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The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (پاکستان in Urdu), or Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, but is also
often included in the "Greater" Middle East which stretches from Morocco to
Pakistan. Pakistan borders India, Iran, Afghanistan, the China and the Arabian Sea. With over 150
million inhabitants it is the sixth most populous country in the world. It also happens to be the third largest Muslim country in the world (after Indonesia
and India) and an important member of the OIC. Culturally and
geographically rich, Pakistan has endless tourist attractions throughout its vast scenic lands and many of the highest mountains
and mountain ranges in the world.
اسلامی جمہوریت
پاکستان
Islami Jamhuria Pakistan
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National motto: Iman, Ittehad, Nazm
(Urdu: Faith, Unity, Discipline) |
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| Official languages |
Urdu, English, Panjabi, Pashto, [[Sindhi]kasim], and Baluchi |
| Capital |
Islamabad |
| Largest city |
Karachi |
| President |
General Pervez Musharraf (via referendum) |
| Prime Minister |
Shaukat Aziz |
Area
- Total
- % water |
Ranked 34th
803,940 kmē
3.1% |
Population
- Total (2003)
- Density |
Ranked 6th
150,694,740
188/kmē |
| Independence |
August 14, 1947 (from the UK) |
| Republic |
March 23, 1956 |
| Religion |
Islam |
| Currency |
Pakistani Rupee |
| Currency Code |
PKR |
| Time zone |
UTC +5 |
| National anthem |
Pak sarzamin shad bad
(Blessed Be The Sacred Land) |
| National
animal |
Markhor |
| Internet TLD |
.pk |
| Calling Code |
92 |
| National game |
Field Hockey |
History
Main articles: History of Pakistan, History of South Asia, Prime Minister of Pakistan
Pakistan movement
Pakistan is a modern nation with an ancient past. Straddling the civilizations of South Asia and the Middle East, Pakistan has
a historical past that overlaps into both India and the Iranian
plateau and Central Asia. Over the centuries, Pakistan had been invaded
by the Aryans (both of the Indo-Aryan and Iranian branches), Persians, Greeks, Kushans, Arabs, Central Asian Turks, and various other more obscure groups
that did not penetrate into India proper. These invasions began to separate Pakistan from the historical currents that dominated
Indian history even prior to Islam and yet eastern Pakistan would remain somewhat culturally allied to adjacent regions in India,
while western Pakistan emerged as an extension of the Perso-Afghan civilization dominated by the Pashtuns and Baluchis. Buddhism was a dominant religion prior to
coming of Islam.
The country that is now Pakistan was part of British India until August 14, 1947. The first proponents of an independent Muslim nation began to appear during the times of British colonial India. Among the first of these proponents was
the writer/philosopher Allama Iqbal, who felt that a separate nation for
Muslims was essential in an otherwise Hindu-dominated subcontinent. The cause found a
leader in Mohammad Ali Jinnah, who became known as the
Father of the Nation. On Auguest 16th 1946, He launched an
offensive jihad called Direct-Action. He thundered at a rally in Calcutta "We have placed gun on India's temple and are ready to
fire it....". Next day more than ten-thousand people were murdered on the streets of Calcutta. This event is called Great Calcutta Killing. Exactly one year later India was partitioned leading to forced/unforced migration of more than two million people and death of more than one
hundred thousand humans. Upon independence, Pakistan became an independent member of the British Commonwealth.
Origin of Name
The name was coined by Cambridge student and Muslim nationalist Choudhary Rahmat Ali. He devised the word and first published it on January 28, 1933 in the pamphlet Now or Never [1] (http://www.zyworld.com/slam33/non.htm). He saw it as an acronym formed from the names of the
"homelands" of Muslims in South Asia. (P for Punjab, A for the Afghan areas of the region, K for Kashmir, S for Sindh and tan for Baluchistan, thus forming 'Pakstan.' An 'i' was later added to the English rendition
of the name to ease pronunciation, producing Pakistan.) The word also captured in the Persian language the concepts of "Pak" meaning "Pure" and "stan" for "land" or "home" (as in the names of
Central Asian countries in the region; Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, etc), thus giving it the meaning Land of the Pure.
Independence
From August 14, 1947, until 1971, the nation consisted of West Pakistan and East Pakistan.East Pakistan
seceded from Pakistan after the Civil War of 1971.
