The word "Pakistan" is a neologism. The name means "Land of the Pure" (from the Urdu : Pak means 'pure' and stan meaning "country" with an i-binding) . But it is also an acronym formed from the names of provinces of the country: P Andjaba , the A fghania (current province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), the K ashmir , the ndus I - M ind and Baluchis tan , giving popular etymology, yet risky, since the " East Bengal ", later called" East Pakistan "(later Bangladesh ) is not mentioned when he was more than half the population of the future State upon its independence in 1947 .

History

Benazir Bhutto in 2004.

Before the partition

The Indus region was the site of several ancient cultures including Mehrgarh , one of the oldest known cities in the world, and civilization of the valley of the Indus (from 2500 BC. to 1500 BC. BC) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.

Waves of conquerors and migrants including Harappan, Indo-Aryans, Persians , Greeks , Sakas , Parthians , Kushans , Huns white, Afghans, Arabs , Turks and Mongols , have settled in Pakistan throughout the centuries, influencing Native. The country has a common history with India, Afghanistan and Iran antique. The region is a crossroads of historic trade routes, including the Silk Road.

The territory that Pakistan occupies the civilization of the Indus Valley was influenced in the middle of the second millennium BC by the arrival of Aryan civilization, which gave rise to Vedic. Successive empires and kingdoms ruled the region of the Persian Empire Achaemenid around 543 BC to Alexander the Great in 326 BC and the Mauryan empire. The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria included Gandhara and Punjab in 184 BC and reached its greatest extent under Menander I , establishing the Greco-Buddhist period with advances in trade and culture. The city of Taxila (Takshashila) became an important center for the study of ancient times - the remains of the city, west of Islamabad , are one of the major archaeological sites in the country.

Pakistan has with India, one of the states created during the partition of British India in 1947.

After the partition

Nawaz Sharif in 1998.

Since its inception, Pakistan has never really enjoyed stability. The country's history is marked by four coups and periods of democracy characterized by high political instability. After a succession of seven prime ministers between 1947 and 1958 , Muhammad Ayub Khan took power on 27 October 1958 and imposed martial law. It will be in power for 11 years, after which General Muhammad Yahya Khan came to power and decreed martial law again. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became president in 1971 and restored democracy.

The military coup of General Zia in 1977 leads to the execution of Prime Minister Ali Bhutto in 1979. He had passed a new constitution in 1973 , which is always the one in force today. Zia establishes an authoritarian regime where the flexibility of political parties is low and where political opponents are jailed. He pushed through amendments in 1985 to expand presidential powers. Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq died in a plane crash causes the unsolved 17 August 1988.

Following the parliamentary elections of 1988 , the National Assembly shall elect Benazir Bhutto , leader of the PPP and the daughter of Ali Bhutto, Prime Minister. After 21 months at the helm of government, it is removed from office by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan in 1990. The 1990 elections are Nawaz Sharif as prime minister until his dismissal in 1993 by President Ghulam Ishaq Khan. Benazir Bhutto returns to its seat of prime minister after elections in 1993 , and Farooq Leghari was elected President at the same time. Bhutto was again ousted by the president in 1996 and went into exile in 1998. Nawaz Sharif is new prime minister in 1997 until the coup of Pervez Musharraf in 1999. Musharraf officially became president in 2001 , then made pass constitutional amendments strengthening its power in 2003

In November 2007 , Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan after an exile of nine years. It is the PPP for the legislative elections of January 2008. It is in opposition to President Musharraf. She was assassinated in Rawalpindi on 27 December 2007 , during a suicide attack after an election meeting. Since September 2008 , Asif Ali Zardari , widower of Benazir Bhutto , was elected president of Pakistan after the parliamentary elections of February 2008 which marks the victory of the PPP and the resignation of Pervez Musharraf. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani since March 2008. A constitutional reform was passed in April 2010 and went to the Prime Minister for the largest share of executive power.

Since 2004, the Pakistani army fighting some armed Islamists in the armed conflict in north-western Pakistan , especially the Pakistani Taliban. Fighting has intensified since 2007 with the storming of the Red Mosque.

Geography

Topographic map of Pakistan.

Pakistan has an area of 796,096 sq km and shares borders with Iran (900 km ) south-west of Afghanistan (2400 km) west and north, the People's Republic of China (520 km) north-east and India (2900 km) along its eastern side. The south coast is bordered by the Arabian Sea with 1,050 km of coastline.

The terrain consists of high peaks in the north (including Mount K2 , which at 8611 meters altitude, is the second highest point in the world), arid mountains to the west, an inhospitable plateau in the south West of the Cholistan desert in south-east and alluvial plains dedicated to agriculture elsewhere.

Politics

Yusuf Raza Gilani , Pakistan's current Prime Minister.

