Pakistan

Islamic Republic of Pakistan
اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان
Islāmī Jamhūriya-i-Pākistān

Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Yaqeen-e-muhkam, ittihād, nazm ( Urdu: Faith (self confidence), Unity, Discipline)
Anthem: Pak sarzamin shad bad (Blessed Be The Sacred Land)
Capital	Islamabad 33°40′ N 73°10′ E
Largest city	Karachi (also financial capital)
Official language(s)	Urdu, English
Government President Prime Minister	Federal republic Pervez Musharraf Shaukat Aziz
Independence - Declared - Republic	From the United Kingdom 1947- 08-14 1956- 03-23
Area • Total • Water (%)	803,940 km² ( 34th) {{{areami²}}} mi² 3.1%
Population • 2005 est. • [[As of |]] census • Density	162,419,946 ( 6th) 202/km² ( 38th) {{{population_densitymi²}}}/mi²
GDP ( PPP) • Total • Per capita	2004 estimate $360.8 billion ( 26th) $2567 ( 135th)
HDI ( 2003)	0.527 ( 135th) – medium
Currency	Rupee (Rs.) ( PKR)
Time zone • Summer ( DST)	PST ( UTC+5:00) not observed ( UTC+5:00)
Internet TLD	.pk
Calling code	+92

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان, Islāmī Jamhūriya i Pākistān), or Pakistan (Urdu: پاکستان, Pākistān) is a country located in South Asia that overlaps onto Central Asia and the Greater Middle East. Its eastern provinces are located in the northwestern corner of the Indian tectonic plate while the western provinces are on the Eurasian tectonic plate and are contiguous with the Iranian plateau. It borders Iran, Afghanistan, China, India, and the Arabian Sea. The name "Pakistan" in Urdu and Persian means Land of the Pure. It is the sixth most populous country and the second largest Muslim country.

The name is believed to have been coined by Choudhary Rahmat Ali. He devised the word and first published it on January 28, 1933 in the pamphlet Now or Never. He saw it as an acronym formed from the names of the "homelands" of Muslims in South Asia. P for Punjab, A for Afghania, the Afghan areas of the region, K for Kashmir, S for Sindh and tan for Baluchistan, thus forming 'Pakstan'. An 'i' was later added to the English rendition of the name to ease pronunciation, producing Pakistan.

Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organisation, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the Economic Cooperation Organisation, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

History

The modern state of Pakistan was created on August 14, 1947 with the partition of India but the history of the region overlaps with that of neighbouring India, Iran and Afghanistan. The Indus valley was one of the cradles of human civilisation and has long been a crossroads of history. The region is the birthplace of some of the most ancient civilisations and a strategic centre of historic trade routes, including the Silk Road. The region was the site of one of the earliest towns in the world at Mehrgarh and later much of the Indus Valley Civilisation. The area was settled by many ethnic and linguistic groups including Dravidians, Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Greco-Bactrians, Kushans, White Huns, Scythians and Arabs. This period saw the country advance in trade and culture to a level where the Gandhara region and the city of Taxila (Takshashila) became a major centre of learning and development. The region was invaded by many conquerors such as the Assyrian queen Semiramis, Alexander the Great and the Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim.

Ancient history

Unknown neolithic populations lived in the region for millennia until sporadic settlements sprang up along the Indus Valley. Mehrgarh was an ancient settlement in South Asia and is one of the most important sites in archaeology for the study of the earliest neolithic settlements in this region. The city was abandoned during the middle of the third millenium BCE, at the same time as the Indus Valley Civilisation appeared. That civilisation went into decline prior to the arrival of Indo-Aryan tribes from Central Asia. The two cultures mixed to produce the Vedic Civilisation that existed between the Sarasvati River and Ganges River in what is now modern India around 1500 BCE and helped shape subsequent South Asia cultures. The Aryan Invasion Theory has been challenged on the basis of new evidence which suggests that South Asian history shows continuity of progress from the earliest times to today and that changes brought by other cultures were not a major ingredient in the development of the Vedic Civilisation.

