View source for Administrative units of Pakistan

{{Politics of Pakistan}}

[[Pakistan]] is a [[country]] in [[Asia]]. It is divided into five [[province]]s and two [[territory|territories]]. Pakistan also [[administration|administers]] part of [[Kashmir]]. This part is divided into two separate areas. The rest of Kashmir is administered by [[India]].

== Provinces and federal territories ==
{{stack|[[File:Pakistan Provinces and Territories.svg|thumb|Provinces and territories of Pakistan.]]}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+
|-
! Assigned Number !!'''Names'''!!'''Capital'''!!'''Type'''
|-
|'''1'''||'''[[Khyber Pakhtunkhwa]]'''||'''[[Peshawar]]'''||'''Province'''
|-
|'''2'''||'''[[Federally Administered Tribal Areas|FATA]]'''||'''[[Peshawar District|Peshawar]]'''
|'''Former Federal Territory (1947-2018)'''
|-
|'''3'''||[[Punjab (Pakistan)|'''Punjab''']]||'''[[Lahore]]'''||'''Province'''
|-
|'''4'''||'''[[Sindh]]'''||'''[[Karachi]]'''||'''Province'''
|-
|'''5'''||[[Balochistan (Pakistan)|'''Balochistan''']]||'''[[Quetta]]'''||'''Province'''
|-
|'''6'''||'''[[Islamabad Capital Territory]]'''||'''[[Islamabad]]'''||'''Federal National Capital Territory'''
|-
|'''7'''||'''[[Gilgit-Baltistan]]'''||'''[[Skardu District|Skardu]]'''
|'''Autonomous Provincial Region'''
|-
|'''8'''||'''[[Azad Jammu and Kashmir]]'''||'''[[Muzaffarabad]]'''||'''Pakistan Administered Kashmir'''
|}

==Local government==

Each province of Pakistan is divided into ''[[Districts of Pakistan|zillas]]'' - zillah is an [[Urdu]] word ({{lang|ur|ضلع}}) meaning [[district]]. There are 105 districts in Pakistan.

A district is divided into [[tehsil]]s ({{lang|ur|تحصیل}}). A tehsils is similar to a [[county]]. Tehsils are used in all provinces except in [[Sindh]] province where the word [[taluka]] ({{lang-ur|تعلقه}}) is used instead. Tehsils may contain villages or towns and cities.

Each tehsil is further divided into [[Union councils of Pakistan|union councils]]. A union council is the smallest part of [[local government]] in Pakistan. They are sometimes made up of a few [[village]]s.

There are over 5,000 local government areas 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 maximum limit to the number of women in these councils.

== History ==
{{main|Former subdivisions of Pakistan}}
In the 1960s, Pakistan was simply divided into two "units" these were [[Bangladesh#History|East Pakistan]] and [[West Pakistan]]. Shortly before 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 then Pakistan has had greatly changed the local government system. The government had a plan to allow [[devolution]]. This plan according to the government "follows the principle of [[subsidiarity]], whereby all functions that can be effectively performed at the local level are transferred to that level."

This means mean that decisions are made locally by people who live in the area and not in far away cities. 

==Other websites==
* [http://www.ajk.gov.pk Government of Azad Kashmir]
* [http://www.balochistan.gov.pk Government of Balochistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026101813/http://www.balochistan.gov.pk/DistrictProfile/DDP%20Final%202012/Harnai/Harnai.pdf |date=2017-10-26 }}
* [http://www.fata.gov.pk Government of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720052328/http://www.fata.gov.pk/ |date=2009-07-20 }}
* [http://www.islamabad.gov.pk/islamabad/default.asp Government of the Islamabad Capital Territory] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012210555/http://www.islamabad.gov.pk/islamabad/default.asp |date=2014-10-12 }}
* [http://www.northernareas.gov.pk Government of the Northern Areas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060218074043/http://www.northernareas.gov.pk/ |date=2006-02-18 }}
* [http://www.nwfp.gov.pk Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030803023402/http://www.nwfp.gov.pk/ |date=2003-08-03 }}
* [http://www.punjab.gov.pk Government of the Punjab]
* [http://www.sindh.gov.pk Government of Sindh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130531075317/http://www.sindh.gov.pk/ |date=2013-05-31 }}
* [http://www.decentralization.org.pk Decentralization Support Program] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928095934/http://www.decentralization.org.pk/ |date=2011-09-28 }}
* [http://www.nrb.gov.pk National Reconstruction Bureau] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060213233441/http://www.nrb.gov.pk/ |date=2006-02-13 }}

{{Administrative divisions of Pakistan}}

[[Category:Subdivisions of Pakistan|*]]