Pakistan

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.

Islamic Republic of Pakistan
'''

coat of arms

(In Detail)

''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.

Much of the information in these articles originally came from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.

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