Pakistan

                 Adopted 14 Aug 1947
 

Map of Pakistan Hear National Anthem "Pak sarzamin shad bad" (Blessed Be The Sacred Land) Text of National Anthem Anthem Adopted Aug 1954 Constitution (10 Aug 1973 [suspended 5 Jul 1977 - 30 Dec 1985, 15 Oct 1999 - 31 Dec 2002, 3 Nov 2007 - 15 Dec 2007]) -------------------------------------- Former Constitution (23 Mar 1956 - 7 Oct 1958) Capital: Islamabad (Rawalpindi [provisional] 1 Aug 1960 - 14 Aug 1967; Karachi 1947 - 1 Aug 1960; Legislative Capital - Dhakha 1966-1971) Currency: Pakistani Rupee (PKR)  National Holiday: 23 Mar (1956) Republic Day Population: 172,800,048 (2008) GDP: $452.7 billion (2008) Exports: $20.6 billion (2008) Imports: $35.3 billion (2008) Ethnic groups: Punjabi 52.6%, Pashtun (Pathan) 13.2%, Sindhi 11.7%, Muhajir (Urdu-speaking immigrants from India at the  time of partition and their descendants) 7.5%, Balochi 4.3%,  other 10.7% (2000) Total Active Armed Forces: 619,000 (2006) Declared Nuclear Power (1998): est. 60-200 weapons (2008) Merchant marine: 15 ships (2008) Religions: Muslim 96.1% (Sunni 76%, Shi'a 17%), Christian 2.5%, Hindu 1.2%, Ahmadiyah and others 0.2% (2000) International Organizations/Treaties: ADB, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BTWC, C, CP, D-8, ECO, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, ICSID, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, KP, MIGA, NAM, NTBT, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNCLOS, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFCC, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Pakistan Index Chronology 14 Aug 1947                Independence (Dominion of Pakistan);                              (previously part of British India). 23 Mar 1956                Islamic Republic of Pakistan  8 Jun 1962                Republic of Pakistan 14 Aug 1973                Islamic Republic of Pakistan 26 Mar 1971                East Pakistan secedes as the People's Republic                               of Bangladesh . Provinces Princely States Gwadar (Gwadur) (1783-1958) Azad Kashmir  Ethnoliguistic map of Pakistan

King/Queen¹
15 Aug 1947 - 23 Mar 1956  the Kings/Queen of the United Kingdom
Governors-general (representing the British monarch as head of state)
15 Aug 1947 - 11 Sep 1948  Mohammad Ali Jinnah                (b. 1876 - d. 1948)  ML
14 Sep 1948 - 17 Oct 1951  Khwaja Nazimuddin                  (b. 1894 - d. 1964)  ML
17 Oct 1951 -  6 Oct 1955  Ghulam Mohammad                    (b. 1895 - d. 1956)  ML
 6 Oct 1955 - 23 Mar 1956  Iskandar Ali Mirza                 (b. 1899 - d. 1969)  Mil
Presidents
23 Mar 1956 - 27 Oct 1958  Iskandar Ali Mirza                 (s.a.)               RP
27 Oct 1958 - 25 Mar 1969  Mohammad Ayub Khan                 (b. 1907 - d. 1974)  Mil
25 Mar 1969 - 20 Dec 1971  Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan           (b. 1917 - d. 1980)  Mil
                             (chief martial law administrator to 31 Mar 1969)
20 Dec 1971 - 13 Aug 1973  Zulfikar Ali Bhutto                (b. 1928 - d. 1979)  PPP
14 Aug 1973 - 16 Sep 1978  Fazal Elahi Chaudhri               (b. 1904 - d. 1982)  PPP
16 Sep 1978 - 17 Aug 1988  Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq                (b. 1924 - d. 1988)  Mil
17 Aug 1988 - 18 Jul 1993  Ghulam Ishaq Khan                  (b. 1915 - d. 2006)  Non-party
                             (acting to 13 Dec 1988)
18 Jul 1993 - 14 Nov 1993  Wasim Sajjad (1st time) (interim)  (b. 1941)            PML-N
14 Nov 1993 -  2 Dec 1997  Farooq Ahmed Leghari               (b. 1940)            PPP
 2 Dec 1997 -  1 Jan 1998  Wasim Sajjad (2nd time) (interim)  (s.a.)               PML-N
 1 Jan 1998 - 20 Jun 2001  Mohammad Rafiq Tarar               (b. 1929)            PML-N
20 Jun 2001 - 18 Aug 2008  Pervez Musharraf                   (b. 1943)   Mil;28 Nov 2007 None
18 Aug 2008 -  9 Sep 2008  Mohammadmian Soomro (acting)       (b. 1950)            PML-Q
 9 Sep 2008 -              Asif Ali Zardari                   (b. 1955)            PPP

