Pakistan (Urdu: پاکِستان), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It has a 1,046 kilometres (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and the People's Republic of China in the far northeast. Tajikistan also lies very close to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Thus, it occupies a crossroads position between South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. The region forming modern Pakistan was at the heart of the ancient Indus Valley Civilisation and then later was the recipient of Vedic, Persian, Indo-Greek, Turco-Mongol, Islamic and Sikh cultures. The area has witnessed invasions and/or settlements by the Indo-Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Turks, Afghans, Mongols and the British.

Population: 141,553,775(july 2000 est)

Ethnic groups: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pathan, Baloch

Religion: Muslim 97% Christian, Hindu, and others 3%

History      

Although the modern state of Pakistan has recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, it has a history that stretches back to the very beginning of human civilization, spanning numerous empires and dynasties. Each has left its own legacy. The great Indus Valley Civilization, comparable in importance to the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, has left behind the cities of Mohanjo Daro and Harappa.

Few would think of Pakistan as having played a central role in development of Buddhism, yet it was here that the Gandhara Civilization flourished. A visit to the museum at Peshawar and Taxila reveals the subtle beauty of the Gandhara artistic style, a unique fusion of Gracco-Roman and oriental influences.

The early Muslim period provides us with a series of spectacular shirnces and monuments, such as the semi-ruined tombs at Uch Sharif and the delicately restored shrines of Multan, perhaps the most impressive era in terms of architecture was that of Mughals, who were responsible for much of the magnificence of Lahore.

Culture     

Pakistan's position on the subcontinent is often likened to a zone of contact, with centuries of migration and invasion, as well as the intermingling of new arrivals with indigenous population, explaining the diversity of peoples. Compare, for example, the fair-skinned and green/blue-eyed Pathans of NWFP and Baluchistan with the dark haired and dark eyed Punjabis. Both are of Aryan descent, yet some where along the line the blood stick of other groups ahs filtered its way in. Like wise, the sindhi's and Baluch may be defined as distinct ethnic groups, though both extend far beyond the boundary of modern Pakistan, into India and Iran respectively.

Among the mountains and the valleys of northern Pakistan live myriad groups that reflect both centuries of contact visa the various strands of the silk road, and long period of isolation. The people of Hunza (who claim to be descended from the armies of Alexander the Great), are followers of the Ismaili branch of Islam, whilst the darker skinned people of Nagar are Shia Muslims. Yet these two groups are neighbors, living just a short distance apart on the opposite banks of a river. Or consider the Gojalis, linked by geography and religion to the people of Hunza, yet by language and ethnicity to the nomads of Central Asia. Similarly the Baltis of Baltistan are followers of the Shia branch of Islam yet ethnically and linguistically their closest ties are to Buddhist Tibet. Dotted amongst these groups are small pockets of people who do not appear to fit in anywhere such as the Kalash of Chitral incorrectly labeled as Kafirs or non-believers despite their complex religion. The joy of traveling in Pakistan is to encounter these different groups, learn about their varying ways of life and to see how they fit into this entity called Pakistan.

Location    

Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian sea , between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the West and China in the north.