Pakistan

Islamic Republic of Pakistan اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان Islāmī Jamhūriya-i-Pākistān
Flag Coat of arms of Pakistan Coat of arms
Motto: Iman, Ittehad, Nazm (Urdu: Faith (self confidence), Unity, Discipline)
Anthem: Pak sarzamin shad bad (Blessed Be The Sacred Land)
Capital	Islamabad
Largest city	Karachi (also financial capital)
Official languages	Urdu
Government	Federal republic
Independence
• Water (%)	3.1
Population
• 2006 estimate	163,985,373[1] (6th)
GDP (PPP)	2005 estimate
• Total	$385.2 billion (26th)
• Per capita	$2,388 (135th)
HDI (2003)	0.527 low (135th)
Currency	Rupee (Rs.) (PKR)
Time zone	UTC+5:00 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+5:00 (not observed)
Calling code	92
ISO 3166 code	PK
Internet TLD	.pk

The Islamic Republic of Pākistān (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان) is a country located in South Asia that overlaps onto the Greater Middle East. It has a one-thousand kilometre coastline along the Arabian Sea in the south and borders Afghanistan and Iran to the west and the People's Republic of China in the far northeast^[2]. There is a long frontier with India to the east including a disputed border in the northerly Kashmir region^[3].

The name Pakistan (IPA:/pɑːkɪsðɑːn/) means Land of the Pure in Urdu and Persian and is believed to have been coined by Choudhary Rahmat Ali who first published it on January 28, 1933 in the pamphlet Now or Never ^[4]. He saw it as an acronym formed from the names of the "homelands" of Muslims in western South Asia — P for Punjab, A for Afghania, the Afghan areas of the region, K for Kashmir, S for Sindh and tan for Baluchistan. An i was later added to the English rendition of the name to ease pronunciation, producing Pakistan.

Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world and the second most populous Muslim country. Pakistan was established in 1947, but the region has a long history of settlement and civilisation that includes some of the most ancient cultures. The region was invaded by Greeks, Persians and Arabs, before being incorporated into British India in the 19^th century. Following independence, Pakistan has seen both instability with the loss of East Pakistan and significant military and economic growth, with the second-fastest growing economy amongst the ten most populous countries in the world in 2005 and the twenty-fifth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity. Pakistan has the seventh largest armed forces in the world and is one of eight declared nuclear weapons states.

History

Main article: History of Pakistan

The modern state of Pakistan was created in 1947, but the region has an extensive ancient history that overlaps with the history of India, Iran and Afghanistan. The earliest evidence of humans in Pakistan are pebble tools of the Soan Culture^[5] in northern Punjab between 500,000 to 100,000 years ago. The Indus region was the site of several ancient cultures including Mehrgarh, one of the earliest towns in the world, and the Indus Valley Civilisation at Harrappa and Mohenjo-Daro^[6]. The region was a crossroads of historic trade routes, including the Silk Road, and was settled by many groups including Dravidians, Aryans, Persians, Seleucid, Mauryans, Greeks, Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, White Huns, Scythians and Arabs.

The Indus Valley Civilisation collapsed in the middle of the second millennium BCE but the causes are a matter of dispute. It was followed by the Vedic Civilisation which reached its zenith on the Gangetic plain of modern India. Successive empires and kingdoms ruled the region from the Achaemenid Persian empire^[7] around 543 BCE, to Alexander the Great^[8] in 326 BCE and the Mauryan empire. The Indo-Greek Kingdom of Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab from 184 BCE, establishing a Greco-Buddhist period which saw advances in trade and culture and the Gandharan city of Taxila (Takshashila) became a major centre of learning and development. There followed several centuries of cultural continuity until an invasion by the White Huns.

