ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN

• Official name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Islami Jamhuriya-e-Pakistan)
• Location: South Asia
• International organisations: Commonwealth of Nations, Non-Aligned Movement, Organisation of Islamic Conference, United Nations, World Trade Organisation
• Borders: Afghanistan, China, India, Iran
• Coastline: Arabian Sea
• Land area: 803,940 Km2
• Population: 180,800,000
• Annual GDP (PPP) per capita: US$2,600 (2009 CIA estimate). World ranking: 139
• Ethnicity: North Indian (Indo-Aryan) people: Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtun (Pathan), Baloch, Muhajir
• Languages: Urdu (closely related to Hindi though written in a different script) is the official language, though only 8% speak it as their first language. In practice English is the language of government. The most widely spoken languages are Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Siraiki 10% and Pashtu 8%.
• Religion: Sunni Islam (the state religion) 77%, Shi'a Islam 20%, Christian, Hindu and other 3%
• Form of government: In theory, parliamentary democratic republic. Pakistan is divided into four provinces and two territories which all have elected assemblies. The Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir (Free Kashmir and the Northern Areas) are under direct government administration.
• Capital: Islamabad
• Constitution: The current Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan dates from 10 April 1973. It was suspended during periods of military rule, 1977-85 and 1999-2002.
• Head of state: The President, elected by the National Assembly for a five-year term.
• Head of government: The Prime Minister, appointed by the President. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the largest party in the National Assembly and is accountable to it.
• Legislature: The Majlis-i-Shura (Parliament) is a bicameral legislature. The lower house, the National Assembly, has 342 members elected for five-year terms. Of these, 272 members are elected in single-member constituencies. Sixty seats are reserved for women and ten seats are reserved for ethnic minorities. These members are nominated by the political parties. The Senate has 100 members, nominated by the provincial parliaments.
• Electoral authority: The Pakistan Electoral Commission administers national elections.
• Freedom House 2011 rating: Political Rights 4, Civil Liberties 5
• Transparency International Corruption Index: 23% (143 of 178 countries rated)
• Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom 2010 Index: 43.8% (151 of 178 countries rated)
• Heritage Foundation Economic Freedom 2010 Index: 55.1% (123 of 179 countries rated)

Political history

Pakistan occupies the western quarter of the Indian subcontinent and until 1947 its history was that of part of India. In 1906 Indian Moslem leaders, fearing that the Indian National Congress's agitation for independence would lead to a Hindu-dominated India, formed the Moslem League, and under the leadership of Mohammned Ali Jinnah they demanded a separate Moslem state, to be called Pakistan ("Land of the Pure").

Faced with the threat of civil war the departing British acceded to partition, and Pakistan came into existence in 1947. It originally included East Bengal, but this territory broke away and became Bangladesh in 1971.

Pakistan has suffered from chronic bad government and instability thoughout its history. A parliamentary system was created in 1947, but proved weak and ineffective. There were military coups in 1958, 1977 and 1999, and in most cases the civilian governments which alternated with military rule were corrupt or incompetent or both. The 1999 coup was widely welcomed and parliamentary government seemed discredited.

General Pervez Musharraf, who seized power in October 1999, redesigned the political system. In April 2002 a plebiscite approved changes to the Constitution expanding the President's powers and making the Prime Minister and ministry responsible to the President. The October 2002 legislative elections were reasonable fairly conducted in a technical sense, but opposition parties had little access to the media.

Pakistan's most enduring parties are the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), a moderate socialist party founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and later led by his daughter, former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and the Pakistan Moslem League, a descendant of Jinnah's party, now split in several factions. The PML (Quaid-e-Azam) (PML(Q) faction supported Musharraf (Quaid-e-Azam means Great Leader and is a reference to Jinnah). Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's faction, the PML (Nawaz) (PML(N), polled poorly in 2002.

By 2007 Musharraf had outstayed his welcome, and when he tried to dismiss a recalcitrant Chief Justice, the result was an upsurge of protest and disorder that prompted him to declare martial law. Although he arranged for his re-election as president by the National Assembly, his political base had collapsed. He was forced to agree to fresh elections, but these were postponed when Benazir Bhutto was assassinated shortly after her return to the country.

When the elections were held in February 2008, the PML(Q) finished a distant third behind the PPP and the PML(N), which formed an uneasy alliance. Musharraf resigned and the new National Assembly elected Bhutto's husband Asif Ali Zardari President, despite his lack of qualifications and his record of corruption. Zardari appointed a PPP politician, Yousaf Raza Gillani, Prime Minister. The long-term heir to the dynasty is 21-year-old Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

Freedom House's 2011 report on Pakistan says: "Pakistan is not an electoral democracy.A civilian government and president were elected in 2008, ending years of military rule, but the military continues to exercise de facto control over many areas of government policy... The 2008 parliamentary elections were not completely free and fair. A European Union observer mission noted the abuse of state resources and media, inaccuracies in the voter rolls, and rigging of the vote tallies in some areas... Pakistan's government operates with limited transparency and accountability, though this has improved with the resumption of civilian rule. The military has a stake in continuing to influence both commercial and political decision-making processes, in addition to its traditional dominance of foreign policy and security issues... Corruption is pervasive in politics and government... Pakistan's outspoken newspapers and a growing number of private television stations present a diverse range of news and opinion. However, powerful figures, including military officials and members of the higher judiciary, restrict media freedom by attempting to silence critical reporting, and there is a high level of violence against journalists... Pakistan is an Islamic republic, and there are numerous legal restrictions on religious freedom... The rights to freedom of assembly and association are selectively upheld... Authorities generally tolerate the work of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and allow them to publish critical material... The judiciary consists of civil and criminal courts and a special Sharia court for certain offenses. Lower courts remain plagued by corruption, intimidation, and a backlog of some 1.5 million cases that leads to lengthy pretrial detention."

Updated November 2011