Pakistan

 

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This article is about the country. For other uses, see Pakistan (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 30°N 70°E

Islamic Republic of Pakistan اسلامی جمہوریہ پاكستان (Urdu) <small>Islāmī Jumhūriyah Pākistān</small>[1]
Flag Emblem
Motto: Īmān, Ittiḥād, Naẓm ایمان، اتحاد، نظم (Urdu) <small>"Faith, Unity, Discipline"</small> [2]
Anthem: Qaumī Tarānah قومی ترانہ <small>"The National Anthem"</small>[3] MENU 0:00
Area controlled by Pakistan shown in dark green; claimed but uncontrolled region shown in light green.
Capital	Islamabad 33°40′N 73°10′E
Largest city	Karachi <small>24°51′36″N 67°00′36″E</small>
Official languages	Urdu[4][5][6][7][8] English
Recognised national languages	Urdu
Regional languages	Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Saraiki, Balochi, Kashmiri, Brahui, Shina, Balti, Khowar, Burushaski Yidgha, Dameli, Kalasha, Gawar-Bati, Domaaki[9][10]
Ethnic groups(2016)	44.68% Punjabis 15.42% Pashtuns 14.1% Sindhis 8.38% Saraikis 7.57% Muhajirs 3.57% Balochis 6.28% Others[11]
Religion	96.4% Islam <small>(Official)</small>[12] 3.6% others[11]
Demonym	Pakistani
Government	Federal parliamentaryconstitutional republic
• President	Mamnoon Hussain
• Prime Minister	Nawaz Sharif
• Chairman of the Senate	Raza Rabbani
• Speaker of the Assembly	Sardar Ayaz Sadiq
• Chief Justice	Mian Saqib Nisar
Legislature	Parliament
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	National Assembly
Independence from the United Kingdom
• Conception[13]	29 December 1930
• Declaration	28 January 1933
• Resolution	23 March 1940
• Dominion	14 August 1947
• Islamic Republic	23 March 1956
Area
• Total	881,913 km2(340,509 sq mi)[a][15](33rd)
• Water (%)	2.86
Population
• 2016 estimate	201,995,540[11] (6th)
• Density	244.4/km2 (633.0/sq mi) (56th)
GDP (PPP)	2017 estimate
• Total	$1.059 trillion[16] (25th)
• Per capita	$5,402[16] (137th)
GDP (nominal)	2015 estimate
• Total	$270.961 billion[16](43rd)
• Per capita	$1,427[16] (144th)
Gini (2013)	30.7[17] medium
HDI (2015)	0.550[18] medium · 147th
Currency	Pakistani rupee (₨) (PKR)
Time zone	PST (UTC+5b)
Drives on the	left[19]
Calling code	+92
ISO 3166 code	PK
Internet TLD	.pk
Website www.pakistan.gov.pk
See also Pakistani English.:^α See also Daylight saving time in Pakistan.

Pakistan (i/ˈpækᵻstæn/ or i/pɑːkᵻˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان‎, <small>translit. </small>Pākistān), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia on the crossroads of Central Asia and Western Asia. It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 200 million people.[11]In terms of area, it is the 33rd-largest country in the world with an area covering 881,913 square kilometres (340,509 square miles). Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre-long (650-mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China in the far northeast, respectively. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.

The territory that now constitutes Pakistan is considered a cradle of civilization[20][21][22][23][24] that was previously home to several ancient cultures, including the Mehrgarh of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and was later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including Hindus, Indo-Greeks, Muslims, Turco-Mongols, Afghans, and Sikhs. The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Alexander of Macedonia, the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire, and the British Empire.

Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries in that it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam.[25][26] As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the subcontinent's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent homeland for India’s Muslims.[27] It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. An ethnic civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh. In 1973 Pakistan adopted a new constitution that established a federal government based in Islamabad alongside its pre-existing parliamentary republic status – that consisted of four provinces and four federal territories. The constitution also states that all laws are to conform to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah.[28]

A regional[29][30][31] and middle power,[32][33][34] Pakistan has the sixth-largest standing armed forces in the world and is also a nuclear power as well as a declared nuclear-weapons state, being the second in South Asia and the only nation in the Muslim world to have that status. Pakistan has a semi-industrialised economy with a well-integrated agriculture sector, and a growing services sector.[35][36] The Pakistani economy is the 24th-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power and the 41st-largest in terms of nominal GDP (World Bank). It is characterised among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world,[37][38] and is backed by one of the world's largest and fastest-growing middle classes.[39][40]