The Badshahi Masjid (Royal Mosque) in Lahore, built in 1674 by Aurangzeb, epitomises the beauty and grandeur of the Mughal era

Mohammad Ali Jinnah (1876 - 1948) the founder of Pakistan

File:South Asia 1970.gif

Pakistan before 1971

In 712 CE, the Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim^[9] conquered Sindh and Multan in southern Punjab setting the stage for several successive Muslim empires including the Ghaznavid Empire, Ghorid Kingdom, Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire, which ruled until 1739. During this period Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional population to Islam. The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early eighteenth century provided opportunities for the Afghans, Balochis and Sikhs until the British East India Company^[10] gained political control over much of South Asia. The 1857 Indian War of Independence, dubbed the "Sepoy Mutiny" by the British, was the region's last major armed struggle against the British, but it laid the foundations for the generally unarmed freedom struggle led by the Indian National Congress. It was however the All India Muslim League which would rise to popularity in the late 1930s owing to fears of under-representation and neglect of Muslims in politics. Allama Iqbal^[11] in 1930 called for a separate Muslim state in northwest and eastern India. Muhammad Ali Jinnah espoused the Two Nation Theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution^[12] of 1940, which resulted in the partition of India in 1947.

Pakistan gained independence on August 14, 1947 with two Muslim-majority wings in the eastern and northwestern regions separated by Hindu-majority India. The state was composed of the provinces of West Punjab, Sindh, Baluchistan, East Bengal and the North-West Frontier Province. Partition resulted in communal riots across India and Pakistan - millions of Muslims would move to Pakistan, and millions of Hindus and Sikhs would leave for India. Disputes arose over princely states like Junagadh, Kapurthala but primarily over Jammu and Kashmir which led to the First Kashmir War (1948) ending with Pakistan and India each occupying large parts of the state. From 1947 to 1956, Pakistan was a Dominion in the British Commonwealth. The republic declared in 1956 was stalled by a coup d'etat by Ayub Khan, who would serve as president (1958-1969) during a period of internal instability and a second war with India in 1965. His successor, Yahya Khan (1969-1971) had to deal with the cyclone which hit East Pakistan from the Bay of Bengal and resulted in approximately 500,000 deaths^[13]. Economic and political dissent in East Pakistan led to violent political repression and tensions escalating into civil war (Bangladesh Liberation War) and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971) and ultimately the secession of East Pakistan as the independent state of Bangladesh.

Civilian rule resumed from 1972 to 1977 under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, but he was deposed by General Zia-ul-Haq who became the third military president. Pakistan had been governed largely with secular policies, but Zia introduced the Islamic Shariat legal code, and increased religious influences on Pakistan's civil service and military. Elections in 1985 saw Muhammad Khan Junejo elected as Prime Minister, but with the death of General Zia in a plane crash in 1988, Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the new Prime Minister. She was the youngest woman ever to be elected Head of Government and the first woman to be elected Head of Government of a Muslim country. She was succeeded in 1990 by Nawaz Sharif and the two leaders alternated with each other as the political and economic situation worsened. 1999 was a dificult year with military tensions in the Kargil conflict of 1999 with India and the military coup by General Pervez Musharraf. Musharraf became President after the resignation of Rafiq Tarar in 2001. In 2002, parliamentary elections were held and executive power handed to newly-elected Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali, who was succeeded in 2004 by Shaukat Aziz. On 8 October, 2005, a powerful earthquake of magnitude of 7.6 on the Richter scale struck the northern mountains of Pakistan and neighbouring regions in India and Afghanistan. By 8 November, the official death toll stood at 87,350^[14] with an estimated 3.3 million left homeless in Pakistan. Most of the affected areas could not be reached quickly because of landslides that blocked roads and destroyed bridges, meaning that several million people were likely to be affected by impending snowfall. One positive effect of the catastrophe was the opening of crossing points on the Line of Control between India and Pakistan to allow humanitarian and medical aid to reach the remote areas.

