Source: MAPS IN MINUTES™ © RH Publications (1997)

A country in the north-west of the Indian sub-continent, bounded by Iran on the west, Afghanistan on the north-west, China on the north-east, and India on the east.

Physical

The Hindu Kush, Karakoram, and Himalaya mountain ranges ring the north of Pakistan. Other ranges sweep down its western side to the Arabian Sea. Below them is the long, broad valley of the Indus. The North-West Frontier Province, containing the strategically important Khyber Pass, is very high. To the south is the plateau of the Punjab, watered by the tributaries of the Indus. Wheat is grown here. To the east is the Thar Desert. Between the Sind Desert, which covers part of the Indus delta, and Baluchistan in the western hills, there are large reserves of natural gas and some oil, which is also present in the Punjab.

Economy

Pakistan has a mainly agricultural economy, the most important crops being cotton, wheat, rice, and sugar cane. The output of the textile and clothing industries provides over half the country’s export earnings. Other industry includes food processing, pharmaceuticals, and construction materials. Remittances from expatriates are important.

History

Prior to 1947, Pakistan formed part of India. Following the British withdrawal from the Indian sub-continent in 1947, Pakistan was created as a separate state, comprising the territory to the north-east and north-west of India in which the population was predominantly Muslim. The ‘Partition’ of the subcontinent of India led to unprecedented violence between Hindus and Muslims, costing the lives of more than a million people. Seven and a half million Muslim refugees fled to both parts of Pakistan from India, and ten million Hindus left Pakistan for India. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, President of the Muslim League, became the new state’s first governor-general. The country’s liberal constitution was opposed by the orthodox Muslim sector, and in 1951 the Prime Minister, Liaqat Ali Khan, was assassinated by an Afghan fanatic. In 1954 a state of emergency was declared and a new constitution adopted (1956). When attempts to adopt a multiparty system failed, Ayub Khan (1907–74) imposed martial law (1958). His decade of power produced economic growth, but also political resentment. The two wings of Pakistan were separated by a thousand miles of Indian territory. Allegations by the Bengalis in East Pakistan against West Pakistan’s disproportionate share of the state’s assets led to demands by the Awami League, led by Mujibur Rahman, for regional autonomy. In the ensuing civil war (1971), the Bengali dissidents defeated a Pakistani army, with Indian help, and established the new state of Bangladesh (1971). In 1970 the first ever general election brought to power Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, who introduced constitutional, social, and economic reforms. In 1977 he was deposed, and later executed. The regime of General Zia ul-Haq (1977–88) committed Pakistan to an Islamic code of laws. Although martial law was lifted in 1986, with the promise of a return to democracy, Zia’s regime ended with his assassination. A general election in December 1988 brought back to power the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), led by Bhutto’s daughter Benazir Bhutto. For the next decade the PPP alternated in power with right-wing governments led by Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif. In 1998 Pakistan carried out a series of underground nuclear tests in response to similar tests by India. The military overthrew Sharif’s government in 1999 and placed him under house arrest: General Pervez Musharraf became Chief Executive, and then President in 2001. His rule was endorsed by a referendum in 2002. Musharraf suspended the constitution in 2007 but called for elections in 2008; Benazir Bhutto was assassinated while campaigning. After a delayed election, which his supporters lost, Musharraf was forced from office. In October 2008, he was replaced as president by Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir Bhutto’s widower and leader of the Pakistan People’s Party. Pakistan’s cooperation with the USA’s war on terrorism after 2001 was controversial and, together with the influx of Taliban and al-Qaeda refugees from Afghanistan, led to a rise in Islamist activity in the country. Zardari did, however, manage to remain in power until the end of his term, the first Pakistani President to do so. The Pakistan People’s Party lost the 2013 elections to the Pakistan Muslim League, with Nawaz Sharif becoming Prime Minister again and his ally, Mamnoon Hussain, becoming President. Nawaz Sharif faced increasing Islamist violence and insurgent attacks, especially in Baluchistan, which he has found difficult to control. One response, condemned internationally, was ending the moratorium on the death penalty in late 2014. The next elections are scheduled for 2018.