The post-independence history of Pakistan has been characterised by periods of military rule, and since 2008 a transition to democracy, amid conflicts with neighbouring India. The country continues to face challenging problems, including illiteracy, healthcare, and corruption, although it has significantly reduced poverty,[41] substantially reduced terrorism,[42] and expanded her per capita income.[43] Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Commonwealth of Nations, the ECO, the SAARC, the Developing Eight, and the G20 developing nations, Group of 24, Group of 77, and ECOSOC. It is also an associate member of CERN. Pakistan is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

 

Contents

  [hide] 

• 1Etymology
• 2History
  • 2.1Early and medieval age
  • 2.2Colonial period
  • 2.3Independence and modern Pakistan
• 3Geography, environment and climate
  • 3.1Flora and fauna
  • 3.2National parks and wildlife sanctuaries
• 4Government and politics
  • 4.1Foreign relations of Pakistan
  • 4.2Administrative divisions
  • 4.3Kashmir conflict
  • 4.4Law enforcement
  • 4.5Role of Islam in Pakistan
• 5Military
• 6Economy
  • 6.1Overview
  • 6.2Agriculture and primary sector
  • 6.3Industry
  • 6.4Services
• 7Infrastructure
  • 7.1Nuclear power and energy
  • 7.2Tourism
  • 7.3Transport
  • 7.4Science and technology
  • 7.5Education
  • 7.6Water supply and sanitation
• 8Demographics
  • 8.1Languages
  • 8.2Immigration
  • 8.3Social groups
  • 8.4Urbanisation
  • 8.5Religion
    • 8.5.1Islam
    • 8.5.2Hinduism
    • 8.5.3Christianity and other religions
• 9Culture and society
  • 9.1Clothing, arts, and fashion
  • 9.2Role of women in Pakistani society
  • 9.3Media and entertainment
  • 9.4Diaspora
  • 9.5Literature and philosophy
  • 9.6Architecture
  • 9.7Food and drink
  • 9.8Sports
• 10See also
• 11Notes
• 12References
• 13Bibliography
• 14External links
  • 14.1Government
  • 14.2General information

 

Etymology

The name Pakistan literally means "land of the pure" in Urdu and Persian. It is a play on the word pāk meaning pure in Persian and Pashto;[44] the suffix -stān is a Persian word meaning place of, cognate with the Sanskrit word sthāna (Devanagari: स्थान [st̪ʰaːnə]).[45]

The name of the country was coined in 1933 as Pakstan by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in his pamphlet Now or Never,[46] using it as an acronym ("thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKSTAN") referring to the names of the five northern regions of the British Raj: Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh, and Baluchistan.[47][48][49] The letter i was incorporated to ease pronunciation and form the linguistically correct and meaningful name.[50]

History

Main article: History of Pakistan

See also: Outline of South Asian history

You may need rendering support to display the Urdu text in this article correctly.

Early and medieval age

Main articles: Indo-Greek Kingdom, Indus Valley Civilization, Vedic Civilization, Sikh Empire, and Mughal Empire

Standing Buddha from Gandhara

Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan.[51] The earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab.[52] The Indus region, which covers most of present day Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic Mehrgarh[53] and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation (2,800–1,800 BC) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.[54][55]

The Vedic Civilization (1500–500 BC), characterised by Indo-Aryan culture, laid the foundations of Hinduism, which later became well established in the region.[56][57] Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre.[58] The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, now Taxila in the Punjab.[53] Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Persian Achaemenid Empire around 519 BC), Alexander the Great's empire in 326 BC[59] and the Maurya Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka the Great, until 185 BC.[53] The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria (180–165 BC) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165–150 BC), prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region.[53][60] Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world.[61][62][63][64]

At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty (489–632 AD) of Sindh ruled this region and the surrounding territories.[65] The Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharampala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan.

