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Islamic Republic of Pakistan
(Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ
پاکستان), is a country located in South Asia that
overlaps with the Greater Middle East. It has a
thousand-kilometer coastline along the Arabian Sea in the
south and borders Afghanistan and Iran to the west, India
to the east and the People's Republic of China in the far
northeast.
The
name "Pakistan" means "Land of the Pure" in Urdu
and Persian and was coined in 1933 by Choudhary Rahmat
Ali, who published it in the pamphlet Now or Never
as an acronym of the names of the "Muslim homelands" of
western India — P for Punjab, A for
Afghania (the Afghan areas), K for Kashmir,
S for Sindh and tan for Balochistan. An i
was later added to the English rendition of the name to
ease pronunciation.
Map of Pakistan
Emblem
Pakistani Flag
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General Facts:
The
separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state
of Pakistan (with two sections West and East) and largely
Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved, and India
and Pakistan fought two wars - in 1947-48 and 1965 - over
the disputed Kashmir territory. A third war between these
countries in 1971 - in which India capitalized on
Islamabad's marginalization of Bengalis in Pakistani
politics - resulted in East Pakistan becoming the separate
nation of Bangladesh. In response to Indian nuclear
weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998.
The dispute over the state of Kashmir is ongoing, but
discussions and confidence-building measures have led to
decreased tensions since 2002.
Population:
165,803,560 (July 2005 est.)
Provinces:
Balochistan, North West Frontier Province, Punjab, Sindh
Ethnic groups:
Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir
(immigrants from India at the time of partition and their
descendants)
Religions:
Muslim
97% (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%), Christian, Hindu, and other 3%
Languages:
Punjabi
48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki (a Punjabi variant) 10%, Pashtu
8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%,
English (official and lingua franca of Pakistani elite and
most government ministries), Burushaski, and other 8%
Government
type:
Federal
republic
Capital:
Islamabad
Independence:
14
August 1947 (from UK)
Currency:
Pakistani rupee (PKR)
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Useful
Links
Music
Jang Newspaper
Dawn Newspaper
Embassy in USA
Government
Tourism
Pakistan Link
Pak in UN
PIA Airline
Pakistani Rupees |
