Portal:Pakistan
Wikipedia portal for content related to Pakistan / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area and the ninth-largest in Asia. Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor.
Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, the Indus Valley civilisation of the Bronze Age, and the ancient Gandhara civilisation. The regions that compose the modern state of Pakistan were the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Samma, the Hindu Shahis, the Shah Miris, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Mughals, and most recently, the British Raj from 1858 to 1947. (Full article...)
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Balochistan (/bəˈlɒtʃɪstɑːn, bəˌlɒtʃɪˈstɑːn, -stæn/; Balochi: بلۏچستان; Urdu: بلوچستان, Urdu pronunciation: [bəloːt͡ʃɪst̪ɑːn] ⓘ) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the north-east, Punjab to the east and Sindh to the south-east; shares international borders with Iran to the west and Afghanistan to the north; and is bound by the Arabian Sea to the south. Balochistan is an extensive plateau of rough terrain divided into basins by ranges of sufficient heights and ruggedness. It has the world's largest deep sea port, the Port of Gwadar lying in the Arabian Sea.
Although it makes up about 44% of the land area of Pakistan, only 5% of it is arable and it is noted for an extremely dry desert climate. Despite this, agriculture and livestock make up about 47% of Balochistan's economy. (Full article...)Selected picture - show another
The Tulip Lawn is a popular and well-known garden locale, situated adjacent to the magnificent Tulip Riverside Hotel located at the bank of Jhelum River in Jhelum. Photo credit: Talha |
General images
- Image 2K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 ft), is the world's second highest peak (from Geography of Pakistan)
- Image 4Lahore as seen from International Space Station. River Ravi flows from North to West. The city is rapidly growing towards the south. (from Lahore)
- Image 5Schoolgirls in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, in shalwars with cuffed hems, and kameez with western-style collars. (from Culture of Pakistan)
- Image 7Sections of the Walled City of Lahore have been under restoration since 2012 in conjunction with the Agha Khan Trust for Culture. (from Lahore)
- Image 8Men dressed in shalwar kameez in a general store on the road to Kalash, Pakistan (from Pakistanis)
- Image 12The Data Darbar shrine, one of Pakistan's most important, was built to commemorate saint Ali Hujwiri, who lived in the city during 11th century. (from Lahore)
- Image 13A traditional cup of black tea (from Culture of Pakistan)
- Image 14The area around the Wazir Khan Mosque exemplifies the Walled City's urban form (from Lahore)
- Image 15Constructed in the aftermath of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, the design of the Lahore Railway Station was highly militarised to defend the structure from further uprisings against British rule. (from Lahore)
- Image 16Pakistan map of climate classification zones (from Geography of Pakistan)
- Image 17The Sunehri Mosque was built in the walled city in the early 18th century, when the Mughal Empire was in decline. (from Lahore)
- Image 18The iconic Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort was built in 1674 and faces Aurangzeb's Badshahi Mosque. (from Lahore)
- Image 19Dust storm over Pakistan and surrounding countries, 7 April 2005 (from Geography of Pakistan)
- Image 20Grave of Nur Jahan (from Lahore)
- Image 23A syncretic architectural style that blends Islamic, Hindu, and Western motifs took root during the colonial era, as shown at Aitchison College. (from Lahore)
- Image 24The Lahore Fort, a landmark built during the Mughal era, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Culture of Pakistan)
- Image 25The Tomb of Asif Khan was one of several monuments plundered for its precious building materials during the Sikh period. (from Lahore)
- Image 26Built in 2012, Grand Jamia Mosque in southern Lahore is a blend of Mughal and modern architecture. (from Lahore)
- Image 28Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore is considered to be the most ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque. (from Lahore)
- Image 29Cityscape of Lahore (from Lahore)
- Image 30The marble Hazuri Bagh Baradari was built in 1818 to celebrate Ranjit Singh's acquisition of the Koh-i-Noor diamond. (from Lahore)