The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Indus valley from Sindh to Multan in southern Punjab in 711 AD.[66][67][68][69][70] The Pakistan government's official chronology identifies this as the time when the "foundation" of Pakistan was laid.[66][71][72] The Early Medieval period (642–1219 AD) witnessed the spread of Islam in the region. During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional Buddhist and Hindu population to Islam.[73] These developments set the stage for the rule of several successive Muslim empires in the region, including the Ghaznavid Empire (975–1187 AD), the Ghorid Kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 AD). The Lodi dynasty, the last of the Delhi Sultanate, was replaced by the Mughal Empire (1526–1857 AD). The Mughals introduced Persian literature and high culture, establishing the roots of Indo-Persian culture in the region.[74] From the region of modern-day Pakistan, key cities during the Mughal rule were Lahore and Thatta,[75] both of which were chosen as the site of impressive Mughal buildings.[76] In the early 16th century, the region remained under the Mughal Empire ruled by Muslim emperors.[77] By the early 18th century, increasing European influence contributed to the slow disintegration of the empire as the lines between commercial and political dominance were increasingly blurred.[77]

Edwin Lord Weeks illustration of an open-air restaurant near Wazir Khan Mosque, Lahore

During this time, the English East India Company had established coastal outposts.[77] Control over the seas, greater resources, technology, and British military protection of the East India Company led it to increasingly flex its military muscle, a factor that was crucial in allowing the Company to gain control over the subcontinent by 1765 and sideline European competitors.[78] Expanding access beyond Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of region by the 1820s.[77] Many historians see this as the start of the region's colonial period.[77] By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and itself effectively made an arm of British administration, the Company began more deliberately to enter non-economic arenas such as education, social reform, and culture.[77] Such reforms included the enforcement of the English Education Act in 1835 and the introduction of the Indian Civil Service (ICS).[79] Traditional madrasahs – primary institutions of higher learning for Muslims in the subcontinent – were no longer supported by the English Crown, and nearly all of the madrasahs lost their financial endowment.[80]

Colonial period

Main articles: Pakistan Movement, Aligarh Movement, and British Raj

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817–98), whose vision formed the basis of Pakistan

Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948) served as Pakistan's first Governor-General and the leader of the Pakistan Movement

The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early 18th century enabled the Sikh Empire to control larger areas until the British East-India Company gained ascendancy over the Indian subcontinent.[81] A rebellion in 1857 called the Sepoy mutiny was the region's major armed struggle against the British Empire and Queen Victoria.[82]Divergence in the relationship between Hinduism and Islam created a major rift in British India that led to racially motivated religious violence in India.[83] The language controversy further escalated the tensions between Hindus and Muslims.[84] The Hindu renaissance witnessed an awakening of intellectualism in traditional Hinduism and saw the emergence of more assertive influence in the social and political spheres in British India.[85][86] An intellectual movement to counter the Hindu renaissance was led by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who helped to found the All-India Muslim League in 1901 and envisioned as well as advocated for the two-nation theory.[81] In contrast to the Indian Congress's anti-British efforts, the Muslim League was a pro-British movement whose political program inherited the British values that would shape Pakistan's future civil society.[87][88] In events during World War I, British Intelligence foiled an anti-Englishconspiracy involving the nexus of Congress and the German Empire.[89] The largely non-violent independence struggle led by the Indian Congress engaged millions of protesters in mass campaigns of civil disobedience in the 1920s and 1930s against the British Empire.[90][91][92]

Over 10 million people were uprooted from their homeland and travelled on foot, bullock carts, and trains to their promised new home during the Partition of India. During the partition, between 200,000 to 2,000,000 people were killed in the retributive genocide.[93]

The Muslim League slowly rose to mass popularity in the 1930s amid fears of under-representation and neglect of Muslims in politics. In his presidential address of 29 December 1930, Allama Iqbal called for "the amalgamation of North-West Muslim-majority Indian states" consisting of Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan.[94] Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, greatly espoused the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940, popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution.[81] In World War II, Jinnah and British-educated founding fathers in the Muslim League supported the United Kingdom's war efforts, countering opposition against it whilst working towards Sir Syed's vision.[95]

The 1946 elections had resulted in the Muslim League winning 90 percent of the seats reserved for Muslims. Thus, the 1946 election was effectively a plebiscite where the Indian Muslims were to vote on the creation of Pakistan, a plebiscite that the Muslim League won.[96] This victory was assisted by the support given to the Muslim League by the rural peasantry of Bengal as well as the support of the landowners of Sindh and Punjab. The Congress, which initially denied the Muslim League's claim of being the sole representative of Indian Muslims, was now forced to recognise that the Muslim League represented Indian Muslims.[96] The British had no alternative except to take Jinnah's views into account as he had emerged as the sole spokesperson of India's Muslims. However, the British did not desire India to be partitioned and in one last effort to avoid it they arranged the Cabinet Mission plan.[97]