Since independence, Pakistan has also been in constant dispute with India over the territory of Kashmir. The Kashmir dispute has complicated relations between Pakistan and India.
Pakistani political history is divided into alternating periods of military dictatorship and democratic civilian/parliamentary
rule. Although dominion status was ended in 1956 with the formation of a Constitution and a declaration of Pakistan as an Islamic Republic, the military took control in 1958 and
held power for more than 10 years. Civilian rule returned after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, but was interrupted in the late 1970s, with the execution of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto,
who was convicted of murdering a political opponent in a controversial split decision by Pakistan's Supreme Court and replaced by General Zia ul-Haq
Front-line state in the anti-Soviet Afghan war
During the 1980s, Pakistan received substantial aid from the United States and took in millions of Afghan (mostly Pashtun) refugees fleeing the Soviet
invasion of Afghanistan. The influx of so many refugees - the largest refugee population in the world - has had a heavy
impact on Pakistan. The dictatorship of General Muhammad Zia
ul-Haq also saw an expansion of Islamic law, as well as an influx of weaponry and drugs from Afghanistan. In 1988, the general died in an aircraft crash and Pakistan returned to an elected government, ushered
in with the election of Benazir Bhutto.
Civilian Democracy
From 1988 to 1998, Pakistan was ruled by civilian governments, alternately headed by
Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif, who were each elected twice and removed from office on charges of corruption. Economic growth
declined towards the end of this period, hurt by the Asian financial crisis, and economic sanctions imposed on Pakistan after its first tests of nuclear devices in 1998. The Pakistani testing came shortly after India tested nuclear devices and increased fears of a nuclear
arms race in South Asia. The next year, the Kargil Conflict in
Kashmir threatened to escalate to a full-scale war.
In the election that returned Nawaz Sharif as Prime Minister in 1997, his party received
a heavy majority of the vote, obtaining enough seats in parliament to change
the constitution, which Sharif amended to eliminate the formal checks and balances that restrained the Prime Minister's power.
Institutional challenges to his authority, led by the civilian President Farooq Leghari, military chief
Jehangir Karamat and Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah
were put down and all three were forced to resign - the Chief Justice did so after the Supreme Court was stormed by Sharif
partisans. The increasing authoritarianism and corruption of the Sharif government led to severe public dissatisfaction and
culminated in a military coup by General Pervez Musharraf.
Recent history
On May 12, 2000 the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered Musharraf to hold
general elections by October 12, 2002. In
an attempt to legitimize his presidency and assure its continuance after the impending elections, he held a national referendum on April 30, 2002, which extended his presidential term to a period ending five years after the October
elections. However, the referendum was boycotted by the majority of Pakistani political groupings, and voter turnout was 30% or
below by most estimates.
General elections were held in October 2002 and a pro-Musharraf party, the PML-Q, won a plurality of the seats in the
Parliament. However, parties opposed to Musharraf
effectively paralyzed the National
Assembly for over a year, until, in accordance with a deal with the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal party, Musharraf agreed to leave the army on December 31, 2004. With that party's support, pro-Musharraf
legislators were able to muster the two-thirds supermajority required to
pass the Seventeenth Amendment, which retroactively legalized Musharraf's 1999
coup and many of his subsequent decrees. In a vote of
confidence on January 1, 2004, Musharraf won 658 out of 1,170 votes in the
Electoral College of Pakistan, and
according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of
Pakistan, was "deemed to be elected" to the office of President. On September 15, 2004, Musharraf backed down from his commitment to step down as Army chief, citing circumstances
of national necessity that he felt required him to keep both offices.
While economic reforms undertaken during his regime have yielded some results, social reform programmes appear to have met
with resistance. Musharraf's power is threatened by extremists who have grown in strength since the September 11, 2001 attacks and who are particularly
angered by Musharraf's close political and military alliance with the United States. Musharraf has survived assassination
attempts by terrorist groups believed to be part of Al-Qaeda, including at least two instances where the terrorists had inside
information from a member of his military security detail.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Pakistan
Political Parties
Pakistan's two largest mainstream parties are the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (supported by the military establishment of Pakistan), which obtained
a plurality in the October 2002 elections.
In those elections, the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal
(MMA), a coalition of six religious muslim parties, emerged as the third largest party, with 11% of the popular vote. In one
province, NWFP, it obtained 48 out of 96 Provincial Assembly seats. It formed a government
in that province and in the Balochistan, in coalition
with other parties.
