Pakistan ethnic composition (2017)
147-569: 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 . Bounded by the Arabian Sea on
294-547: A Cold War episode resulting in East Pakistan 's secession, was the most recent instance of a new nation being formed in the region. South Asia has a total area of 5.2 million sq.km (2 million sq.mi), which is 10% of the Asian continent. The population of South Asia is estimated to be 2.04 billion or about one-fourth of the world's population, making it both the most populous and the most densely populated geographical region in
441-447: A Pew Research Center (PEW) poll, favor Sharia law as the official law, and 94 percent of them identify more with religion than nationality compared to Muslims in other nations. Pakistan, a federal parliamentary republic , consists of four provinces : Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan, along with three territories : Islamabad Capital Territory , Gilgit-Baltistan , and Azad Kashmir . The Government of Pakistan governs
588-406: A nine-month-long civil war . In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments whose descriptions, although complex, commonly alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, relatively secular and Islamist. Pakistan is considered a middle power nation, with the world's sixth-largest standing armed forces . It is a declared nuclear-weapons state , and
735-477: A 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.42/10, ranking 41st globally out of 172 countries. Pakistan operates as a democratic parliamentary federal republic , with Islam designated as the state religion . Initially adopting a constitution in 1956 , Pakistan saw it suspended by Ayub Khan in 1958, replaced by a second constitution in 1962. A comprehensive constitution emerged in 1973, suspended by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 but reinstated in 1985, shaping
882-404: A blend of socialism , conservatism , and the third way , with the three main political parties being the conservative PML (N), socialist PPP, and centrist PTI. Constitutional amendments in 2010 curtailed presidential powers, enhancing the role of the prime minister. Pakistan, the only country established in the name of Islam, had overwhelming support among Muslims, especially in provinces like
1029-597: A colonial economy, but also consolidating its sovereignty . British Crown rule began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly, but technological changes were introduced, and modern ideas of education and the public life took root. In 1947 the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two independent dominions , a Hindu-majority Dominion of India and a Muslim-majority Dominion of Pakistan , amid large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration. The 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War ,
1176-434: A conventional war in 1971 that resulted in an Indian victory and East Pakistan gaining independence as Bangladesh . With Pakistan surrendering in the war, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as president; the country worked towards promulgating its constitution and putting the country on the road to democracy. In 1972 Pakistan embarked on an ambitious plan to develop its nuclear deterrence capability with
1323-729: A final attempt to prevent partition, they proposed the Cabinet Mission Plan . As the Cabinet Mission failed, the British announced their intention to end rule by June 1948. Following rigorous discussions involving Viceroy of India , Lord Mountbatten of Burma , Muhammad Ali Jinnah of the All-India Muslim League , and Jawaharlal Nehru of Congress, the formal declaration to partition British India into two independent dominions—namely Pakistan and India—was issued by Mountbatten on
1470-696: A full 5-year term in office. India has grown significantly, having slashed its rate of extreme poverty to below 20% and surpassed Pakistan's GDP per capita in the 2010s due to economic liberalisation from the 1980s onward. Bangladesh, having struggled greatly for decades due to conflict with and economic exploitation by Pakistan, is now one of the fastest-growing countries in the region, beating India in terms of GDP per capita . Afghanistan has gone through several invasions and Islamist regimes, with many of its refugees having gone to Pakistan and other parts of South Asia and bringing back cultural influences such as cricket . Religious nationalism has grown across
1617-515: A hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. Rainfall varies greatly from year to year, with patterns of alternate flooding and drought common. The diverse landscape and climate in Pakistan support a wide range of trees and plants. From coniferous alpine and subalpine trees like spruce , pine , and deodar cedar in
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#17330929688161764-678: A land mass which extends from the Himalayas into a portion of the basin under the Indian Ocean, including parts of South China and Eastern Indonesia , as well as Kunlun and Karakoram ranges, and extending up to but not including Ladakh , Kohistan , the Hindu Kush range, and Balochistan . It may be noted that geophysically the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Tibet is situated at the outside
1911-594: A large part of the region between the 4th and 7th centuries, a period that saw the construction of major temples, monasteries and universities such as the Nalanda . During this era, and through the 10th century, numerous cave monasteries and temples such as the Ajanta Caves , Badami cave temples , and Ellora Caves were built in South Asia. Islam came as a political power in the fringe of South Asia in 8th century CE when
2058-709: A majority of the regional population to Islam. Upon the defeat of the Turk and Hindu Shahi dynasties which governed the Kabul Valley , Gandhara (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and western Punjab in the 7th to 11th centuries CE, several successive Muslim empires ruled over the region, including the Ghaznavid Empire (975–1187 CE), the Ghorid Kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 CE). The Lodi dynasty ,
2205-757: A maritime border with Oman, and shares a border with Tajikistan via the Wakhan Corridor . Situated at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia, Pakistan's location is geopolitically significant. Geologically, Pakistan straddles the Indus–Tsangpo Suture Zone and the Indian tectonic plate in Sindh and Punjab, while Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sit on the Eurasian Plate , primarily on
2352-554: A northwestern Iranian people in accordance to their language which belongs to the northwestern subgroup of Iranian languages . According to Dr. Akhtar Baloch, Professor at University of Karachi , the Balochis migrated from Balochistan during the Little Ice Age and settled in Sindh and Punjab . The Little Ice Age is conventionally defined as a period extending from the sixteenth to
2499-447: A pamphlet Now or Never , using it as an acronym . Rahmat Ali explained: "It is composed of letters taken from the names of all our homelands, Indian and Asian, P anjab , A fghania , K ashmir , S indh , and Baluchis tan ." He added, "Pakistan is both a Persian and Urdu word... It means the land of the Paks, the spiritually pure and clean." Etymologists note that پاک pāk ,
2646-707: A principality for himself by expanding the Islamic world, and thus laid the foundation for the Muslim kingdom that became the Delhi Sultanate . Some historians chronicle the Delhi Sultanate from 1192 due to the presence and geographical claims of Mu'izz al-Din in South Asia by that time. The Delhi Sultanate covered varying parts of South Asia and was ruled by a series of dynasties: Mamluk, Khalji, Tughlaq, Sayyid, and Lodi dynasties. Muhammad bin Tughlaq came to power in 1325, launched
2793-459: A republic. The creation of Pakistan was never fully accepted by many British leaders including Lord Mountbatten . Mountbatten expressed his lack of support and faith in the Muslim League's idea of Pakistan. Jinnah refused Mountbatten's offer to serve as Governor-General of Pakistan. When Mountbatten was asked by Collins and Lapierre if he would have sabotaged Pakistan had he known that Jinnah
