What is West Punjab?
{{otheruses4|the former province|other uses|Punjab}} '''West Punjab''' was a former [[province]] of [[Pakistan]] which existed from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of {{convert|160622|km2|mi2|lk=on}},including much of the current [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab]] province and the [[Islamabad Capital Territory]], but excluding the former [[princely state]]s of [[Bahawalpur]]. The capital was the city of [[Lahore]] and the province had four divisions (Lahore, [[Sargodha]], [[Multan]] and [[Rawalpindi]]). The province was bordered by the former [[India]]n state of [[East Punjab]] to the east, the princely state of Bahawalpur to the south, the provinces of [[Balochistan (Pakistan)|Balochistan]] and [[Sindh]] to the southwest, [[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]] to the northwest, and [[Azad Jammu and Kashmir]] and [[Occupied Kashmir]] to the northeast. ==History== The [[Pakistan#History|independence of Pakistan]] in 1947 led to the divisions of the [[Punjab (British India)|Punjab]] province into two new provinces. The East Punjab where most people were [[Sikh]] and [[Hindu]] became part of the new nation of [[India]] while the mainly [[Muslim]] West Punjab became part of the new nation of Pakistan. The name of the province was shortened to [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab]] in 1950. West Punjab was merged into the province of [[West Pakistan]] in 1955 under the One Unit policy announced by [[Prime Minister of Pakistan|Prime Minister]] [[Chaudhry Mohammad Ali]]. When that province was dissolved, the area of the former province of West Punjab was combined with the former state of Bahawalpur to form a new [[Punjab (Pakistan)|Punjab Province]]. ==People== At independence there was a Muslim majority in West Punjab with significant minorities of [[Hindu]]s and [[Sikh]]s. Nearly all of these minorities left West Punjab for India, to be replaced by large numbers of Muslims fleeing in the opposite direction. The official language of West Punjab was [[Urdu]] but most of the population spoke [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]] using the [[Shahmu