- Image 31First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and President Ayub Khan travelled by car in Lahore, 1962 (from Lahore)
- Image 34Topography of Pakistan (from Geography of Pakistan)
- Image 35The Begum Shahi Mosque was completed in 1614 in honour of Jahangir's mother, Mariam-uz-Zamani. (from Lahore)
- Image 37Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore is the third-largest cricket stadium in Pakistan with a seating capacity of 27,000 spectators. (from Culture of Pakistan)
- Image 39Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistan's national poet who conceived the idea of Pakistan (from Culture of Pakistan)
- Image 40Pakistan is the fifteenth most water stressed country in the world. (from Geography of Pakistan)
- Image 41Allama Iqbal International Airport (from Lahore)
- Image 42Lahore's Hazuri Bagh is at the centre of an ensemble of Mughal and Sikh era monuments, including the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort, Roshnai Gate, and the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh. (from Lahore)
- Image 43Map of the Old City and environs. (from Lahore)
- Image 46The Shah Alami area of Lahore's Walled City in 1890 (from Lahore)
- Image 48The Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam is part of Pakistan's Sufi heritage. (from Culture of Pakistan)
- Image 54Much of old Lahore features colonial-era buildings, such as the Tollinton Market. (from Lahore)
- Image 55Satellite image of the Sulaiman Range (from Geography of Pakistan)
- Image 56Distribution of Pakistani diasporaPakistan+ 1,000,000+ 100,000+ 10,000+ 1,000(from Pakistanis)
- Image 57Located on the bank of Arabian Sea in Karachi, Port Grand is one of the largest food streets of Asia. (from Culture of Pakistan)
This week in history
- 8 October 2005: The Kashmir earthquake (also known as the South Asia earthquake or the Great Pakistan earthquake) of 2005, was a major earthquake, of which the epicentre was the Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The earthquake occurred at 08:50:38 Pakistan Standard Time (03:50:38 UTC) on 8 October 2005. It registered 7.6 on the richter scale making it a major earthquake similar in intensity to the 1935 Quetta earthquake, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Pakistani government's official death toll was 73,276, while officials say nearly 1,400 people died in Jammu and Kashmir and fourteen people in Afghanistan. Most of the affected people lived in mountainous regions with access impeded by landslides that blocked the roads, leaving an estimated 3.3 million homeless in Pakistan.
Provinces and Territories
Clickable map of the four provinces and three federal territories of Pakistan.
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Provinces:
Territories: Pakistani-administered portions of the Kashmir: |
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Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (Urdu: عمران احمد خان نیازی , pronounced [ɪmɾaːn ɛɦməd xaːn nɪjaːziː]; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former cricketer who served as the 22nd prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He is the founder and former chairman of the political party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) from 1996 to 2023. He was the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
Born in Lahore, Khan graduated from Keble College, Oxford. He began his international cricket career in a 1971 Test series against England. Khan played until 1992, served as the team's captain intermittently between 1982 and 1992, and won the 1992 Cricket World Cup, Pakistan's only victory in the competition. Considered one of cricket's greatest all-rounders, Khan was later inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. Founding the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) in 1996, Khan won a seat in the National Assembly in the 2002 general election, serving as an opposition member from Mianwali until 2007. PTI boycotted the 2008 general election and became the second-largest party by popular vote in the 2013 general election. In the 2018 general election, running on a populist platform, PTI became the largest party in the National Assembly, and formed a coalition government with independents with Khan as prime minister. (Full article...)Did you know?
