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Pakistan Profile
By Aamir
Latif
IOL Correspondent
Pakistan , officially known as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is located in South Asia . It has a coastline 1,046 km ( 650 mi .) along the Arabian Sea in the south, and borders on Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east, and People's Republic of China in the northeast.
Pakistan , a country of 160 million people, is the sixth most populous state in the world and the second most populous country of the Muslim world. It was a part of prepartitioned British India , and has been the home of various civilizations including the Indus Valley Civilization.
The territory was conquered in the first millennium BCE by Persians and Greeks. Later arrivals include Arabs, Afghans, Turks, Balochis, and Mongols. The territory was incorporated into the British Raj in the 19th century.
Etymology
The name Pakistan means "Land of the Pure." The name, coined in 1934 by Choudhary Rahmat Ali, represents the five territories that were proposed as constituents of a separate country for the Muslims in British India . These territories were previously considered as Afghan or Persian domains from a cultural as well as an ethnic point of view. Pakistan stands for these territories: P stands for Punjab, A for Afghania, K for Kashmir , S for Sindh, and Tan for Balochistan/Tokharistan. The name also implies that the people of this land are pure. Officially, the nation was founded as the Dominion of Pakistan in 1947 and was renamed as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1956.
Facts
Name. Islami Jumhuriyah Pakistan ("Islamic Republic of Pakistan " in Urdu)
Flag.
State emblem.
Motto. Ittehad, Tanzim, Yaqeen-e-Muhkam ("Unity, Discipline, and Faith" in Urdu)
Anthem. Qaumi Tarana
Capital. Islamabad (33°40' N, 73°10' E)
Largest city. Karachi
Official languages. Urdu and English
Government. Parliamentary democracy
Independence from the United Kingdom . August 14, 1947
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Abbasid Dynasty 711–962
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Ghaznavid Empire 962–1187
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Ghorid Kingdom 1187–1207
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Delhi Sultanate 1210–1526
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Mughal Empire 1526–1707
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Durrani Empire 1747–1823
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Declared independence from Britain August 14, 1947
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Declared a republic March 23, 1956
Total Area. 809,696 km² (312,625 sq. mi.)
Population.
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168,803,560 (2006 estimate)
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Density 206/km² (534/sq mi.) (53rd)
Gross domestic product (GDP). 2006 estimate
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Total $439.7 billion
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Per capita income: $800
Currency. Rupee (PKR)
Time zone. PST (UTC+5:00)
History
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Pakistan is home to the oldest Asian civilization (and one of the oldest in the world after Mesopotamia ): the Indus Valley Civilization (2500 BCE–1500 BCE)
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Modern-day Pakistan consists of four major parts called provinces: Punjab , Sindh, Balochistan, and North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). It also governs part of Kashmir which is currently split between Pakistan and India . This part, known as Azad (liberated) Kashmir, was liberated through an armed struggle waged by Kashmiri people and residents of Pakistan 's northern tribal belt in 1948.
Modern Pakistan has a heritage of many peoples.
Waves of conquerors and migrants settled in Pakistan throughout the centuries, influencing the locals and being absorbed among them.
Pakistan is home to the oldest Asian civilization (and one of the oldest in the world after Mesopotamia ): the Indus Valley Civilization (2500 BCE–1500 BCE). The modern state of Pakistan was established on August 14, 1947, but the country has an extensive history that overlaps with the histories of ancient India , Afghanistan , and Iran .
The region is a crossroads of historic trade routes, including the Silk Road , and was settled over thousands of years by many groups, including Dravidians, Indo-Aryans, Persians, Macedonians, Greeks, Scythians, Parthians, Kushans, White Huns, Afghans, Arabs, Turks, and Mongols. The Indus region was the site of several ancient cultures including Mehrgarh, one of the world's earliest-known towns, and the Indus Valley Civilization at Harappa and Mohenjo Daro.
The Indus Valley Civilization collapsed in the middle of the second millennium BCE and was followed by the Vedic Civilization, which extended over much of northern India and Pakistan . Successive empires and kingdoms ruled the region, from the Achaemenid Persian Empire around 543 BCE to Alexander the Great in 326 BCE and the Mauryan Empire beginning in 323 BCE.
In 712 CE, the Arab general Muhammad ibn Qasim conquered Sindh and Multan in southern Punjab, setting the stage for several successive Muslim empires including the Ghaznavid Empire, the Ghouri Kingdom , the Delhi Sultanate, and the Mogul Empire. During this period Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional Hindu population to Islam. The gradual decline of the Mogul Empire in the early 18th 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 .