Form of Government
Officially a federal republic, and intermittently democratic, Pakistan has had a
long history of military dictatorships including General Ayub Khan in the 1960s,
General Zia ul Haq in the 1980s, and General Pervez Musharraf from 1999. General elections were held in October 2002. On May 22, 2004, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group re-admitted
Pakistan into the Commonwealth, formally
acknowledging its progress in returning to democracy.
Recent Political History
In October 1999, General Pervez Musharraf overthrew the civilian government after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif allegedly hijacked the commercial airliner on which Musharraf was travelling, and attempted
to thwart its landing at Karachi. Musharraf assumed executive authority. Local government elections were held in 2000. Musharraf declared himself president in 2001. An April
2002 national referendum approved Musharraf's role as president but the vote was tainted by allegations of rigging and the
opposition stridently questioned the legitimacy of Musharraf's presidency until his electoral college victory in January 2004.
Nation-wide parliamentary elections were held in 2002 with Zafarullah Khan Jamali of the Pakistan Muslim League party emerging as Prime Minister. After over a year of political wrangling in the bicameral legislature, Musharraf
struck a compromise with some of his parliamentary opponents, giving his supporters the two-thirds majority vote required to
amend the constitution in December 2003, retroactively legalizing his 1999 coup and permitting him to remain
president if he met certain conditions. A parliamentary electoral college - consisting of the National Assembly and Senate and the provincial
assemblies - gave Musharraf a vote of confidence[2] (http://www.dawn.com/2004/01/02/top1.htm) on January 1, 2004, thereby legitimizing his presidency until 2007.
Prime Minister Jamali resigned on June 26, 2004. PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain became interim PM, and was
succeeded by Finance minister and former Citibank Vice President Shaukat
Aziz, who became Prime Minister on August 28, 2004.
Subdivisions
Main article: Subdivisions of Pakistan,
Districts of Pakistan
Pakistan has 4 provinces, 2 territories, and also administers parts of Kashmir.
The provinces are further subdivided into a total of 105 districts. Provinces:
Territories:
Pakistani-administered portions of Jammu and Kashmir
region:
Geography
Main article: Geography of Pakistan
Pakistan has a total area of 803,940 square kilometers (310,403 sq. mi.), slightly greater than France and the United Kingdom put together.
Pakistan is located in South Asia and is also sometimes considered part of
the "Greater" Middle east. To the south is the Arabian Sea, with 1,046 km (650 mile) of Pakistani coastline. To Pakistan's east is India, which has a
2,912 km (1,809 mi.) border with Pakistan. To its west is Iran, which has a 909 km (565 mi.) border with Pakistan. To Pakistan's
northwest lies Afghanistan, with a shared border of 2,430 km (1,510 mi.). China is towards the northeast and has a 523 km (325
mi.) border with Pakistan.
The main waterway of Pakistan is the Indus River that begins in China, and
runs nearly the entire length of Pakistan, flowing through all of Pakistan's provinces except Balochistan. Several major rivers, interconnected by the world's largest system of agricultural canals, join
the Indus before it discharges into the Arabian Sea.
The northern and western areas of Pakistan are mountainous. Pakistani administered areas of Kashmir contain some of the
highest mountains in the world, including the second tallest, K-2. Northern Pakistan tends to
receive more rainfall than the southern parts of the country, and has some areas of preserved moist temperate forest. In the
southeast, Pakistan's border with India passes through a flat desert, called the Cholistan or Thar Desert. West-central
Balochistan has a high desert plateau, bordered by low mountain ranges. Most of the Punjab, and parts of Sindh, are fertile
plains where agriculture is of great importance.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Pakistan
Overview
Pakistan, a developing country, is the sixth most populous in the world and is faced
with a number of challenges on the political and economic fronts. It came into existence in 1947 as a very poor country. In the
twentieth century, its economic growth rate was better than the world average, but imprudent policies led to a slowdown in the
1990s. Since then, the Pakistani government has instituted wide-ranging reforms, and economic growth has accelerated in the
current century. Pakistan's economic outlook has brightened and its manufacturing and financial services
sectors have experienced rapid expansion. There has been a great improvement in its
foreign exchange position and a rapid growth in hard currency reserves as a result of its current account surplus.
