Portal:Pakistan
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 the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor.
Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, the Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age, and the ancient Gandhara civilisation. The regions that compose the modern state of Pakistan were the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Gandhāra, the Achaemenid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Parthian, the Paratarajas, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, 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. (Full article...)
Selected article -
The Ghauri–I (Urdu: غوری-ا; Military designation: Hatf–V, Trans.: Target-5) is a land-based medium-range ballistic missile, in current service with the strategic command of the Pakistan Army.
Influenced from the propellent design of Nodong-1 of North Korea, its extensive modification, warhead design and assembly, and engineering of its control system took place in Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) in 1994–2001 with an objective of developing an electronic system that uses a single stage liquid fuel rocket motor to carry a payload of 700 kg to a range of 1,500 km. This range is applicable to address Pakistan's nuclear deterrence against India, if not all of India. (Full article...)
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A beautiful view of Islamabad from the Daman-e-Koh Park. It a popular viewing point in Islamabad. Its name is a conjunction of two words: Daman, which means center and Koh, which means hill. Daman-e-Koh therefore meaning center of the mountain. It can also be interpreted as hem of the mountain. Photo credit: Finavon |
General images
This week in history
- 8 October 2005: The Kashmir earthquake (also known as the South Asia earthquake or the Great Pakistan earthquake) of 2005, was a major earthquake, of which the epicentre was the Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The earthquake occurred at 08:50:38 Pakistan Standard Time (03:50:38 UTC) on 8 October 2005. It registered 7.6 on the richter scale making it a major earthquake similar in intensity to the 1935 Quetta earthquake, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Pakistani government's official death toll was 73,276, while officials say nearly 1,400 people died in Jammu and Kashmir and fourteen people in Afghanistan. Most of the affected people lived in mountainous regions with access impeded by landslides that blocked the roads, leaving an estimated 3.3 million homeless in Pakistan.
Provinces and Territories
Clickable map of the four provinces and three federal territories of Pakistan.
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Provinces: Territories: Pakistani-administered portions of the Kashmir: |
Things you can do
Selected biography -
Alimuddin (Urdu: علیم الدین; 15 December 1930 – 12 July 2012) was a Pakistani cricketer who played 25 Tests for Pakistan between 1954 and 1962. His name is sometimes rendered Alim-ud-Din. A fast-scoring, right-handed opening batsman and occasional right-arm leg break bowler, he was the youngest player ever to appear in first-class cricket, aged 12 years and 73 days. In international cricket, he scored 1,091 runs at the average of 25.37, including two centuries and seven fifties. In 1954, he was a member of the Pakistani squad which toured England and recorded Pakistan's first Test match win. Former Pakistani captain Mushtaq Mohammad said about him that he was "a thorough gentleman as well as a great cricketer for Pakistan". (Full article...)
Did you know?
- ... that Rehri Goth, one of the poor neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Karachi, is one of the oldest settlements dating back to the 13th century? (31 March 2024)
- ... that Burushaski, a predominantly in northern Gilgit-Baltistan spoken rather than written language, has not more than 120,000 native speakers? (9 July 2023)
- ... that the MagnifiScience Centre in Karachi is the only science center in the country, and, unlike a museum, visitors are encouraged to touch and learn from the interaction with the exhibits? (11 June 2023)
- ... that Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, the famous German–Pakistani Catholic nun who devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy was the first Christian and first non-Muslim to have a state funeral in Pakistan? (2 September 2021)
- ... that Lahore Metrobus open in 2013, was modelled after the Istanbul Bus Rapid Transit System. Plans were developed in the last quarter of 2011 by both local and Turkish experts.[1] (31 August 2021)
- ... that Lahore Knowledge Park is an actualization of Triple Helix configuration; a framework to create synergies between government, academia and industry to operate into an interactive rather than linear model for the establishment of social formats and entities to promote commercial innovation and R&D. [2] (27 January 2017)
- ... that Karachi Kings is the most expensive franchise team of Pakistan Super League? (04 December 2015)
- ... that Sialkot is the world's largest producer of hand-sewed footballs, with local factories manufacturing 40~60 million footballs a year, amounting to roughly 60% of world production. (4 December 2017)
- ... that Hafiz Muhammad Fazal Azim Taha, the famous living Pakistani poet said about Iqbal's work that "He not only dreamed for Pakistan but also got the nation up for their rights". This famous saying is regarded as Iqbal's definition. (14 July 2014)
- ... that Tajammul Hussain Malik headed an unsuccessful coup attempt against Pakistani dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in 1980? (22 September 2009)
- ... that the Legal Framework Order, 1970, issued by Gen. Yahya Khan, set the rules for the first direct popular elections in the history of Pakistan? (14 September 2009)
- ... that in 1881 in the village of Bakhshali in northern Pakistan, the Bakhshali manuscript, the oldest surviving example of Indian mathematics, was discovered written on birch bark? (1 September 2008)
- ... that the original images of Lord Swaminarayan at the Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Karachi, Pakistan were removed and taken to India during the turbulent times of its partition? (1 September 2008)
- ... that Saudi Arabia promised to supply 50,000 barrels of free oil per day to help Pakistan if economic sanctions were imposed after its 1998 nuclear tests? (1 September 2008)
- ... that in a major improvement in bilateral relations in 2008, Pakistan proposed sharing nuclear technology with Bangladesh? (31 August 2008)
- ... that Abdur Rashid Kardar, a pioneer of the Pakistani film industry in Lahore, was a calligraphist who prepared posters for foreign-made films? (11 July 2008)
- ... that the Nigar Awards are the oldest awards of merit in the Pakistani film industry? (10 July 2008)
- ... that Syed Wajid Ali was the longest serving President of the Pakistan Olympic Association with a tenure of 26 years? (7 July 2008)
- ... that the 1948 film Teri Yaad was the first feature film to be released in Pakistan after the partition of India? (6 July 2008)
- ... that The Edhi Foundation, founded by Edhi, runs the world's largest volunteer ambulance service operating 1,800 of them with upto 6,000 a day in Karachi alone. (4 December 2017)
Pakistan news
- 23 November 2024 – Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sectarian violence in Pakistan
- 2024 Kurram massacre
- Clashes between Sunni and Shia fighters in Kurram District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, kill 33 people and injure 25 others. (AP)
- 22 November 2024 – Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sectarian violence in Pakistan
- 2024 Kurram massacre
- Large crowds of protesters gather in Parachinar, Pakistan, to protest the massacre of 50 Shiite Pakistanis as well as the ongoing sectarian violence in the region. (Reuters) (MENAFN)
- 21 November 2024 – Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sectarian violence in Pakistan
- 2024 Kurram massacre
- At least 42 people are killed and many others are wounded as gunmen open fire against two convoys carrying Shia people in Kurram District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
Quote of the Day -
“ | There is no power on Earth that can undo Pakistan. | ” |
— Muhammad Ali Jinnah (Founder of Pakistan) |
Subcategories
Pakistan topics
Recognized content
Related portals
Religions in Pakistan
Indian Subcontinent
Other countries
WikiProjects
You are cordially invited to join and contribute to WikiProject Pakistan, a WikiProject dedicated to the development and improvement of articles relating to Pakistan.
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Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
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Commons
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Wikibooks
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Wikidata
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Wikinews
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Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Wikipedias in Pakistani languages
Sources
- ^ Mahendra, Anjali. "The Metro Bus System comes to Lahore, Pakistan". TheCityFix. World Resources Institute. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Lahore Knowledge Park Company".