2940-460: A scholar of political science at Carleton University , the terms South Asia, Southwest Asia, and Central Asia are distinct, but the confusion and disagreements have arisen due to the geopolitical movement to enlarge these regions into Greater South Asia, Greater Southwest Asia , and Greater Central Asia . The frontier of Greater South Asia, states Cutler, between 2001 and 2006 has been geopolitically extended to eastern Iran and western Afghanistan in
3087-795: A united Islamic bloc, called Islamistan, wasn't supported by other Muslim governments, though figures like the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Al-Haj Amin al-Husseini , and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood were drawn to the country. Pakistan's desire for an international organization of Muslim countries was fulfilled in the 1970s when the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was formed. East Pakistan's Bengali Muslims, opposed to an Islamist state, clashed with West Pakistanis who leaned towards Islamic identity. The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami backed an Islamic state and opposed Bengali nationalism . After
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#17330929688163234-587: A war of expansion and the Delhi Sultanate reached it largest geographical reach over the South Asian region during his 26-year rule. A Sunni Sultan, Muhammad bin Tughlaq persecuted non-Muslims such as Hindus, as well as non-Sunni Muslims such as Shia and Mahdi sects. Revolts against the Delhi Sultanate sprang up in many parts of South Asia during the 14th century. In the northeast, the Bengal Sultanate became independent in 1346 CE. It remained in power through
3381-583: Is 'pure' in Persian and Pashto and the Persian suffix ـستان -stan means 'land' or 'place of'. Rahmat Ali's concept of Pakistan only related to the northwestern area of the Indian subcontinent . He also proposed the name "Banglastan" for the Muslim areas of Bengal and "Osmanistan" for Hyderabad State , as well as a political federation between the three. Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan. The earliest known inhabitants in
3528-984: Is a member of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation , the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation , the Commonwealth of Nations , the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation , and the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition , and is designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States. The name Pakistan was coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali , a Pakistan Movement activist, who in January 1933 first published it (originally as "Pakstan") in
3675-645: Is comparable to France and the UK combined. It ranks as the 33rd-largest nation by total area , but this varies based on Kashmir's disputed status. Pakistan boasts a 1,046 km (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, and shares land borders totaling 6,774 km (4,209 mi), including 2,430 km (1,510 mi) with Afghanistan, 523 km (325 mi) with China, 2,912 km (1,809 mi) with India, and 909 km (565 mi) with Iran. It has
3822-460: Is marked by prolonged stagflation , political instability, corruption , misgovernment, geopolitical rivalry with India, and the clash of left wing - right wing ideologies. As PML (N) secured a supermajority in elections in 1997, Nawaz Sharif authorised nuclear testings , as a retaliation to the second nuclear tests conducted by India in May 1998. Military tension between the two countries in
3969-476: Is no clear boundary – geographical, geopolitical, socio-cultural, economical, or historical – between South Asia and other parts of Asia, especially Southeast Asia and West Asia. The common definition of South Asia is largely inherited from the administrative boundaries of the Indian Empire, with several exceptions. The current territories of Bangladesh , India , and Pakistan which were the core territories of
4116-558: Is not based solely on tribal connections. Pashtuns are an Iranic ethnolinguistic group and are Pakistan's second largest ethnicity. They speak Pashto as their first language and are divided into multiple tribes such as Afridi , Durrani , Yousafzai and Khattak , which are notably the main Pashtun tribes in Pakistan. They make up an estimated 38 million of Pakistan's total population and are mostly adherent to Sunni Islam. The Sindhis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who speak
4263-517: Is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies, with a large and rapidly growing middle class. Pakistan's political history since independence has been characterized by periods of significant economic and military growth as well as those of political and economic instability. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife . The country continues to face challenges, including poverty , illiteracy , corruption , and terrorism . Pakistan
4410-666: Is surrounded by three water bodies – the Bay of Bengal , the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea – and has acutely varied climate zones. The tip of the Indian Peninsula had the highest quality pearls. Most of this region is resting on the Indian Plate , the northerly portion of the Indo-Australian Plate , separated from the rest of the Eurasian Plate . The Indian Plate includes most of South Asia, forming
4557-797: Is the only animal found in significant numbers in Cholistan , with a few nilgai along the Pakistan–India border and in some parts of Cholistan. Rare animals include the snow leopard and the blind Indus river dolphin , of which there are believed to be about 1,816 remaining, protected at the Indus Dolphin Reserve in Sindh. In total, 174 species of mammals, 177 species of reptiles, 22 species of amphibians, 198 species of freshwater fish, 668 species of birds, over 5,000 species of insects, and over 5,700 species of plants have been recorded in Pakistan. Pakistan faces deforestation, hunting, and pollution, with
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4704-562: Is the southern subregion of Asia , which is defined in both geographical and ethnic - cultural terms. With a population of 2.04 billion living in South Asia, it contains a quarter (25%) of the world's population. As commonly conceptualised, the modern states of South Asia include Bangladesh , Bhutan , India , the Maldives , Nepal , Pakistan , and Sri Lanka , with Afghanistan also often included, which may otherwise be classified as part of Central Asia . South Asia borders East Asia to
4851-637: Is today Pakistan. During this period, the Vedas , the oldest scriptures of Hinduism , were composed. The western regions of Pakistan became part of Achaemenid Empire around 517 BCE. In 326 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered the region by defeating various local rulers, most notably, the King Porus , at Jhelum . It was followed by the Maurya Empire , founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka
4998-796: The Baloch people living to the east and west. The Brahuis are almost entirely Sunni Muslims . Meo , also spelled Mayo or occasionally, Mewati , are a Muslim ethnic group originating from the Mewat region of north-western India. During the Partition of India , several Meo were displaced from Alwar and Bharatpur districts in India, mostly settling in Pakistani districts of Sialkot , Lahore , Karachi , Narowal , Dera Ghazi Khan , Sheikhupura , Gujranwala , Multan , Haiderabad and Kasur , among others. According to
5145-719: The Brahui language , which belongs to the Dravidian language family, although ethnically they tend to identify as Baloch . They are a small minority group in Afghanistan , where they are native, but they are also found in their diaspora in West Asian states. They mainly occupy the area in Balochistan from Bolan Pass through the Bolan Hills to Ras Muari ( Cape Monze ) on the sea, separating
5292-703: The British Empire from 1857 to 1947 also form the core territories of South Asia. The mountain countries of Nepal and Bhutan , two independent countries that were not under the British Raj but were protectorates of the Empire, and the island countries of Sri Lanka and the Maldives are generally included. By various definitions based on substantially different reasons, the British Indian Ocean Territory and
