General information: The British colony of India was divided in 1947 into the Muslim state of Pakistan (consisting of two parts – western and eastern) and predominantly Hindu India; neither side was satisfied with the partition. The third war between these countries, which broke out in 1971, led to the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent state of Bangladesh. The dispute over the state of Kashmir continues. In response to Indian nuclear tests, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998.

Geography

Location: South Asia, on the coast of the Arabian Sea, between India (in the east), Iran and Afghanistan (in the west) and China (in the north). See franciscogardening.com to know more about Pakistan Geography.
Geographical coordinates: 30° 00′ N. latitude, 70° 00′ E
Reference map: Asia.
Area: total: 803,940 km2; land surface area: 778,720 km2; water surface area: 25,220 km2
Comparative area: slightly less than twice the area of ​​the state of California.
Land borders: total length: 6,774 km; with neighboring states: with Afghanistan 2,430 km, with China 523 km, with India 2,912 km, with Iran 909 km.
Coastline: 1,046 km.
Maritime claims: neutral waters: 24 nautical miles; continental shelf: 200 nautical miles or to the outer limits of the continent; exclusive economic zone: 200 nautical miles; territorial waters: 12 nautical miles.
Climate: mostly arid desert; temperate in northwest; highland in the north.
Terrain: Indus Valley in the east; mountains in the north and northeast; the Balochistan plateau in the west.
Maximum and minimum heights: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m; highest point: Mount Chogori (Godwin-Austin) 8,611 m.
Natural resources: land resources, abundant natural gas reserves, limited oil reserves, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone.
Land use: arable land: 27%; cultivated land: 1%; pastures: 6%; – ? forests and plantations: 5%; others: 61% (1993 est.).
Irrigated land: 171,100 km2 (1993 est.).
Natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, sometimes destructive (in the north and west); floods along the Indus River caused by prolonged rains (from July to August).
Actual environmental problems: water pollution by sewage, industrial waste and agricultural effluents; limited fresh water supplies; the majority of the population uses poor-quality water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification.
International agreements on environmental protection: member: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Pollution, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban, Marine Life Conservation.
Geography Note: Pakistan controls the Khiber and Bolan Passes, historic invasion routes from Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent.

Population

Population: 144,616,639 (July 2001 est.).
Age structure: under 14: 40.47% (male 30,131,400; female 28,391,891); 15 to 64 years old: 55.42% (male 40,977,543; female 39,164,663); over 65: 4.11% (male 2,918,872; female 3,032,270) (2001 est.)
Population growth: 2.11% (2001 est.).
Birth rate: 31.21 newborns / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Mortality: 9.26 deaths / 1000 people. (2001 est.).
Migration: -0.84 people / 1000 people (2001 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male/female; under 15: 1.06 male/female; 15 to 64 years old: 1.05 male/female; over 65: 0.96 male/female; for the general population: 1.05 male/female (2001 est.);
Child mortality: 80.5 deaths/1000 births (2001 est.).
Life expectancy: for the general population: 61.45 years; men: 60.61 years; women: 62.32 years (2001 est.).
General birth rate: 4.41 children/wives. (2001 est.).
Proportion of adults infected with HIV: 0.1% (1999 est.).
Number of people infected with HIV: 74,000 (1999 est.).
AIDS deaths: 6,500 (1999 est.).
Nationality: noun: Pakistani; adjective: Pakistani.
Ethnic groups: Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns, Balochs, Muhajirs (immigrants from India and their descendants).
Believers: Muslim 97% (Sunni 77%, Shia 20%), Christian, Hindu and other 3%.
Languages): Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Sirai-ki (a variant of Punjabi) 10%, Pashto 8%, Urdu (official) 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahi 1%, English (the official and spoken language of the Pakistani elite and most government officials), burushaski (and others) 8%.
Literacy: definition: persons aged 15 and over who can read and write; for the general population: 42.7%; men: 55.3%; women: 29% (1998).