Political Institutions

Pakistan is a republic Federal Multiparty. It is a parliamentary system monist who was until very recently (April 2010) a semi-presidential or president has important powers. The President is the Head of State , Prime Minister Head of Government. The government exercises executive power while the legislative power is held by the Parliament and provincial assemblies. Since April 2010 , a constitutional reform was adopted and transfer much of the president's powers to the Prime Minister. The latter is now the real holder of executive power and determines the policy of the nation. Previously, the President of the Republic, who held that role.

The National Assembly and four provincial assemblies are elected by direct universal suffrage in single-member plurality system for a term of five years. These bodies then form an electoral college with the Senate elects the President of the Republic for five years. The Senate , representing the provinces, is in turn elected by the members of the four provincial assemblies equal level. Senators serve for six years and are renewed by half every three years.

Pakistan is in a situation of bicameralism egalitarian. The Senate represents the provinces and their autonomy, and the National Assembly represents the people and the unity of the state. Prime Minister and his government are responsible to the National Assembly , and local governments to their provincial assembly. The National Assembly may be dissolved.

The Supreme Court is the head of the legal system and determines the constitutional jurisprudence. Its members are appointed by a parliamentary committee since April 2010 , previously was the president who named them.

The current President of the Republic is Asif Ali Zardari , Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani. They came to power after the parliamentary elections in Pakistan in February 2008.

policy towards terrorism

An F-16 of the Pakistan army.

The relationship between the various Islamic groups based in Pakistan and the government has sometimes been described as ambiguous. The government and the Pakistani secret service ( ISI ) have long supported the Taliban (officially until 2001 ). The ISI still is accused of helping the Taliban. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001 , the Pakistani government announced its willingness to fight against Islamist extremism. The authorities have however often been accused of playing a double game thereafter. The Pakistani government has always rejected these accusations, and also enjoys financial and military aid from the United States.

The terrorist attacks have greatly increased in recent years in the country. They are the work of Islamist groups close to the Taliban, or claiming the application of sharia. The most active are the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (Pakistani Taliban), whose stronghold is located in Waziristan and the Tehrik-e-Shariat-e-Nifaz-e-Mohammadi which raged in Swat. The conflict began in 2004, while the tension built up after the hunt for elements of Al Qaeda by Pakistani forces degenerated into armed resistance from local groups and tribal areas of Pakistan. The Pakistani government's attempt to control these groups has resulted in numerous attacks in major cities, such as Rawalpindi , Lahore and Peshawar.

Between 2004 and 2010 , the government's strategy has changed several times between peace attempts and repeated offensives. Immediately after the conflict began in 2004, peace accords were signed, and hostilities resumed with the onslaught of the Red Mosque in 2007. While the Islamic insurgency continues to grow, have attempted truce in early 2009 , then the government launched several major offensives. The Swat Valley was taken over by the army in June 2009 and then further military operations are launched in South Waziristan late 2009 , then in the Orakzai agency in 2010.

The conflict has killed at least 27 000 people, including 16 000 3 000 Islamist fighters and members of security forces. There are also about 8,000 civilians killed, including more than 3,500 died during the terrorist attacks ^, and hundreds of thousands of IDPs. The cost of war has been estimated at about 35 billion . In a poll conducted in October 2009 , 51% of Pakistanis are in favor of such offensive, against 13% who say they are cons . A certain portion of public opinion is in fact reluctant towards a direct conflict for fear that fighting may generalize to the entire country, or that Pakistan serve only the interests of the United States.

Administration and territorial subdivisions

The modern Pakistan is a federation which is mainly divided into four parts called provinces (soubeh): the Punjab , the Sind , the Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The country also administers the region of Kashmir which is currently split between Pakistan and India. It is also the tribal areas , federally administered and the federal territory of Islamabad.

The region of Kashmir is administered by Pakistan is divided into two regions: Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

Pakistan is also divided into 106 districts. At the lower level, there is also the Tehsil and Union Councils.

Cities of Pakistan

Demographics

Demographic changes between 1961 and 2003 (figures FAO , 2005). Population in thousands.

The population of Pakistan is still enjoying strong growth, despite a gradual decline in fertility. According to the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED) in France, with 31 , the birth rate remains strong while the rate of natural increase 2.3% annually, almost four million people additional year. In early 2009, the country's population was estimated at about 181 million.

In 2007 , INED predicted that the country's population will reach 228.8 million by 2025 ^Health

The life expectancy at birth was 63 for girls and 62 boys in 2006 . In 2003 , the expectancy of healthy life at birth was 54 for boys and 52 girls . In 2006 , total expenditures on health were 2% of GDP . The mortality rate below 5 years was 97 per 1000 births in 2006 .

Economy

The device of Lahore under construction.

Largely agricultural, the country has a large textile industry. The Pakistanis have inherited 8,775 kilometers of 42,000 kilometers of railway network of the former British India. In 1990, accidents have proven that the railways were poorly maintained and it is the road that was done the bulk of trade to an underdeveloped economy.

Like its siblings, the hydroelectric dam Tarbela on the Indus only partly address the deficit of Pakistan in energy, hydroelectric power should be a factor for economic progress.