5439-660: The British Indian Empire , and remained so until independence in 1947. Under British rule, modern Pakistan was primarily divided into the Sind Division , Punjab Province , and the Baluchistan Agency . The region also included various princely states , with the largest being Bahawalpur . The major armed struggle against the British in the region was the rebellion known as the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857. Divergence in
5586-680: The East India Company , and later, after the post- Sepoy Mutiny (1857–1858), direct rule by Queen Victoria of the British Empire , acquired most of the region. Key conflicts included those against the Baloch Talpur dynasty , resolved by the Battle of Miani (1843) in Sindh, the Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845–1849), and the Anglo-Afghan Wars (1839–1919). By 1893, all modern Pakistan was part of
5733-688: The Ganges and Indus river basins (where up to 60% of non-monsoon irrigation comes from the glaciers ) may be faced with severe water scarcity due to both climate and socioeconomic reasons. By 2030, major Indian cities such as Mumbai , Kolkata , Cuttack , and Kochi are expected to end up with much of their territory below the tide level. In Mumbai alone, failing to adapt to this would result in damages of US$ 112–162 billion by 2050, which would nearly triple by 2070. Sea level rise in Bangladesh will displace 0.9–2.1 million people by 2050 and may force
5880-558: The Himalayas and Kuen Lun mountain ranges and east of the Indus River and the Iranian Plateau , extending southward into the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Sea (to the southwest) and the Bay of Bengal (to the southeast). The climate of this vast region varies considerably from area to area from tropical monsoon in the south to temperate in the north. The variety is influenced by not only
6027-406: The Hindu Kush region of South Asia for several years and then later moved into the Indus valley region. Later, the Maurya Empire extended over much of South Asia in the 3rd century BCE. Buddhism spread beyond south Asia, through northwest into Central Asia. The Bamiyan Buddhas of Afghanistan and the edicts of Aśoka suggest that the Buddhist monks spread Buddhism (Dharma) in eastern provinces of
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6174-414: The Hindu Shahis , the Ghaznavids , the Delhi Sultanate , the Samma , the Shah Miris , the Mughals , the Durranis , the Sikhs and most recently, the British Raj from 1858 to 1947. Spurred by the Pakistan Movement , which sought a homeland for the Muslims of British India , and election victories in 1946 by the All-India Muslim League , Pakistan gained independence in 1947 after the Partition of
6321-556: The Indian pangolin , the jungle cat , and the sand cat . Indus is home to mugger crocodiles , while surrounding areas host wild boars , deer, and porcupines . Central Pakistan's sandy scrublands shelter Asiatic jackals, striped hyenas , wildcats, and leopards . The mountainous north hosts a variety of animals like the Marco Polo sheep , urial , markhor goat, ibex goat, Asian black bear , and Himalayan brown bear . The lack of vegetative cover, severe climate, and grazing impact on deserts have endangered wild animals. The chinkara
6468-467: The Indian subcontinent and is bounded by the Indian Ocean in the south, and the Himalayas , Karakoram , and Pamir Mountains in the north. Settled life emerged on the Indian subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus River Basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE. By 1200 BCE , an archaic form of Sanskrit , an Indo-European language , had diffused into India from
6615-414: The Iranian plateau . Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, along the Indian plate's edge, are susceptible to powerful earthquakes . Pakistan's landscapes vary from coastal plains to glaciated mountains, offering deserts, forests, hills, and plateaus. Pakistan is divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain, and the Balochistan Plateau. The northern highlands feature
6762-454: The Karakoram , Hindu Kush , and Pamir mountain ranges, hosting some of the world's highest peaks, including five of the fourteen eight-thousanders (mountain peaks over 8,000 metres or 26,250 feet), notably K2 (8,611 m or 28,251 ft) and Nanga Parbat (8,126 m or 26,660 ft). The Balochistan Plateau lies in the west and the Thar Desert in the east. The 1,609 km (1,000 mi) Indus River and its tributaries traverse
6909-480: The Kargil district led to the Kargil War of 1999, and turmoil in civil-military relations allowed General Pervez Musharraf to take over through a bloodless coup d'état . Musharraf governed Pakistan as chief executive from 1999 to 2002 and as president from 2001 to 2008—a period of enlightenment , social liberalism , extensive economic reforms , and direct involvement in the US-led war on terrorism . By its own financial calculations, Pakistan's involvement in
7056-491: The Kuru -Pañcāla union was the most influential. The first recorded state-level society in South Asia existed around 1000 BCE. In this period, states Samuel, emerged the Brahmana and Aranyaka layers of Vedic texts, which merged into the earliest Upanishads. These texts began to ask the meaning of a ritual, adding increasing levels of philosophical and metaphysical speculation, or "Hindu synthesis" . Increasing urbanisation of South Asia between 800 and 400 BCE, and possibly
7203-542: The Mature Harappan period, from 2600 to 1900 BCE. According to anthropologist Possehl , the Indus Valley civilisation provides a logical, if somewhat arbitrary, starting point for South Asian religions, but these links from the Indus religion to later-day South Asian traditions are subject to scholarly dispute. The Vedic period, named after the Vedic religion of the Indo-Aryans , lasted from c. 1900 to 500 BCE. The Indo-Aryans were Indo-European -speaking pastoralists who migrated into north-western India after
7350-502: The Nehru Report , Muhammad Ali Jinnah , the founder of Pakistan, issued his fourteen points , which included proposals to safeguard the interests of the Muslim minority in a united India. These proposals were rejected. In his December 29, 1930 address, Allama Iqbal advocated the amalgamation of Muslim-majority states in North-West India, including Punjab , North-West Frontier Province , Sind , and Baluchistan . The perception that Congress-led British provincial governments neglected
7497-536: The Partition of India into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan, which resulted in significant displacement and violence and harder religious divides in the region. In 1947, the newly independent India and Pakistan had to decide how to deal with the hundreds of princely states that controlled much of the subcontinent, as well as what to do with the remaining European (non-British) colonies. A combination of referendums, military action, and negotiated accessions took place in rapid succession, leading to
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#17330929688167644-574: The Seleucid Empire , and possibly even farther into West Asia. The Theravada school spread south from India in the 3rd century BCE, to Sri Lanka, later to Southeast Asia. Buddhism, by the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE, was prominent in the Himalayan region, Gandhara, Hindu Kush region, and Bactria. From about 500 BCE through about 300 CE, the Vedic-Brahmanic synthesis or "Hindu synthesis" continued. Classical Hindu and Sramanic (particularly Buddhist) ideas spread within South Asia, as well as outside South Asia. The Gupta Empire ruled over
7791-559: The Sindhi language and are native to the Sindh province of Pakistan . Sindhis are predominantly Muslim , but have a minority Hindu population, making up the largest Hindu minority population in Pakistan. Sindhi Muslim culture is highly influenced by Sufi doctrines and principles and some of the popular cultural icons of Sindh are Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai , Lal Shahbaz Qalandar , Jhulelal and Sachal Sarmast . The Saraikis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group inhabiting parts of central and southeastern Pakistan , primarily in
7938-419: The Tibet Autonomous Region may be included as well. Myanmar (Burma), a former British colony and now largely considered a part of Southeast Asia, is also sometimes included. Afghanistan is also included by some sources. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), a contiguous block of countries, started in 1985 with seven countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India,