Politics

conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Pakistan;
conventional short form: Pakistan; former: West Pakistan.
State structure: federal republic.
Capital: Islamabad.
Administrative divisions: 4 provinces, 1 territory* and 1 capital district**: Balochistan, Federal Tribal Area*, Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sindh, Islamabad Federal Capital Territory”; note: Pakistani-administered Jammu and Kashmir region includes Azad Kashmir and the Northern Territories
Independence: from 14 August 1947 (before 1947 – part of British India)
National holiday: Republic Day, 23 March (since 1956) (the day the Republic was proclaimed).
Constitution: adopted April 10, 1973, suspended July 5, 1977, renewed (as amended) December 30, 1985; Suspended again 15 October 1999
Legal system: based on English common law with clauses giving Pakistan the status of an Islamic state; subject to the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice.
Suffrage: from 21 years old; universal; separate constituencies and reserved seats in parliament for non-Muslims, Executive branch: note: after the military coup on October 12, 1999, the commander of the army and chairman of the committee of chiefs of staff, General Pervez MUSHARRAF, suspended the Pakistani constitution and assumed the title of chief executive ; acting as head of government, he established an eight-member National Security Council as the supreme authority; President Mohammad Rafiq TARAR remains nominal head of state; Pakistan’s Supreme Court unanimously upheld the October 1999 coup and granted MUSHARRAF executive and legislative powers for a period of three years from the date of the coup;
chief of state: President Mohammed Rafiq TARAR (since 31 December 1997)
head of government: Chief Executive General Pervez MUSHARRAF (since 12 October 1999);
government: a cabinet of ministers appointed by the chief executive; elections: the president is elected by parliament for a five-year term; elections last held 31 December 1997 (next to be held in 2002); after elections to the Parliament of the leader of the party or coalition with the most votes, the National Assembly usually elects the Prime Minister; elections last held 3 February 1997 (next to come – NA); note – in a military coup on 12 October 1999, General Pervez MUSHARRAF overthrew the government led by Prime Minister Mohammad Nawaz SHARIF; in May 2000, the Supreme Court recognized the coup as lawful and limited the powers of the head of the executive branch of MUSHARRAFA to 3 years; election results: Rafik TARAR elected president; the percentage of votes in parliament and provinces – no data; results of pre-coup elections 12 October 1999 – Mohammad Nawaz Sharif elected prime minister; percentage of votes in the National Assembly – no data.
Legislature: note – General Pervez MUSHARRAF dissolved parliament after the coup on October 12, 1999; the bicameral parliament (Majlis-e-Shoora) consists of the Senate (87 members directly elected by the provincial assemblies for a six-year term; one-third of the members are re-elected every two years) and the National Assembly (217 members, 10 seats reserved for non-Muslims; members are elected by popular vote for five year term) elections: for Senate last held 12 March 1997 (next to come – NA); to the National Assembly – last held 3 February 1997 (next to come – NA); note – these elections took place before the coup; election results: Senate – distribution of votes by parties – no data; number of seats by party – PML/N 30, PRR 17, ANP 7, 6, JWP5, BNP4, JUI/F 2.RMSH 2, BNM/M 1, RCMAR 1, TJP 1, 6 independents, 5 places left unoccupied; to the National Assembly – distribution of votes by parties – no data; seat distribution by party – PML/N 137, PPP18.MQM/A 12, ANP 10, BNP3, JWP2, JUI/F 2, PPP/SB 1, NPP 1, independents 21, religious minorities 10; note – General Pervez MUSHARRAF dissolved parliament on 15 October 1999
Judiciary: Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the president; Federal Sharia Court.
Political parties and leaders: note: General Pervez MUSHARRAF dissolved parliament after a military coup, but political parties were allowed to continue; Awa-mi National Party (ANP) (Wali RHAN); Balochistan National Movement-Haye Group (BNM/H) (Dr. HAYEE Baluch); Baloch National Party (BNP) (Sardar Akhtar MENGAL); Jamhuri Watan Party (JWP) (Akbar Khan BUGTI); Jamyat al-Hadit (JAH) (Sajid MIR); Jamyat Ulema-e-Islam Faction of Fazlur Rehman (JUI/F) (Fazlur REHMAN); Jamyat Ulema-e-Pakistan Niazi Faction (JUP/NI) (Abdul Sattar Khan NIAZI); Millat Party (Faruk LEGHARI [Fa-rooq LEGHARI]); The Milli Yakjeti Council (MCC) is a coalition which includes the Jamat-e-Islami (L) (Qazi Hussain AHMED), the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam faction of Sami ul-Haq (JUI/S) (Sami ul-HAQ [Sami ul-HAQ] ), Tehreek-e-Jafriya Pakistan (TJP) (Allama Sajid NAQVI) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan Noorani Faction (JUP/ NO) (Shah Ahmad NOORA-NI) ; Mutahid Qaumi Movement-Al-Tafa faction (MQM/A) (Altaf HUSSAIN); National People’s Party (NPP) (Ghulam Mustapha JATOI); Pakhtun Khwa Milli Awami Party (RKMAR) (Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI); Pakhtun Kwami Party (PKQP) (Mohammed AFZAL Khan [Mohammed AFZAL Khan]); Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) (Tahir ul QADRI [Tahir ul QADRI]); Pakistan Muslim League-Functional Group (PML/F) (Pir PAGARO [Pir PAGA-RO]); Junejo Pakistan Muslim League Faction (PML/J) (Hamid Nasir CHATTHA); Pakistan Muslim League Faction of Nawaz Sharif (PML/N) (Nawaz Sharif); National Party of Pakistan (PNP) (Hash BIZENJO); Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) (Benazir BHUTTO); Pakistan People’s Party-Shahid Bhutto (PPP/SB) (Ghinva BHUTTO [Ghinva BHUTTO]); Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) (Imran KHAN); note: political alliances in pakistan are very unstable.
Political pressure groups and their leaders: the military remains an important political force; Ulema (clergy), landowners, industrialists and small traders also have significant influence.
Participation in international organizations: AsDB, С (suspended), CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
Diplomatic representation in the USA: Head of Mission: Ambassador Maleeha LODHI; office: 2315 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008; phone: [1] (202) 939-6200; fax: [\] (202) 387-0484; Consulates General: Los Angeles, New York.
US Mission: Chief of Mission: Ambassador William MILAM; embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad; mailing address: R. O. Box 1048, Unit 62200, APO AE 09812-2200; phone: [92] (51) 2080-0000; fax: [92] (51) 2276427; consulates general: Karachi; Consulates: Lahore, Peshawar.
Flag Description: green with a vertical white stripe (symbolizing the role of religious minorities) running along the shaft; a large white crescent and a large white star are located in the middle of the green part; the crescent, star and green are the traditional symbols of Islam.