Dr Asma Jahangir of Pakistan was in 2010 appointed to the Commonwealth
Eminent Persons Group, which presented its recommendations for reform in
the Commonwealth to Commonwealth leaders at CHOGM in Australia in
October 2011.
Cricketers Imran Khan and Wasim Akram, both born in Lahore, Punjab,
achieved the ‘all-rounder’s double’ and Wisden Leading Cricketer in the
World.
Mohammed Hanif won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize Best First Book
award, in 2009, with A Case of Exploding Mangoes.
Key facts
Joined Commonwealth: 1947 (left in 1972, rejoined in 1989)
Population: 182,143,000 (2013)
GDP: 1.8% p.a. 1990–2013
UN HDI: world ranking 146
Official language: Urdu
Timezone: GMT plus 5hr
Currency: Pakistan rupee (PRs)
Geography
Area: 796,095 sq km, excluding territory in Jammu and Kashmir, whose
status is in dispute.
Coastline: 1,050km
Capital city: Islamabad
Population density (per sq. km): 229
The country comprises four provinces: (from south to north) Sindh,
Balochistan, Punjab and Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa (formerly North- West
Frontier Province). The territory adjoining Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa is known
as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and the
Pakistani-administered parts of Jammu and Kashmir in the north-east as
Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas.
There are 262,260 km of roads, 72 per cent paved, and 7,791 km of
railway, with 781 stations. Main lines run north–south, linking the main
ports and industrial centre of Karachi with Islamabad, 1,600 km to the
north. All major cities and most industrial centres are linked by rail.
Karachi port handles the bulk of foreign trade. Port Qasim, south- east
of Karachi, is also an important port. Major international airports are
at Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore.
International relations:
Pakistan is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, Organisation of
Islamic Cooperation, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation,
United Nations and World Trade Organization.
Topography:
Pakistan has great topographical variety. The high mountain region of
the north includes part of the Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindukush. There
are 35 peaks over 7,320 metres high, including K-2, the world’s
second-highest mountain. This region abounds in glaciers, lakes and
green valleys. Southwards, the ranges gradually lose height. The western
low mountain region covers much of Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa Province, with
mountains cut by valleys and passes, including the Khyber Pass, 56 km
long, connecting Kabul in Afghanistan with Peshawar. The third region is
the Balochistan plateau to the west. West of the Balochistan plateau is
an area of desert with dry lakes, one 87 km long. The Potohar upland
lies between the Indus and Jhelum rivers in the Islamabad/Rawalpindi
area. This is an arid region, with cultivation along the valleys. The
fifth region is the Punjab plain watered by the River Indus and its
eastern tributaries (Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas) and
additionally irrigated by canals. The Sindh plain stretches between the
Punjab plain and the Arabian Sea on both sides of the Indus river. The
plain comprises a vast fertile tract with many lakes, and a desert
spreading eastward into India.
In October 2005, a powerful earthquake, with its epicentre in the north
of the country, close to Muzaffarabad in Pakistan- administered Kashmir,
caused some 80,000 deaths and devastation of a large area which left
millions homeless.
Climate:
Extreme variations of temperature. The northern mountains are cold, with
long and severe winters. Temperatures on the Balochistan plateau are
high. Along the coastal strip, the climate is modified by sea breezes.
In the rest of the country, the temperature rises steeply in summer.
Seasons are: cold season (December to March), hot season (April to
June), monsoon season (July to September) and post-monsoon season
(October and November). Rainfall varies from 760–1,270 mm in the
Himalayan foothills to 210 mm in Balochistan.
Environment:
The most significant issues are soil erosion, deforestation,
desertification, and water pollution with untreated sewage and
industrial waste and by use of commercial pesticides.
Vegetation:
Well-watered mountain slopes support forests of deodar, pine, poplar,
shisham, willow and other species. Towering grasses and expanses of
floating lotus flourish in the lake area of the Sindh plain. There are
mangrove swamps to the south. Forest covers two per cent of the land
area, having declined at 2.0 per cent p.a. 1990–2010. Arable land
comprises 27 per cent and permanent cropland one per cent of the total
land area.