As the cabinet mission failed, the British government announced its intention to end the British Raj in India in 1946–47.[98]Nationalists in British India – including Jawaharlal Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad of Congress, Jinnah of Muslim League, and Master Tara Singh representing the Sikhs—agreed to the proposed terms of transfer of power and independence in June 1947 with the Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten of Burma.[99] As the United Kingdom agreed upon partitioning of India in 1947, the modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 <small>(27th of Ramadan in 1366 of the Islamic Calendar)</small> in amalgamating the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern regions of British India.[92] It comprised the provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province, West Punjab and Sindh; thus forming Pakistan.[81][99]

In the riots which accompanied the partition in the Punjab Province, it is believed that between 200,000 and 2,000,000[100][101][102][103][104][105] people were killed in what some have described as a retributive genocide between the religions [106][107] while 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men and 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women also experienced the same fate at the hands of Muslims.[108][109][110][111] Around 6.5 million Muslims moved from India to West Pakistan and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from West Pakistan to India.[112] It was the largest mass migration in human history.[113][114][115] Dispute over Jammu and Kashmir led to the First Kashmir War in 1948.[116][117]

Independence and modern Pakistan

Main articles: Dominion of Pakistan and History of Pakistan

The American CIA film on Pakistan made in 1950 examines the history and geography of Pakistan.

"You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business of the State."

<cite>—Muhammad Ali Jinnah's first speech to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan[118]</cite>

After independence in 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the President of the Muslim League, became the nation's first Governor-General as well as the first President-Speaker of the Parliament,[119] but he died of tuberculosis on 11 September 1948.[120] Meanwhile, Pakistan's founding fathers agreed upon appointing Liaquat Ali Khan, the secretary-general of the party, the nation's firstPrime Minister. With dominion status in the Commonwealth of Nations, independent Pakistan had two British monarchs before it became a republic.[119]

The creation of Pakistan was never emotionally accepted by many British leaders, among them being Lord Mountbatten.[121] Mountbatten clearly expressed his lack of support and faith in the Muslim League's idea of Pakistan.[122]Jinnah refused Mountbatten's offer to serve as Governor-General of Pakistan.[123] When Mountbatten was asked by Collins and Lapierre if he would have sabotaged Pakistan had he known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis, he replied 'most probably'.[124]

Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani, a respected Deobandi alim (scholar) who occupied the position of Shaykh al-Islam in Pakistan in 1949, and Maulana Mawdudi of Jamaat-i Islami played a pivotal role in the demand for an Islamic constitution. Mawdudi demanded that the Constituent Assembly make an explicit declaration affirming the "supreme sovereignty of God" and the supremacy of the shariah in Pakistan.[125]

A significant result of the efforts of the Jamaat-i Islami and the ulama was the passage of the Objectives Resolution in March 1949. The Objectives Resolution, which Liaquat Ali Khan called the second most important step in Pakistan's history, declared that "sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to God Almighty alone and the authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust". The Objectives Resolution has been incorporated as a preamble to the constitutions of 1956, 1962, and 1973.[126]

Democracy was stalled by the martial law enforced by President Iskander Mirza who was replaced by army chief, General Ayub Khan. Adopting a presidential system in 1962, the country experienced exceptional growth until a second war with India in 1965 which led to economic downfall and wide-scale public disapproval in 1967.[127][128] Consolidating the control from Ayub Khan in 1969, President Yahya Khan had to deal with a devastating cyclone which caused 500,000 deaths in East Pakistan.[129]

Signing of Tashkent Declaration to end hostilities with India in 1965 in Tashkent, USSR, by President Ayub alongside Bhutto (centre) and Aziz Ahmed (left).

In 1970, Pakistan held its first democratic elections since independence, that were meant to mark a transition from military rule to democracy, but after the East Pakistani Awami League won against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP); Yahya Khan and military establishment refused to hand over power.[130][131] Operation Searchlight, a military crackdown on the Bengali nationalist movement, led to a declaration of independence and the waging of a war of liberation by the Bengali Mukti Bahini forces in East Pakistan, with support from India.[131][132] However, in West Pakistan the conflict was described as a civil war as opposed to War of Liberation.[133]

Independent researchers think that between 300,000 and 500,000 civilians died during this period while the Bangladesh government puts the figure of dead at three million,[134] a number which is now universally regarded as excessively inflated.[135] Some academics such as Rudolph Rummel and Rounaq Jahan accused both sides[136] of genocide whereas others such as Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose believe there was no genocide.[137]Preemptive strikes on India by the Pakistan's air force, navy, and marines, in response to India's support for the insurgency in East Pakistan, sparked the conventional war in 1971 which witnessed the Indian victory and East Pakistan gaining independence as Bangladesh.[131]