According to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, there would, in 2008 , 85 million mobile phones in Pakistan and 22 million people should have an Internet connection.

Because of the economic crisis of recent years, high oil prices and food in 2007 and 2008 and increased domestic instability, Pakistan is facing a growing budget deficit, with inflation and with the increasing poverty. Because of the special challenges they face, women now constitute a large proportion of the poor. http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/acdi-cida.nsf/fra/jud- 12916929-stl

Transport in Pakistan

Motorways and trunk road from Pakistan.

The main advantage of the transport network in Pakistan is the strong presence of railways, legacy from the days when Pakistan was a British colony. This network of train tracks has a total length of nearly 9000 miles and serves all major Pakistani cities. However, trains and railways suffer from poor maintenance, and rail disasters are frequent. The most serious took place on 4 January 1990 and cost the lives of nearly 300 people. In 2005 and 2007 , two other disaster cost the lives of nearly 300 people .

Since the early 1990s , the government has undertaken a program of construction of highways , the network currently connects Lahore with Islamabad and Rawalpindi , three cities in the north. Some highways are still under construction and more are planned. Ultimately, the goal is to connect Karachi in the south with the northern cities of the country .

Education

In 2008 , the literacy rate is 56.2%, against 44% in 1998 and 26.2% in 1981 . The government has set a goal of reaching the figure of 85% in 2015. About 80% of children have access to primary education but only 44% reach secondary school . About 4.7% of students reach higher education in 2009 , against less than 3% in 2004. The government has set a target of 15% in 2020.

Sixty-one percent of Pakistanis are under 24 years. Without a quality public education to support the population explosion, young people are exposed to unemployment and poverty. http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/acdi-cida.nsf/fra/jud stl-12916929-

Culture

The current region of Pakistan has been administered by various peoples and empires (Aryans, Persians, Ghaznavids, Seljuks, Arabs, Rajputs, Mughals ...). All these cultural influences have left many traces. The site of Mohenjo-daro is an important site of the civilization of the Indus Valley , the remains of one of the greatest cities of the Bronze Age , the first of its advancement of humanity.

Pakistan has a past and a cultural history closely linked to India today. Whether music, movies, food, literature, the two countries are the heirs of the common history. Mohammed Iqbal, from a Hindu family converted to Islam in recent centuries, poet, is the father of the idea of creation of the Pakistani state, Muslim majority state. The great representative of Pakistani Sufi music Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan , who introduced the art of Qawali in the world. The country is very steeped in Sufi Islam, the cult of saints (Pirs) is widespread, despite a return to conservative Islam. The Urs (annual procession of the saints) are moments of great devotion, but also popular for celebrations, during which there is live music mystical. Pakistan also has a rich architectural heritage of the Mughals. Among the most impressive, there is the masjid Badsha, who was long the second largest mosque in the world, red brick and white marble inlaid with mosaics, and probably one of the most beautiful mosques in the world. There are also Shalimar Bagh, the famous gardens of Shalimar Mughal era, when Lahore was the imperial city. The city of Lahore remains the country's cultural capital. In the mosque of Wazir Khan in Lahore, learning reading and writing going on, as elsewhere, by the verses of the Koran. The film industry is developed, despite a decline in recent years due to competition from Indian cinema. The theater is also experiencing a great boom with contemporary authors as Shamshir Haider Shah.

Society

According to the Commission on Human Rights of Pakistan (HRCP), in 2007 there were 636 women died of an honor killing .

In 2010, Pakistan occupied the 125th place out of 169 countries in terms of human development index prepared by the United Nations for development. Development indicators are among the lowest in South Asia and its national development goals are threatened. Because of the pervasiveness of discrimination based on sex, women and girls lack access to basic services and can participate fully in society. http://www.acdi-cida. gc.ca/acdi-cida/acdi-cida.nsf/fra/jud-12916929-stl

Religions

Islam

The Royal Mosque at Lahore.

Islam Sunni is the majority religion of Pakistan, with 75% of the population . 20% of Pakistanis are Shia and are concentrated in the north-west, near the Afghan border. Between 1990 and 2007, tensions between Sunnis and Shiites have killed about 4000 people .

The minority Hindu

About 3.2 million Hindus living in Pakistan, nearly 1.9% of the population.

The Christian minority

St Patricks Cathedral in Karachi.

Nearly six million Christians living in Pakistan .

Sport

The most popular sports in Pakistan are cricket and field hockey in which Pakistan has won several major titles. In addition to these two sports, Kabaddi and wrestling are also very famous. The football is developing. Since the arrival of the various crises in the country during the early 2000s, the influx of sports has declined, both sporting and economic.

Cricket

As football is present in every street of Brazil, is the same case of cricket in Pakistan is the most popular sport in the country, fans are numerous. The Pakistan cricket team notably won the World Cup 1992 and was a finalist in 1999. She was even a finalist in the ICC World Twenty20 in 2007 and 2010 and winner in 2009.

References