8085-480: The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific for the region excludes Afghanistan from South Asia. Population Information Network (POPIN) excludes Maldives which is included as a member Pacific POPIN subregional network. The United Nations Statistics Division's scheme of subregions , for statistical purpose, includes Iran along with all eight members of the SAARC as part of Southern Asia . The boundaries of South Asia vary based on how
8232-412: The United Provinces , where Muslims were a minority. This idea, articulated by the Muslim League, the Islamic clergy , and Jinnah, envisioned an Islamic state . Jinnah, closely associated with the ulama , was described upon his death by Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani as the greatest Muslim after Aurangzeb , aspiring to unite Muslims worldwide under Islam. The Objectives Resolution of March 1949 marked
8379-454: The relationship between Hinduism and Islam resulted in significant tension in British India , leading to religious violence. The language controversy further exacerbated tensions between Hindus and Muslims. A Muslim intellectual movement , led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to counter the Hindu renaissance , advocated for the two-nation theory and led to the establishment of the All-India Muslim League in 1906. In March 1929, in response to
8526-403: The second war with India in 1965, resulting in an economic downturn and widespread public discontent in 1967. In 1969, President Yahya Khan consolidated control, but faced a devastating cyclone in East Pakistan resulting in 500,000 deaths. In 1970, Pakistan conducted its first democratic elections since independence, intending to transition from military rule to democracy. However, after
8673-531: The third-largest Islam-adhering Muslim ethnicity in the world, globally, after Arabs and Bengalis . Traditionally, Punjabi identity is primarily linguistic, geographical and cultural. Its identity is independent of historical origin or religion and refers to those who reside in the Punjab region or associate with its population and those who consider the Punjabi language and its dialects as their mother tongue. Integration and assimilation are important parts of Punjabi culture , since Punjabi identity
8820-475: The western parts of the Kashmir Region , organized into separate political entities, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. In 2009, the constitutional assignment ( the Gilgit–Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order ) granted Gilgit-Baltistan semi-provincial status , providing it with self-government. The local government system consists of districts , tehsils , and union councils , with an elected body at each tier. South Asia South Asia
8967-448: The 1.4 million citizens of Afghanistan who are temporarily residing in Pakistan . The majority of them were born in Pakistan within the last four decades and mostly belong to the Pashtun ethnic group. They also include Tajiks , Uzbeks and others. Punjabis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group native to the Punjab region between India and Pakistan. They are the largest ethnic group of Pakistan. Punjabi Muslims are
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#17330929688169114-485: The 16th century after the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama returned to Europe. British, French, and Portuguese colonial interests struck treaties with these rulers and established their trading ports. In northwestern South Asia, a large region was consolidated into the Sikh Empire by Ranjit Singh . After the defeat of the Nawab of Bengal and Tipu Sultan and his French allies , British traders went on to dominate much of South Asia through divide-and-rule tactics by
9261-401: The 1940s, two rival camps had emerged among independence activists: those who favored a separate nation for Indian Muslims, and those who wanted a united India . As World War II raged, over 2 million Indians fought for Britain; by the end of the war, Britain was greatly weakened, and thus decided to grant independence to the vast majority of South Asians in 1947, though this coincided with
9408-411: The 1947 partition of India. Notable Muhajirs include Liaquat Ali Khan , Abdul Qadeer Khan , Pervez Musharraf , Hakeem Muhammad Saeed and Abdul Sattar Edhi . The Baloch are an Iranian ethnolinguistic group, and are principally found in the south of Balochistan province of Pakistan. Despite living in the southeastern side towards the Indian subcontinent for centuries, they are classified as
9555-482: The 1970 general elections, the Parliament crafted the 1973 Constitution . It declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic, with Islam as the state religion, and mandated laws to comply with Islamic teachings laid down in the Quran and Sunnah and that no law repugnant to such injunctions could be enacted. Additionally, it established institutions like the Shariat Court and the Council of Islamic Ideology to interpret and apply Islam. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto faced opposition under
9702-436: The 6th century BCE. The ancient university was documented by the invading forces of Alexander the Great and was also recorded by Chinese pilgrims in the 4th or 5th century CE. At its zenith, the Rai dynasty (489–632 CE) ruled Sindh and the surrounding territories. The Arab conqueror Muhammad ibn Qasim conquered Sindh and some regions of Punjab in 711 CE. The Pakistan government's official chronology claims this as
9849-434: 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 Gandhāra , the Achaemenid , the Maurya , the Kushan , the Parthian , the Paratarajas , the Gupta ; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions,
9996-433: The Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh , and Multan in southern Punjab, in modern-day Pakistan. By 962 CE, Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms in South Asia were under a wave of raids from Muslim armies from Central Asia. Among them was Mahmud of Ghazni , who raided and plundered kingdoms in north India from east of the Indus river to west of Yamuna river seventeen times between 997 and 1030. Mahmud of Ghazni raided
10143-469: The Bangladesh government puts the number of dead at three million, a figure that is now nearly universally regarded as excessively inflated. Some academics such as Rudolph Rummel and Rounaq Jahan say both sides committed genocide; others such as Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose believe there was no genocide. In response to India's support for the insurgency in East Pakistan, preemptive strikes on India by Pakistan's air force , navy , and marines sparked
10290-408: The British Indian Empire , which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life. Initially a Dominion of the British Commonwealth , Pakistan officially drafted its constitution in 1956, and emerged as a declared Islamic republic . In 1971, the exclave of East Pakistan seceded as the new country of Bangladesh after
10437-421: The Constituent Assembly declare the "supreme sovereignty of God" and the supremacy of the shariah in Pakistan. The efforts of Jamaat-i-Islami and the ulama led to the passage of the Objectives Resolution in March 1949. This resolution, described by Liaquat Ali Khan as the second most significant step in Pakistan's history, affirmed that "sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to God Almighty alone and
10584-529: The Delhi Sultanate. Babur defeated and killed Ibrahim Lodi in the Battle of Panipat in 1526. The death of Ibrahim Lodi ended the Delhi Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire replaced it. The modern history period of South Asia, that is the 16th century onwards, witnessed the establishment of the Mughal Empire, with Sunni Islam theology. The first ruler was Babur had Turco-Mongol roots and his realm included
10731-736: The East Pakistani Awami League emerged victorious over the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Yahya Khan and the military refused to transfer power. This led to Operation Searchlight , a military crackdown, and eventually sparked the war of liberation by Bengali Mukti Bahini forces in East Pakistan, described in West Pakistan as a civil war rather than a liberation struggle. Independent researchers estimate that between 300,000 and 500,000 civilians died during this period while