Government and politics

Parliament house in Islamabad

Main article: Government of Pakistan

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 re-instated in 1991 and is the most important document laying the foundations of government in the country. Pakistan is a federal republic with a semi-presidential system and a bicameral legislature comprising 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/alliance becomes Chief Minister. Provincial Governors are selected by the Provincial Assemblies on the advice of the Chief Minister. Islam is the official state religion.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Pakistan

Before and during the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the largely secular and centrist All India Muslim League supported the creation of Pakistan, while the religious parties such as the Shi'a Conference, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind, and leaders such as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad opposed the creation of Pakistan and supported a united India. The liberal, leftist Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged as a major political player during the 1970s. During the 1980s, a new political, anti-feudal movement was started by unorthodox and educated urban dwellers of Sindh, most prominently Karachi, now known as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

After the general elections of October 2002, the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) won a plurality of seats in the National Assembly with second-largest group being the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), a sub-party of the PPP. Zafarullah Khan Jamali of PML-Q emerged as Prime Minister but he resigned on June 26, 2004 and was replaced by PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain as interim Prime Minister. On August 27, 2004 the National Assembly voted 191 to 151 to elect the Finance Minister and former Citibank Vice President Shaukat Aziz as Prime Minister.

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Pakistan

Musharraf with U.S. President Bush

Pakistan is an active member of the United Nations (UN) and the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC), the latter of which Pakistan has used as a forum for Enlightened Moderation^[15], a plan to promote a renaissance and enlightenment in the Muslim world. Pakistan is also a member of the major regional organisations of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO). In the past Pakistan has had mixed relations with the United States especially in the early 1950s when Pakistan was the United States' "most allied ally in Asia"^[16] and a member of both the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO). During the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980's Pakistan was a crucial U.S. ally but relations soured in the 1990's with sanctions being applied by the United States over suspicions of Pakistan's nuclear activities. The September 11 attacks and the subsequent war on terror have seen an enormous improvement in U.S.-Pakistan ties especially after Pakistan switched support away from the Taliban regime in Kabul.

Pakistan has had difficult relations with neighbouring India with the two countries fighting three wars. The long-running border dispute over Kashmir resulted in war in 1947 and 1965. The civil war of 1971 flared into the simultaneous Bangladeshi Liberation War and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. India's decision to conduct nuclear tests in 1998 resulted in Pakistan carrying out its own tests and becoming the only declared Muslim nuclear power.

Provinces and territories

Main article: Subdivisions of Pakistan

File:PakistanNumbered.png

Pakistan is officially a federation^[17] of four provinces, a capital territory and federally-administered tribal areas. Pakistan also exercises de facto jurisdiction over the western parts of the Kashmir region which are organised as two separate political entities (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas. In 2001 the federal government abolished the third tier of government (administrative divisions) in favour of the former fourth tier districts. The provinces and the capital territory are subdivided into a total of 107 districts which contain numerous tehsils and local governments. The tribal areas comprise seven tribal agencies and six small frontier regions detached from neighbouring districts whilst Azad Kashmir comprises seven districts and Northern areas comprises six districts.

Provinces:

1. Balochistan
2. North-West Frontier Province (NWFP)
3. Punjab
4. Sindh

• Balochistan and NWFP also have Provincially Administered Tribal Areas^[18] (PATA) which are being developed into regular districts.

Territories:

5. Islamabad Capital Territory
6. Federally Administered Tribal Areas

Pakistani-administered portions of the Kashmir region:

7. Azad Kashmir
8. Northern Areas

Geography and climate

Main article: Geography of Pakistan

The world's second-highest mountain, K2

File:Lake Saif-Ul-Maluk - Naran, Pa by makhna.jpg

Lake Saif-ul-Muluk in the Kaghan Valley

Pakistan covers 880,254 km² square kilometres or 340,022 square miles, approximately the combined land areas of France and the United Kingdom, with it's eastern regions located on the Indian tectonic plate and the western and northern regions on the Iranian plateau and Eurasian landplate. Apart from the 1,046 kilometre (650 mi) Arabian Sea coastline, Pakistan's land borders total 6,774 kilometres - 2,430 km (1,510 mi) with Afghanistan to the northwest, 523 km (325 mi) with China to the northeast, 2,912 km (1,809 mi) with India to the east and (565 mi) 909 km with Iran to the southwest.