Prime ministers
19 Jul 1947 - 16 Oct 1951  Liaquat Ali Khan                   (b. 1895 - d. 1951)  ML
17 Oct 1951 - 17 Apr 1953  Khwaja Nazimuddin                  (s.a.)               ML
17 Apr 1953 - 11 Aug 1955  Mohammad Ali Bogra                 (b. 1909 - d. 1963)  ML
11 Aug 1955 - 12 Sep 1956  Chaudhry Mohammad Ali              (b. 1905 - d. 1980)  ML
12 Sep 1956 - 17 Oct 1957  Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy          (b. 1893 - d. 1963)  AL
17 Oct 1957 - 16 Dec 1957  Ismail Ibrahim Chundrigar          (b. 1897 - d. 1960)  ML
16 Dec 1957 -  7 Oct 1958  Malik Firoz Khan Nun               (b. 1893 - d. 1970)  JWP
 7 Oct 1958 - 28 Oct 1958  Mohammad Ayub Khan                 (s.a.)               Mil
                             (chief martial law administrator to 24 Oct 1958)
 7 Dec 1971 - 20 Dec 1971  Nurul Amin                         (b. 1893 - d. 1974)  PPP
14 Aug 1973 -  5 Jul 1977  Zulfikar Ali Bhutto                (s.a.)               PPP
 5 Jul 1977 - 24 Mar 1985  Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq                (s.a.)               Mil
                             (chief martial law administrator)
24 Mar 1985 - 29 May 1988  Mohammad Khan Junejo               (b. 1932 - d. 1993)  PML
 9 Jun 1988 - 17 Aug 1988  Mohammad Zia-ul-Haq                (s.a.)               Mil
 2 Dec 1988 -  6 Aug 1990  Benazir Bhutto (f) (1st time)      (b. 1953 - d. 2007)  PPP
 6 Aug 1990 -  6 Nov 1990  Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi               (b. 1931)            IJI
 6 Nov 1990 - 18 Apr 1993  Mohammad Nawaz Sharif (1st time)   (b. 1949)            PML-N
18 Apr 1993 - 26 May 1993  Balakh Sher Mazari                 (b. 1922?)           PML-N
26 May 1993 - 18 Jul 1993  Mohammad Nawaz Sharif (2nd time)   (s.a.)               PML-N
18 Jul 1993 - 19 Oct 1993  Moeen Qureshi                      (b. 1930)            Non-party
19 Oct 1993 -  5 Nov 1996  Benazir Bhutto (f) (2nd time)      (s.a.)               PPP
 5 Nov 1996 - 17 Feb 1997  Malik Miraj Khalid (interim)       (b. 1916 - d. 2003)  Non-party
17 Feb 1997 - 12 Oct 1999  Mohammad Nawaz Sharif (3rd time)   (s.a.)               PML-N
12 Oct 1999 - 23 Nov 2002  Pervez Musharraf                   (s.a.)               Mil
                             (de facto to 14 Oct 1999; from 14 Oct 1999 chief executive)
23 Nov 2002 - 30 Jun 2004  Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali         (b. 1944)            PML-Q
30 Jun 2004 - 28 Aug 2004  Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain           (b. 1945)            PML-Q
28 Aug 2004 - 16 Nov 2007  Shaukat Aziz                       (b. 1949)            PML-Q
16 Nov 2007 - 25 Mar 2008  Mohammadmian Soomro                (s.a.)               PML-Q
25 Mar 2008 -              Yousaf Raza Gillani                (b. 1952)            PPP

  2 Sep 1947- 1975  "Pashtunistan"  Flag

 ¹The style of the ruler was:
(a) 15 Aug 1947 -  6 Feb 1952: "By the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India"; the title "Emperor of India" was dropped as of 15 Aug 1947 by retroactive proclamation dated 22 Jun 1948;
(b)  6 Feb 1952 - 29 May 1953: "Queen of the United Kingdom and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth";
(c) 29 May 1953 - 23 Mar 1956: "Queen of the United Kingdom and of Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth."

Territorial Disputes: Various talks and confidence-building measures cautiously have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; India and Pakistan have maintained their 2004 cease fire in Kashmir and initiated discussions on defusing the armed stand-off in the Siachen glacier region; Pakistan protests India's fencing the highly militarized Line of Control and construction of the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, which is part of the larger dispute on water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps continue to show the Junagadh claim in India's Gujarat State; by 2005, Pakistan, with UN assistance, repatriated 2.3 million Afghan refugees leaving slightly more than a million, many of whom remain at their own choosing; Pakistan has proposed and Afghanistan protests construction of a fence and laying of mines along portions of their porous border; Pakistan has sent troops into remote tribal areas to monitor and control the border with Afghanistan and to stem terrorist or other illegal activities.

Party abbreviations: JWP = Jamhoori Watan Party (Republican Party); MMA = Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (6 party religious-based coalition, Islamist); PML = Pakistan Muslim League; PML-N = Pakistani Muslim League-Nawaz (conservative, Nawaz Sharif personalist); 
PML-Q = Pakistani Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam (PML dissident, pro-Musharraf); PPP = Pakistan People's Party; (social-democratic); PPPP = Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians;
RP = Republican Party; Mil = Military;
- Former parties: AL = Awami League; IJI = Islami Jamhooria Ittehad (National People's Party); ML = Muslim League