Pakistan (/ˈpækɪˌstæn/ ( listen) or /ˌpɑkɨˈstɑːn/ ( listen); Urdu: ‫کستان‬ ِ ‫( )پا‬Urdu

pronunciation: [paːkɪsˈtaːn] ( listen)), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu:

‫کستان‬ ِ ‫ )اسلمی جمہوریہ پا‬is a country in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi)
coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by
Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast.[7] Tajikistan
also lies very close to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Strategically it
is located in a position between the important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle
East.[8]

The region forming modern Pakistan was the site of several ancient cultures including the
neolithic Mehrgarh and the bronze era Indus Valley Civilisation. Subsequently it was the
recipient of Vedic, Persian, Indo-Greek, Islamic, Turco-Mongol, and Sikh cultures through
several invasions and/or settlements. As a result the area has remained a part of numerous
empires and dynasties including the Persian empires, Islamic caliphates and the Mauryan,
Mongol, Mughal, Sikh and British Empires. Pakistan gained independence from the British
Empire in 1947 after a struggle for independence, led by Mohammad Ali Jinnah, that sought
independent states for the Muslim majority populations of the eastern and western regions of
British India.[9] With the adoption of its constitution in 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic
republic.[10] In 1971, an armed conflict in East Pakistan resulted in the creation of Bangladesh.[11]

Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of four provinces and four federal
territories. With over 170 million people, it is the sixth most populous country in the world [2] and
has the second largest Muslim population after Indonesia.[12] It is an ethnically and linguistically
diverse country with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. With a semi-industrialized
economy, it is the 27th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power. Since gaining
independence, Pakistan's history has been characterised by periods of military rule, political
instability and conflicts with neighbouring India. The country faces challenging problems
including poverty, illiteracy, corruption and terrorism.

Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed force and is the only Muslim-majority nation to
possess nuclear weapons. It is designated as a major non-NATO ally of the United States.[13] It is
a founding member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference[14] and a member of the United
Nations,[15] Commonwealth of Nations,[16] Next Eleven economies and the G20 developing
nations.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Etymology
• 2 History
• 3 Government and politics
o 3.1 Administrative units
• 4 Military
• 5 Geography and climate
 • 6 Flora and fauna
• 7 Economy
• 8 Demographics
• 9 Education
• 10 Culture
• 11 Tourism
• 12 Sports
• 13 Transport
• 14 See also
• 15 References
• 16 Further reading

• 17 External links

Etymology
The name Pakistan means Land of (the) Pure in Urdu and Persian. It was coined in 1934 as
Pakstan by Choudhary Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan movement activist, who published it in his
pamphlet Now or Never.[17] The name is a portmanteau representing the "thirty million Muslim
brethren who live in PAKSTAN—by which we mean the five Northern units of India viz:
Punjab, North-West Frontier Province (Afghan Province), Kashmir, Sind, and BaluchisTAN".[18]
The letter 'i' was later added to ease pronunciation.

History
Main articles: History of Pakistan and History of South Asia

The Indus Priest/King wearing a Sindhi Ajruk, ca. 2500 BC.

The Indus region, which covers a considerable amount of Pakistan, was the site of several
ancient cultures including the Neolithic era's Mehrgarh and the bronze era Indus Valley
Civilisation (2500–1500 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.[19]
Waves of conquerors and migrants from the west—including Harappan, Indo-Aryans, Persians,
Greeks, Sakas, Parthians, Kushans, Hephthalites, Afghans, Arabs, Turks and Mughals—settled
in the region throughout the centuries, influencing the locals and being absorbed among them.[20]
Ancient empires of the east—such as the Nandas, Mauryas, Sungas, Guptas and the Palas—ruled
these territories at different times from Patliputra.[21]

However, in the medieval period, while the eastern provinces of Punjab and Sindh grew aligned
with Indo-Islamic civilisation, the western areas became culturally allied with the Iranian
civilisation of Afghanistan and Iran.[22] The region served as a crossroads of historic trade routes,
including the Silk Road, and as a maritime entreport for the coastal trade between Mesopotamia
and beyond up to Rome in the west and Malabar and beyond up to China in the east.[23]

Modern day Pakistan was at the heart of the Indus Valley Civilisation; that collapsed in the
middle of the 2nd millennium BCE and was followed by the Vedic Civilisation, which also
extended over much of the Indo-Gangetic plains. Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled
the region: the Achaemenid Persian empire around 543 BCE,[24] the Greek empire founded by
Alexander the Great in 326 BCE and the Mauryan empire founded by Chandragupta Maurya and
extended by Ashoka the Great, until 185 BCE.[25]