The Indus River near Skardu, Pakistan

Pakistan has many different types of climate and scenery from the sandy beaches, lagoons, and mangrove swamps of the southern coast to areas of preserved moist temperate forest and the icy peaks of the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountains in the north. Many of the mountains, including K2 and Nanga Parbat, are over 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) high and covered in snow and glaciers. Linking the two areas and running the length of the country is the Indus River and its many tributaries. To the west of the Indus are the dry, hilly deserts of Balochistan; to the east are the rolling sand dunes of the Thar Desert. Most areas of Punjab and parts of Sindh, are fertile plains where agriculture is of great importance.

The climate varies as much as the scenery with very cold winters and hot summers in the north and a mild maritime-influenced climate in the south. The central parts have extremely hot summers with temperatures rising to 45ºC (113ºF), followed by very cold winters, often falling below freezing. There is very little rainfall ranging from less than 250  millimetres to more than 1,250  millimetres (9.8 - 49.2 in), mostly brought by the south-westerly monsoon winds during the late summer. The monsoons are unreliable because in some years they bring a lot of rain and in other years very little rain and much of the rain is lost through evaporation because it falls at the hottest time of the year. This results in a water shortage for crops; to combat this dams have been built on the rivers to store and release water when the farmers need it in the fields. In many drier areas, water wells have been sunk to ease the water shortage problem.

Wildlife

The wide variety of landscapes and climates in Pakistan allows for a wide variety of wild animals and birds. In the south, there are crocodiles in the murky waters at the mouth of the Indus River whilst on the banks of the river, there are boars, deer, porcupines, and small rodents. In the sandy scrublands of central Pakistan, jackals, hyenas, wild cats, panthers, and leopards roam in search of food. The clear blue skies abound with hawks, falcons, and eagles. In the north, some of the rarest animals in the world can be seen in the mountains and valleys. They include Marco Polo sheep and Urial sheep; Markhor and Ibex goats with long, curved horns; black and brown Himalayan bears; and the very rare Snow Leopard. Another rare species is the Indus River Dolphin, a blind cetacean which inhabits the area where the Punjab rivers meet the Indus. There are believed to be about 1,000 Indus Dolphins remaining and they are protected in two major sanctuaries.

In recent years the government has become concerned with the number of wild animals being killed for fur and leather trading. Some species of animals were in danger of being wiped out altogether because hunters had killed so many of them. In 1981, Parliament passed a law banning the hunting of wild animals and birds but many people ignored the law. Due to this negligence, the government has established several wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves^[19] where animals can live in safety from hunters. These special parks have towers and hideouts to enable people to observe the animals without disturbing or harming them.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Pakistan

File:Karachi at night.JPEG

I.I. Chundrigar Road (Karachi's "Wall street")

File:Malam Jabba P1010215.jpg

Malam Jabba Ski Resort, Swat, NWFP

The Shalimar Gardens of Lahore

Pakistan is a rapidly developing country which has faced a number of challenges on the 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. Recently, wide-ranging economic reforms have resulted in a brighter economic outlook and accelerated growth especially in the manufacturing and financial services sectors. The growth of non-agricultural sectors has changed the structure of the economy, and agriculture now only accounts for roughly 20% of the gross domestic product (GDP). There has been a great improvement in the foreign exchange position and a rapid growth in hard currency reserves in recent years. In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005, Pakistan's GDP growth rate was 8.4%, the second-highest after China, among the ten most populous countries in the world^[20]. The service sector accounts for 53% of the country's GDP with wholesale and retail trade forming 30% of this sector. Shopping is a popular pastime, especially among the wealthy and the thirty-million strong middle class. Karachi is especially known for the great contrast in shopping experiences, from burgeoning bazaars to modern multi-storey shopping malls.

