Introducing Pakistan

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan came into being as an independent state on 14 August, 1947. Located in South Asia, Pakistan shares an eastern border with India and a northeastern border with China. Iran makes up the country’s southwest border, and Afghanistan runs along its western and northern edge. The Arabian Sea is Pakistan’s southern boundary with 1,064 km of coastline. The country has a total area of 803,940 sq km with a land area of 778,720 sq km and is nearly four times the size of the United Kingdom. From Gwadar Bay in it’s south-eastern corner, the country extends more than 1,800 km to the Khunjerab Pass on China’s border.

The impact of Islam since the 10th Century A.D. was the deepest and the most far-reaching, bestowing a new way of life based on equality, justice and peace, transforming the land and the people. Urdu is the country's national language while English is extensively used in offices and commercial circles. Other regional languages include Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Balochi.
	Mughal Architecture - Lahore

Pakistan comprises four provinces - Punjab, Sindh, North West Frontier and Balochistan - and the Federally Administrated Tribal Area. The country presents a variety of landscapes . The north to northwestern mountainous belt is largely a barren region that features many of the world 's tallest peaks.

	The land beneath the lofty peaks of Himalayas, Karakoram and the Hindukush, However, is a fertile land with beautiful tree-clad slopes and valleys, trumb-ling streams well-stocked with fish and forests abounding with small and big game.
A beautiful Hill Resort, near Islamabad		Honeymoon Lake - Skardu

Climatically, Pakistan is mainly dry with rainfall varying between four to forty inches a year. Temperature varies from extreme summer heat in some places, to a brisk, invigorating cold in winter with heavy snowfall at elevations.

Islamabad, with an area of 906.5 kms, is the capital of Pakistan and is situated at the foot of Murree Hills, forms the northeast part of the Potwars Plateau. Islamabad enjoys a pleasant climate. The maximum average in winter is 16.7 ⁰C, and minimum 3.4 ⁰C; in summer it is 34.2 ⁰C, and 24.4 ⁰C. The Aiwan-e-Sadr (Presidency), Parliament Building, Secretariat Blocks, State Bank Complex, Rawal Lake and Faisal Mosque are some of the Capital's land marks.

Main Entrance to Capital - Islamabad

Pakistan embarked upon a modest programme to make a major breakthrough in various fields of communications. It is going ahead with its plans and programmes of modernisation and advancement in this essential sector. Thousands of kilometers of new highways and roads are being constructed to cover most parts of the country. Telecommunication networks are being improved and expanded to facilitate round-the-clock service. A new and most modern airport has already been built at Karachi, while more are being designed. New methods and policies are being adopted to improve public transport facilities.

For improving the railway system, private sector has been involved in selling tickets and checking on some of its sections. A programme is being undertaken for modernizing the existing seaport and building an additional deep-water port. In the air transport sector, 13 private parties have been approved to operate airlines.

 

Karachi International Airport	Container Service at Karachi Port	Agriculture University- Faisalabad

The present literacy rate is estimated at 35 percent which shows substantial improvement over 26.2 percent in 1981. The population of Pakistan nearly doubled over a half-century period. The current growth rate of 3.0 percent is the highest among the nine most populous countries.

Pakistan's conventional energy resources are inadequate to meet generating its ever-increasing power needs. The country is largely dependent on hydro-electricity for which the installed capacity at present is 10598 MW. However, the low river flows in winter cause a substantial decline in the generating capacity of the hydro-electric plants. The country has to look for other sources of energy such as gas, oil and nuclear energy.