- ... that Rehri Goth, one of the poor neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Karachi, is one of the oldest settlements dating back to the 13th century? (31 March 2024)
- ... that Burushaski, a predominantly in northern Gilgit-Baltistan spoken rather than written language, has not more than 120,000 native speakers? (9 July 2023)
- ... that the MagnifiScience Centre in Karachi is the only science center in the country, and, unlike a museum, visitors are encouraged to touch and learn from the interaction with the exhibits? (11 June 2023)
- ... that Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, the famous German–Pakistani Catholic nun who devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy was the first Christian and first non-Muslim to have a state funeral in Pakistan? (2 September 2021)
- ... that Lahore Metrobus open in 2013, was modelled after the Istanbul Bus Rapid Transit System. Plans were developed in the last quarter of 2011 by both local and Turkish experts.[1] (31 August 2021)
- ... that Lahore Knowledge Park is an actualization of Triple Helix configuration; a framework to create synergies between government, academia and industry to operate into an interactive rather than linear model for the establishment of social formats and entities to promote commercial innovation and R&D. [2] (27 January 2017)
- ... that Karachi Kings is the most expensive franchise team of Pakistan Super League? (04 December 2015)
- ... that Sialkot is the world's largest producer of hand-sewed footballs, with local factories manufacturing 40~60 million footballs a year, amounting to roughly 60% of world production. (4 December 2017)
- ... that Hafiz Muhammad Fazal Azim Taha, the famous living Pakistani poet said about Iqbal's work that "He not only dreamed for Pakistan but also got the nation up for their rights". This famous saying is regarded as Iqbal's definition. (14 July 2014)
- ... that Tajammul Hussain Malik headed an unsuccessful coup attempt against Pakistani dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in 1980? (22 September 2009)
- ... that the Legal Framework Order, 1970, issued by Gen. Yahya Khan, set the rules for the first direct popular elections in the history of Pakistan? (14 September 2009)
- ... that in 1881 in the village of Bakhshali in northern Pakistan, the Bakhshali manuscript, the oldest surviving example of Indian mathematics, was discovered written on birch bark? (1 September 2008)
- ... that the original images of Lord Swaminarayan at the Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Karachi, Pakistan were removed and taken to India during the turbulent times of its partition? (1 September 2008)
- ... that Saudi Arabia promised to supply 50,000 barrels of free oil per day to help Pakistan if economic sanctions were imposed after its 1998 nuclear tests? (1 September 2008)
- ... that in a major improvement in bilateral relations in 2008, Pakistan proposed sharing nuclear technology with Bangladesh? (31 August 2008)
- ... that Abdur Rashid Kardar, a pioneer of the Pakistani film industry in Lahore, was a calligraphist who prepared posters for foreign-made films? (11 July 2008)
- ... that the Nigar Awards are the oldest awards of merit in the Pakistani film industry? (10 July 2008)
- ... that Syed Wajid Ali was the longest serving President of the Pakistan Olympic Association with a tenure of 26 years? (7 July 2008)
- ... that the 1948 film Teri Yaad was the first feature film to be released in Pakistan after the partition of India? (6 July 2008)
- ... that The Edhi Foundation, founded by Edhi, runs the world's largest volunteer ambulance service operating 1,800 of them with upto 6,000 a day in Karachi alone. (4 December 2017)
Pakistan news
- 3 June 2024 – Arrest of Imran Khan
- The Islamabad High Court overturns former Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan's charges of leaking national security secrets. (Reuters)
- 29 May 2024 –
- At least 28 people are killed when a bus falls into a ravine in Washuk District, Balochistan, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
- 27 May 2024 – Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Twenty-three gunmen and seven soldiers are killed during three shootouts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (AP)
- 24 May 2024 – 2024 Bishkek riots
- Hundreds of international students from Pakistan and other Asian countries leave Kyrgyzstan following attacks by Kyrgyz nationalist mobs on student hostels in Bishkek earlier this month. (Reuters)
- 18 May 2024 – 2024 Afghanistan–Pakistan floods
- At least 68 people are killed by floods in Ghor and Faryab provinces, Afghanistan. (AP)
- 18 May 2024 – 2024 Bishkek riots
- The Foreign Ministry of Pakistan asks that Pakistani nationals in Kyrgyzstan stay indoors after mob attacks on Pakistanis and other foreign nationals are reported. (AP)
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“ | Pakistan not only means freedom and independence but the Muslim Ideology which has to be preserved, which has come to us as a precious gift and treasure and which, we hope other will share with us. | ” |
— Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Founder of Pakistan) |
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Pakistan topics
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Religions in Pakistan
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Sources
- Mahendra, Anjali. "The Metro Bus System comes to Lahore, Pakistan". TheCityFix. World Resources Institute. Retrieved 31 August 2021.