Tourism is a growth industry in Pakistan based on the diverse cultures, peoples and landscapes. Visitors are attracted by the ruins of ancient places, such as Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Thatta, Bhambore and Taxila. In the north, the Himalayan hill stations provide magnificent scenery, a fine climate, and excellent opportunities for field sports, mountaineering^[21] and winter sports. Some of the highest mountains in the world attract mountaineers and adventurers from around the world. The scenic northern parts of Pakistan have many old fortresses, towers and other architecture as well as beautiful valleys like Hunza and Chitral, the latter being home to the small pre-Islamic animist Kalasha community who claim descent from the army of Alexander the Great. In the Punjab province is the site of Alexander's battle of the Hydaspes River. Further east is Lahore, Pakistan's cultural capital and a historic city with many examples of Mughal architecture such as the Badshahi Masjid and the Shalimar Gardens.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Pakistan

File:Faisal masjid isla galleryfull.jpeg

The King Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, Pakistan. The mosque is one of the largest in the world.

File:Pakistan ethnic 80.jpg

Major ethnic groups in Pakistan and surrounding areas, 1980

Pakistan has the world's sixth largest population, more than Russia, but less 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 fertility rate, but it is likely that the rate of growth peaked in 1980s^[22]. According to the Population Reference Bureau, the population was 162,400,000^[23] on July 1, 2005. The fertility rate was 34 per thousand and the death rate was 10 per thousand. The rate of natural increase was 2.4%. Pakistan also had a high infant mortality rate of 85 per thousand births. The population comprises several main ethnic groups - Punjabis (44.15% of the population), Pakhtuns (15.42%), Sindhis (14.1%), Seraikis (10.53%), Muhajirs (7.57%), Balochis (3.57%), and others (4.66%). The census does not include the four million refugees from neighbouring Afghanistan who have permanently settled in Pakistan due to continuing violence in Afghanistan.

Census data^[24] indicates that 96% of the population are Muslims of whom nearly 80% are Sunni Muslims and 20% are Shi'a Muslims. The non-Muslim population mainly comprises of Christians (1.6% of the population) and Hindus (1.6%), Qadianis, Buddhists, Jews, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, and Animists (mainly the Kalash in Chitral). The demographics of Pakistan were significantly influenced in 1947 by the movement of Muslims to Pakistan and Hindus and Sikhs to India. More recently millions of refugees have settled permanently in Pakistan as a result of the wars in Afghanistan. Urdu is the national language and the lingua franca of Pakistan but English is the official language used in the Constitution and also widely used by corporate businesses, the educated urban elite and most universities. Urdu is the mother tongue of only 7.57% of the population^[25], mainly Muhajirs. Additionally, nearly all Pakistanis speak mutually intelligible regional Indo-Iranian languages; among them, Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, and Balochi are widely spoken.

Society and culture

The Mughal-era Hazuri Bagh in Lahore

Main article: Culture of Pakistan

Pakistan has a rich and unique culture that has actively preserved established traditions throughout history. Prior to the Islamic invasion, many Punjabis and Sindhis were Hindu and Buddhist but this changed during the expansion of Islam by the Ummayad General Muhammad bin Qasim, Mahmud of Ghazni and others. Many cultural practices, foods, monuments, and shrines were inherited from the rule of Muslim Mughal and Afghan emperors including the national dress of shalwar kameez. Women wear brightly coloured shalwar kameez with embroidery for special occasions such as weddings while men often wear solid coloured shalwar kameez, usually with a sherwani, a coat that goes over the shalwar kameez.

