A Brief Fact File of Pakistan

Pakistan is a South Asian country, located just above the Tropic of Cancer. It shares borders with India (East), China (North-East), Afghanistan (North West) and Iran (West), while Arabian Sea (1046 km/650 mi) marks its Southern boundary.
Pakistan gained sovereignty from British India on August 14, 1947. Its inception has been credited to many people, eminent of who were: the great thinker and poet Iqbal, and the Jinnah (Quaid-e-Azam or The Great Leader). Creation of Pakistan saw one of the biggest migrations of history as millions of Muslims left India for the new born state.
Pakistan comprises of four provinces, namely Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan and Khyber-Pakhtunwa; a capital territory and federally administered tribal areas (FATA). Pakistan also exercises de facto authority over Gilgit-Baltistan and a part of Kashmir area. Pakistan is an Islamic Republic and has a Parliamentary style of government. The Government representatives (for the National and Provincial Assembly) are selected in a general election, who in turn selects the President (Head of State). Prime Minister is usually the leader of the largest political party in National Assembly. Provinces have an identical form of government as well. Pakistan is an active member of United Nations (UN), Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC), Commonwealth of Nations (CoN), South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Economic Corporation Organization (ECO), Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Developing-8 (D8), Group of 20 Developing Nations (G-20) and World Trade Organization (WTO). Pakistan is also a Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA).
The culture of Pakistan is the result of amalgamation of centuries old Indus Valley civilization; rule of ancient empires; conquerors and warriors of west, including Aryans, Greeks etc and Islamic Revolution. Furthermore, all the four provinces have their own individuality and this all culminates to give a unique and exquisite, ethnically and linguistically diverse, identity to Pakistan. Urdu is the national language of Pakistan and English is the official one. Besides, other major lingos include Punjabi, Sindhi, Balochi and Pashto. An increasing trend has been to master foreign languages like Chinese, German, and Arabic etc.
This country has been blessed with a very diverse landscape and climate. Himalayas are in Northern part; Rivers and one of the world's most fertile agrarian lands in middle; beautiful desserts and a long coast line in South: all combine to make Pakistan a must-visit place. Weather and climate is quite varied as well. Pakistan enjoys all four seasons, year long.
Pakistan is situated at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia. Its strategic position has also been cemented as landlocked Central Asian states use Pakistan as their economic survival corridor.
Despite having, an excellent base to prosper on, Pakistan still is a developing country. With a GDP of US$167 billions and a per capita income of US$ 2,942, Pakistan has the second largest economy in South Asia, and 48th largest in the world (27th is terms of purchasing power). High population (over 175 million and world's sixth-most populous country), high poverty (25% of total population), foreign debts (US$45 billion) and current economic recession have hindered the economic growth in recent years.