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Pakistan
Area: 803,940 sq km (499,545 sq miles)
Capital City: Islamabad
Population: 162.4 million
Population below poverty line: 40% (2000 estimate)
Literacy rate: Male: 61.7% / Female: 35.2% / Total: 48.7%
People: Punjabi (66%), Sindhi (13%), Pashtun, (10.9%), Muhajir (7.6%), Balochi (2.5%)
Official languages: English and Urdu
Languages spoken: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun, Urdu, Balochi, English and many other local languages
Religions: Islam (97%), Hinduism, Christianity and others (3%)
Currency: Rupee
Major Political Parties: Pakistan Muslim League - Quaid-i-Azam (PML-Q); Pakistan People's Party (PPP); Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) (a coalition which includes the Jamaat-I-Islami and the Jamiat Ulema Islami) ; Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N); Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM); Awami National Party (ANP)
Head of State: President Pervez Musharraf
Prime Minister: Shaukat Aziz
Foreign Minister: Mian Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri
Membership of International Organisations: United Nations (UN); the Commonwealth; South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (SAARC); Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC); ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
GEOGRAPHYPakistan is about three-and-a-half times the size of the UK. It shares borders with four countries: India to the east, China to the north east, Iran to the south west and Afghanistan along the western and northern boundaries. Pakistan's coastline on the Arabian Sea is 1,064 km long. The climate can be roughly split into 3 seasons: cool (October through February), hot (March through June), and wet (July through September). There are, however, significant regional variations.
Pakistan is divided into four provinces: Balochistan, the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Punjab and Sindh. In addition to the 4 provinces there are also the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA), and the Islamabad Capital Territory. Pakistan-administered Kashmir is known in Pakistan as Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
HISTORYIn 1947, on independence from Britain, the subcontinent was split into two successor states: the Dominion of India and that of Pakistan, both with the UK Monarch as Head of State and represented in each by a Governor General. East and West Pakistan was created from the frontier areas of British India, where the military had always been an integral part of local administration. Civilian institutions were correspondingly weak, provincial loyalties strong. Pakistan was created by the Muslim League to be a homeland for the Muslims of British India. However, Pakistan's new leaders found it hard to devise a constitutional structure that could unite the various provinces, and incorporate both the East and West portions of the country. Early state-building was further complicated by a war with India in 1947, and the early death of Pakistan's founding father M A Jinnah in 1948, and first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan in 1951.
It took almost eight years to agree a final constitution. This established Pakistan as a republic within the Commonwealth in 1956. But the new parliamentary system was soon in difficulty: In 1958, General Ayub Khan launched Pakistan's first military coup. Martial law was declared, political parties abolished and a pattern of military control was established that has characterised almost half of Pakistan's existence since independence. In 1960 Khan became President. A new constitution, placing politics firmly under military guidance, was promulgated in 1962. But a failure to win a second war with India in 1965, mounting corruption and increasingly uncontainable Bengali frustrations in East Pakistan gradually undermined Khan's authority, finally forcing his resignation in 1969. The first election on a nationally democratic basis was conducted in 1970. The elections saw the East-Pakistan Awami League gaining an overall majority, which the West Pakistan administration refused to accept.
This set the stage for a new constitutional crisis that in turn led to civil war in March 1971 and, following Indian intervention, the emergence of East Pakistan as the independent state of Bangladesh. Since then civilian and military administrations have governed as follows:
- 1973-77: President and then Prime Minister Z A Bhutto
- 1977-88: President General Zia ul Haq
- 1988-99: Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (PPP) and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif (PML) (alternating terms)
- 1999-Oct 2002: General Pervez Musharraf
- Nov 2002 - Present: President Pervez Musharraf
A full chronology is available on the BBC News web site.
POLITICSOn 12 October 1999, General Pervez Musharraf launched a coup. The Army took control of all facets of government; the Senate, the Assemblies and the constitution were suspended. Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was removed and General Musharraf declared himself Chief Executive. Retroactive legitimacy was given to the coup by Pakistan's Supreme Court on 12 May 2000. However, the Court ruled that elections should be held by 12 October 2002.
On 20 June 2001 General Musharraf declared himself President and Head of State, and dissolved the suspended assemblies. On 14 August 2001, Pakistan's Independence Day, President Musharraf announced his plans for the transition to democracy in Pakistan, with provincial and national elections to take place by October 2002 in accordance with the Supreme Court's deadline.
President Musharraf held a referendum on 30 April 2002. The question: 'Do you want to elect President General Pervez Musharraf as President of Pakistan for the next five years for: survival of local government system; restoration of democracy; continuity and stability of reforms; eradication of extremism and sectarianism and for the accomplishment of Quaid-i-Azam's concept'. Official figures reported a 71% turnout and a 98% 'yes' vote.
On 10 October 2002 national and provincial elections were held. No single party won an overall majority. The PML (Q) won the most seats (121), followed by the MMA (60) and the PPPP (59). The total number of seats in the National Assembly is 342 (including 60 reserved seats for women and 10 for minorities).
At the provincial level, the elections resulted in the PML (Q) gaining a governing majority in Punjab, the MMA taking the majority in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), the PML (Q) and MMA forming a government in Balochistan and the PPPP gaining the majority in Sindh.
Shortly before the elections, on 21 August 2002, President Musharraf promulgated the Legal Framework Order (LFO), which introduced 35 amendments to the 1973 Constitution and gave him sweeping powers including the power to dissolve the National Assembly and to appoint Provincial Governors, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and single service chiefs. He declared that the amendments would not be subject to parliamentary approval, but that parliament could pass new amendments with a two-thirds majority. Under the LFO, all actions of the government between 12 October 1999 and 22 August 2002 would be validated upon reinstatement of the Constitution.