Pakistani music is represented by a rich variety of forms ranging from traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern forms that fuse traditional Pakistani music with western music. The internationally renowned Qawwali maestro, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, synchronised Qawwali with Western music. Pakistan has produced many renowned Ghazal singers such as Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Farida Khanum, Abida Parveen and Iqbal Bano. Popular forms of music include film music and the diverse traditions of provincial folk music with the arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces also rekindling Pashto and Persian music. Peshawar has become a hub for Afghan musicians and a distribution centre for Afghan music abroad. Until the 1990s, the government-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (Radio Pakistan) were the dominant media outlets in Pakistan. However the past decade has seen the emergence of up to fifty private television channels (news and entertainment) such as Geo TV, Indus TV, Mashriq, Hum and ARY. The bulk of television shows are plays or soap operas - some of them critically acclaimed. Various American, European, and Asian television channels and movies are available to a majority of the population via cable and satellite television. There are small indigenous movie industries based in Lahore (Lollywood) and Peshawar (Pollywood) and although Bollywood movies are banned, pirated discs are easily available, so Indian film stars are popular in Pakistan as well.

Pakistani society is largely multilingual and multicultural and religious practices of various faiths are an integral part of everyday life. Traditional family values are highly regarded, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system, due to the socio-economic 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 but the northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan, remain highly conservative and dominated by centuries-old regional tribal customs. Increasing globalization has increased the influence of "Western culture" with Pakistan ranking 46^th on the Kearney/FP Globalization Index^[26]. Many Western restaurant chains, such as McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken, have established themselves in the major cities. Pakistan has more expatriates than any other Muslim country, with a large number living in Australia, Europe, the Middle East, North America. Pakistani emigrants and their children influence Pakistan culturally and economically by regularly returning to and investing in Pakistan.

Holidays

Main article: Holidays in Pakistan

There are many holidays and festivals celebrated annually in Pakistan. While Pakistan is an Islamic nation, there are also several secular holidays including Pakistan Day (March 23), Independence Day (August 14), Defence of Pakistan Day (September 6), the anniversaries of the birth (December 25) and death (September 11) of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and Allama Iqbal Day (November 9). Labour Day (also known as May Day) is also observed in Pakistan on May 1.

Several important festivals are celebrated by Pakistani Muslims during the year, dependent on moon sightings. Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, is characterised by daytime fasting for 29 or 30 days and is followed by the festival of Eid ul-Fitr. In a second festival, Eid ul-Adha, an animal is sacrificed in remembrance of the actions of Abraham and the meat is shared with friends, family, and the less fortunate. Both Eid festivals are public holidays, when people visit family and friends, and children recieve new clothes, presents, and sweets. Some sects celebrate the birthday of the prophet Muhammad in the third Islamic month (Rabi' al-awwal) with Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi. The Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Christians of Pakistan also celebrate their own festivals and saints' days. Sikhs come from across the world to visit several holy sites including the shrine of Guru Nanak at Hassan Abdal in the Attock District, and the birthplace of Guru Nanak at Nankana Sahib. There are also several regional and local festivals, such as the Punjabi festival of Basant, which marks the start of spring and is celebrated by kite flying.

Sports

File:Rawalpindi cricket.jpg

The Rawalpindi cricket stadium

Main article: Sports In Pakistan

The official sport of Pakistan is field hockey, although cricket and squash are also popular. The national cricket team has won the Cricket World Cup once (1992) and co-hosted the games twice (1987 and 1996) as well as winning the Australasia Cup in 1986, 1990, and 1994. At an international level, Pakistan has competed many times at the Summer Olympics in field hockey, boxing, athletics, swimming, and shooting. At the 2006 Winter Olympics Pakistan sent it's first Winter Olympic team of two participants in alpine skiing. Hockey has been Pakistan's most successful sport at the Olympiads, with three gold medals (1960, 1968, 1984). Pakistan has also won the Hockey World Cup four times (1971, 1978, 1982, 1994)^[27]. Pakistan has also hosted several international competitions including the South Asian Federation Games (1989 and 2004). A1 Grand Prix racing is also becoming popular with the entry of a Pakistani team in the initial 2005 season. The Tour of Pakistan, modelled on the Tour de France, is an important, annual national cycling competition that covers the length and breadth of Pakistan.