Wildlife:
Wildlife in the northern mountains includes brown bears, black Himalayan
bears, musk deer, ibexes, leopards and rare snow-leopards. Chinkara
gazelles have a wider distribution, while barking deer live closer to
urban centres. In the delta, there are crocodiles, pythons and wild
boar. Green turtles, an endangered species, regularly visit the Karachi
coast during the egg-laying season. Houbara bustards are winter
visitors. Manchar Lake in Sindh is rich in water-birds. In 2003, there
were 37,800 sq km of protected areas (4.9 per cent of the land area).
Some 24 mammal species and 23 bird species are thought to be endangered
(2014).
History:
The region of Pakistan was one of the cradles of civilisation. Stone-age
hunter-gatherers lived on the Potohar plateau and in the Soan Valley in
northern Punjab 300,000 or more years ago. Excavations on the
Balochistan plateau show a more advanced culture which flourished from
4000 to 2000 BCE. At Kot Diji in the Khairpur district, an early bronze
age culture developed in this period. These early civilisations reached
their peak in the Indus valley cities, of which Harappa is the most
notable. These societies had mastered town planning and pictographic
writing.
In 327 BCE Alexander the Great invaded with his Macedonian army. Later,
Mauryans from India ruled the northern Punjab area, to be replaced by
Bactrian Greeks from Afghanistan and central Asian tribes. Different
religions prevailed in turn: Buddhism (under the Mauryans), Hinduism
and, with Arab conquest in the eighth century, Islam.
Two main principalities emerged under Arab rule, that of al- Mansurah
and that of Multan. The Ghaznarid sultans gained ascendancy in Punjab in
the 11th century. The subsequent ascendancy of the Moghuls, who
originated in Central Asia, lasted from 1536 to 1707; their rule
lingered nominally until 1857. They established a sophisticated imperial
administration and left a rich legacy of forts and walled cities,
gardens and gateways, mosques and tombs.
In the early 17th century European traders arrived on the subcontinent.
Through the East India Company, the British became the dominant force.
After the unsuccessful uprising against Britain of 1857, the British
took direct control. Slowly a national Muslim identity emerged,
championed by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817–89). The All India Muslim League
was founded in 1907.
As the subcontinent moved towards independence, it became clear that
Hindu and Muslim interests could not be reconciled. The campaign to
establish an independent Muslim state came to prominence in the 1920s
and 30s. It was led by the philosopher and poet Mohammad Iqbal and
Mohammad Ali Jinnah.
Pakistan was created, as an Islamic state, out of the partition of the
UK’s Indian Empire, at independence in August 1947. It originally
consisted of two parts, West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and East Pakistan
(now Bangladesh), separated by 1,600 km of Indian territory. Partition
was followed by war with India over Kashmir and the mass migration of
Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs to resettle within the new borders, an
upheaval which led to violence, financial loss and death on a large
scale. With the arrival of Indian Muslims and departure of Pakistan’s
Hindus and Sikhs, Pakistan became an almost entirely Muslim society.
Jinnah, who is honoured as the Quaid-i-Azam, or great leader, died in
1948.
In 1956, Pakistan became a federal republic. It has been under military
rule for long periods. Its first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, was
assassinated in 1951. In 1958, martial law was declared and political
parties abolished. General (later Field Marshal) Ayub Khan became
President in 1960 and allowed a form of guided ‘basic democracy’.
However, failure to win the 1965 war against India and accusations of
nepotism and corruption undermined his position. In the east, the Awami
League of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman voiced the grievances of the Bengali
population. Ayub Khan resigned in 1969 and power was taken over by
General Yahya Khan, who in December 1970 held the first national
elections in independent Pakistan.
Mujib and the Awami League won an electoral majority in Pakistan’s
general election on a platform demanding greater autonomy for East
Pakistan. At the same time Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party
(PPP) gained a majority in the West. Despite Mujib’s victory, he was
prevented by the Pakistan authorities from becoming Prime Minister of
the combined state and the Awami League then issued their own plans for
a new constitution for an independent state in the East. As a result of
the military intervention that ensued, civil war broke out in the
eastern region in 1971; the Indian army intervened in support of the
Bengalis; Pakistan forces withdrew and Bangladesh became an independent
state. In 1972 Pakistan withdrew from the Commonwealth but rejoined in
1989.