The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab from
184 BCE, and reached its greatest extent under Menander, establishing the Greco-Buddhist
period with advances in trade and culture. The city of Taxila (Takshashila) became a major
centre of learning in ancient times—the remains of the city, located to the west of Islamabad, are
one of the country's major archaeological sites.[26] The Rai Dynasty (c.489–632) of Sindh, at its
zenith, ruled this region and the surrounding territories.[27]

Menander I was one of the rulers of the Indo-Greek Kingdom which existed in the territory of
modern Pakistan

In 712 CE, the Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh and Multan in southern
Punjab.[28] The Pakistan government's official chronology states that "its foundation was laid" as
a result of this conquest.[29] This Arab and Islamic victory would set the stage for several
successive Muslim empires in South Asia, including the Ghaznavid Empire, the Ghorid
Kingdom, the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire. During this period, Sufi missionaries
played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional Buddhist and Hindu population to
Islam.
The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early eighteenth century provided opportunities
for the Afghans, Balochis and Sikhs to exercise control over large areas until the British East
India Company gained ascendancy over South Asia.[30] The Indian Rebellion of 1857, also
known as the Sepoy Mutiny, was the region's last major armed struggle against the British Raj,
and it laid the foundations for the generally unarmed freedom struggle led by the Indian National
Congress in the twentieth century. In the 1920s and 1930s, a movement led by the Hindu
politician Mahatma Gandhi, and displaying commitment to long enshrined Hindu tenet of
ahimsa, or non-violence, engaged millions of protesters in mass campaigns of civil disobedience.
[31]

17th Century Badshahi Masjid built during Mughal rule

The All India Muslim League rose to popularity in the late 1930s amid fears of under-
representation and neglect of Muslims in politics. On 29 December 1930, Allama Iqbal's
presidential address called for an autonomous "state in northwestern India for Indian Muslims,
within the body politic of India."[32] Quaid e Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah espoused the Two
Nation Theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940, popularly
known as the Pakistan Resolution. In early 1947, Britain announced the decision to end its rule in
India. In June 1947, the nationalist leaders of British India—including Nehru and Abul Kalam
Azad on behalf of the Congress, Jinnah representing the Muslim League, and Master Tara Singh
representing the Sikhs—agreed to the proposed terms of transfer of power and independence.

The modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 (27 Ramadan 1366 in the
Islamic Calendar), carved out of the two Muslim-majority wings in the eastern and northwestern
regions of British India and comprising the provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-
West Frontier Province, West Punjab and Sindh.[33] The controversial, and ill-timed, division of
the provinces of Punjab and Bengal caused communal riots across India and Pakistan—millions
of Muslims moved to Pakistan and millions of Hindus and Sikhs moved to India.[34]

Disputes arose over several princely states including in the Muslim-majority Jammu and
Kashmir, whose Hindu ruler had acceded to India following an invasion by Pashtun tribal
militias, leading to the First Kashmir War in 1948.[35]
The Working Committee of the Muslim League in Lahore (1940)

From 1947 to 1956, Pakistan was a Dominion of Pakistan in the Commonwealth of Nations. It
became a Republic in 1956, but the civilian rule was stalled by a coup d’état by General Ayub
Khan, who was president during 1958–69, a period of internal instability and a second war with
India in 1965. His successor, Yahya Khan (1969–71) had to deal with a devastating cyclone—
which caused 500,000 deaths in East Pakistan—and also face a civil war in 1971. Economic
grievances and political dissent in East Pakistan led to violent political tension and military
repression that escalated into a civil war.[36] After nine months of guerrilla warfare between the
Pakistan Army and the Indian backed Bengali Mukti Bahini militia, Indian intervention escalated
into the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and ultimately to the secession of East Pakistan as the
independent state of Bangladesh.[37]

The first Governor General Muhammad Ali Jinnah delivering the opening address on 11 August
1947 to the new state of Pakistan.

Civilian rule resumed in Pakistan from 1972 to 1977 under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, until he was
deposed and later sentenced to death in 1979 by General Zia-ul-Haq, who became the country's
third military president. Zia introduced the Islamic Sharia legal code, which increased religious
influences on the civil service and the military. With the death of President Zia in a plane crash
in 1988, Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the first female Prime
Minister of Pakistan. Over the next decade, she fought for power with Nawaz Sharif as the
country's political and economic situation worsened. Pakistan got involved in the 1991 Gulf War
and sent 5,000 troops as part of a U.S.-led coalition, specifically for the defence of Saudi Arabia.
[38]