Notes

1. ^ World Gazetteer population estimate for 2006
2. ^ As with Note 3 below, the dispute over Kashmir means that the Pakistan-China border is not internationally recognised.
3. ^ The status of the Kashmir region is disputed between India and Pakistan with the two countries and China administering parts of the region separately. The 1948 UN ceasefire froze the positions of Indian and Pakistani held territory with a de facto border called the Line of Control.
4. ^ Now or Never pamphlet
5. ^ University of Sheffield's archaeological research in Pakistan
6. ^ Minnesota State University page on Mohenjo-Daro
7. ^ Livius.org on the extent of the Achaemenid Empire
8. ^ Plutarch's Life of Alexander
9. ^ Infinity Foundation's translation of the Chach-Nama
10. ^ Library of Congress study of Pakistan
11. ^ Iqbal and the Pakistan Movement
12. ^ Jang.com page on the Lahore Resolution
13. ^ "Community participation in disaster management can reduce the losses"
14. ^ CBC News Brief from November 8, 2005
15. ^ President Musharraf on Enlightened Moderation
16. ^ Pakistan: The Most Allied Ally in Asia
17. ^ The Constitutional basis of the Federation of Pakistan
18. ^ Constitutional article 246(b) on the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas
19. ^ Wildlife Sanctuaries of Pakistan
20. ^ Asian Development Bank data
21. ^ PTDC page on mountaineering
22. ^ Bharatiya Hockey
23. ^ Feeney and Alam, 2003
24. ^ Population Reference Bureau's 2005 World Data Sheet
25. ^ Ethnologue listing of Urdu
26. ^ Census results for languages of Pakistan
27. ^ Kearney Foreign Policy Globalization Index

References

• Banuazizi, Ali and Weiner, Myron. The State, Religion, and Ethnic Politics: Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. Syracuse University Press. August 1988. ISBN 0815624484.
• Halliday, Fred. State and Ideology in the Middle East and Pakistan. Monthly Review Pr. Feb 1998. ISBN 0853457344.
• Hammond Incorporated. Hammond Greater Middle East Region: Including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, and Turkey. American Map Corporation. August 2002. ISBN 0843718277.
• Hilton, Isabel. "Letter from Pakistan: The Pashtun Code". The New Yorker. December 03, 2001. [28]
• Insight Guides, Halliday, Tony and Ikram, Tahir. Insight Guide Pakistan. Apa Productions. January 1998. ISBN 0887297366.
• Malik, Hafeez. Pakistan: Founders' Aspirations and Today's Realities. Oxford University Press, USA. May 2001. ISBN 0195793331.
• Malik, Iftikhar H. "Religious Minorities in Pakistan". Minority Rights Group International. September 2002. ISBN 1897693699. [29]
• Najim, Adil. "Pakistan and Democracy". The News International Pakistan. May 06, 2004. [30]
• Rooney, John. Shadows in the dark: A history of Christianity in Pakistan up to the 10th century. Christian Study Centre. January 1984. ASIN B0006EPRFS.
• Sharif, Shuja. "Musharraf's Administration And Pakistan's Economy". Contemporary Review. Mar 31, 2005. 129-134.
• Wolpert, Stanley. Jinnah of Pakistan. Oxford University Press, USA. May 1984. ISBN 0195034120.
• Pak History: Historical Facts on Pakistan and South Asia
• Statehood in South Asia
• Strategic Insights, Volume III, Issue 10 (October 2004)

External links

• Official Website of the Government of Pakistan
• Official Website of the President of Pakistan
• Official Information Website of Pakistan
• CIA Factbook information
• World Bank data on Pakistan
• Open Directory Project - Pakistan
• Brain.net History of Pakistan
• Story of Pakistan
• Picture Page on Pakistan
• Flickr.com images of Pakistan
• PakImages.com
• List of Pakistani newspapers
• Associated Press of Pakistan
• Dawn Newspaper
• Daily Jang - The News
• Template:Wikitravel
• Pakistan, an external wiki