Where is Pakistan?

Pakistan (Urdu: پاکستان ), officially the Islamic

Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South-central

Asia between the Southwest Asia also known as the Near East, and is

an integral part of the Greater Middle East region

and converges with Southern Asia with the Republic of India to the

east. South-central Asia is a separate block

consisting of the countries of (Afghanistan, Iran, Turkmenistan,

Tajikistan and the disputed region of Kashmir). It has a 1,046

kilometre (650 mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of

Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the

west, Bharat in the east and China in the far northeast. Tajikistan

also lies adjacent to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow

Wakhan Corridor.

The region forming modern Pakistan was home to the ancient Indus

Valley Civilization and then, successively, recipient of ancient

Vedic, Persian, Indo-Greek and Islamic cultures. The area has

witnessed invasions and settlement by the Aryans, Persians, Greeks,

Arabs, Turks, Afghans and the Mongols. It was a part of British Raj

from 1858 to 1947, when the Pakistan Movement for a state for

Muslims, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the Muslim League resulted

in the independence and creation of the state of Pakistan, that

comprised the provinces of Sindh, North-West Frontier Province,

West Punjab, Balochistan and East Bengal. With the adoption of its

first constitution in 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic republic. In

1971, a civil war in East Pakistan resulted in the independence of

Bangladesh. Pakistan's history has been characterized by periods of

economic growth, military rule and political instability.

Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world and has

the second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia.

The country is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies. Pakistan

is a founding member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference,

South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Developing 8

Countries and the Economic Cooperation Organization. It is also a

member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, World Trade

Organization, G33 developing countries, Group of 77 developing

nations, major non-NATO ally of the United States and is a nuclear

state.

south - east Asia