Etymology
The name ''Pakistan'' was coined in 1933 byHistory
Early and medieval age
Islamic conquest
The Arab conquerorColonial period
None of the territory of modern Pakistan was ruled by the British, or other European powers, until 1839, whenPakistan Movement
The 1946 elections resulted in the Muslim League winning 90 percent of the seats reserved for Muslims. Thus, the 1946 election was effectively a plebiscite in which the Indian Muslims were to vote on the creation of Pakistan, a plebiscite won by the Muslim League. This victory was assisted by the support given to the Muslim League by the support of the landowners of Sindh and Punjab. The Indian National Congress, which initially denied the Muslim League's claim of being the sole representative of Indian Muslims, was now forced to recognise the fact. The British had no alternative except to take Jinnah's views into account as he had emerged as the sole spokesperson of the entirety of British India's Muslims. However, the British did not want colonial India to be partitioned, and in one last effort to prevent it, they devised theIndependence and modern Pakistan
Role of Islam
Pakistan is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. The idea of Pakistan, which had received overwhelming popular support among Indian Muslims, especially those in the provinces of British India where Muslims were in a minority such as the United Provinces, was articulated in terms of anGeography, environment, and climate
Flora and fauna
The diversity of the landscape and climate in Pakistan allows a wide variety of trees and plants to flourish. The forests range from coniferous alpine plant, alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar in the extreme northern mountains to deciduous trees in most of the country (for example, the mulberry-like Dalbergia sissoo, shisham found in the Sulaiman Mountains), to palms such as coconut and Phoenix dactylifera, date in the 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.Government and politics
Foreign relations
Relations with China
Emphasis on relations with Muslim world
After Independence, Pakistan vigorously pursued bilateral relations with other Muslim countries and made an active bid for leadership of the Muslim world, or at least for leadership in efforts to achieve unity. The Maulana Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Ali brothers had sought to project Pakistan as the natural leader of the Islamic world, in part due to its large manpower and military strength. A top-ranking All India Muslim League, Muslim League leader, Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman, Khaliquzzaman, declared that Pakistan would bring together all Muslim countries into Islamistana pan-Islamic entity. Such developments (along with 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. Since most of the Arab world was undergoing a nationalist awakening at the time, there was little attraction to Pakistan's Pan-Islamic aspirations. Some of the Arab countries saw the 'Islamistan' project as a Pakistani attempt to dominate other Muslim states. 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. However, Pakistan also masterminded an attack on the Afghan city of Jalalabad during the Afghan Civil War (1989–92), Afghan Civil War to establish an Islamic government there. Pakistan had wished to foment an 'Islamic Revolution' that would transcend national borders, covering Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. On the other hand, Pakistan's relations with Iran have been strained at times due to sectarian tensions. 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. Tensions between Iran and Pakistan intensified in 1998 when Iran accused Pakistan of war crimes after Pakistani warplanes had bombarded Afghanistan's last Shia stronghold in support of the Taliban. Pakistan is an influential and founding member of theAdministrative divisions
A federal parliamentary republic state, Pakistan is a federation that comprises Four Provinces (Pakistan), four provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan, and three Administrative units of Pakistan, territories: Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir. The Government of Pakistan exercises the De facto standard, ''de facto'' jurisdiction over the Frontier Regions and the Western Kashmir, western parts of the Kashmir Regions, which are organised into the separate political entities Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas). In 2009, the Constitution of Pakistan, constitutional assignment () awarded the Gilgit-Baltistan a Provinces of Pakistan, semi-provincial status, giving it self-government. The Local government in Pakistan, local government system consists of a three-tier system of Districts of pakistan, districts, tehsils, and Union Councils of Pakistan, union councils, with an elected body at each tier. There are about 130 districts altogether, of which Azad Kashmir has ten and Gilgit-Baltistan seven. Law enforcement in Pakistan, Law enforcement is carried out by a joint network of the Pakistan Intelligence Community, intelligence community with jurisdiction limited to the relevant province or territory. The National Intelligence Directorate (Pakistan), National Intelligence Directorate coordinates the information intelligence at both federal and provincial levels; including the Federal Investigation Agency, FIA, Intelligence Bureau (Pakistan), IB, National Highways and Motorway Police, Motorway Police, and