10878-453: The Eurasian plate nearly 55 million years ago, towards the end of Palaeocene. This geological region largely includes Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Historians Catherine Asher and Cynthia Talbot state that the term "Indian subcontinent" describes a natural physical landmass in South Asia that has been relatively isolated from the rest of Eurasia. The use of
11025-464: The Great , until 185 BCE. The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria (180–165 BCE) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165–150 BCE), prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world, which was established during the late Vedic period in
11172-742: The Hindki, is a contemporary designation for speakers of Hindko dialects of Western Punjabi , primarily living in the Hazara region of northern Pakistan. The origins of the term refer merely to the speakers of Indo-Aryan languages rather than to any particular ethnic group . However, the Hindko -speaking community belonging to the Hazara region of northern Pakistan are recognised collectively as Hazarewal . The Brahui , Brahvi or Brohi , are an ethnic group principally found in Balochistan, Pakistan . They speak
11319-710: The Indian Ocean blows towards the center. The monsoons are the second coolest season of the year because of high humidity and cloud covering. But, at the beginning of June, the jetstreams vanish above the Tibetan Plateau , low pressure over the Indus Valley deepens and the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) moves in. The change is violent. Moderately vigorous monsoon depressions form in the Bay of Bengal and make landfall from June to September. South Asian countries are expected to experience more flooding in
11466-422: The Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka – and admitted Afghanistan as an eighth member in 2007. China and Myanmar have also applied for the status of full members of SAARC. The South Asia Free Trade Agreement admitted Afghanistan in 2011. The World Bank and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) recognises the eight SAARC countries as South Asia, The Hirschman–Herfindahl index of
11613-503: The Mughal Empire, which marks the beginning of modern India, in the early 18th century, provided opportunities for the Marathas , Sikhs , Mysoreans , and Nawabs of Bengal to exercise control over large regions of the Indian subcontinent. By the mid-18th century, India was a major proto-industrializing region. Maritime trading between South Asia and European merchants began at the turn of
11760-450: The Mughal emperors after their revolts and were executed when they refused to convert to Islam. Religious taxes on non-Muslims called jizya were imposed. Buddhist, Hindu, and Sikh temples were desecrated. However, not all Muslim rulers persecuted non-Muslims. Akbar , a Mughal ruler for example, sought religious tolerance and abolished jizya. The death of Aurangzeb and the collapse of
11907-592: The Muslim League from 1937 to 1939 motivated Jinnah and other Muslim League leaders to embrace the two-nation theory. This led to the adoption of the Lahore Resolution of 1940, presented by Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Haque , also known as the Pakistan Resolution. By 1942, Britain faced considerable strain during World War II , with India directly threatened by Japanese forces. Britain had pledged voluntary independence for India in exchange for support during
12054-553: The Muslim League, became Pakistan's first Governor-General and the first President-Speaker of the Parliament , but he succumbed to tuberculosis on 11 September 1948. Meanwhile, Pakistan's founding fathers agreed to appoint Liaquat Ali Khan , the secretary-general of the party , the nation's first Prime Minister . From 1947 to 1956, Pakistan was a monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations, and had two monarchs before it became
12201-582: The Rajput kingdoms and Vijayanagara, its boundaries encompassed almost the entirety of the Indian subcontinent. The Mughal Empire was marked by a period of artistic exchanges and a Central Asian and South Asian architecture synthesis, with remarkable buildings such as the Taj Mahal . However, this time also marked an extended period of religious persecution . Two of the religious leaders of Sikhism , Guru Arjan , and Guru Tegh Bahadur were arrested under orders of
12348-402: The altitude but also by factors such as proximity to the seacoast and the seasonal impact of the monsoons . Southern parts are mostly hot in summers and receive rain during monsoon periods. The northern belt of Indo-Gangetic plains also is hot in summer, but cooler in winter. The mountainous north is colder and receives snowfall at higher altitudes of Himalayan ranges. As the Himalayas block
12495-472: The area adjustment to Pakistan and western India records lower than 20%–30%. Climate of South Asia is largely characterised by monsoons. South Asia depends critically on monsoon rainfall. Two monsoon systems exist in the region: The warmest period of the year precedes the monsoon season (March to mid June). In the summer the low pressures are centered over the Indus-Gangetic Plain and high wind from
12642-513: The authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within the limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust". It was later included as a preamble to the constitutions of 1956, 1962, and 1973. Democracy faced setbacks due to the martial law imposed by President Iskander Mirza , who was succeeded by General Ayub Khan . After adopting a presidential system in 1962, Pakistan witnessed significant growth until
12789-549: The banner of Nizam-e-Mustafa ("Rule of the Prophet "), advocating an Islamic state. Bhutto conceded to some Islamist demands before being ousted in a coup. General Zia-ul-Haq, after seizing power, committed to establishing an Islamic state and enforcing sharia law. He instituted Shariat judicial courts, and court benches, to adjudicate using Islamic doctrine. Zia aligned with Deobandi institutions, exacerbating sectarian tensions with anti-Shia policies. Most Pakistanis, according to
12936-749: The border of the regional structure, while the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan are situated inside that border. The Indian subcontinent formerly formed part of the supercontinent Gondwana , before rifting away during the Cretaceous period and colliding with the Eurasian Plate about 50–55 million years ago and giving birth to the Himalayan range and the Tibetan plateau . It is the peninsular region south of
13083-483: The broader Indo-Pacific . According to Saul Cohen, early colonial era strategists treated South Asia with East Asia, but in reality, the South Asia region excluding Afghanistan is a distinct geopolitical region separated from other nearby geostrategic realms, one that is geographically diverse. The region is home to a variety of geographical features, such as glaciers , rainforests , valleys , deserts , and grasslands that are typical of much larger continents. It
13230-519: The collapse of the Indus Valley Civilization. Linguistic and archaeological data show a cultural change after 1500 BCE, with the linguistic and religious data showing links with Indo-European languages and religion. By about 1200 BCE, the Vedic culture and agrarian lifestyle were established in the northwest and northern Gangetic plain of South Asia. Rudimentary state-forms appeared, of which
13377-513: The concerns of Pakistan and Bangladesh, particularly given the recurring conflicts between India and Pakistan, wherein the dominant placement of "India" as a prefix before the subcontinent might offend some political sentiments. However, in Pakistan, the term "South Asia" is considered too India-centric and was banned until 1989 after the death of Zia ul Haq . This region has also been labelled as "India" (in its classical and pre-modern sense) and " Greater India ". According to Robert M. Cutler –
13524-497: The country most likely to be the worst-affected. In the 2017 edition of Germanwatch 's Climate Risk Index , Bangladesh and Pakistan ranked sixth and seventh respectively as the countries most affected by climate change in the period from 1996 to 2015, while India ranked fourth among the list of countries most affected by climate change in 2015. Some research suggests that South Asia as a whole would lose 2% of its GDP to climate change by 2050, while these losses would approach 9% by
