Pakistan

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

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

total:

169.39 cu km/yr (2%/2%/96%)

per capita:

1,072 cu m/yr (2000)

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

party to:

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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

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:

0.89 male(s)/female

total population:

1.04 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

degree of risk:

high

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases:

dengue fever and malaria

animal contact disease:

rabies

note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)

noun:

Pakistani(s)

adjective:

Pakistani

conventional long form:

Islamic Republic of Pakistan

conventional short form:

Pakistan

local long form:

Jamhuryat Islami Pakistan

local short form:

Pakistan

former:

West Pakistan

name:

Islamabad

geographic coordinates:

33 42 N, 73 10 E

time difference:

UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 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 consists of two administrative entities: Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas

• 12 April 1973;
• suspended 5 July 1977, restored 30 December 1985;
• suspended 15 October 1999, restored in stages in 2002;
• amended 31 December 2003;
• suspended 3 November 2007;
• restored on 15 December 2007

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

chief of state:

President Asif Ali ZARDARI (since 6 September 2008)

head of government:

Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza GILANI (since 25 March 2008)

cabinet:

Cabinet appointed by the president upon the advice of the prime minister

elections:

• the president is elected by secret ballot through an Electoral College comprising the members of the Senate, National Assembly, and the provincial assemblies for a five-year term;
• election last held on 6 September 2008 (next to be held not later than 2013);
• note - any person who is a Muslim and not less than 45 years of age and is qualified to be elected as a member of the National Assembly can contest the presidential election;
• the prime minister is selected by the National Assembly;
• election last held on 24 March 2008

election results:

• ZARDARI elected;
• ZARDARI 481 votes, SIDDIQUI 153 votes, HUSSAIN 44 votes;
• GILANI elected prime minister;
• GILANI 264 votes, Pervaiz ELAHI 42 votes;
• several abstentions

• Awami National Party or ANP [Asfandyar Wali KHAN];
• Balochistan National Party-Hayee Group or BNP-H [Dr. Hayee BALOCH];
• Balochistan National Party-Awami or BNP-A [Moheem Khan BALOCH];
• Balochistan National Party-Mengal or BNP-M [Sardar Ataullah MENGAL];
• Jamhoori Watan Party or JWP;
• Jamiat Ahle Hadith or JAH [Sajid MIR];
• Jamaat-i Islami or JI [Qazi Hussain AHMED];
• Jamiat Ulema-i Islam Fazlur Rehman or JUI-F [Fazlur REHMAN];
• Jamiat Ulema-i Islam Sami-ul HAQ or JUI-S [Sami ul-HAQ];
• Jamiat Ulema-i Pakistan or JUP [Shah Faridul HAQ];
• Muttahida Majlis-e Amal or MMA [Qazi Hussain AHMED];
• Muttahida Qaumi Movement or MQM [Altaf HUSSAIN];
• National Alliance or NA [Ghulam Mustapha JATOI] (merged with PML);
• National Peoples Party or NPP;
• Pakhtun Khwa Milli Awami Party or PKMAP [Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI];
• Pakistan Awami Tehrik or PAT [Tahir ul QADRI];
• Pakistan Muslim League-Functional or PML-F [Pir PAGARO];
• Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sharif or PML-N [Nawaz SHARIF];
• Pakistan Muslim League or PML [Chaudhry Shujaat HUSSAIN];
• Pakistan Peoples Party-SHERPAO or PPP-S [Aftab Ahmed Khan SHERPAO];
• Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians or PPPP [Bilawal Bhutto ZARDARI, chairman; Asif Ali ZARDARI, co-chairman];
• Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaaf or PTI [Imran KHAN];
• Tehrik-i Islami [Allama Sajid NAQVI]

note: political alliances in Pakistan can shift frequently

other:

• military (most important political force);
• ulema (clergy);
• landowners;
• industrialists;
• small merchants

chief of mission:

Ambassador Husain HAQQANI

chancery:

3517 International Court, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 243-6500

FAX:

[1] (202) 686-1544

consulate(s) general:

Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Sunnyvale (California)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Anne W. PATTERSON

embassy:

Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad

mailing address:

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

telephone:

[92] (51) 208-0000

FAX:

[92] (51) 2276427

consulate(s) general:

Karachi

consulate(s):

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

agriculture:

42%

industry:

20%

services:

38% (2004 est.)

lowest 10%:

4%

highest 10%:

26.3% (2002)

general assessment:

• the telecommunications infrastructure is improving dramatically with foreign and domestic investments into fixed-line and mobile networks;
• mobile-cellular subscribership has skyrocketed, reaching some 88 million in 2008, up from only about 300,000 in 2000;
• fiber systems are being constructed throughout the country to aid in network growth;
• main line availability has risen only marginally over the same period and there are still difficulties getting main line service to rural areas

domestic:

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

international:

• country code - 92;
• landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable systems that provide links to Asia, the Middle East, and Europe;
• 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 (2008)

total:

8,163 km

broad gauge:

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

narrow gauge:

445 km 1.000-m gauge (2006)

total:

259,758 km

paved:

162,879 km (includes 711 km of expressways)

unpaved:

96,879 km (2005)

total:

15

by type:

bulk carrier 1, cargo 10, petroleum tanker 4

registered in other countries:

19 (Comoros 4, Malta 2, Marshall Islands 1, Panama 9, Saint Kitts and Nevis 3) (2008)

• 16 years of age for voluntary military service;
• soldiers cannot be deployed for combat until age of 18;
• the Pakistani Air Force and Pakistani Navy have inducted their first female pilots and sailors (2006)

males age 16-49:

42,633,765

females age 16-49:

40,114,017 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

32,453,913

females age 16-49:

31,369,057 (2008 est.)

male:

2,062,065

female:

1,936,916 (2008 est.)

• various talks and confidence-building measures cautiously have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005 earthquake in the region;
• Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas);
• UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949;
• India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964;
• India and Pakistan have maintained their 2004 cease fire in Kashmir and initiated discussions on defusing the armed stand-off in the Siachen glacier region;
• Pakistan protests India's fencing the highly militarized Line of Control and construction of the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, which is part of the larger dispute on water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries;
• to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea;
• Pakistani maps continue to show the Junagadh claim in India's Gujarat State;
• by 2005, Pakistan, with UN assistance, repatriated 2.3 million Afghan refugees leaving slightly more than a million, many of whom remain at their own choosing;
• Pakistan has proposed and Afghanistan protests construction of a fence and laying of mines along portions of their porous border;
• Pakistan has sent troops into remote tribal areas to monitor and control the border with Afghanistan and to stem terrorist or other illegal activities

refugees (country of origin):

1,043,984 (Afghanistan)

IDPs:

• undetermined (government strikes on Islamic militants in South Waziristan);
• 34,000 (October 2005 earthquake; most of those displaced returned to their home villages in the spring of 2006) (2007)

• significant transit area for Afghan drugs, including heroin, opium, morphine, and hashish, bound for Iran, Western markets, the Gulf States, Africa, and Asia;
• financial crimes related to drug trafficking, terrorism, corruption, and smuggling remain problems;
• opium poppy cultivation estimated to be 2,300 hectares in 2007 with 600 of those hectares eradicated;
• federal and provincial authorities continue to conduct anti-poppy campaigns that utilizes forced eradication, fines, and arrests