Civil Armed Forces such as the Pakistan Rangers and the Frontier Corps. Pakistan's "premier" intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was formed just within a year after the Independence of Pakistan in 1947. ABC News Point in 2014 reported that the ISI was ranked as the top intelligence agency in the world while Zee News reported the ISI as ranking fifth among the world's most powerful intelligence agencies. The court system is organised as a hierarchy, with the Supreme Court at the apex, below which are high courts, Federal Shariat Courts (one in each province and one in the federal capital), District courts of Pakistan, district courts (one in each district), Judicial Magistrate Courts (in every town and city), Executive Magistrate Courts, and civil courts. The Pakistan penal code, Penal code has limited jurisdiction in the Tribal Areas, where law is largely derived from tribal customs.Kashmir conflict
Law enforcement
The law enforcement in Pakistan is carried out by joint network of several federal and provincial police agencies. The Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) each have a civilian police force with jurisdiction extending only to the relevant province or territory. At the federal level, there are a number of civilian Pakistan Intelligence Community, intelligence agencies with nationwide jurisdictions including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the Intelligence Bureau (Pakistan), Intelligence Bureau (IB), as well as National Guard of Pakistan, National Guards and several Civil Armed Forces, paramilitary forces such as the Gilgit-Baltistan Scouts, the Pakistan Rangers, Rangers (Punjab and Sindh), and the Frontier Corps (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan). The most senior officers of all the civilian police forces also form part of the Police Service of Pakistan, Police Service, which is a component of the Central Superior Services of Pakistan, civil service of Pakistan. Namely, there is four provincial Police Service of Pakistan, police service including the Punjab Police (Pakistan), Punjab Police, Sindh Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police, and the Balochistan Police; all headed by the appointed senior Inspector general, Inspector-Generals. The ICT has its own police component, the Capital Territory Police, Capital Police, to maintain Law and order (politics), law and order in the capital. The Crime Investigation Department (Pakistan), CID bureaus are the crime investigation unit and form a vital part in each provincial Police Service of Pakistan, police service. The law enforcement in Pakistan also has a National Highways & Motorway Police, Motorway Patrol which is responsible for enforcement of traffic and safety laws, security and recovery on Pakistan's inter-provincial Motorways of Pakistan, motorway network. In each of provincial Police Service of Pakistan, Police Service, it also maintains a respective Elite Police units led by the National Counter Terrorism Authority, NACTA—a counter-terrorism police unit as well as providing VIP escorts. In the Punjab and Sindh, the Pakistan Rangers are an internal security force with the prime objective to provide and maintain security in war zones and areas of conflict as well as maintaining law and order which includes providing assistance to the police. The Frontier Corps serves the similar purpose in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and the Balochistan.Human rights
Male homosexuality is illegal in Pakistan and punishable with up to life in prison. In its 2018 Press Freedom Index, Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan number 139 out of 180 countries based on freedom of the press. Television stations and newspapers are routinely shut down for publishing any reports critical of the government or the military.Military
Military history
Since 1947 Pakistan has been involved in Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts, four Conventional warfare, conventional wars. Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, The first occurred in Kashmir with Pakistan gaining control of Western Kashmir, (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan), and India retaining Eastern Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh). Territorial problems eventually led to Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, another conventional war in 1965. The issue of East Bengali refugees, Bengali refugees led to another war in 1971 which resulted in Pakistan's Pakistani Instrument of Surrender, unconditional surrender in East Pakistan. Tensions in Kargil brought the two countries at the Indo-Pakistani War of 1999, brink of war. Since 1947 the unresolved Durand Line, territorial problems withEconomy