13671-517: The country's governance. The military's influence in mainstream politics has been significant throughout Pakistan's history. The eras of 1958–1971, 1977–1988 , and 1999–2008 witnessed military coups , leading to martial law and military leaders governing de facto as presidents. Presently, Pakistan operates a multi-party parliamentary system , with distinct checks and balances among government branches. The first successful democratic transition occurred in May 2013. Pakistani politics revolves around
13818-609: The decline of the Indus valley civilization, Indo-Aryan tribes moved into the Punjab from Central Asia in several waves of migration in the Vedic period (1500–500 BCE), bringing with them their distinctive religious traditions and practices which fused with local culture. The Indo-Aryans religious beliefs and practices from the Bactria–Margiana culture and the native Harappan Indus beliefs of
13965-640: The early 16th century, the region remained under the Mughal Empire . In the 18th century, the slow disintegration of the Mughal Empire was hastened by the emergence of the rival powers of the Maratha Confederacy and later the Sikh Empire , as well as invasions by Nader Shah from Iran in 1739 and the Durrani Empire of Afghanistan in 1759. The growing political power of the British in Bengal had not yet reached
14112-656: The early 16th century. The state religion of the sultanate was Islam. In South India , the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire came to power in 1336 and persisted until the middle of the 16th century. It was ultimately defeated and destroyed by an alliance of the Muslim Deccan sultanates at the Battle of Talikota . About 1526, the Punjab governor Dawlat Khan Lodī reached out to the Mughal Babur and invited him to attack
14259-632: The early 19th century. The region experienced significant de-industrialisation in its first few decades of British rule. Control over the subcontinent was then transferred to the British government after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 , with the British cracking down to some extent afterwards. An increase of famines and extreme poverty characterised the colonial period, though railways built with British technology eventually provided crucial famine relief by increasing food distribution throughout India. Millions of South Asians began to migrate throughout
14406-623: The end of the century under the most intense climate change scenario. Ethnolinguistically , Northern South Asia is predominantly Indo-Aryan , along with Iranic populations in Afghanistan and Balochistan , and diverse linguistic communities near the Himalayas. Its borders have been heavily contested (primarily between India and its neighbours Pakistan and China , as well as separatist movements in Northeast India.) This tension in
14553-429: The evening of 3 June 1947. In Mountbatten's oval office, the prime ministers of around a dozen major princely states gathered to receive their copies of the plan before its worldwide broadcast. At 7:00 P.M., All India Radio transmitted the public announcement, starting with the viceroy's address, followed by individual speeches from Nehru, and Jinnah. The founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah concluded his address with
14700-473: The fastest-growing economies in South Asia. While building up the country's nuclear program , increasing Islamisation , and the rise of a homegrown conservative philosophy, Pakistan helped subsidise and distribute US resources to factions of the mujahideen against the USSR 's intervention in communist Afghanistan . Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became a base for the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters, with
14847-465: The former Indus Valley civilization eventually gave rise to Vedic culture and tribes. Most notable among them was Gandhara civilization , which flourished at the crossroads of India, Central Asia, and the Middle East, connecting trade routes and absorbing cultural influences from diverse civilizations. The initial early Vedic culture was a tribal, pastoral society centered in the Indus Valley, of what
14994-413: The future as the monsoon pattern intensifies. Across Asia as a whole, 100-year extremes in vapour transport (directly related to extreme precipitation) would become 2.6 times more frequent under 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) of global warming, yet 3.9 and 7.5 times more frequent under 2 °C (3.6 °F) and 3 °C (5.4 °F). In parts of South Asia, they could become up to 15 times more frequent. At
15141-501: The goal of preventing any foreign invasion ; the country's first nuclear power plant was inaugurated in that same year. India's first nuclear test in 1974 gave Pakistan additional justification to accelerate its nuclear program . Democracy ended with a military coup in 1977 against the leftist PPP, which saw General Zia-ul-Haq become the president in 1978. From 1977 to 1988, President Zia's corporatisation and economic Islamisation initiatives led to Pakistan becoming one of
15288-465: The initial step towards this goal, affirming God as the sole sovereign. Muslim League leader Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman asserted that Pakistan could only truly become an Islamic state after bringing all believers of Islam into a single political unit. Keith Callard observed that Pakistanis believed in the essential unity of purpose and outlook in the Muslim world, expecting similar views on religion and nationality from Muslims worldwide. Pakistan's desire for
15435-404: The last of the Delhi Sultanate, was replaced by the Mughal Empire (1526–1857 CE). The Mughals introduced Persian literature and high culture, establishing the roots of Indo-Persian culture in the region. In the region of modern-day Pakistan, key cities during the Mughal period were Multan , Lahore , Peshawar and Thatta , which were chosen as the site of impressive Mughal buildings . In
15582-409: The lowest-emission climate change scenarios . Under the high-emission scenario, 40 million people (nearly 2% of the South Asian population) may be driven to internal migration by 2050 due to climate change. India is estimated to have the world's highest social cost of carbon - meaning that it experiences the greatest impact from greenhouse gas emissions . Other estimates describe Bangladesh as
15729-480: The mesolithic sites as evidenced by the rock paintings of Bhimbetka rock shelters dating to a period of 30,000 BCE or older, as well as neolithic times. The Indus Valley civilisation , which spread and flourished in the northwestern part of South Asia from c. 3300 to 1300 BCE in present-day Pakistan , North India , and Afghanistan , was the first major civilisation in South Asia. A sophisticated and technologically advanced urban culture developed in
15876-511: The migration of Indian Muslims from various parts of India to Pakistan starting in 1947, as a result of the world's largest mass migration. The majority of Muhajirs are settled in Sindh mainly in Karachi and Hyderabad . Sizable communities of Muhajirs are also present in cities including Lahore , Multan , Islamabad , Mirpur Khas , Sukkur and Peshawar . The term Muhajir is also used for descendants of Muslims who migrated to Pakistan after
16023-431: The nation from Kashmir to the Arabian Sea, sustaining alluvial plains along the Punjab and Sindh regions. The climate varies from tropical to temperate, with arid conditions in the coastal south. There is a monsoon season with frequent flooding due to heavy rainfall, and a dry season with significantly less rainfall or none at all. Pakistan experiences four distinct seasons: a cool, dry winter from December through February;
16170-532: The nineteenth centuries or alternatively, from 1300 to 1850, although climatologists and historians working with local records no longer expect to agree on either the start or end dates of this period, which varied according to local conditions. According to Professor Baloch, the climate of Balochistan was very cold and the region was uninhabitable during the winter so the Baloch people migrated in waves and settled in Sindh and Punjab . Hindkowans , also known as