Most of the region was conquered in 540 BCE by the Persian Achaemenid Dynasty which ruled the area for the next two centuries. In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great defeated the king Porus (Paurava) at the Battle of the Hydaspes River near Jhelum and annexed the area to his Hellenistic empire. After Alexander's death and brief Seleucid control, control of the territory passed to Chandragupta Maurya. After the Mauryan Empire collapsed in 185 BCE, Demetrius of Bactria conquered Gandhara and Punjab in 184 BCE, establishing the Indo-Greek Kingdom that lasted nearly two centuries, until around 10 BCE. Various Greek kings ruled into the beginning of the 1^st century CE until the area was conquered by various Central Asian groups, most notably the Tocharian Kushans. Later invaders included the Scythians, White Huns, and the Sassanian Persian Empire.

Arrival of Islam

In 712 CE, the Umayyad Dynasty sent an Arab- Muslim army led by Muhammad bin Qasim and they conquered Sindh and Multan in southern Punjab. The arrival of the Arab-Muslims to the regions set the stage for the geographic boundaries of the modern state of Pakistan and formed the foundation for Islamic rule which eventually spread across much of South Asia. Following the rule of various Islamic empires, including the Ghaznavid Empire, the Ghorid Kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate, the region was controlled by the Mughals from 1526 until 1739. The Muslim Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting the millions of native people to Islam. From 1739 until the early 19^th century, the region of modern day Pakistan was ruled briefly by Nadir Shah and then by the Afghans and later the Balochis and Sikhs came to control Sindh and Punjab.

British rule

The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early eighteenth century provided opportunities for expansion by the British East India Company which gradually extended political control over large swathes of territory. The British did not gain strong footholds in the northwest of the former Mughal Empire, until the early 19^th century and only annexed the entire area during the Great Game rivalry with the Russian Empire. The Indian War of Independence in 1857, dubbed the " Sepoy Mutiny" by the British, was the region's last major armed struggle against the British. The war was a joint Muslim-Hindu struggle to oust the British, laying the foundations for the generally unarmed struggle beginning with the Indian National Congress founded in 1885. Some Muslims felt the need to address the issue of the Muslim identity within India, leading to Sir Syed Amir Ali forming the Central National Muhammadan Association in 1877 to work towards the political advancement of the Muslims. The organisation declined towards the end of the nineteenth century but was replaced in 1906 by the All-India Muslim League. Although the League originally demanded constitutional guarantees for Muslims, several factors including sectarian violence prompted a reconsideration of the League's aims. In 1930, Allama Muhammad Iqbal proposed the Two-Nation Theory calling for a separate Muslim state in northwest and eastern India. Muhammad Ali Jinnah espoused the cause and lead the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940, which resulted in the partition of India.

Post-independence

Pakistan gained independence from the British Empire on August 14, 1947 and comprised two Muslim-majority wings in the eastern and northwestern parts of the subcontinent, separated by the new Hindu-majority nation of India. The Partition of India resulted in the communal riots across the region as millions of people attempted to move to the country of their choice.

Perceived inequalities between the two wings of Pakistan resulted in the One Unit policy which formed a two-province republic from 1955 to 1970. In 1971, economic and political discontent in East Pakistan - geographically separated from West Pakistan - and violent political repression escalated into a civil war (see Bangladesh Liberation War) in East Pakistan and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, resulting in the secession of East Pakistan, which formed the independent state of Bangladesh.

Present day Pakistan does not include some of the regions originally allocated to it. The Muslim-majority states of Junagadh, Manavadar, and Kapurthala, and the district of Gurdaspur were quickly occupied by the Armed Forces of India, whilst part of the Muslim-majority state of Jammu and Kashmir was eventually occupied by Pakistan on the west and by India on the east. Jammu and Kashmir is still an unresolved dispute with the two countries fighting three wars (1948, 1965, 1999) over the region.

Government and politics

Form of government

Pakistan is a federal republic with a semi-presidential system, with four autonomous provinces, two territories, and de facto control of two regions in the northernmost part of the country.

The bicameral legislature comprises a 100-member Senate and a 342-member National Assembly. The president is the Head of State and the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Elections for the president are determined by the outcome of an electoral college. The prime minister is usually the leader of the largest party in the National Assembly. Each province has a Provincal Assembly, which in turn selects a Chief Minister and a Provincial Governor nominated by the Chief Minister.