The Economy of Pakistan is the List of countries by GDP (PPP), 23rd-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), and List of countries by GDP (nominal), 42nd-largest in terms of nominal gross domestic product. Economists estimate that Pakistan was part of the wealthiest Indian subcontinent, region of the world throughout the first millennium CE, with the largest economy by GDP. This advantage was lost in the 18th century as other regions such as China and Western Europe edged forward. Pakistan is considered a developing country and is one of the Next Eleven, a group of eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a high potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century. In recent years, after decades of social instability, , serious deficiencies in macromanagement and unbalanced macroeconomics in basic services such as Pakistan Railways, rail transportation and Electricity in Pakistan, electrical energy generation have developed. The economy is considered to be semi-industrialized, with centres of growth along the Indus River. The diversified economies of Economy of Karachi, Karachi and Economy of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab's urban centres coexist with less-developed areas in other parts of the country, particularly in Balochistan. According to the Economic complexity index, Pakistan is the 67th-largest export economy in the world and the 106th most complex economy. During the fiscal year 2015–16, Pakistan's exports stood at US$20.81 billion and imports at US$44.76 billion, resulting in a negative trade balance of US$23.96 billion.Agriculture and primary sector
Industry
Services
Tourism
Infrastructure
Pakistan was recognised as the best country for infrastructure development in South Asia during the International Monetary Fund, IWF and World Bank annual meetings in 2016.Nuclear power and energy
Transport
The transport industry accounts for ~10.5% of the nation's GDP.Motorways
Highways
Highways form the backbone of Pakistan's transport system; a total road length of accounts for 92% of passengers and 96% of inland freight traffic. Road transport services are largely in the hands of the Privatization in Pakistan, private sector. The National Highway Authority is responsible for the maintenance of national highways and motorways. The highway and motorway system depends mainly on north–south links connecting the southern ports to the populous provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Although this network only accounts for 4.6% of total road length, it carries 85% of the country's traffic.Railways
Airports
Seaports
Metro
=Metro Train
==Metro Bus and BRTs
= *Lahore Metrobus is a bus rapid transit service operating in the city of=Other Systems
= *Karachi Circular Railway is a partially active regional public transport, public transit system in Karachi, which serves the Karachi District, Karachi metropolitan area. KCR was fully operational between 1969 and 1999. Since 2001, restoration of the railway and restarting the system had been sought. In November 2020, the KCR partially revived operations. *A Mohamedali Tramways Company, tramway service was started in 1884 inFlyovers and underpasses
Science and technology
Developments in Science and technology in Pakistan, science and technology have played an important role in Pakistan's infrastructure and helped the country connect to the rest of the world. Every year, scientists from around the world are invited by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Government to participate in the International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics. Pakistan hosted an international seminar on "Physics in Developing Countries" for the International Year of Physics 2005. The Pakistani theoretical physicist Abdus Salam won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the electroweak interaction. Influential publications and critical scientific work in the advancement of mathematics, biology, economics, computer science, and genetics have been produced by Pakistani scientists at both the domestic and international levels. In chemistry, Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the first Pakistani scientist to bring the therapeutic constituents of the neem tree to the attention of natural products chemists. Pakistani neurosurgeon Ayub K. Ommaya, Ayub Ommaya invented the Ommaya reservoir, a system for treatment of brain tumours and other brain conditions. Scientific research and development play a pivotal role in Pakistani universities, government- sponsored national laboratories, science parks, and the Industry of Pakistan, industry. Abdul Qadeer Khan, regarded as the founder of the High-enriched uranium, HEU-based Zippe-type centrifuge, gas-centrifuge uranium enrichment program for Pakistan's integrated Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction, atomic bomb project. He founded and established the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) in 1976, serving as both its senior scientist and the Director-General until his retirement in 2001, and he was an early and vital figure in other Integrated Missile Research and Development Program, science projects. Apart from participating in Pakistan's atomic bomb project, he made major contributions in Morphology (biology), molecular morphology, physical martensite, and its integrated applications in Condensed matter physics, condensed and material physics. In 2010 Pakistan was ranked 43rd in the world in terms of published scientific papers. The Pakistan Academy of Sciences, a strong scientific community, plays an influential and vital role in formulating recommendations regarding science policies for the government. Pakistan was ranked 99th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 107th in 2020. The 1960s saw the emergence of an active space program led by Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, SUPARCO that produced advances in domestic rocketry, Electronics Engineering, electronics, and aeronomy. The Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, space program recorded a few notable feats and achievements. The successful launch of its Rehbar-I, first rocket into space made Pakistan