Macroeconomic reform and prospects
According to the CIA World Factbook, the government has made substantial inroads in macroeconomic reform since 2000, and
medium-term prospects for job creation and poverty reduction are the best in nearly a decade. Islamabad has raised development
spending from about 2% of GDP in the 1990s to 4% in 2003, a necessary step towards reversing the broad underdevelopment of its
social sector. Reduced tensions with India and the ongoing peace process raise new hopes for a prosperous and stable South
Asia.
Large middle class
Measured by purchasing power, Pakistan has a 30 million strong middle class enjoying per capita incomes of $8000-$10,000,
according to Dr. Ishrat Husain, Governor of the State Bank
of Pakistan. In addition, Pakistan has a growing upper class with relatively high per capita incomes.
Economic resilience
Pakistan's economy, once thought to be highly vulnerable to external and internal shocks, was unexpectedly resilient in the face of adverse events such as the Asian financial crisis, global recession, drought, the post-9/11 military action in Afghanistan, and military tensions with India. Pakistan's economy has also
been somewhat resilient over the long term, and overall economic output (GDP) has grown every
year since a 1951 recession.
Stock market
In the first three years of the current century, Pakistan's KSE-100 stock exchange index was the best-performing major market index in the world, driven in part by
profit growth, high dividend yields and greater transparency in publicly traded companies as a result of reforms enacted by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan.
Currency
The basic unit of currency is the Rupee, which is divided into 100
paisas. One US dollar is approximately equal to 59 rupees. A strenghening economy means the exchange rate is contantly
appreciating. One pound sterling is about 105 PKR
Manufacturing and finance
Pakistan's manufacturing sector has experienced double-digit growth in recent years, with large-scale manufacturing growing by
18% in 2003. A reduction in the fiscal deficit has resulted in less government borrowing in the domestic money market, lower interest rates, and an expansion
in private sector lending to businesses and consumers. Foreign exchange
reserves continued to reach new levels in 2003, supported by robust export growth and
steady worker remittances.
Tax incentives for IT industry
The Government
of Pakistan has, over the last few years, granted numerous incentives to technology companies wishing to do business in
Pakistan. A combination of decade-plus tax holidays, zero duties on computer imports, government incentives for venture capital and a variety of programs for subsidizing technical education, have lent great impetus to
the fledgling Information Technology industry. Many of
Pakistan's technology companies supply software and services to the world's largest corporations.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of
Pakistan
Pakistan has the world's sixth largest population. This, coupled with a high growth rate, means that Pakistan is expected to
overtake other nations in population in the near future, and may become the third-most populous nation by 2050 if population-control measures fail. The majority of the people of Pakistan are 75%Sunni muslims, with a sizeable minority of 20%Shiite muslims. A small minority of non-muslims exist, mostly Christians, Hindus, and smaller groups of Buddhists and animists in the remote Northern Areas. The
percentage of non-muslims, especially Hindus, fell sharply in 1971 and 1972 as a result of two events - the secession of East Pakistan, which had the vast majority of Pakistan's Hindus, and the Indian
army withdrawal from Pakistan's only Hindu-majority district, Tharparkar, when much of the district's population resettled in
India.
Urdu and English are both recognised as the official
languages of Pakistan. English is used in government and corporate business and by the educated urban elite. Public
universities use English as the medium of instruction. Urdu is the lingua
franca of the people. Besides these, nearly all Pakistanis speak mutually related Indo-European languages, of which the most widely spoken is Punjabi, followed by Pashto, Sindhi, and Balochi. Urdu is the mother tongue of only about 8% of the whole population. Punjabis comprise the largest
ethnic group in the country. Other important ethnic groups include: Pashtun, Sindhis, Balochis, Muhajirs and Seraikis. There are also sizeable numbers of other
immigrant groups such as Afghans and Iranians who are found mainly in the NWF province and Baluchistan, while Bengalis who spoke Urdu and identified with Pakistan are mainly concentrated in Karachi.
Society and culture
Main article: Culture of Pakistan
Roots
Pakistan has a very rich cultural and traditional background going back to Indus Valley Civilization, 2800 BC–1800 BC. The region that is now Pakistan has in the past
been invaded and occupied by many different peoples, including Greeks, White Huns, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Mongols and various Eurasian groups. Thus, modern Pakistani culture has its origins in the mixture of many
cultures. There are differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion,
especially where pre-Islamic customs differ from Islamic practices.
