Pakistan

Pakistan

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 199 million people. It is the 36th largest country in the world in terms of area with an area covering 881,913 km2 (340,509 sq mi). Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) 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.

Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries as it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. 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 nation for Muslims from the regions in the east and west of the Subcontinent where there was a Muslim majority. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a new constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. A civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.

Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic consisting of four provinces and four federal territories. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. A regional and middle power, Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed forces in the world and is also a nuclear power as well as a declared nuclear-weapons state, being the only nation in the Muslim world, and the second in South Asia, to have that status. It has a semi-industrialised economy with a well-integrated agriculture sector, its economy is the 26th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power and 45th largest in terms of nominal GDP and is also characterized among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world.

State Emblem of Pakistan

State_Emblem_of_Pakistan

The state emblem of Pakistan was adopted in 1954 and symbolizes Pakistan's ideological foundation, the basis of its economy, its cultural heritage and its guiding principles. The four components of the emblem are a crescent and star crest above a shield, which is surrounded by a wreath, below which is a scroll. The crest and the green colour of the emblem are traditional symbols of Islam. The quartered shield in the centre shows cotton, wheat, tea and jute, which were the major crops of Pakistan at independence and are shown in a form of shield and signify as the main agricultural base for the importance of the Nation's economy. The floral wreath, surrounding the shield, is Jasminum officinale (the national flower) and represents the floral designs used in traditional Mughal art and emphasizes the cultural heritage of Pakistan. The scroll supporting the shield contains Muhammad Ali Jinnah's motto in Urdu, which reads from right to left: (ایمان، اتحاد، نظم) "Īmān, Ittiḥād, Naẓm" translated as "Faith, Unity, Discipline", intended as the guiding principles for Pakistan.

Etymology

Flag of Pakistan

The name Pakistan literally means "Land of the Pure" in Urdu and Persian. It comes from the word pāk meaning pure in Persian and Pashto while the word istān is a Persian word meaning place of; it is a cognate of the Sanskrit word sthāna.

It was coined in 1933 as Pakstan by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in his pamphlet Now or Never.

 
 
Official Name Islamic Republic of Pakistan
اسلامی جمہوریہ پاكستان (Urdu)
Islāmī Jumhūriyah Pākistān
Motto Īmān, Ittiḥād, Naẓm
ایمان، اتحاد، نظم (Urdu)
"Faith, Unity, Discipline"
Capital  Islamabad
33°40′N 73°10′E
Official Languages English, Urdu
Recognised National Languages Urdu
Regional Languages Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Kashmiri, Brahui, Shina, Balti, Khowar, Burushaski Yidgha, Dameli, Kalasha, Gawar-Bati, Domaaki
Religion  Islam
Demonym  Pakistani
Area 881,913 km2, 340,509 sq mi
Water (%)  3.1
Population 2015 Estimate 199,085,847
Currency  Pakistani rupee (₨) (PKR)
Time Zone PST (UTC+5)
Calling Code 92
ISO 3166 code PK
Internet TLD .pk

National Symbols of Pakistan

National Animal Markhor Markhor
National Bird Chukar Keklik
National Tree Cedrus Deodara Pedrengo_cedro_nel_parco_Frizzoni
National Flower Jasminum Officinale Jasminum_officinale
National Heritage State Animal Snow Leopard snow-leopard
National Heritage State Bird Shaheen Falcon Vándorsólyom
National Aquatic Marine Mammal Indus river dolphin gangesriverdolphin
National Reptile Indus Crocodile Crocodile
National Fish Tor Putitora Mahasher
National Amphibian Bufo Stomaticus Bufo stomaticus
National Fruit Mango Mango
National Juice Sugarcane Sugarcanejuice
National Dress Salwar kameez Dresses
National Mosque Faisal Mosque Shah_Faisal_Mosque_(Islamabad,_Pakistan)
National Mausoleum Mazar-e-Quaid Mazar-E-Quaid
National River Indus River Indus_River

 

National Mountain

 

K2 K2

Administrative Divisions

Pakistan is made up of four provinces, two territories and two special areas. Both special areas are in Kashmir. The provinces and territories were divided into 26 divisions with now 147 districts directly divided from the provinces. Each district is divided into several tehsils and each tehsil is divided into several union councils. There are around 596 tehsils and over 6,000 union councils of Pakistan.

Provinces:

  1. Balochistan Balochistan
  2. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly NWFP)
  3. Punjab Punjab
  4. Sindh

Among the four provinces, Punjab has the most people but Balochistan is the largest province by area.

Territories:

  1. Islamabad Capital Territory
  2. Federally Administered Tribal Areas

Administrative Areas:

  1. Azad Jammu and Kashmir
  2. Gilgit Baltistan

India, Pakistan and China separately control parts of the Kashmir region. India and Pakistan's parts are divided by a Line of Control. The Pakistan–China border is internationally known. Trade is common between the 2 countries.

National Anthem of Pakistan

At independence, on August 14, 1947, Pakistan did not have a national anthem. When the flag was hoisted at the independence ceremony it was accompanied by the song, "Pakistan Zindabad, Azadi Paendabad". The flag itself had only been approved by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan three days earlier. The national anthem of Pakistan was written some time later by the Urdu poet Abu-Al-Asar Hafeez Jullundhri.

Urdu Transliteration Translation
پاک سرزمین شاد باد Pāk sarzamīn shād bād Blessed be the sacred land
كشور حسين شاد باد Kishwar-e-hasīn shād bād Happy be the bounteous realm
تو نشان عزم عالیشان Tū nishān-e-`azm-e-`alīshān Symbol of high resolve
! ارض پاکستان Arz-e-Pākistān! Land of Pakistan!
مرکز یقین شاد باد Markaz-e-yaqīn shād bād Blessed be thou, house of faith
پاک سرزمین کا نظام Pāk sarzamīn kā nizām The order of the sacred land
قوت اخوت عوام Qūwat-e-ukhūwat-e-`awām Is the might of the people's brotherhood
قوم ، ملک ، سلطنت Qaum, mulk, sultanat nation, country, and the state
! پائندہ تابندہ باد Pā-inda tābinda bād! Shine in everlasting glory!
شاد باد منزل مراد Shād bād manzil-e-murād Blessed be the goal of our aim
پرچم ستارہ و ہلال Parcham-e-sitāra-o-hilāl flag of the crescent and the star
رہبر ترقی و کمال Rahbar-e-tarraqqī-o-kamāl Leads way to progress and perfection
ترجمان ماضی شان حال Tarjumān-e-māzī, shān-e-hāl Interpreter of the past, glory of the present age
! جان استقبال Jān-e-istiqbāl! Inspiration of our future!
سایۂ خدائے ذوالجلال Sāyah-e-Khudā-e-Zū-l-Jalāl Symbol of the Almighty's protection