the first South Asian country to have achieved such a task. Successfully producing and launching the nation's Badr-I, first space satellite in 1990, Pakistan became the first Muslim country and second South Asian country to put a satellite into space.As an aftermath of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, 1971 war with India, the clandestine Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction, crash program developed nuclear weapon, atomic weapons partly motivated by fear and to prevent any Foreign interventionism, foreign intervention, while ushering in the Atomic Age, atomic age in the Post Cold War era, post cold war era. Competition with India and tensions eventually led to Pakistan's decision to List of nuclear weapons tests of Pakistan, conduct underground Chagai-I, nuclear tests in 1998, thus becoming the Nuclear club, seventh country in the world to successfully develop nuclear weapons. Pakistan is the first and only Muslim country that maintains an Pakistan Antarctic Programme, active research presence in Antarctica. Since 1991 Pakistan has maintained two summer research stations and one weather observatory on the continent and plans to open another full-fledged permanent base in Antarctica. Energy consumption by computers and usage has grown since the 1990s when Personal computer, PCs were introduced; Pakistan has about 82 million Internet users and is ranked as one of the top countries that have registered a high growth rate in Internet penetration . Key publications have been produced by Pakistan, and domestic software development has gained considerable international praise. As of May 2020, Pakistan has about 82 million internet users, making it the List of countries by number of Internet users, 9th-largest population of Internet users in the world. Since the 2000s Pakistan has made a significant amount of progress in Supercomputing in Pakistan, supercomputing, and various institutions offer research opportunities in parallel computing. The Government of Pakistan, Pakistan government reportedly spends Pakistani rupee, ₨ 4.6 billion on Information technology in Pakistan, information technology projects, with emphasis on E-Government in Pakistan, e-government, human resources, and infrastructure development.Education
The constitution of Pakistan requires the state to provide Free education, free primary and secondary education.Demographics
Languages
More than sixty languages are spoken in Pakistan, including a number of Provincial languages of Pakistan, provincial languages.Ethnic groups
The major ethnic groups are Punjabi people, Punjabis (44.7% of the country's population), Pashtuns, also known as Pathans (15.4%), Sindhi people, Sindhis (14.1%), Saraiki people, Saraikis (8.4%), Muhajir (Pakistan), Muhajirs (the Indian Muslims in Pakistan, Indian emigrants, mostly Urdu-speaking), who make up 7.6% of the population, and the Baloch with 3.6%. The remaining 6.3% consist of a number of ethnic minorities such as the Brahui people, Brahuis, the Hindkowans, the various peoples of Gilgit-Baltistan, the Kashmiris, the Siddi, Sheedis (who are of African descent), and the Hazara people, Hazaras. There is also a large Pakistani diaspora worldwide, numbering over seven million, which has been recorded as the sixth largest diaspora in the world.Immigration
Urbanisation
Religion
The state religion in Pakistan is Islam in Pakistan, Islam. Freedom of religion is guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan, which provides all its citizens the right to profess, practice and propagate their religion subject to law, public order, and morality. The majority of Pakistanis are Muslims (96.47%) followed by Hinduism in Pakistan, Hindus (2.14%) and Christianity in Pakistan, Christians (1.27%). There are also people in Pakistan who follow other religions, such as Sikhism in Pakistan, Sikhism, Buddhism in Pakistan, Buddhism, Jainism in Pakistan, Jainism and the minority of Parsi (who follow Zoroastrianism). The Kalash people maintain a unique identity and religion within Pakistan. Hinduism is mostly associated with Sindhis, and Pakistan hosts major events such as the Hinglaj Mata mandir#Annual pilgrimage (Hinglaj Yatra or Theerth Yatra), Hinglaj Yatra pilgrimage. Hindu temples may be found Hinduism in Sindh Province, throughout Sindh, where the dharma features prominently. Many Hindus in Pakistan complain about the prospect of religious violence against them and being treated like second-class citizens, and many have emigrated to India or further abroad. In addition, some Pakistanis also do not profess any faith (such as atheism, atheists and agnosticism, agnostics) in Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, people who did not state their religion accounted for 0.5% of the population.Islam
Hinduism
Christianity and other religions
Culture and society
Clothing, arts, and fashion
Media and entertainment
