Pakistan

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is one of the ten most populous nations of the world. Pakistan was formed in 1947 when the British-ruled India was partitioned; the largely Hindu areas became India while the largely Muslim areas became Pakistan. Pakistan is bounded by the Arabian Sea in the south, Iran on the west, India on the east, Afghanistan on the northwest and Jammu and Kashmir (claimed by both India and Pakistan) on the northeast. History of Pakistan Originally, after the 1947 partition from India, Pakistan comprised two regions: West Pakistan consisted of Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Balochistan and Sindh; East Pakistan was made up of eastern Bengal. The two regions were separated by about 1,000 miles of Indian territory. In 1971 the physically divided country became constitutionally separated as well. East Pakistan became Bangladesh while West Pakistan remained Pakistan. The history of the geographical area now called Pakistan is traced back to 2500 years BC when a highly developed civilisation flourished in the Indus Valley area. Around about 1500 BC the Aryans overwhelmed this region, and influenced the Hindu civilisation, whose centre moved to the Ganges Valley, further east. Later the Persians occupied the northern regions in the 6th century BC and up to the 2nd century AD. the Greeks came in 327 BC, under Alexander of Macedonia, and passed away like a meteor. In 712 AD the Arabs, led by Mohammed Bin Qasim, landed somewhere near modern Karachi, and ruled the lower half of Pakistan for two hundred years. during this time Islam took roots in the soil and influenced the life, culture and traditions of the people. In the 10th century AD began the systematic conquest of Indo-Pakistan by the Muslims from Central Asia who ruled almost the whole subcontinent up to the 18th century AD., when the British became masters of the land and ruled for nearly 200 years - for only 100 years over what is Pakistan now. The Muslim revival in the subcontinent began towards the end of the last century when the Muslim leader Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, launched a movement for the intellectual renaissance of the Indian Muslims. In 1930, the well-known poet-philosopher, Dr. Mohammed Iqbal conceived the idea of a separate state for the Muslims of the sub-continent. In 1940, the resolution was adopted by the All-India Muslim under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam Mohammed Ali Jinnah. Pakistan emerged on the map of the world as a sovereign state on 14th August, 1947. Sources: The Pakisatan Information Highway and the cited addresses: http://ravi.lums.edu.pk/PAKISTAN/index.html http://www.abdn.ac.uk/~src048/hp/infopak.html