Birth of the new state : Pakistan Close to Partition 1947...

Pakistan came into existence as a dominion within the Commonwealth in August 1947, with Jinnah as governor-general and Liaquat Ali Khan as prime minister. With West and East Pakistan separated by more than 1,000 miles of Indian territory and with the major portion of the wealth and resources of the British heritage passing to India, Pakistan's survival seemed to hang in the balance. Of all the well-organized provinces of British India, only the comparatively backward areas of Sindh, Balochistan, and the North-West Frontier came to Pakistan intact. The Punjab and Bengal were divided, and Kashmir became disputed territory. Economically, the situation seemed almost hopeless; the new frontier cut off Pakistani raw materials from the Indian factories, disrupting industry, commerce, and agriculture. The partition and the movement of refugees were accompanied by terrible massacres for which both communities were responsible. India remained openly unfriendly; its economic superiority expressed itself in a virtual blockade. The dispute over Kashmir brought the two countries to the verge of war; and India's command of the headworks controlling the water supplies to Pakistan's eastern canal colonies gave it an additional economic weapon. The resulting friction, by obstructing the process of sharing the assets inherited from the British raj (according to plans previously agreed), further handicapped Pakistan. (L.F.R.W.)