The private Newspapers in Pakistan, print media, state-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) for Radio Pakistan, radio were the dominant media outlets until the beginning of the 21st century. Pakistan now has a large network of domestic, privately owned 24-hour News channels in Pakistan, news media and Television in Pakistan, television channels. A 2016 report by the Reporters Without Borders ranked Pakistan 147th on the Press Freedom Index, while at the same time terming the Pakistani media "among the freest in Asia when it comes to covering the squabbling among politicians." The BBC terms the Pakistani media "among the most outspoken in South Asia". Pakistani media has also played a vital role in exposing corruption. The Lollywood, Kariwood, Punjabi and Pashto cinema, Pashto film industry is based in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. While Bollywood films were banned from public cinemas from 1965 until 2008, they have remained an important part of popular culture. In contrast to the ailing Pakistani film industry, Urdu Pakistani dramas, televised dramas and theatrical performances continue to be popular, as many Television in Pakistan, entertainment media outlets air them regularly. Pakistani dramas, Urdu dramas dominate the Television in Pakistan, television entertainment industry, which has launched critically acclaimed miniseries and featured popular actors and actresses since the 1990s. In the 1960s–1970s, Pakistani pop music, pop music and Disco Deewane, disco (1970s) dominated the country's music industry. In the 1980s–1990s, new wave of British heavy metal, British influenced Pakistani rock, rock music appeared and jolted the country's entertainment industry. In the 2000s, heavy metal music gained popular and critical acclaim. Pakistani music ranges from diverse forms of provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern musical forms that fuse traditional and western music. Pakistan has many famous folk singers. The arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces has stimulated interest in Pashto music, although there has been intolerance of it in some places.Diaspora
According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Pakistan has the sixth-largest diaspora in the world. Statistics gathered by the Pakistani government show that there are around 7 million Pakistani people, Pakistanis residing abroad, with the vast majority living in the Middle East, Europe, and North America. Pakistan ranks 10th in the world for remittances sent home. The largest inflow of remittances, , is from Saudi Arabia, amounting to $5.9 billion. The term ''Overseas Pakistani'' is officially recognised by the Government of Pakistan. The Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis was established in 2008 to deal exclusively with all matters of overseas Pakistanis such as attending to their needs and problems, developing projects for their welfare, and working for resolution of their problems and issues. Overseas Pakistanis are the second-largest source of foreign exchange remittances to Pakistan after exports. Over the last several years, home remittances have maintained a steadily rising trend, with a more than 100% increase from US$8.9 billion in 2009–10 to US$19.9 billion in 2015–16. The Overseas Pakistani Division (OPD) was created in September 2004 within the Ministry of Labour (Pakistan), Ministry of Labour (MoL). It has since recognised the importance of overseas Pakistanis and their contribution to the nation's economy. Together with Community Welfare Attaches (CWAs) and the Overseas Pakistanis Foundation (OPF), the OPD is making efforts to improve the welfare of Pakistanis who reside abroad. The division aims to provide better services through improved facilities at airports, and suitable schemes for housing, education, and health care. It also facilitates the reintegration into society of returning overseas Pakistanis. Notable members of the Pakistani diaspora include the London Mayor Sadiq Khan, the UK cabinet member Sajid Javid, the former UK Conservative Party chair Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi, Baroness Warsi, the singers Zayn Malik and Nadia Ali (singer), Nadia Ali, MIT physics Professor Nergis Mavalvala, Dr. Nergis Mavalvala, the actors Riz Ahmed and Kumail Nanjiani, the businessmen Shahid Khan and Sir Anwar Pervez, Boston University professors Adil Najam and Hamid Nawab, Texas A&M University, Texas A&M professor Muhammad Suhail Zubairy, Yale professor Sara Suleri, UC San Diego professor Farooq Azam and the historian Ayesha Jalal.Literature and philosophy
Architecture
Food and drink
Traditional food
Pakistani cuisine is similar to that of other regions of South Asia, with some of it being originated from the royal kitchens of 16th-century Mughal emperors. Most of those dishes have their roots in British cuisine, British, Indian cuisine, Indian, Central Asian cuisine, Central Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. Unlike Middle Eastern cuisine, Pakistani cooking uses large quantities of spices, herbs, and seasoning. Garlic, ginger, turmeric, red Chili powder, chili, and garam masala are used in most dishes, and home cooking regularly includes curry, pita bread, ''roti'', a thin flatbread made from wheat, is a staple food, usually served with curry, meat, vegetables, and lentils. Rice is also common; it is served plain, fried with spices, and in sweet dishes. Lassi is a traditional drink in the Punjab region. Pakistani tea culture, Black tea with milk and sugar is popular throughout Pakistan and is consumed daily by most of the population. Sohan halwa is a popular sweet dish from the southern region of Punjab province and is enjoyed all over Pakistan.Sports
Most sports played in Pakistan originated and were substantially developed by athletes and sports fans from the United Kingdom who introduced them during theSee also
* Outline of Pakistan * Crime in PakistanNotes
References
Bibliography
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Government
*General information