Under a new constitution introduced in 1973, Bhutto became Prime
Minister. He undertook agrarian reform and the nationalisation of large
sections of industry and the financial sector. In July 1977 the army,
under General Zia ul-Haq, intervened in the urban unrest. Zia declared
martial law and arrested Bhutto who was convicted, after a controversial
trial, of conspiring to murder a political opponent. Despite
international appeals, he was hanged in April 1979. Zia promised
elections within 90 days, but ruled without them until his death. He
assumed the presidency and embarked on a programme of Islamisation.
Martial law and the ban on political parties were lifted in 1985,
Bhutto’s daughter Benazir returned from exile to lead the PPP and Zia
died in a plane crash in August 1988.
Elections in November 1988 brought the PPP to power in coalition with
the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM). However, in October 1989 the MQM left
the coalition and in August 1990 Bhutto was dismissed by the President
Ghulam Ishaque Khan and charged with corruption. The National Assembly
was dissolved and a caretaker leader installed until Islami Jamhoori
Ittehad led by Nawaz Sharif won a decisive election victory in October
1990. Sharif pursued economic reforms and privatisation and instituted
Sharia (Islamic) law until 1993 when President and Prime Minister
resigned under pressure from the military, making way for fresh
elections which brought Benazir Bhutto back to power by a small
majority.
In November 1996, President Sardar Farooq Khan Leghari, prompted by the
army high command and opposition leaders, used the eighth amendment to
the constitution, and dissolved the National Assembly, bringing down the
Bhutto government and alleging corruption, financial incompetence, and
human rights violations. New elections were held in February 1997. The
Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) – previously the main component of the
Islami Jamhoori Ittehad – won 134 seats in the National Assembly and
Sharif became Prime Minister. Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party retained
only 18 seats. In April 1997, Sharif was able to gain the PPP’s support
to achieve the two- thirds majority necessary to repeal the eighth
amendment, ending the President’s ability to dissolve the National
Assembly. He also took over from the President the power to appoint
Supreme Court judges and military chiefs-of-staff.
In October 1999, Sharif ordered the dismissal of Army Chief of Staff
General Pervez Musharraf, and refused permission to land for the
commercial aircraft in which he was returning to Karachi (from an
official visit to Sri Lanka). The army countermanded the Prime
Minister’s orders and immediately seized power, dismissing the
government and arresting Sharif. Musharraf justified his actions as
necessary to restore both the economy and the deteriorating political
situation. Pending the restoration of democracy the Commonwealth
Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) suspended Pakistan from the councils of
the Commonwealth.
Kashmir
The dispute with India over Kashmir escalated sharply in 1999, when
militants with Pakistani military support crossed the Line of Control at
Kargil and engaged in major battles with Indian forces. More than 1,000
people were killed in the fighting. In July 1999, Pakistan finally
agreed to withdraw from Indian-controlled territory, but the state of
tension, which had been heightened by the nuclear testing of 1998 (India
had detonated five nuclear devices on 11 and 13 May 1998 and Pakistan
responded with six on 28 and 30 May), persisted.
At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in 2001
President General Pervez Musharraf attended a summit in India, focusing
on their dispute over Kashmir. Although there was no substantive
outcome, this first face-to-face meeting between leaders of the two
countries since 1999 was characterised by a new interest on both sides
in seeking a resolution to this long- standing problem. However, by May
2002 India had mobilised a vast army along the Line of Control and the
two countries were again on the brink of war.
Tension eased considerably in October 2002 when India reduced its number
of troops along the Line of Control; diplomatic relations were restored
in August 2003 and a ceasefire along the Line of Control was agreed and
took effect from 26 November 2003. Peace talks between India and
Pakistan began in 2004, marking a historic advance in relations between
the two countries. The talks led to the restoration of communication
links and a range of confidence-building measures, including co-
ordinated relief efforts in the aftermath of the October 2005
earthquake.
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