Political history

Pakistan has been ruled by both democratic and military governments. The first decade was marred with political unrest and instability resulting in frequent collapses of civilian democratic governments. From 1947 to 1958, as many as seven Prime Ministers of Pakistan either resigned or were ousted. This political instability paved the way for Pakistan’s first military takeover. On October 7, 1958, Pakistan’s civilian and first President Iskander Mirza, in collaboration with General Mohammad Ayub Khan, abrogated Pakistan’s constitution and declared martial law.

General Ayub Khan was the president from 1958 to 1969 and General Yahya Khan from 1969 to 1971. Civilian rule continued from 1972 to 1977 under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, but he was deposed by General Zia-ul-Haq. General Zia conducted a referendum in the country in 1985, and subsequently became the president of Pakistan. He also conducted open elections and Muhammad Khan Junejo was elected as Prime Minister on March 24, 1985. General Zia was killed in a plane crash in 1988, after which Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan. She was the youngest woman ever to be elected the Head of Government and the first woman to be elected as the Head of Government of a Muslim country. Her government was followed by that of Nawaz Sharif, and the two leaders alternated until the military coup by General Pervez Musharraf in 1999. Since the resignation of President Rafiq Tarar in 2001, Musharraf has been the President of Pakistan.

National parliamentary elections were held in October 2002, with the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) winning a plurality of seats in the National Assembly of Pakistan, and Zafarullah Khan Jamali of that party emerging as Prime Minister. However, Jamali resigned on June 26, 2004. PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain became interim Prime Minister, and was succeeded by Finance Minister and former Citibank Vice President Shaukat Aziz, who was elected Prime Minister on August 27, 2004 by a National Assembly vote of 191 to 151.

Political parties

Before and during the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the largely secular and centrist All India Muslim League supported the creation of Pakistan, while the religious parties such as the Shi'a Conference, Jamiat-e-Ulema-e-Hind, and leaders such as Maulana Abul Kalam Azad opposed the creation of Pakistan and supported a united South Asia.

The liberal, leftist Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) emerged as a major political player during the 1970s. During the 1980s, a new political, anti- feudal movement was started by unorthodox and educated urban dwellers of Sindh, most prominently Karachi, now known as the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).

Currently, the largest party in Parliament is the Pakistan Muslim League (Q) (PML-Q) and the second largest is the Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians (PPPP), a sub-party of the PPP. The PML-Q obtained a plurality in the October 2002 elections. Besides these major players, there are several other political parties active in Pakistan.

Foreign relations

Pakistan has been an active member in the United Nations (UN),the Central Treaty Organisation (CENTO) and the Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO). Pakistan is also an important member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Pakistan has used the OIC as a forum for Enlightened Moderation, its plan to promote a renaissance and enlightenment in the Islamic world. Besides the OIC, Pakistan is a member of the South Asian union of SAARC. The Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO) is another major regional organisation seeking to promote socio-economic development. Pakistan's status as the only Islamic nation to be a declared nuclear power plays a significant role in international affairs.

Foreign relations with the United States have seen both positive and negative aspects throughout the history of Pakistan. In the early 1950s, Pakistan's leaders called the country the United States "most allied ally in Asia". During the Soviet-Afghan war in the 1980s and following the September 11 attacks, Pakistan remained a crucial ally. However, between crises relations have soured with sanctions being applied by the United States, once during the 1965 war with India and again following Pakistan's nuclear tests in 1998.

Pakistan has had difficult relations with neighbouring arch-rival India with the two countries fighting three wars and coming to the verge of a nuclear war on other occasions. The long-running border dispute over Kashmir resulted in war in 1947 and 1965. A third war was fought alongside the Bangladeshi Liberation War in 1971. India's decision to conduct nuclear tests in 1998 immediately prompted Pakistan to test its own.

Provinces and territories

Pakistan comprises four provinces, two territories, and also administers parts of Kashmir. The provinces are further subdivided into a total of 105 districts.