The LFO also created a National Security Council (NSC) as a consultative forum.
The LFO met with bitter resistance from the opposition, particularly the alliance of religious parties, the MMA (Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal), producing a constitutional impasse (i.e. Parliamentary gridlock) for over a year. Finally, in December 2003, the government came to an agreement with the MMA and obtained the two-thirds majority necessary for approval. President Musharraf agreed to seek a vote of confidence from the electoral college, to consult the prime minister on the appointment of armed forces chiefs, and to step down as Chief of Army Staff by December 2004. However, at Musharraf's instigation, parliament subsequently passed legislation allowing him to hold both offices until 2007.
Since 1 September 2004, Shaukat Aziz has served as both Pakistan's Prime Minister and Finance Minister. Federal Ministers include:
- Mian Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri (Foreign Affairs)
- Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao (Interior)
- Rao Sikandar Iqbal (Defence)
- Humayun Akhtar Khan (Commerce),
- Muhammad Ali Durrani (Information),
- Maj (R) Tahir Iqbal (Kashmir and Northern Areas),
- Ghaus Bakhsh Khan Mahar (Narcotics Control),
- Muhammad Ijaz ul Haq (Religious Affairs)
- Sumaira Malik (Women Development and Social Welfare).
A full list of the entire 64-member cabinet is available at the ministries web site. ECONOMYBasic Economic Information:GNP (FY 2004 - 2005): Rs.6547bn (US$110bn)
GDP (FY 2004 - 2005): Rs.6672bn (US$113bn)
GDP Growth Rate (FY 2004 - 2005) 8.4%
Inflation (Jul. 04 – Apr. 05) 9.3%
Major Industries: Cotton yarn and thread, raw cotton, cotton fabrics, rice (EIU data)
Major Trading Partners: USA, Hong Kong, Germany, Japan (EIU data)
Average exchange rate (Jul. 04 – Mar. 05): £1 – 105.356
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSThe adversarial relationship between India and Pakistan has dominated South Asian politics for much of the post-independence period. War between the two countries broke out for the first time in late 1947 over the future of Kashmir. The dispute has yet to be resolved. The United Nations brokered a cease-fire along what is now known as the Line of Control (LOC), effectively dividing Kashmir. The United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) oversees it to this day. A second war with India was fought in 1965. Peace was brokered by the Soviet Union and a treaty signed at Tashkent in 1966. The third India/Pakistan war was triggered in late 1971 when India was drawn into the dispute between East and West Pakistan that led ultimately to the independence of Bangladesh. An agreement signed at Simla (India) in July 1972 by Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi and Pakistani Premier, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto provided that henceforth the two countries' disputes would be settled on a peaceful bilateral basis. The Lahore agreement signed after talks between the Indian and Pakistani Prime Ministers, on 21-22 February 1999, included a reconfirmed commitment to the UN charter, the Simla agreement and a promise to intensify efforts to resolve all outstanding issues including Kashmir.
In May 1999, India army units discovered that infiltrators from Pakistan had occupied the Ghulan heights overlooking Kargil, on the Indian side of the Line of Control. India began a fierce assault to regain these positions, while accusing the Pakistan armed forces of supporting the incursion. Pakistani Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif travelled to Washington on 4 July 1999 to explain the situation to President Clinton, and to London on 7 July to meet the Prime Minister. Following these talks, Sharif's government called on the infiltrators to withdraw. They did so over the next few days, and fighting subsided by 15 July.
On 13 December 2001, terrorists attacked the Indian Parliament building in New Delhi. The attack left 14 dead, including the 5 terrorists. No group claimed responsibility although the Indians accused two Pakistan based terrorist groups Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT). India responded to the attack by imposing diplomatic and military measures against Pakistan, including the mobilisation of troops along the LOC and international border and placing them on full alert. Pakistan responded in kind. There were further terrorist incidents in India (notably in Jammu) which fuelled tensions. The international community called on both sides to reduce tensions and resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue. Following the announcement in October 2002 by the Indian and Pakistani governments that troops along the international border would be withdrawn to peacetime positions, tensions were reduced.
In April 2003, President Vajpayee extended a ‘hand of friendship' to Pakistan during a speech in Srinagar. This was followed by a number of measures taken by both countries to normalise their relations. Since then, full diplomatic relations have been re-established, transport links have resumed and there has been a ceasefire along the Line of Control in Kashmir since November 2003. Following their meeting in the margins of the SAARC Summit in January 2004, President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee issued a Joint Statement announcing that India and Pakistan would begin a Composite Dialogue, aimed at resolving all of the outstanding issues between the two countries, including over Kashmir. This announcement was widely welcomed in both India and Pakistan, and across the world. The British Foreign Secretary welcomed the news in a public statement: Jack Straw's statement, 6 January 2004.
Since the election of a new Congress-led Indian government in May 2004, India and Pakistan have continued their talks, which are structured around eight pillars: peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir Wular Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project, Siachen glacier, Sir Creek, economic and commercial co-operation, Terrorism and drugs, and the promotion of friendly exchanges. Progress to date has included the start, on 7 April 2005, of the first bus service since 1947 between Muzzaffarabad (in Pakistani-administered Kashmir) and Srinagar, (on the Indian side of the Line of Control). In addition, a bus service now links Lahore and Amritsar. A new service, between Poonch and Rawalakot was launched in June 2006.
President Musharraf visited New Delhi from 16 to 18 April 2005 for talks with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and to watch a one day cricket match between the two countries. Their joint statement stated that 'they determined that the peace process was now irreversible.' Talks continue between the two countries, and the third round of the Composite Dialogue commenced on 17 January 2006.
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