Pakistan History

Edit this pageWatch this pageRead in another language
Pakistan
This article is about the country. For other uses, see Pakistan (disambiguation).

Islamic Republic of Pakistan
اسلامی جمہوریہ پاكستان (Urdu)
Islāmī Jumhūriyah Pākistān[1]


Flag Emblem
Motto: Īmān, Ittiḥād, Naẓm
ایمان، اتحاد، نظم (Urdu)
"Faith, Unity, Discipline" [2]
Anthem: Qaumī Tarānah
قومی ترانہ
"The National Anthem"[3]

Area controlled by Pakistan shown in dark green; claimed but uncontrolled region shown in light green.
Capital Islamabad
33°40′N 73°10′E
Largest city Karachi
24°51′36″N 67°00′36″E
Official languages
Urdu English[4][5][6][7][8]
Recognised regional languages
Provincial level
Punjabi · Sindhi · Pashto · Saraiki · Balochi · Kashmiri · Brahui · Shina · Balti · Khowar · Burushaski · Yidgha · Dameli · Kalasha · Gawar-Bati · Domaaki[9][10]
Ethnic groups (2016) 44.68% Punjabis
15.42% Pashtuns
14.1% Sindhis
8.38% Saraikis
7.57% Muhajirs
3.57% Balochis
6.28% Others[11]
Religion 96.4% Islam (Official)[12]
3.6% others[11]
Demonym Pakistani
Government Federal parliamentary constitutional republic
• President
Mamnoon Hussain
• Prime Minister
Nawaz Sharif
• Chairman of the Senate
Raza Rabbani
• Speaker of the Assembly
Sardar Ayaz Sadiq
• Chief Justice
Mian Saqib Nisar
Legislature Parliament
• Upper house
Senate
• Lower house
National Assembly
Independence from the United Kingdom
• Conception[13]
29 December 1930
• Declaration
28 January 1933
• Resolution
23 March 1940
• Dominion
14 August 1947
• Islamic Republic
23 March 1956
Area
• Total
881,913 km2 (340,509 sq mi)[a][15] (33rd)
• Water (%)
2.86
Population
• 2016 estimate
201,995,540[11] (6th)
• Density
244.4/km2 (633.0/sq mi) (56th)
GDP (PPP) 2017 estimate
• Total
$1.059 trillion[16] (25th)
• Per capita
$5,402[16] (137th)
GDP (nominal) 2015 estimate
• Total
$271.050 billion[16] (43rd)
• Per capita
$1,427[16] (144th)
Gini (2013) 30.7[17]
medium
HDI (2015) 0.550[18]
medium · 147th
Currency Pakistani rupee (₨) (PKR)
Time zone PST (UTC+5b)
Drives on the left[19]
Calling code +92
ISO 3166 code PK
Internet TLD .pk
Website
www.pakistan.gov.pk
See also Pakistani English.:^α
See also Daylight saving time in Pakistan.
Pakistan (i/ˈpækᵻstæn/ or i/pɑːkᵻˈstɑːn/; Urdu: پاکستان‎), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia on the crossroads of Central Asia and Western Asia. It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 200 million people.[11] In terms of area, it is the 33rd-largest country in the world with an area covering 881,913 square kilometres (340,509 square miles). Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre-long (650-mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China in the far northeast, respectively. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.

The territory that now constitutes Pakistan is considered a cradle of civilization[20][21][22][23][24] that was previously home to several ancient cultures, including the Mehrgarh of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation, and later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including Hindus, Indo-Greeks, Muslims, Turco-Mongols, Afghans, and Sikhs. The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Alexander of Macedonia, the Indian Mauryan Empire, the Arab Umayyad Caliphate, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mongol Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Durrani Empire, the Sikh Empire, and most recently, the British Empire.

Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries in that it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam.[25][26] As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the subcontinent's struggle for independence, Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent homeland for South Asian Musl