Introducing Pakistan Pakistan lies in South Asia on the northwest side of the Indian subcontinent It contains a huge variety of landscapes and peoples with many different cultures languages and lifestyles The Land of the Pure Pakistan is one of the largest Islamic countries in the world Its name in Urdu the language spoken in Pakistan means Land of the Pure Troubled relations with its neighbors Afghanistan to the west and India to the east over land ownership have led to long periods of unrest and conflict in Pakistan These problems have made life difficult for the Pakistani people and have stopped the country from developing politically and economically Pakistan is bordered 쑽 by Iran Afghanistan China and India To the south it has a stretch of coastline along the Arabian Sea Kashmir CHINA K2 The Birth of Pakistan The area that is now Pakistan used to be part of India which was ruled for many years by the British When India became independent in 1947 the Muslims there demanded their own homeland The new nation of Pakistan was created for the Muslims leaving the rest of India to stay mainly Hindu Originally Pakistan was in two parts made up of a western section the present-day country and an eastern section on the Bay of Bengal In 1971 the eastern part broke away and became the country of Bangladesh AFGHANISTAN NN WW EE SS Khyber Pass Peshawar Rawalpindi Islamabad Lahore Faisalabad PAKISTAN R iv e r us d n I Hyderabad Karachi I N D I A KeyKey Capital city Capital city Other cities Other cities Mountain Mountain 00 00 milesmiles 200200 200200 kilometers kilometers IRAN Arabian Sea 4
Crossroads of the World Pakistan occupies a key position in the world which has had a huge effect on its history It lies on the important east-west trade link through the Khyber Pass between Europe and Central Asia The Indus Valley is also a natural route from the north to the warm waters of the Indian Ocean This has made Pakistan a vital crossroads used by armies traders and migrating peoples for many centuries The Khyber Pass is a 33-mile 53 km 쑽 mountain pass that links Pakistan and its neighbor Afghanistan INTRODUCING PAKISTAN IT STARTED HERE The Indus Civilization About 5,000 years ago a great civilization grew up in the valley of the Indus River which runs through Pakistan Its people built some of the world’s first cities including Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro The buildings were made of mud-brick and stone and had drains and water-storage tanks The Indus people also developed an early system of writing
BASIC DATA Official name Islamic Republic of Pakistan Capital Islamabad Size 310,403 sq miles 803,940 sq km Population 177,276,594 2010 est Currency Pakistani rupee Groups of armed rebels called militants 쑽 carry out attacks because they are angry at government arrests Here they have blown up a police car near Peshawar PAKISTAN IN OUR WORLD Terrorism from Pakistan Pakistan lies at the center of one of the most troubled regions of the world These difficulties have been made worse in recent years because of the rise of Islamic terrorism After the attacks on the United States on September 11 2001 the U S and its allies started their War on Terror by invading Afghanistan The Pakistani government helped them in this fight against the Taliban and other violent groups But the Pakistani army has struggled to control the regions near the Afghan border where many terrorists have strongholds 6
INTRODUCING PAKISTAN The growth of busy modern cities such as 쒀 Islamabad suggests that Pakistan has the potential for economic development GOING GLOBAL Pakistan has been named one of the Next Eleven N-11 countries These are 11 nations that are believed to have great potential for development over the next few years and that are predicted to become powerful economies The other N-11 nations are Bangladesh Indonesia Iran Vietnam Turkey Egypt Mexico Nigeria South Korea and the Philippines 7 Pakistan Today The long period of violence has stopped Pakistan’s economy from growing as quickly as it could It is a relatively poor country and much of its population lives in poverty Despite this some experts believe that Pakistan has the potential to change the situation and predict that it will become one of the world’s largest economies in the 21st century The violence has also weakened Pakistan’s government It has been difficult impossible sometimes to keep control of some areas and this has resulted in poor relations with neighboring countries However Pakistan does enjoy good relations with powerful countries such as the United States and China