16317-501: The north, the Hindu Kush in the west, and the Arakanese in the east, and which extends southward into the Indian Ocean with the Arabian Sea to the southwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southeast. The terms " Indian subcontinent " and "South Asia" are sometimes used interchangeably. The Indian subcontinent is largely a geological term referring to the land mass that drifted northeastwards from ancient Gondwana , colliding with
16464-553: The north-Asian bitter cold winds, the temperatures are considerably moderate in the plains down below. For the most part, the climate of the region is called the monsoon climate, which keeps the region humid during summer and dry during winter, and favours the cultivation of jute , tea, rice, and various vegetables in this region. South Asia is largely divided into four broad climate zones: Maximum relative humidity of over 80% has been recorded in Khasi and Jaintia Hills and Sri Lanka, while
16611-471: The northeast, Central Asia to the northwest, West Asia to the west and Southeast Asia to the east. Apart from Southeast Asia, Maritime South Asia is the only subregion of Asia that lies partly within the Southern Hemisphere . The British Indian Ocean Territory and two out of 26 atolls of the Maldives in South Asia lie entirely within the Southern Hemisphere . Topographically, it is dominated by
16758-781: The northern mountains to deciduous trees like shisham in the Sulaiman Mountains , and palms such as coconut and date in the southern regions. The western hills boast juniper , tamarisk , coarse grasses, and scrub plants. Mangrove forests dominate the coastal wetlands in the south. Coniferous forests span altitudes from 1,000 to 4,000 metres (3,300 to 13,100 feet) in most northern and northwestern highlands. In Balochistan's xeric regions, date palms and Ephedra are prevalent. In Punjab and Sindh's Indus plains, tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forests as well as tropical and xeric shrublands thrive. Approximately 4.8% or 36,845.6 square kilometres (3,684,560 ha) of Pakistan
16905-545: The northwest, with the Dravidian languages being supplanted in the northern and western regions. By 400 BCE , stratification and exclusion by caste had emerged within Hinduism , and Buddhism and Jainism had arisen, proclaiming social orders unlinked to heredity. In the early medieval era, Christianity , Islam , Judaism , and Zoroastrianism became established on South Asia's southern and western coasts. Muslim armies from Central Asia intermittently overran
17052-570: The northwestern and Indo-Gangetic Plain regions of South Asia. Several regions of South Asia were largely under Hindu kings such as those of the Vijayanagara Empire and the Kingdom of Mewar . Parts of modern Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were under local Muslim rulers, namely those of the Deccan sultanates. The Mughal Empire continued its wars of expansion after Babur's death. With the fall of
17199-469: The plains of northern India, eventually founding the Delhi Sultanate in the 13th century, and drawing the region into the cosmopolitan networks of medieval Islam . The Islamic Mughal Empire , in 1526, ushered in two centuries of relative peace, leaving a legacy of luminous architecture. Gradually expanding rule of the British East India Company followed, turning most of South Asia into
17346-548: The political integration of the vast majority of India and Pakistan within a few years. India and Pakistan clashed several times in the decades after Independence, with disputes over Kashmir playing a significant role. In 1971, the eastern half of Pakistan seceded with help from India and became the People's Republic of Bangladesh after the traumatic Bangladesh Liberation War . This, along with India and Pakistan gaining nuclear weapons soon afterwards, increased tensions between
17493-652: The possibility of establishing a Muslim nation. The 1946 elections saw the Muslim League secure 90 percent of the Muslim seats, supported by the landowners of Sindh and Punjab. This forced the Indian National Congress, initially skeptical of the League's representation of Indian Muslims, to acknowledge its significance. Jinnah's emergence as the voice of the Indian Muslims, compelled the British to consider their stance, despite their reluctance to partition India . In
17640-463: The province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a significant role in encouraging and organising the 'jihad'. President Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, and Benazir Bhutto , daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as the country's first female Prime Minister. The PPP was followed by conservative Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML (N)), and over the next decade the leaders of the two parties fought for power, alternating in office. This period
17787-550: The provinces of Balochistan , East Bengal , the North-West Frontier Province , West Punjab , and Sindh. In the riots that accompanied the partition in Punjab Province, between 200,000 and 2,000,000 people were killed in what some have described as a retributive genocide between the religions. Around 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men, while 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women experienced
17934-961: The region has contributed to difficulties in sharing river waters among Northern South Asian countries; climate change is projected to exacerbate the issue. Dominated by the Indo-Gangetic Plain , the region is home to about half a billion people and is the poorest South Asian subregion. Ethnic groups in Pakistan Pakistan is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country. The major Pakistani ethnolinguistic groups include Punjabis , Pashtuns , Sindhis , Saraikis , Muhajirs , Balochs , Hindkowans / Hazarewals , Brahuis , and Kohistanis with significant numbers of Shina , Baltis , Kashmiris , Paharis , Chitralis , Torwalis , Hazaras , Burusho , Wakhis , Kalash , Siddis , Uzbeks , Nuristanis , Pamiris and various other smaller minorities. Pakistan's census does not include
18081-405: The region is defined. South Asia's northern, eastern, and western boundaries vary based on definitions used, while the Indian Ocean is the southern periphery. Most of this region rests on the Indian Plate and is isolated from the rest of Asia by mountain barriers. Much of the region consists of a peninsula in south-central Asia, rather resembling a diamond which is delineated by the Himalayas on
18228-704: The region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic , of whom artefacts have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab . The Indus region , which covers most of the present-day Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic (7000–4300 BCE ) site of Mehrgarh , and the 5,000-year history of urban life in South Asia to the various sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation , including Mohenjo-daro and Harappa . Following
18375-605: The region, with persecution causing millions of Hindus and Christians to flee Pakistan and Bangladesh, and Hindu nationalism having grown in India with the election of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2014. A recent phenomenon has been that of India and China fighting on their border , as well as vying for dominance of South Asia , with China partnering with Pakistan and using its superior economy to attract countries surrounding India, while America and other countries have strengthened ties with India to counter China in
18522-420: The relocation of up to one third of power plants by 2030. Food security will become more uneven, and some South Asian countries could experience significant social impacts from global food price volatility. Infectious diarrhoea mortality and dengue fever incidence is also likely to increase across South Asia. Parts of South Asia would also reach "critical health thresholds" for heat stress under all but
18669-517: The same fate at the hands of Muslims. Around 6.5 million Muslims moved from India to West Pakistan and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from West Pakistan to India. It was the largest mass migration in human history. A subsequent dispute over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir eventually sparked the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 . After independence in 1947, Jinnah, the President of