The War of Independence, also known as the Indian Mutiny, in 1857, 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 Congress However, a Muslim party known as the Muslim League rose to popularity in the late 1930s amid fears of under-representation and neglect of Muslims in politics. On December 29, 1930, Allama Iqbal, who was later declared the country's national poet, presented the idea for a separate Muslim state in northwest and eastern South Asia . Founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah espoused the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the famous Lahore Resolution of 1940 (popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution), which ultimately led to the creation of Pakistan .
Pakistan was formed on August 14, 1947, with two Muslim-majority wings in the eastern and northwestern regions of British India, separated from the rest of British India with a Hindu majority, and comprising the provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province, West Punjab , and Sindh.
The partition of British India resulted in communal riots across India and Pakistan . Millions of Muslims moved to Pakistan while millions of Hindus and Sikhs moved to India .
Disputes arose over several princely states including Jammu and Kashmir , whose ruler had acceded to India , while the majority of the population favored independence. This led to the First Kashmir War (1947-48), which ended with Pakistan occupying roughly one-third of Kashmir .
From 1947 to 1956, Pakistan was a Dominion in the Commonwealth of Nations . The republic declared in 1956 was stalled by a coup d'état by Ayub Khan (1958–1969), who was president during a period of internal instability and a second war with India in 1965. His successor, Yahya Khan (1969–1971), had to deal with a cyclone that caused 500,000 deaths in East Pakistan .
Economic and political dissent in East Pakistan led to violent political repression. Tensions escalated into civil war (Bangladesh Liberation War) and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, and ultimately into the secession of East Pakistan as the independent state of Bangladesh .
Civilian rule resumed from 1972 to 1977 under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, until he was deposed and later sentenced to death in what amounted to a judicial murder in 1979 by General Zia-ul-Haq, who became the third military president. Pakistan 's secular policies were replaced by Zia's introduction of the Islamic Shari`ah legal code, which increased religious influences on the civil service and the military. With the death of General 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 alternated power with Nawaz Sharif.
Military tensions in the Kargil conflict with India in 1999 were followed by a bloodless military coup in which General Pervez Musharraf assumed executive powers. In 2001, Musharraf named himself president after the forced resignation of President Rafiq Tarar.
After the 2002 parliamentary elections, Zafarullah Khan Jamali became the country's prime minister. He was succeeded in the 2004 prime ministerial election by professional banker Shaukat Aziz after a brief stint in the seat by Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.
Government and Politics
The Muslim League formed Pakistan 's first government under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan. The league's leadership of Pakistani politics decreased significantly with the rise of other political parties, such as the Pakistan People's Party in West Pakistan and the Awami League in East Pakistan, which would ultimately lead to the creation of Bangladesh . The first constitution of Pakistan was adopted in 1956 but was suspended in 1958 by Ayub Khan. The constitution of 1973, suspended in 1977 by Zia-ul-Haq, was reinstated in 1991 and is the country's most important document, laying the foundations of government. Pakistan is a federal democratic republic with Islam as the state religion.
The semipresidential system includes a bicameral legislature consisting of 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.
Pakistan has long had troubled relations with neighboring India . The long-running dispute over Kashmir resulted in full-fledged wars in 1947 and 1965. The civil war in 1971 flared into the simultaneous Bangladesh Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Pakistan conducted nuclear weapon tests in 1998 to counterbalance India 's nuclear explosions — Smiling Buddha, 1974, and Pokhran-II, 1998 — and became the only declared Muslim nuclear weapons state.
Pakistan is a federation of four provinces, a capital territory, and federally administered tribal areas. Pakistan exercises de facto jurisdiction over the western parts of the Kashmir region, organized as two separate political entities (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas), which are also claimed by India .
In 2001 the federal government abolished the administrative entities called divisions, which used to be the third tier of government. The entities called districts, which used to be the fourth tier, became the new third tier. The provinces and the capital territory are subdivided into a total of 107 districts which contain numerous tahsils and local governments. The tribal areas comprise seven tribal agencies and six small frontier regions detached from neighboring districts, while Azad Kashmir comprises seven districts and the Northern Areas comprise six districts.
Economy
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Despite clear progress, reports by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and the UN Development Programme place the poverty rate in Pakistan between 23 and 28 percent
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Karachi is the financial capital and the largest city of Pakistan . Pakistan is a rapidly developing country that has faced a number of challenges on both political and economic fronts. Despite being a very poor country in 1947, Pakistan 's economic growth rate was better than the global average during the subsequent four decades, but imprudent policies led to a slowdown in the late 1990s. The 2005 estimate of foreign debt was close to US$40 billion. However, this has decreased in recent years with assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and significant debt relief from the United States . Pakistan 's GDP, as measured by purchasing power parity (PPP), is estimated to be US$439.7 billion, while its per capita income (PCI) stands at $2,803.
Despite clear progress, reports by the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and the UN Development Programme place the poverty rate in Pakistan between 23 and 28 percent. Pakistan 's GDP growth rates have seen a steady increase over the last five years. However, inflationary pressures and a low savings rate, among other economic factors, could make it difficult to sustain a high growth rate, according to some analysts.
