Divisions of Punjab (Pakistan)

Administrative divisions had formed an integral tier of government from the times of Mughal Empire and latterly British Raj. The Lahore and Multan Subahs (combinedly Punjab) during Mughal era while Punjab Province during British era were subdivided into divisions, which were themselves subdivided into districts.

After independence, The province of West Punjab had four divisions – Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sargodha. From 1955 to 1970, during One Unit policy the Princely State of Bahawalpur was joined with West Punjab and made part of Bahawalpur Division. In the late 1970s new divisions were formed; Gujranwala Division was formed from parts of Lahore and Rawalpindi divisions; Dera Ghazi Khan Division was split from Multan Division; Faisalabad Division was split from Sargodha Division and with the passage of time the number of these divisions increased and now there are nine divisions.

Every division of province is divided into many districts and then further into tehsils. Each division is administrated by commissioner. He is assisted by different deputy commissioners of all districts of his division. The duties of commissioner according to Punjab Government Act 2013 (XVIII of 2013) are as follow:[3]

• He is the officer-in-charge of general administration and principal representative of the government in the division.

• He monitors the discharge of duties by the deputy commissioners in the division.

• He is also responsible to facilitate and coordinate any work which concerns two or more districts in the division.