Film and television
Pakistan has had very popular shows on national television. Traditionally the bulk of TV shows have been plays---some of them
critically acclaimed. Music is also very popular in Pakistan, and ranges from traditional styles (such as Qawwali) to more modern groups that try to fuse traditional Pakistani music with western music. Music has also been a significant part of TV. An indigenous movie
industry exists in Pakistan, and is known as Lollywood as it is based in
Lahore, producing over forty feature-length films a year. Pakistan's film industry,
however, is in a very weak state. In contrast, Indian Cinema has a strong following in Pakistan, despite tense relations with
India.
Globalization
Increasing globalization has increased the influence of "Western
culture" in Pakistan, especially among the affluent, who have easy access to Western products, television, media, and food.
Pakistan ranks 46th in the world on the Kearney/FP Globalization
index (http://www.foreignpolicy.com/issue_marapr_2004/countrydetail.php). Many
Western restaurant chains have established themselves in Pakistan,
and are found in the major cities. At the same time, there is also a reactionary movement within Pakistan that wants to turn away
from Western influences, and this has manifested itself in a return to more traditional roots, often conflated with Islam.
A large Pakistani diaspora exists in the West. Whereas Pakistanis in the United
States, Canada and Australia tend to be
professionals, the majority of them in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Scandinavian nations
comes from a rural background and belongs to the working class. A large number of Pakistani expatriates are also living in the
Middle East. These emigrants and their children influence Pakistan culturally
and economically, keeping close ties with their roots by travelling to Pakistan and especially by returning or investing
there.
Sports
The most popular sport in Pakistan is cricket, and large numbers of Pakistanis
gather around TV sets to watch the Pakistani team play
in international competitions, especially against Pakistan's rival--India. Pakistan has one of the top teams in international
cricket, one that won the World Cup in 1992. Hockey is also an important sport in Pakistan,
Pakistan having won the gold medal at the Olympics a few times in the sport. Squash is another sport that has a large following. Football is
played in Pakistan as well, but is not very popular. Polo is believed to have originated in
the Northern parts of Pakistan, and continues to be an important sport there with large competitions throughout the year. The
modern teams suffer in quality against international teams due to poor sporting culture and lack of infrastructure.
Shopping
Shopping is a hugely popular pastime for many Pakistanis, especially among the well-to-do and the thirty-million strong middle
class. The cities of Lahore, Karachi,
Peshawar, Islamabad, Faisalabad and Quetta are especially known
for the great contrast in shopping experiences - from burgeoning bazaars to modern
multi-story shopping malls. In particular, Lahore and Karachi are
peppered with colourful plazas that house hundreds of technology shops. Most of these are
small stores, offering mind-boggling bargains and repair services for almost any computer or technology product. The tech
enthusiast finds everything from the latest mobile phones, to extremely
inexpensive CDs and DVDs.
Technology and the Internet
Pakistan's adoption of new technologies has often been early but muddled. Color television came to the country before
surrounding countries. Paging and mobile (cellular) telephony were adopted early and freely. Long before the Internet, one of the
earliest global viruses (spread by infection of diskettes), (c) Brain, was
developed by two brothers in Lahore. Cellular phones and the Internet were adopted
through a rather laissez-faire policy with a proliferation of private service providers that led to fast adoption. Both have
taken off and penetrated society deeply in the last few years of the '90s and first few years of the 2000s. With a rapid increase
in the number of internet users and ISPs, and a large English-speaking population, Pakistani
society has seen major changes. The internet, some writers (see, for example 1) argue,
has become an integral part of Pakistani culture. For example:
- One estimate is that today some 1300 cities and towns of Pakistan are connected to the World Wide Web (see 1).
- Almost all of the main government departments, organisations and institutions have their own websites.
- The use of search engines and messenger services is also booming. Pakistanis are some of the most ardent chatters on the
internet, communicating with users all over the world. Recent years have seen a huge increase in the use of online marriage
services, for example, leading to a major re-alignment of the tradition of arranged marriages.
Notes
Foreign relations of Pakistan
Indo-Pakistani Wars
List of cities in Pakistan
Gurdwaras in Pakistan - Pakistan has some of the most
important Sikh historical temples on its soil.
External links
Pakistani Government Links
Pakistani Publications & News
Maps of Major Cities
Technology
Other external links
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