With Pakistan surrendering in the war, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as President; the country worked towards promulgating constitution and putting the country on roads of democracy. Democratic rule resumed from 1972 to 1977– an era of self-consciousness, intellectual leftism, nationalism, and nationwide reconstruction.[138] During this period, Pakistan embarked on ambitiously developing the nuclear deterrence in 1972 in a view to prevent any foreign invasion; the country's first nuclear power plant was inaugurated, also the same year.[139][140]Accelerated in response to first nuclear test by India in 1974, this crash program was completed in 1979.[140] Democracy ended with a military coup in 1977 against the leftist PPP, which saw General Zia-ul-Haq become the president in 1978. From 1977 to 1988, President Zia's corporatisation and economic Islamisation initiatives led to Pakistan becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in South Asia.[141] While consolidating the nuclear development, increasing Islamization,[142]and the rise of homegrown conservative philosophy, Pakistan helped subsidise and distribute US resources to factions of the mujahideen against the USSR's intervention in communist Afghanistan.[143][144] Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became a base for the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters, with the province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a significant role in encouraging and organising the 'jihad'.[145]

President Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, and Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the country's first female Prime Minister. The Pakistan Peoples Party followed by conservative Pakistan Muslim League (N), and over the next decade whose two leaders fought for power, alternating in office while the country's situation worsened; economic indicators fell sharply, in contrast to the 1980s. This period is marked by prolonged stagflation, instability, corruption, nationalism, geopolitical rivalry with India, and the clash of left wing-right wing ideologies.[146][147] As PML(N) secured a supermajority in elections in 1997, Sharif authorised the nuclear testings (See:Chagai-I and Chagai-II), as a retaliation to second nuclear tests ordered by India, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in May 1998.[148]

President Bush meets with President Musharraf in Islamabad during his 2006 visit to Pakistan.

Military tension between the two countries in the Kargil district led to the Kargil War of 1999, and a turbulence in civic-military relations allowed General Pervez Musharraf took over through a bloodless coup d'état.[149][150] Musharraf governed Pakistan as chief executive from 1999 to 2001 and as President from 2001 to 2008— a period of enlightenment, social liberalism, extensive economic reforms,[151] and direct involvement in the US-led war on terrorism. When the National Assembly historically completed its first full five-year term on 15 November 2007, the new elections were called by the Election Commission.[152] After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the PPP secured largest votes in the elections of 2008, appointing party member Yousaf Raza Gillani as Prime Minister.[153] Threatened with facing impeachment, President Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008, and was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari.[154][155][156] Clashes with the judicature prompted Gillani's disqualification from the Parliament and as the Prime Minister in June 2012.[157] By its own financial calculations, Pakistan's involvement in the war on terrorism has cost up to ~$118 billion,[158] sixty thousand casualties and more than 1.8 million displaced civilians.[159] The general election held in 2013 saw the PML(N) almost achieve a supermajority, following which Nawaz Sharif became elected as the Prime Minister, returning to the post for the third time after fourteen years, in a democratic transition.[160]

Geography, environment and climate

Main articles: Extreme weather records in Pakistan, Geography of Pakistan, Environment of Pakistan, Climate of Pakistan, Tropical cyclones and tornadoes in Pakistan, and List of beaches in Pakistan

A satellite image showing the topography of Pakistan.

Köppen climate classification of Pakistan.

The geography and climate of Pakistan are extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife.[161] Pakistan covers an area of 881,913 km2(340,509 sq mi), approximately equal to the combined land areas of France and the United Kingdom. It is the 33rd largest nation by total area, although this ranking varies depending on how the disputed territory of Kashmir is counted. Pakistan has a 1,046 km (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south[162] and land borders of 6,774 km (4,209 mi) in total: 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.[163] It shares a marine border with Oman,[164] and is separated from Tajikistan by the cold, narrow Wakhan Corridor.[165] Pakistan occupies a geopolitically important location at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia.[166]

Geologically, Pakistan is located in the Indus-Tsangpo Suture Zone and overlaps the Indian tectonic plate in its Sindh and Punjab provinces; Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are within the Eurasian plate, mainly on the Iranian plateau. Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir lie along the edge of the Indian plate and hence are prone to violent earthquakes. This region has the highest rates of seismicity and largest earthquakes in the Himalaya region.[167] Ranging from the coastal areas of the south to the glaciated mountains of the north, Pakistan's landscapes vary from plains to deserts, forests, hills and plateaus.[168]

K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth.

