|
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan
(Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان), or Pakistan (help·info), is a country
in South Asia, marking the region where South Asia converges with Central
Asia and the Middle East.[4][5] It has a 1,046 kilometer (650 mile)
coastline along the Arabian Sea in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan
and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast.
Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world and is the second
most populous country with a Muslim majority. Its territory was a part of
the pre-partitioned British India and has a long history of settlement and
civilisation including the Indus Valley Civilisation. The region has been
invaded by the Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Afghans, Turks, and Mongols. The
territory was incorporated into British India in the nineteenth century.
Since its independence, the country has experienced periods of significant
military and economic growth and has also experienced times of significant
instability.
Modern day Pakistan consists of four major parts called provinces Sindh,
Punjab, Balochistan and North-West Frontier Province. It also governs part
of Kashmir which is currently split between Pakistan and India. The Indus
region was the site of several ancient cultures including Mehrgarh, one of
the world's earliest known towns, and the Indus Valley Civilization (2500
BCE - 1500 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
Mahmud and Ayaz. The Sultan (in red), with Malik Ayaz (in green) standing
behind him. On the Sultan's right is Shah Abbas I, who reigned 600 years
laterWaves of conquerors and migrants including Harappan, Indo-Aryan,
Persian, Grecian, Saka, Parthian, Kushan, White Hun, Afghan, Arab, Turkics,
and Mughal settled in the region throughout the centuries, influencing the
locals and being absorbed among them. However, while the eastern provinces
of Punjab and Sind became aligned with Indo-Islamic civilization, the
western areas became culturally allied with the Iranic civilization of
Afghanistan and Iran. The modern state of Pakistan was established on 14
August 1947. The region is a crossroads of historic trade routes, including
the Silk Road.
The Indus Valley Civilization collapsed in the middle of the second
millennium BCE and was followed by the Vedic Civilization, which extended
over much of the Indo-Gangetic plains. Successive empires and kingdoms ruled
the region from the Achaemenid Persian empire[10] around 543 BCE, to
Alexander the Great[11] in 326 BCE and the Mauryan empire. The Indo-Greek
Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab from
184 BCE, and reached its greatest extent under Menander, establishing the
Greco-Buddhist period with advances in trade and culture. The city of Taxila
(Takshashila) became a major centre of learning in ancient times - the
remains of the city, located to the west of Islamabad, are one of the
country's major archaeological sites.
Muhammad Bin Qasim leading his troops in battleIn 712 CE, the Arab general
Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh and Multan in southern Punjab. The
Pakistan government's official chronology states that "its foundation was
laid" as a result of this invasionThis would set the stage for several
successive Muslim empires in the Indian subcontinent, including the
Ghaznavid Empire, the Ghorid Kingdom, the Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal
Empire. During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in
converting a majority of the regional Buddhist and Hindu population to
Islam. The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early eighteenth
century provided opportunities for the Afghans, Balochis and Sikhs to
exercise control over large areas until the British East India Company[14]
gained ascendancy over South Asia.
The 1857 War of IndependenceThe rebellion, also known as the Indian Mutiny,
in 1857 was the region's last major armed struggle against the British Raj,
and it laid the foundations for the generally unarmed freedom struggle led
by the Congress. However, the Muslim League rose to popularity in the late
1930s amid fears of under-representation and neglect of Muslims in politics.
On 29 December 1930, Allama Iqbal's presidential address called for an
autonomous "state in northwestern India for Indian Muslims, within the body
politic of India."[15] Muhammad Ali Jinnah espoused the Two Nation Theory
and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution[16] of 1940
(popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution), which ultimately led to the
formation of an independent Pakistan.
Pakistan was formed on 14 August 1947 with two Muslim-majority wings in the
eastern and northwestern regions of the British Indian Empire, separated
from the rest of the country with a Hindu majority, and comprising the
provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province,
West Punjab and Sindh. The partition of the British Indian Empire resulted
in communal riots[17] across India and Pakistan—millions of Muslims moved to
Pakistan and millions of Hindus and Sikhs moved to India. Disputes arose
over several princely states including Jammu and Kashmir whose ruler had
acceded to India following an invasion by Pashtun warriors, leading to the
First Kashmir War (1948) ending with Pakistan occupying roughly one-third of
the state. From 1947 to 1956, Pakistan was a Dominion in the Commonwealth of
Nations. The republic declared in 1956 was stalled by a coup d'etat by Ayub
Khan (1958–69), who was president during a period of internal instability
and a second war with India in 1965. His successor, Yahya Khan (1969–71) had
to deal with the cyclone which caused 500,000 deathsin East Pakistan.
Governor General Jinnah delivering the opening address on 11 August 1947 to
the new state of Pakistan.Economic and political dissent in East Pakistan
led to violent political repression and tensions escalating into civil
war[19] (Bangladesh War of Independence) (see also Causes of Separation of
East Pakistan) and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 and ultimately the
secession of East Pakistan as the independent state of Bangladesh.[20]
Estimates of the number of people killed during this episode vary greatly,
from ~30,000 to over 2 million depending on the source.
The two wings of Pakistan in 1970; East Pakistan separated from the West
wing in 1971 as an independent Bangladesh.Civilian rule resumed from 1972 to
1977 under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, until he was deposed and later sentenced to
death in what amounted to a judicial murder in 1979 by General Zia-ul-Haq,
who became the country's third military president. Pakistan's secular
policies were replaced by Zia's introduction of the Islamic Shariah legal
code, which increased religious influences on the civil service and the
military. With the death of General Zia in a plane crash in 1988, Benazir
Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the first female
Prime Minister of Pakistan. Over the next decade, she alternated power with
Nawaz Sharif, as the country's political and economic situation worsened.
Pakistan sent 5,000 troops to the 1991 Gulf War as part of a US led
coalition and specifically for the defence of Saudi Arabia.[21] Military
tensions in the Kargil conflict[22] with India were followed by a Pakistani
military coup d'état in 1999[23] in which General Pervez Musharraf assumed
executive powers. In 2001, Musharraf named himself President after the
forced resignation of Rafiq Tarar. After the 2002 parliamentary elections,
Musharraf transferred executive powers to newly elected Prime Minister
Zafarullah Khan Jamali, who was succeeded in the 2004 Prime-Ministerial
election by Shaukat Aziz, followed by a temporary period in office by
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain. On 15th November, 2007 the National Assembly
completed its tenure and so a caretaker government was setup. Mian Muhammad
Sumro who is the chairman senate was appointed as the caretaker Prim
minister. |