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History of Pakistan
Pakistan traces its history
back to at least 2,500 years before Christ, when a highly developed
civilization flourished in the Indus Valley area. Excavations at Harappa,
Moenjodaro and Kot Diji have brought to light evidence of an advanced
civilization existing even in most ancient times.
Around 1,500 B.C.
the Aryans overwhelmed this region, by and by, influenced the
Hindu civilization, whose centre moved to the Ganges valley,
further east. Later, the Persians occupied the northern regions
in the 5th century B.C. up to the 2nd century A.D. The Greeks
came in 327 B.C., under Alexander of Macedonia, and passed away
like a meteor. In 712 A.D. the Arabs, led by Mohammad Bin Qasim,
landed somewhere near modern Karachi, and ruled the lower half
of Pakistan for two hundred years. During this time Islam took
roots in the soil and influenced the life, culture and
traditions of the people.
In the 10th century A.D., began the systematic conquest of Indo-Pakistan by the Muslims from Central Asia who ruled almost the whole sub-continent up to the 18th century A.D., when the British became masters of the land and ruled for nearly 200 years - for only 100 years over what is Pakistan now. The Muslim revival began towards the end of the last century when Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a renowned Muslim leader and educationist, launched a movement for intellectual renaissance of the Indian Muslims. In 1930, the well-known poet-philosopher, Dr. Mohammad Iqbal conceived the idea of a separate state for the Muslims of the sub-continent. In 1940, a resolution was adopted by the All-India Muslim League demanding a separate independent homeland for the Muslims of India.
After seven years of untiring struggle under the brilliant leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan emerged on the map of the world as a sovereign state on 14th August, 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two independent states - India and Pakistan.
Pakistan is an Islamic Republic and its capital is Islamabad. Pakistan has four provinces; Balochistan, North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Punjab and Sindh. Their respective capitals are: Quetta, Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi. In addition to provinces, are the Federally Administered Northern Areas
(FANA) which are divided into districts of Diamer, Ghanche, Ghizer, Gilgit and Skardu. There are also 07 Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
Pakistan has a federal structure. Parliament consists of the Lower House (National Assembly) and the Upper House (Senate). Members of the National Assembly are directly elected on adult franchise basis and their term of office is 05 years. The National Assembly determines the major policy issues and passes annual budget and legislation. It elects the Prime Minister from among its members. The Prime Minister forms his/her cabinet from among members of the Assembly and the Senate. Provinces have their own elected legislative assemblies and Chief Ministers. Majority of the members of the Upper House are elected by the Provincial Assemblies.
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Geographical Location
and Area |
Pakistan is situated between
latitude 24 and 35 degrees North and longitude 62 and 75 degrees East. Pakistan
is Asia's seventh largest country, occupying the northwestern portion of the
Indian subcontinent. It covers an area of 796 095 square km excluding the Azad
Kashmir in the northeast. The capital is Islamabad. It is bounded to the west by
Iran, to the northwest by Afghanistan, to the northeast by China, to the south
by the southeast by India and to the south by the Arabian Sea.
Pakistan can be divided into four regions,
the great highlands, the Balochistan Plateau, the Indus Plain, and the desert
areas. The Himalayan and Trans-Himalayan mountain ranges (the Karakoram and
Pamirs), rising to an average elevation of more than 20 000 feet (6000 meters)
and including some the world's highest peaks, such as K2 (28,251 feet [8611 meters]
) and Nanga Parbat (26 660 [8126meters] ), makeup the great highlands.
Pakistan has well defined seasons; Winter (December - February), Spring (March - April), Summer (May - September) and Autumn (October - November). During summer in plains, the temperature may go as high as 45oC. Between July and August, the monsoon brings an average 38 to 51
cms. of rain to plains and 152 to 203 cms. in lower Himalayan valleys of Murree,
Kaghan, Swat and Azad Kashmir.
Total Population: 131.63 million (1996 estimate). Growth Rate: 2.8% per annum.
Muslim (97%), Hindu (1.5%), Christian (1%) and several other minorities.
National Language: Urdu
Official Language: English
Provincial Languages: Sindhi,
Balochi, Punjabi and Pushto
Karachi: 10 million, Lahore: 5.5 million,
Faisalabad: 2 million, Rawalpindi: 929,000, Hyderabad: 800,000,
Islamabad: 340,286
GDP: 1,672 billion Rupees Per Capita Income: 13,176 Rupees (1995)
Major Exports: Raw cotton and cotton products, rice, fish and fish products, carpets and rugs, leather and leather goods, sports and surgical goods etc.
Major Imports: Tea, petroleum and its products, edible oils, chemical fertilizers, milk and milk food, agricultural machinery, transport equipment, medicines, iron and steel.
Major Trading Partners: USA, Japan, Germany, UK, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and China.
Basic unit of currency is Rupee which divides into 100
Paisas. Currency notes of
2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 Rupees are in use. Coins of 25 and 50 Paisas and 1 and 2 Rupees are in circulation.
Pakistan observes floating exchange rate system, Presently it is about US$1 =
60 Rupees (approx).
Metric system is used in Pakistan as the official system of weights and measures.
220 V, 50 Hz AC.
Pakistan Standard Time is GMT plus 5 hours. It gets dark at about 5 p.m. in winter and at 7.30 p.m. in summer. There is no Daylight Savings Time.
All traffic in Pakistan runs on the left side. International or own national license is valid. Minimum age
of any driver is 18 years. Speed limit varies on most roads from 65 km per hour to 140 km per hour on the Motorway.
Country Code: 92, City Codes are:
Faisalabad: 411, Hyderabad: 221, Islamabad: 51, Karachi: 21, Lahore: 42, Multan:
61, Rawalpindi: 51, Gilgit: 572, Skardu: 575, Peshawar: 91; outward via operator
or from ISD Public Call Office (PCO). For internal calls, Card Phone booths are
installed at main business streets in most cities and towns. Public telephone,
telex and fax facilities are available at the Customers Service Centres (CSC) or
in general stores and shops, identified by a sign displaying ‘PCO’ on green
board/lettering.
Police: Tel: 15 (in all major cities) Telephone Enquiry: 17 Fire: Tel: 16 Telephone Complaints: 18 Ambulance: Tel: 115 Flight Enquiry: 114 Railway Enquiry: 117
Bank, car rental, tourist information (at Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and at Saidu
Sharif), duly free shop, restaurant, 5-star hotel reception booth, post office and public call office.
Transport to City Centre:
i) Karachi International Airport: 14
kms. north-east of Karachi, taxi takes 20 minutes (approx. US$ 7 to the city centre). Public bus charges approx. US$ 0.25 per
pax. and takes around 01 hour.
ii) Islamabad International Airport: 20 km east of Islamabad, Taxi takes 25 minutes (approx. US$ 7 to the city centre). Airport Van No. 111 brings to Islamabad central and charges approx. US$ 0.25 per pas. for a 01 hrs ride.
Banks: Monday to Thursday and Saturday
09:00 - 13:00
Friday 09:00 - 12:00
Govt. Office: Monday to Thursday and Saturday
08:00 - 15:00
Friday 08:00 - 12:00
Private Business: Monday to Thursday and Saturday
09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 12:00
Sunday is the weekly holiday. Shorter hours during Ramadan (fasting month) are observed throughout
Pakistan.
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