Katpana Desert is the world's highest cold desert.

Pakistan is divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain and the Balochistan Plateau.[169] The northern highlands contain the Karakoram, Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges (see mountains of Pakistan), which contain some of the world's highest peaks, including five of the fourteen eight-thousanders (mountain peaks over 8,000 metres or 26,250 feet), which attract adventurers and mountaineers from all over the world, notably K2 (8,611 m or 28,251 ft) and Nanga Parbat (8,126 m or 26,660 ft).[170] The Balochistan Plateau lies in the west and the Thar Desert in the east. The 1,609 km (1,000 mi) Indus River and its tributaries flow through the country from the Kashmir region to the Arabian Sea. There is an expanse of alluvial plains along it in Punjab and Sindh.[171]

The climate varies from tropical to temperate, with arid conditions in the coastal south. There is a monsoon season with frequent flooding due to heavy rainfall, and a dry season with significantly less rainfall or none at all. There are four distinct seasons: a cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November.[81] Rainfall varies greatly from year to year, and patterns of alternate flooding and drought are common.[172]

Flora and fauna

Main articles: Flora of Pakistan and Fauna of Pakistan

The diversity of landscapes and climates in Pakistan allows a wide variety of trees and plants to flourish. The forests range from coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine and deodar cedar in the extreme northern mountains, through deciduous trees in most of the country (for example the mulberry-like shisham found in the Sulaiman Mountains), to palms such as coconut and date in southern Punjab, southern Balochistan and all of Sindh. The western hills are home to juniper, tamarisk, coarse grasses and scrub plants. Mangrove forests form much of the coastal wetlands along the coast in the south.[173]

Coniferous forests are found at altitudes ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 metres (3,300 to 13,100 feet) in most of the northern and northwestern highlands. In the xeric regions of Balochistan, date palm and Ephedra are common. In most of Punjab and Sindh, the Indus plains support tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forestry as well as tropical and xeric shrublands. These forests are mostly of mulberry, acacia, and eucalyptus.[174] About 2.2% or 1,687,000 hectares (16,870 km2) of Pakistan was forested in 2010.[175]

Bear, Tibetan wolf, and snow leopard, respectively

The fauna of Pakistan reflects its varied climates too. Around 668 bird species are found there:[176][177] crows, sparrows, mynas, hawks, falcons and eagles commonly occur. Palas, Kohistan, has a significant population of western tragopan.[178] Many birds sighted in Pakistan are migratory, coming from Europe, Central Asia and India.[179]

The southern plains are home to mongooses, civets, hares, the Asiatic jackal, the Indian pangolin, the jungle cat and the desert cat. There are mugger crocodiles in the Indus, and wild boar, deer, porcupines and small rodents are common in the surrounding areas. The sandy scrublands of central Pakistan are home to Asiatic jackals, striped hyenas, wildcats and leopards.[180][181] The lack of vegetative cover, the severe climate and the impact of grazing on the deserts have left wild animals in a precarious position. The chinkara is the only animal that can still be found in significant numbers in Cholistan. A small number of nilgai are found along the Pakistan-India border and in some parts of Cholistan.[180][182] A wide variety of animals live in the mountainous north, including the Marco Polo sheep, the urial (a subspecies of wild sheep), markhor and ibex goats, the Asian black bear and the Himalayan brown bear.[180][183][184] Among the rare animals found in the area are the snow leopard,[183] and the blind Indus river dolphin, of which there are believed to be about 1,100 remaining, protected at the Indus River Dolphin Reserve in Sindh.[183][185] In total, 174 mammals, 177 reptiles, 22 amphibians, 198 freshwater fish species and 5,000 species of invertebrates (including insects) have been recorded in Pakistan.[176][177]

The flora and fauna of Pakistan suffer from a number of problems. Pakistan has the second-highest rate of deforestation in the world. This, along with hunting and pollution, is causing adverse effects on the ecosystem. The government has established a large number of protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and game reserves to deal with these issues.[176][177]

National parks and wildlife sanctuaries

Main articles: Protected areas of Pakistan and National parks of Pakistan

Deosai National Park covers the world's second-highest plateau.