Military tensions in the Kargil conflict with India were followed by a Pakistani military coup
d'état in 1999 in which General Pervez Musharraf assumed vast executive powers.[39][40] In 2001,
Musharraf became President after the controversial resignation of Rafiq Tarar. After the 2002
parliamentary elections, Musharraf transferred executive powers to the newly elected Prime
Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali, who was succeeded in the 2004 prime-ministerial election by
Shaukat Aziz. On 15 November 2007, the National Assembly, for the first time in Pakistan's
history, completed its tenure and new elections were called. The exiled political leaders Benazir
Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif were permitted to return to Pakistan. However, the assassination of
Benazir Bhutto during the election campaign in December led to postponement of elections and
nationwide riots. Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) won the largest number of seats in the
elections held in February 2008 and its member Yousaf Raza Gillani was sworn in as Prime
Minister.[41] On 18 August 2008, Pervez Musharraf resigned from the presidency when
threatened with impeachment,[42] and was succeeded by current president Asif Ali Zardari. By the
end of 2009, more than 3 million Pakistani civilians have been displaced by the on going conflict
in North-West Pakistan between the government and Taliban militants.[43]

Government and politics

Main articles: Government of Pakistan, Politics of Pakistan, and Foreign relations of Pakistan

Prime Minister's Secretariat

Prime Minister of Pakistan, Yousaf Raza Gillani.

Pakistan is a democratic parliamentary federal republic with Islam as the state religion.[44] The
first Constitution of Pakistan was adopted in 1956, but was suspended in 1958 by General Ayub
Khan. The Constitution of 1973—suspended in 1977, by Zia-ul-Haq, but re-instated in 1985 —is
the country's most important document, laying the foundations of the current government.[20]

The bicameral legislature comprises a 100-member Senate and a 342-member National

Assembly. The President is the Head of state and the Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces
and is elected by an electoral college. The prime minister is usually the leader of the largest party
in the National Assembly. Each province has a similar system of government with a directly
elected Provincial Assembly in which the leader of the largest party or alliance becomes Chief
Minister. Provincial Governors are appointed by the President.[44]

The Pakistani military has played an influential role in mainstream politics throughout Pakistan's
history, with military presidents ruling from 1958–71, 1977–88 and from 1999–2008.[45] The
leftist Pakistan Peoples Party, led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, won support after the loss of East
Pakistan but was overthrown amidst riots in 1977.[46] Under the military rule of Muhammad Zia-
ul-Haq, A politically nationalist insurgency in Balochistan was also bloodlessly quelled by
military governor Rahimuddin.[47] The 1990s were characterised by coalition politics dominated
by the Pakistan Peoples Party and a rejuvenated Muslim League.[44] Pakistan is an active member
of the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the latter of
which Pakistan has used as a forum for Enlightened Moderation, a plan to promote a renaissance
and enlightenment in the Muslim world.[44] Pakistan is also a member of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Economic Cooperation Organisation
(ECO).[44] In the past, Pakistan has had mixed relations with the United States; in the early 1950s,
Pakistan was the United States' "most allied ally in Asia"[48] and a member of both the Central
Treaty Organisation (CENTO) and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO).
[49]
During the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s, Pakistan National Symbols of Pakistan
[50]
was a major U.S. ally. But relations soured in the Flag Flag of Pakistan
1990s, when sanctions were imposed by the U.S. over Emblem Faith, Unity, Discipline
Anthem Qaumi Tarana
Pakistan's refusal to abandon its nuclear activities.[51]
Animal Markhor
However, the American War on Terrorism, as an
Bird Chukar
aftermath of 11 September 2001 attacks in New York,
Flower Jasmine
led to an improvement in US–Pakistan ties, especially Tree Cedrus deodara
after Pakistan ended its support of the Taliban regime Juice Sugarcane juice
in Kabul. Its positive side was evidenced by a major Sport Field hockey
increase in American military aid, providing Pakistan Dress Shalwar Kameez
$4 billion more in three years after the 9/11 attacks
than before.[52] On the other hand, Pakistan is presently burdened with nearly 3 million displaced
civilians due to the ongoing Afghan war. As of 2004, in contexts of the War on Terror, Pakistan
was being referred to as part of the Greater Middle East by the US under the Bush
administration.[53]

On 18 February 2008, Pakistan held its general elections after Benazir Bhutto's assassination
postponed the original date of 8 January 2008.[54] The Pakistan Peoples Party won the majority of
the votes and formed an alliance with the Pakistan Muslim League (N). They nominated and
elected Yousaf Raza Gilani as Prime Minister.[55] On 18 August 2008, Pervez Musharraf resigned
as President of Pakistan amidst increasing calls for his impeachment.[56] In the presidential
election that followed, Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan People's Party won a landslide majority and
became President of Pakistan.[57]

Administrative units
Main articles: Administrative units of Pakistan and Districts of Pakistan

Pakistan Administrative Units - Tier 1

Pakistan is a federation of four provinces, a capital territory and a group of federally

administered tribal areas. The government of Pakistan exercises de facto jurisdiction over the
western parts of the disputed Kashmir region, organized as two separate political entities; Azad
Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Prior to 2001, the sub-provincial tier of government was composed of 26 divisions with two
further tiers (districts and tehsils) administered directly from the provincial level. The divisions
were abolished in 2001 [58] and a new three-tiered system of local government came into effect
comprising districts, tehsils and union councils with an elected body at each tier.

