The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, given this name in the constitution of 1956, is a nation in south-central Asia bordering Iran, Afghanistan, China, India, and the Arabian Sea. Pakistan is home to around 140 million people, most of whom are Muslim, which is the state religion. Although the port city of Karachi was capital, the current capital of Pakistan is the city of Islamabad.
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| ''National motto: "none" | ||||
| Official languages | English,Urdu | |||
| Capital | Islamabad | |||
| President | Pervez Musharraf | |||
| Prime Minister | Zafarullah Khan Jamali | |||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 34th 803,940 km² Negligible | |||
| Population
- Total (2002) - Density | Ranked 6th
147,663,429 53,79/km² | |||
| Independence
- Date | From the United Kingdom
August 14, 1947 | |||
| Currency | Pakistani rupee | |||
| Time zone | UTC +5 | |||
| National anthem | Pak sarzamin shad bad | |||
| Internet TLD | .PK | |||
| Calling Code | 92 | |||
Pakistan is an Urdu term meaning "land of the pure", but the name was also selected for the country because it formed an acronym of the chief geographical and ethnic components of multi-ethnic Western Pakistan (but not Eastern Pakistan, which seceded to form Bangladesh): the P represents the Punjab; the A stands for the Afghan tribes of the North-West Frontier Province; K represents Kashmir; S is for Sind; and TAN is the last part of Baluchistan, the region along the southern border with Iran. It has very historic places such as Gujranwala and Rabwah
Although officially a federal republic, Pakistan has experienced some instability lately. In October 1999, General Pervez Musharraf overthrew the civilian government and assumed executive authority, although he did not declare himself president until 2001. Because of the government's dependence on foreign aid and the nation's distrust of dictators, Musharraf is probably reluctant to risk offending world and domestic opinion by becoming a permanent dictator. A new parliament has been elected and Zafarullah Khan Jamali, a prominent politician from Balochistan, has been appointed as Prime Minister.
- History of Pakistan
- Geography of Pakistan
- Demographics of Pakistan
- Politics of Pakistan
- Economy of Pakistan
- Communications in Pakistan
- Transportation in Pakistan
- Military of Pakistan
- Foreign relations of Pakistan
- Pakistani literature
