Punjab in India to have cut off its water supply to the Central Bari Doab Canal System, the Dipalpur Canal System, and the Bahawalpur Doab Canal System.
• April 21, UN adopts a resolution for Kashmir. Pakistan finds it more favorable to India than the earlier drafts, but the resolution reiterates the principle of plebiscite nevertheless.

[edit]May

• 1 May Pakistan and India went to war over Kashmir region. The Pakistani-captured third was known as Azad Jammu and Kashmir, while India occupied the eastern two-thirds now called Jammu and Kashmir by the Indians while Pakistanis and Kashmiris alike call it Bharati Maqbuza Kashmir in Urdu.

[edit]June

• June 9, Hockey team for 1948 London Olympics announced

[edit]July

• July 1, State Bank of Pakistan inaugurated by the Quaid
• July 6, The Ministry of States and Frontier Regions has been created by the Quaid-e-Azam to deal with the affairs of the tribal territories of the NWFP, the Balochistan tribal areas adjoining Dera Ghazi Khan District of West Punjab, the excluded areas and the princely states. The ministry will function under the direct control, guidance and direction of the Quaid-e-Azam
• July 9, A set of 4 postage stamps issued: Abdur Rahman Chughtai designs Re.1 stamp and folder
• July 30, Fatima Jinnah is aware of her birthday, and is observed for the first time, since independence; the nation refers her to the titles of "Mother of the Nation" and Khatoon-I-Pakistan.

[edit]August

• August 13, The UN Commission on Kashmir, after visiting India and Pakistan, adopts a resolution. Cease-fire is demanded, which will be followed by a plebiscite.
• August 14, Karachi Radio Station inaugurated in tent studios at Queens Rd., Karachi, as Pakistanis mark their 1st anniversary.

[edit]September

• 11 September - Karachi: Mohammed Ali Jinnah dies at the age of 71. Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah died this morning peacefully. His funeral will take place on a small hill on Bunder Road, near Guru Mandir, just outside the federal capital Karachi. Radio Karachi will broadcast a running commentary on the funeral which is also likely to be attended by the Quaid's estranged daughter Dina Wadia, who has refused to live in the state founded by her father.

Demise of Jinnah whose unassailable personal integrity was the cornerstone of Pakistan's present regime is an irreplaceable national loss at this early moment, especially given that no constitutional framework for the future could be finalised.

The last days of Jinnah were rather strained. Forced by his failing health to take rest in his official refuge at Ziarat (Balochistan), he was rather too far away from the federal capital where his subordinates seemed to be less than efficient in so many ways.

• 12 September - Khwaja Nazimuddin arrives in Karachi, Pakistan from Dacca, East Bengal.
• September 13, PM Liaquat Ali Khan takes over the portfolio of States and Frontier Regions from the Governor-General.
• September 14, Nurul Amin becomes Prime Minister of East Bengal "On the advice of the Prime Minister of Pakistan," reads the royal decree issued by King George VI of England, "His Majesty the King is pleased to appoint Khwaja Nazimuddin as Acting Governor-General of Pakistan in the vacancy occasioned by the sad demise of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah." Since Pakistan has still not been declared a Republic by its Constituent Assembly, it retains it dominion status and the Governor-General is formally appointed by His Majesty.

Khawaja Nazimuddin, a senior politician from East Bengal took oath as the acting Governor-General today. He was called from the East Pakistan sector soon after the death of Quaid-i-Azam, and reached barely in time to attend the funeral on the 12th.

The following is the text of the Governor-General's oath: "I, Khawaja Nazimuddin, do solemnly affirm true faith and allegiance to the constitution of Pakistan as by law established, and that I will be faithful to His Majesty King George VI, his heirs, and successors in the office of the Governor-General of Pakistan."

• September 15, GG Nazimuddin makes his first broadcast speech: "There is no one better qualified in Pakistan than our Prime Minister, Liaquat, to lead the country along the path marked out by the Quaid-i-Azam."

[edit]Hyderabad State falls

• September 17, Hyderabad (Deccan) has fallen to Indian forces after 4-day resistance. For Pakistan, it was a lost case since the beginning: the majority of the population was Hindu, and the land was surrounded by the Indian Dominion on all sides. However, the ruler was a Muslim, and the Muslims of Pakistan had a sentimental attachment with the historic state of Hyderabad (Deccan). Morever, the ruler had tried to help Pakistan with financial support.

India was just as touchy about Hyderabad as Pakistan is about Kashmir, and the "iron man of India" Sardar Patel indicated many times to the Pakistani Premier Nehru that if Pakistan relents in the case of Hyderabad India might reciprocate the gesture on the issue of Kashmir. However, Laiquat and the Pakistani ruling elite did not relent, and now with the chance of winning Kashmir in a barter is also lost forever.

[edit]October

• October 1, Lahore: The departure of a heartbroken Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan from the country he named on January 28, 1933 relieves the Government of a severe headache.

The Cambridge-based pamphleteer had been voicing his dissatisfaction with the creation of Pakistan ever since his arrival in Lahore on April 6. Unhappy over a smaller Pakistan than the one he had conceived in his 1933 pamphlet Now Or Never, his criticism was beginning to raise alarm while his claims of contribution to the Pakistan Movement were interpreted by his critics as boasting to be the real founder of Pakistan. "On his arrival in this country Chaudhri Rahmat Ali has expressed his intention of launching a Pakistan National Liberation Movement with the object of securing a repudiation of the June 3 Plan, 'by agreement if possible and without agreement if necessary'..." The Pakistan Times reported onMay 22. Consequently, Rahmat Ali was denied a Pakistani passport, and later told to leave the country.

• October 22, Majeed Lahori starts satirical column ‘Harf-o-Hikayat’ in Jang.

[edit]December

• December 14, Maulvi Tameezuddin elected President of Constituent Assembly in the first session since the Quaid’s demise.
• December 15-30 Constituent Assembly sessions (10 sittings) and the officially appointed Bari Committee has stated in the recently published Report on Agricultural Reforms in Sindh: Feudal lords are the best friends of the peasants, who only repay their saviours with ingratitude! Masud Khaddarposh has written a socialist note of dissent, which has been withheld from the printed text of the Report.