Pakistan
Pakistan,[c] officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan,[d] is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country with a population exceeding 212.2 million. It is the 33rd-largest country by area, spanning 881,913 square kilometres (340,509 square miles)
Pakistan gained independence in 1947 as a homeland for Indian Muslims following the Pakistan Movement, which sought statehood for the Muslim-majority regions of British India through partition.[19][20][21] It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. Initially a dominion, Pakistan adopted a constitution in 1956, becoming an Islamic republic. An ethnic civil war and Indian military intervention in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh.[22] In 1973, Pakistan adopted a new constitution which stipulated that all laws are to conform to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah.[23] In 2008, Pakistan transitioned to civilian rule.[24] In 2010, Pakistan adopted a parliamentary system with periodic elections.[25][26]
A middle power,[27][28][29][30][31][32] Pakistan has the sixth-largest standing armed forces in the world and is also a nuclear power as well as a declared nuclear-weapons state. It is ranked among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world,[33][34] and is backed by one of the world's largest and fastest-growing middle class populations.[35][36] Pakistan's political history since independence has been characterized by periods of military rule, political instability and conflicts with India. The country continues to face challenging problems, including overpopulation, poverty, illiteracy and corruption.[37][38][39] Pakistan is a member of the UN, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the OIC, the Commonwealth of Nations, the SAARC, the Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition, and is a major non-NATO ally.
Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan.[47] The earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab.[48] The Indus region, which covers most of present day Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic Mehrgarh[49] and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation[50][51][52][53][54] (2,800–1,800 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro
The Vedic period (1500–500 BCE) was characterised by an Indo-Aryan culture; during this period the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed, and this culture later became well established in the region.[57][58] Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre.[59] The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, now Taxila in the Punjab, which was founded around 1000 BCE.[60][49] Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Persian Achaemenid Empire (around 519 BCE), Alexander the Great's empire in 326 BCE[61] and the Maurya Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka the Great, until 185 BCE.[49] The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria (180–165 BCE) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165–150 BCE), prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region.[49][62] Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world, which was established during the late Vedic period in 6th century BCE.[63][64] The school consisted of several monasteries without large dormitories or lecture halls where the religious instruction was provided on an individualistic basis.[64] The ancient university was documented by the invading forces of Alexander the Great and was also recorded by Chinese pilgrims in the 4th or 5th century CE.[65][66][67][68]
At its zenith, the Rai Dynasty (489–632 CE) of Sindh ruled this region and the surrounding territories.[69] The Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire, which, under Dharmapala and Devapala, stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan.
Islamic conquest
The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh in 711 CE.[70][71][72][73][74] The Pakistan government's official chronology claims this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid[70][75][76] but the concept of Pakistan came in 19th century. The Early Medieval period (642–1219 CE) witnessed the spread of Islam in the region. During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional Buddhist and Hindu population to Islam.[77] These developments set the stage for the rule of several successive Muslim empires in the region, including the Ghaznavid Empire (975–1187 CE), the Ghorid Kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 CE). The Lodi dynasty, the last of the Delhi Sultanate, was replaced by the Mughal Empire (1526–1857 CE).