There are currently 113 districts in Pakistan-proper, each with several tehsils and union councils.
The tribal areas comprise seven tribal agencies and six small frontier regions [59] detached from
neighboring districts whilst Azad Kashmir comprises ten [60] and Gilgit-Baltistan seven [61]
districts respectively.

Provinces Territories
Balochistan Islamabad Capital Territory
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Federally Administered Tribal Areas including the Frontier Regions
Punjab Azad Jammu and Kashmir
Sindh Gilgit-Baltistan

Military
Main article: Pakistani Armed Forces
Further information: War in North-West Pakistan
Pakistan Air Force Special Services Wing on training at Fort Lewis, WA.

Pakistan's nuclear-capable Babur cruise missile.

A PAF Dassault Mirage 5 ROSE strike fighter, with FLIR sensor under the nose, taxiing past a
PAF JF-17.

The armed forces of Pakistan are the seventh-largest in the world. The three main services are
the Army, Navy and the Air Force, supported by a number of paramilitary forces which carry out
internal security roles and border patrols. The National Command Authority is responsible for
exercising employment and development control of all strategic nuclear forces and organisations,
and for Pakistan's nuclear doctrine.

The Pakistan Army came into existence after independence in 1947 and is currently headed by
General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan Army is a professional fighting force.[62] It has an
active force of 612,000 personnel and 513,000 men in reserve.[63] Conscription may be
introduced in times of emergency, but it has never been imposed.[64]

Since independence, the Army has been involved in four wars with neighbouring India and
several border skirmishes with Afghanistan. It maintained division and brigade strength
presences in some of the Arab countries during the past Arab–Israeli Wars, and aided the
Coalition in the first Gulf War. Other major operations undertaken by the Army include
Operation Black Thunderstorm and Operation Rah-e-Nijat. Apart from conflicts, the Army has
been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions and played a major role in
rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia in 1993 in Operation Gothic
Serpent.
The Pakistan military first saw combat in the First Kashmir War, gaining control of what is now
Azad Kashmir. In 1961, the army repelled a major Afghan incursion on Pakistan's western
border.[65] Pakistan and India were at war again in 1965 and in 1971. In 1973, the military quelled
a Baloch nationalist uprising.

In the past, Pakistani personnel have volunteered to serve alongside Arab forces in conflicts with
Israel. During the Six-Day War in 1967 and Yom Kippur War in October 1973 PAF pilots
volunteered to go to the Middle East to support Egypt and Syria in a state of war against Israel,
Air Force pilots shot down ten Israeli planes in the Six-Day War. During the Yom Kippur War
16 PAF pilots volunteered to leave for the Middle East in order to support Egypt and Syria but
by the time they arrived Egypt had already agreed on a cease-fire.[66]

During the Soviet–Afghan war, Pakistan shot down several intruding pro-Soviet Afghan aircraft
and provided covert support to the Afghan mujahideen through the Inter-Services Intelligence
agency. In 1999, Pakistan was involved in the Kargil conflict with India. Currently, the military
is engaged in an armed conflict with extremist Islamic militants in the north-west of the country.
[67]

Since 2004, Pakistani armed forces are engaged in fighting against Pakistani Taliban groups.
Militant groups have engaged in suicide bombings in Pakistani cities, killing more than 3,000
civilians and armed personnels in 2009 alone.[68]

Internationally the Pakistani armed forces contributed to United Nations peacekeeping efforts,
with more than 10,700 personnel deployed in 2009,[69] and are presently the largest contributor.
Pakistan provided a military contingent to the UN-backed coalition in the first Gulf War.[70] The
Pakistani troops were rushed to Makkah on Saudi Government's request and Pakistani SSG
commandos lead the operation of the Grand Mosque Seizure.

Geography and climate

Main articles: Geography of Pakistan and Climate of Pakistan

The 62-kilometre-long Baltoro Glacier, in northern Pakistan, is one of the longest glaciers
outside the polar regions

Pakistan covers an area of 796,095 km2 (307,374 sq mi), approximately equaling the combined
land areas of France and the United Kingdom. It is the 36th largest nation by total area although
this ranking varies depending on how the disputed territory of Kashmir is counted. Apart from
the 1,046 km (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea, Pakistan's land borders a total of
6,774 km (4,209 mi)—2,430 km (1,510 mi) with Afghanistan, 523 km (325 mi) with China,
2,912 km (1,809 mi) with India and 909 km (565 mi) with Iran.[20]

Geologically, Pakistan overlaps with the Indian tectonic plate in its Sindh and Punjab provinces,
while Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtu