Pakistan

                                                                                                              
 LAND AND RESOURCES 

Pakistan is mostly a dry region characterized by great extremes of altitude and temperature. Its topography is partly divided by the Indus River, which enters the country in the northeast and flows south into the Arabian Sea. The Indus forms in general the line of demarcation between the two main landforms of the country, namely, the Indus Valley, which extends principally along the eastern side of the river, and the Baluchistan Highlands, which lie to the west. Three lesser landforms of Pakistan are the coastal plain, which is a narrow strip of land bordering the Arabian Sea; the Khârân Basin, which is west of the Baluchistan Highlands; and the Thar Desert, which straddles the border with India in the southeast.
The Indus Valley in Pakistan varies in width from about 80 to 320 km (about 50 to 200 mi); from north to south it includes portions of two main regions, namely, the Punjab Plain and the Sind Plain. The Punjab region is drained by the Sutlej, Râvi, Chenâb, and Jhelum rivers, which are tributaries of the Indus; these rivers supply the irrigation system that waters the Indus Valley.
The Baluchistan Highlands contain a series of mountain ranges; among these are the Tobakakar Range, the Siâhân Range, the Sulaimân Range, and the Kîrthar Range. The highest peak in the highlands is Tirich Mîr (7,690 m/25,230 ft) located in the Hindu Kush mountains in the north. The Safed Koh is pierced by the Khyber Pass on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The highest peak in Pakistan is K2 (also known as Mount Godwin Austen). Rising 8,611 m (28,251 ft) above sea level in the Karakoram Range, the peak is located in the region of Kashmir that Pakistan controls. K2 is the second highest mountain in the world, behind Mount Everest.

Climate

The climate of Pakistan varies widely from place to place. In the mountain regions of the north and west, temperatures fall below freezing during winter; in the Indus Valley area, temperatures range between about 32° and 49° C (about 90° and 120° F) in summer, and the average in winter is about 13° C (about 55° F). Throughout most of Pakistan rainfall is scarce. The Punjab region receives the most precipitation, more than 500 mm (more than 20 in) per year. The arid regions of the southeast and southwest receive less than 125 mm (less than 5 in) annually. Most rain falls in July and August.

Natural Resources, Plants, and Animals

The resources of Pakistan are primarily agricultural. The country's mineral resources include salt, chromite, coal, gypsum, limestone, manganese, sulfur, clay, graphite, copper, petroleum, and natural gas.
Vegetation in Pakistan varies according to elevation. Alpine flora grows on the higher slopes. Forests of spruce, evergreen oak, chir or cheer pine, and a cedar known as the deodar are found at lower elevations.
Animal life abounds in Pakistan, including deer, boar, bear, crocodile, and waterfowl. In the freshwater and saltwater areas, fish of many varieties are found. Marine life includes herring, mackerel, sharks, and shellfish.

POPULATION

The ethnological background of the population of Pakistan is extremely varied, largely because the country lies in an area that was invaded repeatedly during its long history. The people come from such ethnic stocks as the Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Greek, Scythian, Hun, Arab, Mongol, Persian, and Afghan.

Characteristics The population of Pakistan (1998 estimate) is 135,135,195, yielding an average population density of 170 persons per sq km (440 per sq mi). The country's population was increasing in 1998 at a rate of 2.2 percent a year. Only 35 percent of the people live in urban areas.

Political Divisions For administrative purposes

Pakistan is divided into four provinces (Baluchistan, North-West Frontier Province, Punjab, and Sind); Islâmâbâd Capital Territory, which consists of the capital city of Islâmâbâd; and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Pakistan also administers the northwestern portion of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmîr. The Pakistani government is directly responsible for the Northern Areas, while Azad (Free) Kashmir has an autonomous government with strong ties to Pakistan.

Principal Cities

Pakistan's largest city is Karâchi. Other significant urban centers are Lahore, an industrial center; Faisalâbâd, a center of the cotton industry; Râwalpindi, an industrial city; Hyderâbâd, a manufacturing center; Multân; and Peshâwar, a hub of trade with Afghanistan. Islâmâbâd is the capital of Pakistan

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Religion

The leading religion of Pakistan is Islam, which is the faith of about 97 percent of the people. Hinduism and Christianity form the leading minority religions; other religious groups include the Sikhs, the Parsis, and a small number of Buddhists. The constitution defines Pakistan as an Islamic nation, but guarantees freedom of religion.

Languages

The official language of Pakistan is Urdu, but less than one-tenth of the people use it as their first language. Punjabi is spoken by about one-half of all households, and Pashto, Sindhi, Saraiki, and Balochi are also spoken by many people. In addition, English is extensively used by people in government, the military, and higher education.

Education

Only 38 percent of adult Pakistanis are literate. The constitution prescribes free primary education. While enrollment rate in primary school in high for boys, less than one-half of girls attend school. Five years has been established as the period of primary school attendance.
In the 1996 school year 81 percent of primary school-aged children were enrolled in school, while only 30 percent of secondary school-aged children attended. In the early 1990s, 336,600 students attended institutions of higher education. Among Pakistan's leading universities are the University of Karâchi (1951), the University of the Punjab (1882), in Lahore; the University of Peshâwar (1950); the University of Sind (1947), in Dâdu; and the University of Agriculture (1909), in Faisalâbâd.

Libraries and Museums Karâchi is the seat of some of the most important libraries in Pakistan; these include the Liaquat Memorial Library (1950), the Central Secretariat Library (1950), and the University of Karâchi library. Also of note are the National Archives of Pakistan, in Islâmâbâd, and the Punjab Public Library (1884), in Lahore. The National Museum of Pakistan (1950), in Karâchi, contains important materials from the Indus Valley civilizations, as well as Buddhist and Islamic artifacts. Cultural materials also are displayed in the Lahore Museum (1864) and the Peshâwar Museum (1906). The Industrial and Commercial Museum, in Lahore, contains exhibits on the manufactures of Pakistan.

ECONOMY

The economy of Pakistan grew by 4.2 percent annually during the period 1990-1997. While less than the 6 percent annual expansion the country experienced in the 1980s, the rate is still high compared to most countries. Nevertheless, the majority of the nation's citizens remained poor and heavily dependent on the agricultural sector for employment. This was largely a result of the country's high rate of population increase, but political factors, such as the war of secession waged successfully by East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1971 and a coup d'état in 1977 (see "History," below), also slowed economic growth and modernization. In 1997 Pakistan's gross domestic product (GDP) was $61.7 billion.
The government of Pakistan is deeply involved in directing the country's economy, and most major industries have been nationalized. A government economic plan for 1978 to 1983, however, recommended that private capital be given a greater role in the industrial sector; the plan for 1983 to 1988 emphasized investment in hydroelectric power and rural development. A plan implemented in 1988 to liberalize internal and external trade and privatize more sectors of the economy had produced increases in the GDP growth rate, export revenues, and domestic and foreign investment by the early 1990s. In 1993 the government moved to reduce the nation's deficit and lessen its reliance on foreign aid and loans, by introducing, among other measures, a national sales tax and increases in fuel taxes. The government budget in 1996 included $10.3 billion in revenues and $14.3 billion in expenditures. Pakistan receives considerable economic assistance from foreign countries and from international organizations. The United States, which had imposed economic sanctions against Pakistan in 1990 in order to protest Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, lifted the sanctions in January 1996, clearing the way for economic assistance.

Agriculture

Some 27 percent of Pakistan's total land area is cultivated. Agriculture and related activities engage 52 percent of the workforce and provide 25 percent of GDP. By the late 1970s an intensive land-reform effort had resulted in the expropriation of some 1.2 million hectares (some 3 million acres) from landlords, the distribution of almost half of this to tenants, and the limitation of individual holdings to 40 hectares (100 acres) of irrigated or 81 hectares (200 acres) of nonirrigated land. Formerly an importer of wheat, Pakistan achieved self-sufficiency in the grain by the mid-1970s. Chief cash crops are cotton (textile yarn and fabrics produce more than one-half of export earnings) and rice. Principal crops in 1998 (with output in metric tons) included sugarcane, 53.1 million; wheat, 19 million; rice, 6.6 million; cotton lint, 4.7 million; and corn, 1.3 million. The livestock population in 1998 included 18 million cattle, 21.2 million water buffalo, 32 million sheep, 49 million goats, and 124 million poultry.
Forestry and Fishing Forests cover 2.3 percent of Pakistan. Most of the 29.7 million cu m (1,049 million cu ft) of roundwood harvested in 1997 was used as fuel.
Fishing resources, although underdeveloped, are extensive. In the 1996 the catch was 555,489 metric tons, three-quarters of it obtained from the Indian Ocean. Types of fish caught include sardines, sharks, and anchovies; shrimp are also an important part of the industry.
Mining In the early 1990s the most important non-fuel minerals (with annual production in metric tons) included gypsum (532,000), rock salt (895,000), limestone (8.8 million), and silica sand (154,000). In 1997 coal production was 3.74 million metric tons, crude petroleum production reached 21 million barrels, and production of natural gas was 19.8 billion cu m (699 billion cu ft).

Manufacturing

The manufacturing capacity of Pakistan is still small, but production has been steadily expanding. In 1996 manufacturing accounted for 17 percent of GDP. Important products include processed foods, cotton textiles, silk and rayon cloth, refined petroleum, cement, fertilizers, sugar, cigarettes, and chemicals. Many handicrafts, such as pottery and carpets, also are produced.

Energy

In 1997, 59 percent of Pakistan's electricity was produced in thermal installations, and most of the rest was generated in hydroelectric facilities, including the large Tarbela project on the Indus River. A nuclear power plant is situated near Karâchi. Pakistan's total output of electricity in 1997 was 58 billion kilowatt-hours.

Currency and Banking

The basic monetary unit is the Pakistani rupee, consisting of 100 paisa (41.11 rupees equal U.S.$1; 1997 average). The State Bank of Pakistan, established in 1948, issues banknotes; manages currency and credit, the public debt, and exchange controls; and supervises the commercial banks. Pakistani banks were nationalized in 1974, but in the early 1990s the country transferred two banks to private ownership and issued licenses for ten new commercial banks. A number of major foreign banks maintain offices in the country. In conformity with Islamic doctrine, domestic banks in Pakistan have abandoned the payment and collection of interest. Investment partnerships between the bank and the customer have replaced loans at interest.

HISTORY

For the early history of the region now known as Pakistan, see Indus Valley Civilization; India: History.
The British ruled the Indian subcontinent for nearly 200 years-from 1756 to 1947. After a revolt between 1857 and 1859, the British initiated political reforms, allowing the formation of political parties. The Indian National Congress, representing the overwhelming majority of Hindus, was created in 1885. The Muslim League was formed in 1906 to represent the Muslim minority. When the British introduced constitutional reforms in 1909, the Muslims demanded and acquired separate electoral rolls. This guaranteed Muslims representation in the provincial as well as the national legislatures until independence was granted in 1947.
By 1940, however, the Muslim League had resolved to seek the partitioning of the subcontinent and the creation of a separate Muslim state-Pakistan. During preindependence talks in 1946, therefore, the British government found that the stand of the Muslim League on separation and that of the Congress on the territorial unity of India were irreconcilable. The British then decided on partition and on August 14, 1947, transferred power to Pakistan. India gained its independence the next day. Pakistan came into existence in two parts: West Pakistan, coextensive with the country's present boundaries, and East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh. The two were separated by 1,600 km (1,000 mi) of Indian territory.

Problems of Partition

The division of the subcontinent caused tremendous dislocation of populations. Some 3.5 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan into India, and about 5 million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan. The demographic shift caused an initial bitterness between the two countries that was further intensified by each country's accession of a portion of the princely states. Nearly all of these 562 widely scattered polities joined either India or Pakistan; the princes of Hyderâbâd, Jûnâgadh, and Kashmîr, however, chose not to join either country.
On August 14-15, 1947, these three states had become technically independent, but when the Muslim ruler of Jûnâgadh, with its predominantly Hindu population, joined Pakistan a month later, India annexed his territory. Hyderâbâd's Muslim prince, ruling over a mostly Hindu population, tried to postpone any decision indefinitely, but in September 1948 that issue was also settled by Indian arms. The Hindu ruler of Kashmîr, whose subjects were 85 percent Muslim, decided to join India. Pakistan, however, questioned his right to do so, and a war broke out between India and Pakistan. Although the United Nations (UN) subsequently resolved that a plebiscite be held under UN auspices to determine the future of Kashmîr, India continued to occupy about two-thirds of the state and refused to hold a plebiscite. Pakistan administered the northwestern portion as Azad (Free) Kashmîr and the Northern Areas. This deadlock, which still persists, has intensified suspicion and antagonism between the two countries.

Prerepublican Era

The first government of Pakistan was headed by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, with Muhammad Ali Jinnah as governor-general, and it chose Karâchi as its capital. From 1947 to 1951 the country functioned under chaotic conditions. The government endeavored to create a new national capital, organize the bureaucracy and the armed forces, resettle refugees, and contend with provincial politicians who often defied its authority. Failing to offer any program of economic and social reform, however, it did not gain popular support.
In foreign policy, Liaquat established friendly relations with the United States when he visited President Harry S. Truman in 1950, but he overlooked the geographical closeness of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to Pakistan and the implications of that fact for the future security of the country. The visit to the United States injected bitterness into Soviet-Pakistani relations because Liaquat had previously accepted an invitation from Moscow that never materialized in a visit. The United States gave no substantial aid to Pakistan until three years later.
After Liaquat was assassinated in 1951, Khwaja Nazimuddin, an East Pakistani who had been governor-general since Jinnah's death in 1948, became prime minister. Unable to prevent the erosion of the Muslim League's popularity in East Pakistan, however, he was forced to yield to another East Pakistani, Muhammad Ali Bogra, in 1953. When the Muslim League was nevertheless routed in East Pakistani elections in 1954, the governor-general dissolved the constituent assembly as no longer representative. The new assembly that met in 1955 was not dominated by the Muslim League. Muhammad Ali Bogra was then replaced by Chaudhri Mohammad Ali, a West Pakistani. At the same time, General Iskander Mirza became governor-general.
The new constituent assembly enacted a bill, which became effective in October 1955, integrating the four West Pakistani provinces into one political and administrative unit. The assembly also produced a new constitution, which was adopted on March 2, 1956. It declared Pakistan an Islamic republic. Mirza was elected provisional president.

Recent Developments

A civil servant, Ghulam Ishaq Khan, was appointed president, and Benazir Bhutto became prime minister after her PPP won the general elections in November 1988. She was the first woman to head a modern Islamic state. In August 1990 President Ishaq Khan dismissed her government, charging misconduct, and declared a state of emergency. Bhutto and the PPP lost the October elections after she was arrested for corruption and abuse of power. The new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, head of the Islamic Democratic Alliance, introduced a program of privatizing state enterprises and encouraging foreign investment. He also promised to bring the country back to Islamic law and to ease continuing tensions with India over Kashmîr. The charges against Bhutto were resolved, and she returned to lead the opposition.
In April 1993 Ishaq Khan once again used his presidential power, this time to dismiss Sharif and to dissolve parliament. However, Sharif appealed to the Supreme Court of Pakistan, and in May the court stated that Khan's actions were unconstitutional, and the court reinstated Sharif as prime minister. Sharif and Khan subsequently became embroiled in a power struggle that paralyzed the Pakistani government. In an agreement designed to end the stalemate, Sharif and Khan resigned together in July 1993, and elections were held in October of that year. Bhutto's PPP won a plurality in the parliamentary elections, and Bhutto was again named prime minister.
During the early and mid-1990s, relations between India and Pakistan became more tense. Diplomatic talks between the two countries broke down in January 1994 over the disputed Jammu and Kashmîr territory. In February Bhutto organized a nationwide strike to show support for the militant Muslim rebels in Indian Kashmîr involved in sporadic fighting against the Indian army. She also announced that Pakistan would continue with its nuclear weapons development program, raising concerns that a nuclear arms race could start between Pakistan and India, which has had nuclear weapons since the 1970s. In January 1996, despite some controversy, the United States lifted economic and some military sanctions imposed against Pakistan since 1990. The sanctions, imposed to protest Pakistan's nuclear weapons program, were lifted to allow U.S. companies to fulfill contracts with Pakistan and to help foster diplomatic relations between the two countries. Pakistan was beset by domestic unrest beginning in the mid-1990s. Violence between rival political, religious, and ethnic groups erupted frequently within Sind Province, particularly in Karâchi.
In 1996 Bhutto's government was dismissed by President Farooq Leghari amid allegations of corruption. New elections in February 1997 brought Nawaz Sharif back to power in a clear victory for the Pakistan Muslim League. One of Sharif's first actions as prime minister was to lead the National Assembly in passing a constitutional amendment stripping the president of the authority to dismiss parliament. The action triggered a power struggle between Sharif, Leghari, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah. When the military threw its support behind Sharif, Leghari resigned and Shah was removed. Sharif's nominee, Rafiq Tarar, was then elected president.
In early 1997 Sharif resumed talks with India over the Kashmîr region; however, negotiations quickly broke down when armed hostilities erupted again. Tensions escalated further in 1998, when India conducted several nuclear tests. Pakistan responded with its own tests, detonating nuclear weapons for the first time in its history. The Pakistani government then declared a state of emergency, invoking constitutional provisions that operate when Pakistan's security comes under "threat of external aggression." Many foreign countries, including the United States, imposed economic sanctions against both India and Pakistan for exploding nuclear devices.
In the months following the explosions, the leaders of Pakistan and India placed a moratorium on further nuclear testing, and the United States initiated negotiations between the two countries aimed at reducing tensions and circumventing an arms race in the region. Some economic sanctions were lifted in late 1998 when both countries tentatively agreed to sign the international Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (which bans most types of nuclear weapons testing) by September 1999. As a result of the ongoing negotiations, in early 1999 the prime ministers of India and Pakistan signed the Lahore Declaration, which articulated a commitment to work toward improved relations. However, in April fears of an arms race revived when both countries tested medium-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Meanwhile, in October 1998 the lower house of parliament passed an amendment to Pakistan's constitution that would require the government to enforce Islamic religious observances and place Sharia (Islamic law) above the constitution; however, the amendment did not have sufficient support in the upper house to become law. In late 1998 increasing violence in Sind province led Sharif to dismiss the provincial government and impose federal rule. In April 1999 the high court in Lahore found former prime minister Benazir Bhutto guilty of taking payments from a Swiss company in exchange for a contract.
 
 The Hindu Kush mountain system in central Asia extends for 800 km (500 mi) in parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. With about two dozen peaks surpassing 7000 m (23,000 ft), the range reaches its highest point in Pakistan's highlands, where the peak known as Tirich Mîr rises 7690 m (25,230 ft) above sea level.