As of present, there are around 157 protected areas in Pakistan that are recognised by IUCN. According to the 'Modern Protected Areas' legislation, a national park is a protected area set aside by the government for the protection and conservation of its outstanding scenery and wildlife in a natural state. The oldest national park is Lal Suhanra in Bahawalpur District, established in 1972.[186] It is one of the only two biosphere reserves of Pakistan. Ziarat Juniper Forest is the second biosphere reserve in Pakistan. It is the largest contiguous natural Juniper forest in Pakistan. It is also the second oldest, trailing behind the one in California.[187] Central Karakoram in Gilgit Baltistan is currently the largest national park in the country, spanning over a total approximate area of 1,390,100 hectares (3,435,011.9 acres). The smallest national park is the Ayub, covering a total approximate area of 931 hectares (2,300.6 acres).

Government and politics

Main articles: Government of Pakistan, Politics of Pakistan, Political history of Pakistan, and Human rights in Pakistan

Parliament House

Pakistan's political experience is essentially related to the struggle of Indian Muslims to regain power which they lost to British colonisation.[188] Pakistan is a democraticparliamentary federal republic with Islam as the state religion.[12] The first set was adopted in 1956 but suspended by Ayub Khan in 1958 who replaced it with the second set in 1962.[92] Complete and comprehensive Constitution was adopted in 1973—suspended by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 but reinstated in 1985—is the country's most important document, laying the foundations of the current government.[163]The Pakistani military establishment has played an influential role in mainstream politics throughout Pakistan's political history.[92] There were military coups which resulted in imposition of martial law and military commanders continued governing as de facto presidents from 1958–1971, 1977–1988, and 1999–2008.[189] As of now, Pakistan has a multi-partyparliamentary system with clear division of powers and responsibilities between branches of government. The first successful demonstrative transaction was held in May 2013. Politics in Pakistan is centred and dominated by the homegrown conceive social philosophy, consisting the ideas of socialism, conservatism, and the third way. As of the general elections held in 2013, the three main dominated political parties in the country: the centre-right conservative Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N); the centre-left socialist Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP); and the centrist and third-way Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI).

• Head of State: The President who is elected by an Electoral College is the ceremonial head of the state and is the civilian commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces (with Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee as its principal military adviser), but military appointments and key confirmations in the armed forces are made by the Prime Minister after reviewing the reports on their merit and performances. Almost all appointed officers in the judicature, military, chairman joint chiefs and joint staff, and legislatures require the executive confirmation from the Prime Minister, whom the President must consult, by law. However, the powers to pardon and grant clemency vest with the President of Pakistan.
• Legislative: The bicameral legislature comprises a 100-member Senate (upper house) and a 342-member National Assembly (lower house). Members of the National Assembly are elected through the first-past-the-post system under universal adult suffrage, representing electoral districts known as National Assembly constituencies. According to the constitution, the 70 seats reserved for women and religious minorities are allocated to the political parties according to their proportional representation. Senate members are elected by provincial legislators, with all of provinces have equal representation.

Prime Minister's Secretariat

• Executive: The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the majority rule party or a coalition in the National Assembly— the lower house. The Prime Minister serves as the head of government and is designated to exercise as the country's chief executive. The Prime Minister is responsible for appointing a cabinet consisting of ministers and advisers as well as running the government operations, taking and authorising executive decisions, appointments and recommendations that require executive confirmation of the Prime Minister.
• Provincial governments: Each of the four province has a similar system of government, with a directly elected Provincial Assembly in which the leader of the largest party or coalition is elected Chief Minister. Chief Ministers oversees the provincial governments and head the provincial cabinet, it is common in Pakistan to have different ruling parties or coalitions in each provinces. The provincial assemblies have power to make laws and approve provincial budget which is commonly presented by the provincial finance minister every fiscal year. Provincial governors who play role as the ceremonial head of province are appointed by the President.[163]

Supreme Court of Pakistan

• Judicature: The judiciary of Pakistan is a hierarchical system with two classes of courts: the superior (or higher) judiciary and the subordinate (or lower) judiciary. The Chief Justice of Pakistan is the chief judge who oversees the judicature's court system at all levels of command. The superior judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Federal Shariat Court and five High Courts, with the Supreme Court at the apex. The Constitution of Pakistan entrusts the superior judiciary with the obligation to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Neither the Supreme Court nor a High Court may exercise jurisdiction in relation to Tribal Areas, except otherwise provided for. The disputed regions of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan have separate court systems.