Provinces:

1. Balochistan
2. North-West Frontier Province (NWFP)
3. Punjab
4. Sindh

Balochistan and NWFP also have Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) which are expected to be developed into regular districts.

Territories:

5. Islamabad Capital Territory
6. Federally Administered Tribal Areas

Pakistani-administered portions of the Kashmir region:

7. Azad Kashmir
8. Northern Areas

Geography

Pakistan has a total area of 803,940 square kilometres or 310,403 square miles (land area of 778,720 km² or 300,666 sq. mi), approximately the combined land areas of France and the United Kingdom.

To Pakistan's east is India, which has a 2,912 kilometre (1,809 mi) border with Pakistan. To the west is Iran, which has a 909 kilometre (565 mi) border with Pakistan. To Pakistan's northwest lies Afghanistan, with a shared border of 2,430 kilometres (1,510 mi). China is towards the northeast and has a 523 kilometre (325 mi) border with Pakistan. To the south is the Arabian Sea, with 1,046 kilometres (650 mi) of coastline.

The northern and western areas of Pakistan are mountainous. Pakistani-administered areas of Kashmir contain some of the highest mountains in the world, including K2 and Nanga Parbat. Northern Pakistan has many areas of preserved moist temperate forest.

In the southeast is the Cholistan, or Thar Desert, which extends into India. West-central Balochistan has a high desert plateau, bordered by low mountain ranges. Most areas of Punjab, and parts of Sindh, are fertile plains where agriculture is of great importance.

Climate

Pakistan has many different types of climate and scenery. Along the flat, southern coast, there are sandy beaches, lagoons, and mangrove swamps. At the opposite end of the country are the icy peaks of the Himalaya, Karakoram, and Hindu Kush mountain ranges, many of them over 7,000 metres (23,000 ft) high and covered in snow and glaciers. Linking these two areas and running down the middle of Pakistan is the Indus River and its many tributaries. To the west of the Indus are the dry, hilly deserts of Balochistan; to the east are the rolling sand dunes of the Thar Desert.

Pakistan’s climate varies as much as its scenery with very cold winters and hot summers in the north and a mild maritime-influenced climate in the south. The central part of the country has extremely hot summers, with temperatures rising to 45ºC (113ºF), followed by very cold winters, often falling below freezing in the north.

All of Pakistan receives very little rain, ranging from less than 250 millimetres to more than 1,250 millimetres (9.8 - 49.2 in), mostly brought by the south-westerly monsoon winds during the late summer. However, the monsoons are unreliable because in some years they bring a lot of rain and in other years very little rain. Much of the rain is lost through evaporation because it falls at the hottest time of the year. This results in a water shortage for crops; a problem Pakistan has solved by constructing many dams on the rivers to store water and release it when the farmers need it in the fields. In many drier areas, water wells have been sunk to ease the water shortage problem.

Wildlife

The wide variety of landscapes and climates in Pakistan allows for a wide variety of wild animals and birds. In the south, there are crocodiles in the murky waters at the mouth of the Indus River whilst on the banks of the river, there are boars, deer, porcupines, and small rodents. In the sandy scrublands of central Pakistan, jackals, hyenas, wild cats, panthers, and leopards roam in search of food. In the north, some of the rarest animals in the world can be seen in the mountains and valleys. They include Marco Polo sheep and Urial sheep; Markhor and Ibex goats with long, curved horns; black and brown Himalayan bears; and the very rare Snow Leopard. The clear blue skies abound with hawks, falcons, and eagles.

In recent years the government has become concerned with the number of wild animals being killed for fur and leather trading. Some species of animals were in danger of being wiped out altogether because hunters had killed so many of them. In 1981, Parliament passed a law banning the hunting of wild animals and birds but many people ignored the law. Due to this negligence, the government has established several wildlife sanctuaries and game reserves where animals can live in safety from hunters. These special parks have towers and hideouts to enable people to observe the animals without disturbing or harming them.

Another rare species is the Indus River Dolphin, a blind cetacean which inhabits the area where the Punjab rivers meet the Indus. There are believed to be about 1,000 Indus Dolphins remaining and they are protected in two major sanctuaries.

