Subahdar#Nazim
{{short description|Governor of a province during the Mughal era}}
{{for|the current military rank|Subedar}}
File:asif muharram 1795 1.jpg ranks included the Nawab, Subahdar, Mansabdar, Sawar and Sepoy. Mughal princes were often given the titles of Mir and Mirza]]
Subahdar, also known as Nazim,George Clifford Whitworth. [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.45332/page/n319 Subah.] An Anglo-Indian Dictionary: A Glossary of Indian Terms Used in English, and of Such English Or Other Non-Indian Terms as Have Obtained Special Meanings in India. London: Kegan Paul, Trench & Co. 1885. p. 301. was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty, Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, and the Mughal era who was alternately designated as Sahib-i-Subah or Nazim. The word, Subahdar is of Persian origin.{{cite book |last=Islam |first=Sirajul |year=2012 |chapter=Subahdar |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Subahdar |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=Asiatic Society of Bangladesh |access-date=2015-10-27 |archive-date=2015-07-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703161809/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Subahdar |url-status=live }} The Subahdar was the head of the Mughal provincial administration. He was assisted by the provincial Diwan, Bakhshi, Faujdar, Kotwal, Qazi, Sadr, Waqa-i-Navis, Qanungo and Patwari.Mahajan V.D. (1991, reprint 2007). History of Medieval India, Part II, New Delhi: S. Chand, {{ISBN|81-219-0364-5}}, p.236 The Subahdars were normally appointed from among the Mughal princes or the officers holding the highest mansabs (ranks).
Nazim
{{Redirect|Nazim||Nazim (given name)|and|Nazim (surname)|and|Nazim (disambiguation)}}
A nazim ({{IPA|ur|ˈnaːzɪm|pron}}, {{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|ناظِم}}}}; from the Arabic word for "organizer" or "convenor"), similar to a mayor, was the coordinator of cities and towns in Pakistan. Nazim is the title in Urdu of the chief elected official of a local government in Pakistan, such as a district, tehsil, union council, or village council.{{cite news|title=Their way to parliament passed through Nazim's office|publisher=Pakistan Dawn|author=Wajahat Ijaz|date=October 22, 2002|url=http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/22/nat48.htm|access-date=August 7, 2012|archive-date=February 9, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209175435/http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/22/nat48.htm|url-status=live}} Likewise, a deputy mayor is known as a Naib nazim ({{Nastaliq|نائب ناظِم}}). The word naib in Urdu literally means "assistant" or "deputy" hence Naib nazim was similar in function to a deputy mayor.[http://www.nrb.gov.pk/lg_election/results.asp?state=3 Zila Nazims & Naib Zila Nazims in the Province of NWFP - NRB Local Government Elections] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506012038/http://www.nrb.gov.pk/lg_election/results.asp?state=3 |date=2009-05-06 }} He was also custodian of the house.{{Cite web |url=http://www.lahore.gov.pk/town-administration/overview.aspx#functions |title=Overview of Town Municipal Administration - City Government of Lahore |access-date=2012-10-31 |archive-date=2008-12-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207075637/http://www.lahore.gov.pk/town-administration/overview.aspx#functions |url-status=dead }}
Pakistan originally had a system inherited from the time of British rule, in which a mayor was the head of a district. Under the Local Government Act, however, the role of the nazim became distinct from that of a mayor, with more power. The nazim system was introduced after the commissionerate system, imposed during British rule, was lifted by the government of Pakistan. This Local Government act was imposed in the country in 2001. One exception, however, is Islamabad, the federal capital, where the commissionerate system remained in effect.
In 2009, the new government restored the commissionerate system. All the provinces introduced their own new local government systems.
A Nazim was also empowered to decide criminal cases.{{cite web|title=A Nazim also decides criminal cases|url=http://murshidabad.net/glossary/glossary-do-list_by_letter-letter-N.htm|access-date=11 August 2012|archive-date=9 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120809090949/http://murshidabad.net/glossary/glossary-do-list_by_letter-letter-N.htm|url-status=live}} The Nazim was the lowliest of elected officials in Pakistan.{{cite news|title=Pakistan is "mainstreaming" misogynist tribal justice|url=https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21730202-it-fast-and-cheap-if-not-always-edifying-pakistan-mainstreaming-misogynist-tribal-justice|newspaper=The Economist|date=13 October 2017|access-date=15 October 2017|archive-date=14 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314051733/https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21730202-it-fast-and-cheap-if-not-always-edifying-pakistan-mainstreaming-misogynist-tribal-justice|url-status=live}} The district nazim, is elected by the nazims of Union Councils, Union Councillors, and Tehsil Nazims, who themselves are elected directly by the votes of the local public.
The name which is used for the president of Islami Jamiat-e-Talaba, the Islamic Union of Students in Pakistan, is Nazim-e-ala ({{Nastaliq|ناظمِ اعلیٰ}}). The nazim-e-ala is elected for one year, and after completing that tenure, all the members of IJT who are called (Arkaan) elect a new one.