Foreign relations of Pakistan

Main article: Foreign relations of Pakistan

Ayub Khan (President of Pakistan) with US President John F. Kennedy in 1961. U.S-Pak relations during the cold war

As the Muslim world's second most populous nation-state (after Indonesia) and its only nuclear power state, Pakistan has an important role in the international community.[190][191] With a semi-agricultural and semi-industrialized economy, its foreign policy determines its standard of interactions for its organisations, corporations and individual citizens.[192][193] Its geostrategic intentions were explained by Jinnah in a broadcast message in 1947, which is featured in a prominent quotation on the homepage of Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs website: "The foundation of our foreign policy is friendship with all nations across the globe."[194]

After Independence, Pakistan vigorously pursued bilateral relations with other Muslim countries[195] and made a wholehearted bid for leadership of the Muslim world, or at least for leadership in achieving its unity.[196] The Ali brothers had sought to project Pakistan as the natural leader of the Islamic world, in large part due to its large manpower and military strength.[197] A top ranking Muslim League leader, Khaliquzzaman, declared that Pakistan would bring together all Muslim countries into Islamistan-a pan-Islamic entity.[198]

Such developments (alongside Pakistan's creation) did not get American approval and British Prime Minister Clement Attlee voiced international opinion at the time by stating that he wished that India and Pakistan would re-unite.[199] Since most of the Arab world was undergoing a nationalist awakening at the time, there was little attraction to Pakistan's Pan-Islamic aspirations.[200] Some of the Arab countries saw the 'Islamistan' project as a Pakistani attempt to dominate other Muslim states.[201]

Pakistan vigorously championed the right of self-determination for Muslims around the world. Pakistan's efforts for the independence movements of Indonesia, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and Eritrea were significant and initially led to close ties between these countries and Pakistan.[202] However, Pakistan also masterminded an attack on the Afghan city of Jalalabad during the Afghan Civil War to establish an Islamic government there. Pakistan had wished to forment an 'Islamic Revolution' which would transcend national borders covering Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia.[203]

On the other hand, Pakistan's relations with Iran have been strained at times due to sectarian tensions.[204] Iran and Saudi Arabia used Pakistan as a battleground for their proxy sectarian war and by the 1990s, Pakistan's support for the Sunni Taliban organisation in Afghanistan became a problem for Shia Iran which opposed a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.[205]Tensions between Iran and Pakistan intensified in 1998, when Iran accused Pakistan of war crimes as Pakistani warplanes had bombarded Afghanistan's last Shia stronghold in support of the Taliban.[206][207]

Pakistan's incumbent Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

Since Independence, Pakistan has attempted to balance its relations with foreign nations.[208][209][210] A non-signatory party of the Treaty on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Pakistan is an influential member of the IAEA.[211] In recent events, Pakistan has blocked an international treaty to limit fissile material, arguing that the "treaty would target Pakistan specifically."[212] In the 20th century, Pakistan's nuclear deterrence program focused on countering India's nuclear ambitions in the region, and nuclear tests by India eventually led Pakistan to reciprocate the event to maintain geopolitical balance as becoming a nuclear power.[213] Currently, Pakistan maintains a policy of credible minimum deterrence, calling its program vital nuclear deterrence against foreign aggression.[214][215]

Located in strategic and geopolitical corridor of the world's major maritime oil supply lines, communication fibre optics, Pakistan has proximity to the natural resources of Central Asian countries.[216] Pakistan is an influential and founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and is a major non-NATO ally of the United States in the war against terrorism— a status achieved in 2004.[217] Pakistan's foreign policy and geostrategy mainly focus on economy and security against threats to its national identity and territorial integrity, and on the cultivation of close relations with other Muslim countries.[218] Briefing on country's foreign policy in 2004, the Pakistani senator reportedly explains: "Pakistan highlights sovereign equality of states, bilateralism, mutuality of interests, and non-interference in each other's domestic affairs as the cardinal features of its foreign policy."[219] Pakistan is an active member of the United Nations and has a Permanent Representative to represent Pakistan's policy in international politics.[220] Pakistan has lobbied for the concept of "Enlightened Moderation" in the Muslim world.[221][222] Pakistan is also a member of Commonwealth of Nations,[223] the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO)[224][225] and the G20 developing nations.[226] Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel;[227] nonetheless some Israeli citizens have visited the country on tourist visas.[228] Based on mutual cooperation, a security exchange has taken place between the two countries using Turkey as a communication conduit.[229] Despite Pakistan being the only country in the world that has not established a diplomatic relations with Armenia, the Armenian community still resides in Pakistan.[230]

Maintaining cultural, political, social, and economic relations with the Arab world and other countries in the Muslim World is a vital factor in Pakistan's foreign policy.[231] Pakistan was the first country to have established diplomatic relations with China and relations continues to be warm since China's war with India in