Tourism

Pakistan's culture, people, and landscape are very diverse. Pakistanis pride themselves on their tradition of hospitality ("mehman-nawazi") to guests. Tourism is a growth industry in Pakistan. Pakistan has in the past been invaded and occupied by many different peoples, including Huns, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Mongols, and various Eurasian groups, all of which left differences in culture among the various ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion. Pakistan also contains the ruins of ancient places such as Mohenjodaro, Harappa, Kot Diji, Thatta, Bhambore, Taxila ( Gandhara), and Mehrgarh.

There are many tourist attractions in Pakistan. In the north, some of the highest mountains in the world attract mountaineers and adventurers from around the world. The Northern Areas of Pakistan are one of the most scenic places to be found with many old army fortresses, towers, and other architecture. Among the most beautiful valleys in this area are Chitral and Hunza. The Kalasha valley (Wadi-e-Kalash) in Chitral is famous for its small community called Kalasha who follow pre-Islamic animist religions. The Kalasha claim descent from the army of Alexander the Great.

In the east, the Punjab province offers a view into the many different civilisations that settled there. Lahore is Pakistan's cultural capital and a historic city. There are many examples of Islamic Mughal architecture, such as the Badshahi Masjid and the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore. Pakistan's film industry, Lollywood is also based there.

Economy

Pakistan, a developing country, is the sixth most populous in the world and has faced a number of challenges on the political and economic fronts. Although it was a very poor country when it became independent in 1947, in the 1960s Harvard economists proclaimed it to be a model of economic development. In each of its first four decades, Pakistan's economic growth rate was better than the global average, but imprudent policies led to a slowdown in the late 1990s.

Since then, the Pakistani government has instituted wide-ranging reforms, and economic growth has accelerated in the current century. Pakistan's economic outlook has brightened and its manufacturing and financial services sectors have experienced rapid expansion. The growth of the non-agricultural sectors has changed the structure of the economy, and agriculture now only accounts for roughly ¹/₅ of the gross domestic product (GDP). There has been a great improvement in its foreign exchange position and a rapid growth in hard currency reserves in recent years.

In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2005, Pakistan's GDP growth rate was 8.4% which is the second-highest, following China, among the ten most populous countries in the world.

Pakistan's service sector accounts for 53% of the country's GDP. Wholesale and retail trade is 30% of this sector. Shopping is a popular pastime for many Pakistanis, especially among the well-to-do and the thirty-million strong middle class. Karachi is especially known for the great contrast in shopping experiences, from burgeoning bazaars to modern multistorey shopping malls.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Pakistan

Population statistics

Pakistan has the world's sixth largest population, more than Russia, but less than Brazil; because of Pakistan's high growth rate, it is expected to surpass Brazil in population in the year 2020. Population projections for Pakistan are relatively difficult because of the apparent differences in the accuracy of each census and the inconsistencies between various surveys related to fertility rate. However it is likely that the rate of growth peaked in 1980s.

According to the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) 2005 World Data Sheet, the population of Pakistan was 162,400,000 on July 1, 2005. The fertility rate was 34 per thousand and the death rate was 10 per thousand. The rate of natural increase was 2.4%. Pakistan also had a high infant mortality rate of 85 per thousand births. Pakistan's population is estimated to be around 166,300,000 in 2006.

Religion

Census data indicates that more than 98% of the population are Muslims of whom nearly 80% are Sunni Muslims and 20% are Shi'a Muslims. Most of the Sunni Muslims belong to the Hanafi school, with a small number following the Hanbali school represented by Wahabis and Ahl-e-Hadith. The Hanafi school is divided into the Barelvi and Deobandi schools. The majority of Pakistani Shi'a Muslims belong to the Ithna 'ashariyah school with a significant minority of Nizari Khoja Ismailis ( Aga Khanis) and Mustaali Dawoodi Bohras.