The growth of nonagricultural sectors has changed the structure of the economy, and agriculture now accounts for only roughly 20 percent of the GDP. The service sector accounts for 53 percent of the country's GDP, with wholesale and retail trade forming 30 percent of this sector. In recent times the Karachi Stock Exchange soared, along with most of the world's emerging markets. Large amounts of foreign investments have been made into several industries. The top industries in Pakistan are telecom, software, automobiles, textile, cement, fertilizer, steel, ship building, and, more recently, aerospace.
Demographics
Pakistan has an estimated population of 160 million, placing it higher than Russia and lower than Brazil . Because of Pakistan 's high growth rate, it is expected to surpass Brazil in population in the year 2020. Population projections for Pakistan are relatively difficult because of the apparent differences in the accuracy of each census and the inconsistencies between various surveys related to the fertility rate, but it is likely that the rate of growth peaked in the 1980s and has since declined significantly. The population was estimated at 162,400,000 on July 1, 2005, with a fertility rate of 34 per thousand, a death rate of 10 per thousand, and the rate of natural increase at 2.4 percent. Pakistan also has a high infant mortality rate of 70 per thousand.
The demographics of religion in Pakistan were significantly influenced in 1947 by the movement of Muslims to Pakistan and Hindus and Sikhs to India . Census data indicate that 95% of the population are Muslims, of whom nearly 85 % are Sunni Muslims and 14 % are Shiite Muslims. The remaining five percent comprise Christians, Hindus, Jews, Sikhs, Parsis, Ahmadis, Buddhists, and Animists (mainly the Kalasha of Chitral).
As of 2006, an estimated 2.5 million refugees — approximately 81.5% being ethnic Pashtuns — remain in Pakistan as a result of wars in Afghanistan .
Urdu is the national language of Pakistan despite its being a non-native Pakistani language. It was installed and promoted by the British Raj in the mid-1800s to supplant the Persian formerly spoken for some 2,000 years, and to tie the former Afghan, Central Asian, and Persian of previously autonomous regions (Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Kalat , Bahawalpur , Kashmir, NWFP, etc.) to the mainland Asian subcontinent and the British Raj headquartered in Delhi . English is the official language, used in the constitution and widely used by corporate businesses, the educated urban elite, and most universities. Punjabi is spoken by over 60 million people but has no official recognition in the country.
The major ethnic groups are further broken down into several smaller ethnic groups: Punjabis (44.68% of the population), Pashtuns (15.42%), Sindhis (14.1%), Seraikis (10.53%), Muhajirs (7.57%), Balochis (3.57%), and others (4.66%).
Society and Culture
Salwar kameez (loose trousers and long shirt) is Pakistan 's national dress. It originally came from Central Asian origin derived from Turko-Iranian nomadic invaders and is worn today in all parts of Pakistan . Women wear brightly colored salwar kameez , while men often wear solid-colored ones. The sari is a regional dress that is worn by many women in Sindh and parts of Pakistan .
Until the late 1990s, the state-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation were the dominant media outlets, but there are now numerous private television channels such as Geo TV, Indus TV, Hum TV, ARY Digital, KTN, and others.
Pakistani society is largely multilingual and predominantly Muslim, with high regard for traditional family values, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system due to the socioeconomic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family system. Recent decades have seen the emergence of a middle class in cities like Karachi , Lahore , Rawalpindi , Hyderabad , Faisalabad , Sukkur, and Peshawar , that wishes to move in a more liberal direction. In contrast, the northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan remain highly conservative and dominated by centuries-old regional tribal customs.
Rising globalization has increased the influence of Western culture, with Pakistan ranking 46th on the Kearney/FP Globalization Index. There are an approximated four million Pakistanis living abroad, with close to a half-million expatriates living in the United States and around a million living in Saudi Arabia . Nearly one million people of Pakistani descent live in the United Kingdom , and there are burgeoning cultural connections.
Tourism is a growing industry in Pakistan , based on its diverse cultures, peoples, and landscapes. The variety of attractions ranges from the ruins of ancient civilizations such as Mohenjo Daro, Harappa , and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill stations, which attract those interested in field and winter sports. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over 7,000 m ( 22,966 ft .), especially the K2 peak, all of which attract adventurers and mountaineers from around the world. The northern parts of Pakistan have many old fortresses, towers, and other architecture as well as the Hunza and Chitral valleys, the latter being home to the small pre-Islamic Animist Kalasha community that claims descent from the army of Alexander the Great. The Punjab is the home of the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River and the historic city Lahore , Pakistan 's cultural capital, with many examples of Mogul architecture such as the Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens , Tomb of Jahangir, and Lahore Fort.
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