Pakistan

The separation in 1947 of British India into the Muslim state of Pakistan (with two sections West and East) and largely Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved. A third war between these countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan seceding and becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. A dispute over the state of Kashmir is ongoing. In response to Indian nuclear weapons testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998.

• mostly hot, dry desert;
• temperate in northwest;
• arctic in north

• flat Indus plain in east;
• mountains in north and northwest;
• Balochistan plateau in west

• water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff;
• limited natural fresh water resources;
• a majority of the population does not have access to potable water;
• deforestation;
• soil erosion;
• desertification

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban

0-14 years:

39.3% (male 30,463,958; female 28,726,776)

15-64 years:

56.5% (male 43,571,093; female 41,651,872)

65 years and over:

4.2% (male 3,051,674; female 3,229,367) (2003 est.)

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.94 male(s)/female

total population:

1.05 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

noun:

Pakistani(s)

adjective:

Pakistani

conventional long form:

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

conventional short form:

Pakistan

former:

West Pakistan

• 4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital territory**;
• Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, North-West Frontier Province, Punjab, Sindh

note: the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region includes Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas

• 18 years of age;
• universal;
• joint electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims

• Awami National Party or ANP [Wali KHAN];
• Balochistan National Movement/Hayee Group or BNM/H [Dr. Hayee BALUCH];
• Baluch National Party or BNP [Sardar Akhtar MENGAL];
• Baluch National Party/Awami or BNP/Awami [Moheem Kahn BALOCH];
• Jamhoori Watan Party or JWP [Akbar Khan BUGTI];
• Jamiat-al-Hadith or JAH [Sajid MIR];
• Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Fazlur Rehman faction or JUI/F [Fazlur REHMAN];
• Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Sami-ul-HAQ faction or JUI/S [Sami ul-HAQ];
• Jamiat-i-Islami or JI [Qazi Hussain AHMED];
• Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan, Noorani faction or JUP/NO [Shah Ahmad NOORANI];
• Millat Party or MP [Farooq LEGHARI];
• Mutahida Qaumi Movement, Altaf faction or MQM/A [Altaf HUSSAIN];
• Muhajir Quami Movement, Haqiqi faction or MQM/H [Afaq AHMAD];
• Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan or MMA [leader NA];
• National Alliance or NA [Farooq Ahmad Khan LEGHARI];
• National People's Party or NPP [Ghulam Mustapha JATOI];
• Pakhtun Khwa Milli Awami Party or PkMAP [Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI];
• Pakhtun Quami Party or PQP [Mohammed Afzal KHAN];
• Pakistan Awami Tehrik or PAT [Tahir ul QADRI];
• Pakistan Democratic Party or PDP [Nawabadzada KHAN];
• Pakistan Muslim League, Functional Group or PML/F [Pir PAGARO];
• Pakistan Muslim League, Junejo faction or PML/J [Hamid Nasir CHATTHA];
• Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz Sharif faction or PML/N [Nawaz SHARIF];
• Pakistan Muslim League, Quaid-l-Azam faction or PML/Q [Chaudhry Shujjat HUSSEIN];
• Pakistan Muslim League, Zia-ul-HAQ or PML/Z [Ejaz ul-Haq];
• Pakistan National Party or PNP [Hasil BIZENJO];
• Pakistan People's Party or PPP [Benazir BHUTTO];
• Pakistan People's Party/Sherpao or PPP/S [Aftab Ahmed Khan SHERPAO];
• Pakistan People's Party/Shaheed Bhutto or PPP/SB [Ghinva BHUTTO];
• Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians or PPPP [Amin FAHIM];
• Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf or PTI [Imran KHAN];
• Tehrik-i-Islami [Allama Sajid NAQVI];
• Tehrik-i-Insaaf or PTI [Imran KHAN]

note: political alliances in Pakistan can shift frequently

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ashraf Jehangir QAZI

chancery:

2315 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

FAX:

[1] (202) 387-0484

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles, New York, and Sunnyvale (California)

telephone:

[1] (202) 939-6205

chief of mission:

Ambassador Nancy J. POWELL

embassy:

Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad

mailing address:

P. O. Box 1048, Unit 62200, APO AE 09812-2200

telephone:

[92] (51) 2080-0000

FAX:

[92] (51) 2276427

consulate(s):

Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar

• green with a vertical white band (symbolizing the role of religious minorities) on the hoist side;
• a large white crescent and star are centered in the green field;
• the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam

lowest 10%:

4.1%

highest 10%:

27.6% (1996-97)

general assessment:

• the domestic system is mediocre, but improving;
• service is adequate for government and business use, in part because major businesses have established their own private systems;
• since 1988, the government has promoted investment in the national telecommunications system on a priority basis, significantly increasing network capacity;
• despite major improvements in trunk and urban systems, telecommunication services are still not readily available to the majority of the rural population

domestic:

microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, cellular, and satellite networks

international:

• satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean);
• 3 operational international gateway exchanges (1 at Karachi and 2 at Islamabad);
• microwave radio relay to neighboring countries (1999)

total:

8,163 km

broad gauge:

7,718 km 1.676-m gauge (293 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

445 km 1.000-m gauge (2002)

total:

254,410 km

paved:

109,396 km (including 339 km of expressways)

unpaved:

145,014 km (1999)

total:

18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 247,675 GRT/375,435 DWT

ships by type:

cargo 14, container 3, petroleum tanker 1 (2002 est.)

• thousands of Afghan refugees still reside in Pakistan;
• isolating terrain and close ties among Pashtuns in Pakistan make cross-border activities difficult to control;
• armed stand-off with India over the status and sovereignty of Kashmir continues - India objects to Pakistan ceding lands to China in 1965 boundary agreement that India believes are part of disputed Kashmir;
• disputes with India over Indus River water sharing and the terminus of the Rann of Kutch, which prevents maritime boundary delimitation

• opium poppy cultivation practically eliminated;
• key transit point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western markets;
• Afghan narcotics continue to transit Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Balochistan Province, and Karachi;
• financial crimes related to drug trafficking, terrorism, corruption, and smuggling remain problems