The non-Muslim population mainly comprises of Christians (1% of the population) and Hindus (1%), with smaller numbers of Ahmadis, Buddhists, Jews, Sikhs, Zoroastrians, and Animists (mainly the Kalash in Chitral). Pakistan's religious demographics have been significantly influenced by the movement of populations in 1947 (in which millions of Muslims moved to Pakistan and millions of Hindus and Sikhs moved to India) and the wars in Afghanistan (resulting in millions of refugees who have become permanent residents). Pakistan holds significance for Sikhism with the birthplace of Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, and many Sikh holy sites located there. Mahayana Buddhism, the form of Buddhism practiced by most Buddhists, originated in Pakistan.

Languages

Urdu and English are both recognised as the official languages of Pakistan. English is used by the government, corporate businesses, and the educated urban elite. Most universities use English as the medium of instruction for degree courses. Urdu is the lingua franca of the people, being widely spoken as a second language, although it is the mother tongue of only 7.57% of the population, mainly Muhajirs (Muslim refugees from India after 1947), while an unknown percentage of Punjabis in urban areas appear to be switching to the usage of Urdu as well.

Additionally, nearly all Pakistanis speak mutually-intelligible regional Indo-Iranian languages of the Indo-European family. The most widely spoken is Punjabi, followed by Pashto, Sindhi, and Balochi. Other Indo-European languages spoken in Pakistan include Siraiki, Dari, Hindko, Pothohari, Gujarati, Shina, Wakhi, Kashmiri, Marwari, Khowar, Memoni, and many others. In addition, small groups of non-Indo-European languages are also spoken, including Brahui, a Dravidian language, and Burushaski, a language isolate.

Ethnic groups

According to the latest census , the population comprises several main ethnic groups - Punjabis (44.15% of the population), Pashtuns (15.42%), Sindhis (14.1%), Seraikis (10.53%), Muhajirs (7.57%), Balochis (3.57%), and others (4.66%). Smaller ethnic groups, such as Turwalis, Kafiristanis, Hindko, Brahui, Kashmiris, Khowar, and Shina, are mainly found in the northern parts of the country. Pakistan's census does not include the sizeable refugee population from neighbouring Afghanistan, who are found mainly in the NWFP and Baluchistan. From the 1980s, Pakistan has accommodated over three million Afghan refugees - the largest refugee population in the world, including Pashtuns, Tajiks, Turkmen and Hazaras. If Afghan refugees were added to the official population, total figures would alter the percentages of Pashtuns and the category of others. Most of the Afghan refugees have permanently settled in Pakistan due to continuing violence in Afghanistan. A large number of Bengali, Arab, Burmese and African Muslim refugees are concentrated in Karachi whilst hundreds of thousands of Iranian migrants are scattered throughout the country. There are also communities of Chinese, Arab and Greek descent.

Society and culture

Pakistan has a rich and unique culture, and has actively preserved its established traditions throughout history. Prior to the Islamic invasion, many Punjabis and Sindhis were Hindu and Buddhist. This later changed during the expansion of Islam through Pakistan by the Ummayad General Muhammad bin Qasim and later by Mahmud of Ghazni and others. Many cultural practices, foods, monuments, and shrines have been inherited from the rule of Muslim Mughal and Afghan emperors in all of southern Asia. Shalwar kameez, the Pakistani national dress, is one of the clothing styles inherited from these rich cultural roots. Women wear brightly coloured shalwar kameez with embroidery for special occasions such as weddings while men often wear solid coloured shalwar kameez, usually with a sherwani, a coat that goes over the shalwar kameez.

Pakistani society is largely multilingual and multicultural. Religious practices of various faiths are an integral part of everyday life in society. Education is highly regarded by members of every socio-economic stratum. Traditional family values are highly respected and considered sacred, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system, owing to the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family system. The past few decades have seen emergence of a middle class in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Gujrat, Abbottabad, and Multan. The northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan, is highly conservative and dominated by centuries-old regional tribal customs.

Roots

The modern nation of Pakistan has inherited a very rich cultural and traditional background going back to the Indus Valley Civilisation (c. 2800 BCE-1800 BCE). The region that is now Pakistan has in the past been conquered and settled by many different peoples, including Elamo-Dravidians, Aryans, Greeks, White Huns, Persians, Scythians, Arabs, Turks, Afghans, Mongols and various Eurasian groups. There are regional differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress and food. Traditional Sufi practices of Islam are very strong in Pakistani culture.