18816-470: The same time, up to two-thirds of glacier ice in the Hindu Kush region may melt by 2100 under high warming, and these glaciers feed the water basin of over 220 million people. As glacier meltwater flow diminishes after 2050, Hydropower generation would become less predictable and reliable, while agriculture would become more reliant on the intensified monsoon than ever before. Around 2050, people living in
18963-593: The slogan Pakistan Zindabad (Long Live Pakistan). As the United Kingdom agreed to the partitioning of India , the modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 (27th of Ramadan in 1366 of the Islamic Calendar , considered to be the most blessed date from an Islamic perspective) . This new nation amalgamated the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern regions of British India , comprising
19110-541: 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
19257-459: The southern part of the Pakistani province of Punjab . They are mainly found in Derajat , a cultural region of central Pakistan , located in the region where the provinces of Punjab , Khyber Pakhtunkhwa , and Balochistan meet. Derajat is bound by the Indus River and the Sulaiman Mountains to the west. Muhajirs (meaning "migrants"), are a collective multiethnic group who emerged through
19404-416: The spread of urban diseases, contributed to the rise of ascetic movements and of new ideas which challenged the orthodox Brahmanism . These ideas led to Sramana movements, of which Mahavira ( c. 549 –477 BCE), proponent of Jainism , and Buddha ( c. 563 – c. 483 ), founder of Buddhism , was the most prominent icons. The Greek army led by Alexander the Great stayed in
19551-499: The term Indian subcontinent began in the British Empire, and has been a term particularly common in its successors. South Asia as the preferred term is particularly common when scholars or officials seek to differentiate this region from East Asia. According to historians Sugata Bose and Ayesha Jalal , the Indian subcontinent has come to be known as South Asia "in more recent and neutral parlance." This "neutral" notion refers to
19698-476: The territories of modern Pakistan. None of modern Pakistan was under British rule until 1839 when Karachi , a small fishing village governed by Talpurs of Sindh with a mud fort guarding the harbour, was taken , and used as an enclave with a port and military base for the First Afghan War that ensued. The remainder of Sindh was acquired in 1843, and subsequently, through a series of wars and treaties,
19845-407: The time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid. The Early Medieval period (642–1219 CE) witnessed the spread of Islam in the region. Before the arrival of Islam beginning in the 8th century, the region of Pakistan was home to a diverse plethora of faiths, including Hinduism , Buddhism , Jainism and Zoroastrianism . During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting
19992-513: The treasuries but retracted each time, only extending Islamic rule into western Punjab. The wave of raids on north Indian and western Indian kingdoms by Muslim warlords continued after Mahmud of Ghazni, plundering and looting these kingdoms. The raids did not establish or extend permanent boundaries of their Islamic kingdoms. The Ghurid Sultan Mu'izz al-Din Muhammad began a systematic war of expansion into North India in 1173. He sought to carve out
20139-584: The two countries. The Cold War decades also contributed to the divide , as Pakistan aligned with the West and India with the Soviet Union ; other factors include the time period after the 1962 Sino-Indian War , which saw India and China move apart while Pakistan and China built closer relations. Pakistan has been beset with terrorism , economic issues , and military dominance of its government since Independence, with none of its Prime Ministers having completed
20286-552: The war on terrorism has cost up to $ 118 billion, over eighty one thousand casualties , and more than 1.8 million displaced civilians. The National Assembly historically completed its first full five-year term on 15 November 2007. After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the PPP secured the most votes in the elections of 2008, appointing party member Yusuf Raza Gilani as Prime Minister. Threatened with impeachment , President Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008, and
20433-533: The war. However, this pledge included a clause stating that no part of British India would be compelled to join the resulting dominion, which could be interpreted as support for an independent Muslim nation. Congress under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement , demanding an immediate end to British rule. In contrast, the Muslim League chose to support the UK's war efforts , thereby nurturing
20580-534: The west, and in the north to northeastern Iran, northern Afghanistan, and southern Uzbekistan . Identification with a South Asian identity was found to be significantly low among respondents in an older two-year survey across Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. The history of core South Asia begins with evidence of human activity of Homo sapiens , as long as 75,000 years ago, or with earlier hominids including Homo erectus from about 500,000 years ago. The earliest prehistoric culture have roots in
20727-547: The world , impelled by the economic/ labour needs and opportunities presented by the British Empire. The introduction of Western political thought inspired a growing Indian intellectual movement, and so by the 20th century, British rule began to be challenged by the Indian National Congress , which sought full independence under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi . Britain, under pressure from Indian freedom fighters, increasingly gave self-rule to British India. By
20874-412: The world. In 2022, South Asia had the world's largest populations of Hindus , Muslims , Sikhs , Jains, and Zoroastrians. South Asia alone accounts for 90.47% of Hindus, 95.5% of Sikhs, and 31% of Muslims worldwide, as well as 35 million Christians and 25 million Buddhists. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is an economic cooperation organisation in the region which
21021-573: Was dying of tuberculosis, he replied 'most probably'. "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business of the State." Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani , a respected Deobandi alim (scholar) who held the position of Shaykh al-Islam in Pakistan in 1949, and Maulana Mawdudi of Jamaat-i-Islami played key roles in advocating for an Islamic constitution. Mawdudi insisted that
21168-421: Was elected as prime minister, after Imran Khan lost a no-confidence vote. During 2024 general election , PTI-backed independents became the largest bloc, but Shehbaz Sharif was elected prime minister for a second term, as a result of a coalition between PML (N) and PPPP. Pakistan's diverse geography and climate host a wide array of wildlife . Covering 881,913 km (340,509 sq mi), Pakistan's size
21315-439: Was established in 1985 and includes all the nations comprising South Asia. The geographical extent is not clear cut as systemic and foreign policy orientations of its constituents are quite asymmetrical. Beyond the core territories of the Indian Empire (territories of the British Empire which were under the system of British Raj), there is a high degree of variation as to which other countries are included in South Asia. There
21462-454: Was forested in 2021. Pakistan's fauna mirrors its diverse climate. The country boasts around 668 bird species, including crows , sparrows , mynas , hawks , falcons , and eagles . Palas, Kohistan , is home to the western tragopan , with many migratory birds visiting from Europe, Central Asia, and India. The southern plains harbor mongooses , small Indian civet , hares, the Asiatic jackal ,
21609-583: Was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari . Clashes with the judicature prompted Gilani's disqualification from the Parliament and as the Prime Minister in June 2012. The general election held in 2013 saw the PML (N) achieve victory, following which Nawaz Sharif was elected as Prime Minister for the third time. In 2018, PTI won the general election and Imran Khan became the 22nd Prime Minister. In April 2022, Shehbaz Sharif
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