Holidays

Holidays and festivals in Pakistan tend to be of a secular nature or a religious nature. Amongst the secular holidays are Pakistan Day ( March 23), Independence Day ( August 14), Defence of Pakistan Day ( September 6), the anniversaries of the birth ( December 25) and death ( September 11) of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, and Allama Iqbal Day ( November 9). Labour Day (also known as May Day) is also observed in Pakistan on May 1.

Several important festivals are celebrated by Pakistani Muslims of during the year. The main one is Ramadan, (the ninth month of the Islamic calendar), when people remember the month in which the Islamic prophet Muhammad first received God’s advice on how to lead a good life. Ramadan lasts for 29 or 30 days (depending on the moon sighting), during which Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset. People say extra prayers and try to read the whole of the Qur’an. The end of Ramadan is marked by the festival of Eid ul-Fitr which starts with special prayers and is a time for feasting and visiting family and friends and for children to receive new clothes, presents, and sweets.

Every year, thousands of Pakistanis travel to Mecca to join other Muslims from across the world in performing the Hajj pilgrimage. Many of the pilgrims are assisted by the government, which provides free plane and ship tickets to Saudi Arabia. Closely associated with the Hajj is the festival of Eid ul-Adha, when Muslims sacrifice an animal in remembrance of the actions of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham). The meat is shared with friends, family, and less fortunate people. People wear their best clothes and go to the mosque for special prayers. Both Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha are public holidays, when schools, shops, and offices are closed. A third Eid is the Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, in the third month ( Rabi' al-awwal) of the Islamic Calendar, which celebrates the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad.

The Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, and Christians of Pakistan also celebrate their own festivals and saints' days. Sikhs come from across the world to visit the shrine of Guru Nanak at Hassan Abdal in the Attock District of Punjab. There are also several regional and local festivals, such as the Punjabi festival of Basant, which marks the start of spring and is celebrated by people flying kites.

Media

Until the 1990s, the government-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (radio) were the dominant media outlets in Pakistan. However the past decade has seen the emergence of several private TV channels (news and entertainment) such as Geo TV, Indus TV, Mashriq, Hum, ARY, and Aaj. As of 2005, there were about fifty Pakistani television channels operating. Traditionally, the bulk of TV shows have been plays or soap operas - some of them critically acclaimed. Various American, European, and Asian television channels and movies are available to a majority of the population via cable and satellite.

Pakistani music is rich and represented by a wide variety of forms. It ranges from traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to more modern forms that try to fuse traditional Pakistani music with western music. The Qawwali maestro, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, was internationally renowned for a form of music which synchronised Qawwali with Western music. Pakistan has produced many renowned Ghazal singers such as Mehdi Hassan, Farida Khanum, Abida Parveen, and Iqbal Bano. Popular forms of music also prevail, the most notable being film music. In addition to this are the diverse traditions of folk music in all provinces. The arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces has also rekindled Pashto and Persian music in Pakistan. Peshawar has become a hub for Afghan musicians and a distribution centre for Afghan music abroad. Afghan singers have become famous throughout the North-West Frontier Province and some have even married within the local population, strengthening the ethnic kinship of the Pashtuns on both sides of the Durand line.

A small indigenous movie industry is based in Lahore, commonly known as Lollywood. Movies made in Bollywood, India's movie industry, are banned in Pakistan. However, pirated discs are easily available and therefore Indian film stars are quite popular in Pakistan as well.

Globalization

Increasing globalization has increased the influence of "Western culture" in Pakistan. Pakistan ranks 46^th in the world on the Kearney/FP Globalization Index. Many Western restaurant chains, such as McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken, have established themselves in Pakistan, and are found in the major cities.

A large Pakistani diaspora exists in the West. Whereas Pakistanis in the United States, Canada and Australia tend to be professionals, the majority of them in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Scandinavian nations are from a working-class rural background. Pakistan has more expatriates than any other Muslim country, with a large number living in the Middle East. Pakistani emigrants and their children influence Pakistan culturally and economically, keeping close ties with their roots by regularly returning to and investing in Pakistan.