Portal:Pakistan
Introduction
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Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area. Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor.
Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, the Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age, and the ancient Gandhara civilisation. The regions that compose the modern state of Pakistan were the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahis, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Samma, the Shah Miris, the Mughals, and finally, the British Raj from 1858 to 1947. (Full article...)
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Balochistan (/bəˈlɒtʃɪstɑːn, bəˌlɒtʃɪˈstɑːn, -stæn/; Balochi: بلۏچستان; Urdu: بلوچستان, Urdu pronunciation: [bəloːt͡ʃɪst̪ɑːn] ⓘ) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the north-east, Punjab to the east and Sindh to the south-east; shares international borders with Iran to the west and Afghanistan to the north; and is bound by the Arabian Sea to the south. Balochistan is an extensive plateau of rough terrain divided into basins by ranges of sufficient heights and ruggedness. It has a large deep sea port, the Port of Gwadar lying in the Arabian Sea.
Although it makes up about 44% of the land area of Pakistan, only 5% of it is arable and it is noted for an extremely dry desert climate. Despite this, agriculture and livestock make up about 47% of Balochistan's economy. (Full article...)
Selected picture -
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The Lahore Railway Station in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is representative of typical grand British architecture in South Asia during the British Raj. The railway network established by the British was very extensive and is one of their lasting contributions to the culture and infrastructure of this region. Photo credit: Pale blue dot and Swerveut | |
General images
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Truck art is a distinctive feature of Pakistani culture. (from Culture of Pakistan) -
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A traditional cup of black tea (from Culture of Pakistan) -
Lahore Ring Road (from Lahore) -
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The Begum Shahi Mosque was completed in 1614 in honour of Jahangir's mother, Mariam-uz-Zamani. (from Lahore) -
Kalma Underpass (from Lahore) -
The Punjabi royal court at Lahore (from Lahore) -
Wazir Khan Mosque painting by William Carpenter (1866) (from Lahore) -
Allama Iqbal International Airport (from Lahore) -
Grave of Nur Jahan (from Lahore) -
First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and President Ayub Khan travelled by car in Lahore, 1962 (from Lahore) -
University of Engineering and Technology, Main Block (from Lahore) -
The Orange Line is Pakistan's first metro rail line. (from Lahore) -
Badshahi Mosque (from Lahore) -
Lahore as seen from International Space Station. River Ravi flows from North to West. The city is rapidly growing towards the south. (from Lahore) -
Pakistan map of climate classification zones (from Geography of Pakistan) -
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Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore is the third-largest cricket stadium in Pakistan with a seating capacity of 27,000 spectators. (from Culture of Pakistan) -
Tomb of Jahangir (from Lahore) -
The iconic Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort was built in 1674 and faces Aurangzeb's Badshahi Mosque. (from Lahore) -
University of the Punjab, Old Campus (from Lahore) -
The Tomb of Shah Rukn-e-Alam is part of Pakistan's Sufi heritage. (from Culture of Pakistan) -
K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 feet), is the world's second highest peak (from Geography of Pakistan) -
The marble Hazuri Bagh Baradari was built in 1818 to celebrate Ranjit Singh's acquisition of the Koh-i-Noor diamond. (from Lahore) -
Shahi Hammam (from Lahore) -
Wazir Khan Mosque in Lahore is considered to be the most ornately decorated Mughal-era mosque. (from Lahore) -
The Sunehri Mosque was built in the walled city in the early 18th century, when the Mughal Empire was in decline. (from Lahore) -
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The Shah Alami area of Lahore's Walled City in 1890 (from Lahore) -
Schoolgirls in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, in shalwars with cuffed hems, and kameez with western-style collars. (from Culture of Pakistan) -
Cityscape of Lahore (from Lahore) -
Lahore Metrobus (from Lahore) -
Distribution of Pakistani diasporaPakistan+ 1,000,000+ 100,000+ 10,000+ 1,000(from Pakistanis) -
The Tomb of Asif Khan was one of several monuments plundered for its precious building materials during the Sikh period. (from Lahore) -
Sections of the Walled City of Lahore have been under restoration since 2012 in conjunction with the Agha Khan Trust for Culture. (from Lahore) -
Located on the bank of Arabian Sea in Karachi, Port Grand is one of the largest food streets of Asia. (from Culture of Pakistan) -
A sitar workshop in Islamabad, Pakistan. (from Culture of Pakistan) -
The Data Darbar shrine, one of Pakistan's most important, was built to commemorate saint Ali Hujwiri, who lived in the city during 11th century. (from Lahore) -
Artistic depiction of Sindhi soldiers during medieval times (from Culture of Pakistan) -
The Neevin Mosque is one of Lahore's few remaining medieval era buildings. (from Lahore) -
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Lahore's Hazuri Bagh is at the centre of an ensemble of Mughal and Sikh era monuments, including the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort, Roshnai Gate, and the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh. (from Lahore) -
Dust storm over Pakistan and surrounding countries, 7 April 2005 (from Geography of Pakistan) -
The Lahore Fort, a landmark built during the Mughal era, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Culture of Pakistan) -
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A syncretic architectural style that blends Islamic, Hindu, and Western motifs took root during the colonial era, as shown at Aitchison College. (from Lahore) -
Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistan's national poet who conceived the idea of Pakistan (from Culture of Pakistan) -
Built in 2012, Grand Jamia Mosque in southern Lahore is a blend of Mughal and modern architecture. (from Lahore) -
Constructed in the aftermath of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, the design of the Lahore Railway Station was highly militarised to defend the structure from further uprisings against British rule. (from Lahore) -
Much of old Lahore features colonial-era buildings, such as the Tollinton Market. (from Lahore) -
Pakistan is the fifteenth most water stressed country in the world. (from Geography of Pakistan) -
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Satellite image of the Sulaiman Range (from Geography of Pakistan) -
Lahore Fort (from Lahore) -
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Topography of Pakistan (from Geography of Pakistan) -
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Map of the Old City and environs. (from Lahore)
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This week in history
- 8 October 2005: The Kashmir earthquake (also known as the South Asia earthquake or the Great Pakistan earthquake) of 2005, was a major earthquake, of which the epicentre was the Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The earthquake occurred at 08:50:38 Pakistan Standard Time (03:50:38 UTC) on 8 October 2005. It registered 7.6 on the richter scale making it a major earthquake similar in intensity to the 1935 Quetta earthquake, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Pakistani government's official death toll was 73,276, while officials say nearly 1,400 people died in Jammu and Kashmir and fourteen people in Afghanistan. Most of the affected people lived in mountainous regions with access impeded by landslides that blocked the roads, leaving an estimated 3.3 million homeless in Pakistan.
Provinces and Territories
Clickable map of the four provinces and three federal territories of Pakistan.
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Provinces: Territories: Pakistani-administered portions of the Kashmir: | |
Things you can do
Selected biography -
Saadat Hasan Manto (/mɑːn, -tɒ/; Punjabi, Urdu: سعادت حسن منٹو, Punjabi pronunciation: [s'aːdət (ɦ)əsən mənʈoː], Urdu pronunciation: [səˈaːd̪ət̪ ˈɦəsən ˈməɳʈoː]; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan.
Writing mainly in Urdu, he produced 22 collections of short stories, a novel, five series of radio plays, three collections of essays and two collections of personal sketches. His best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics. He is best known for his stories about the partition of India, which he opposed, immediately following independence in 1947. Manto's most notable work has been archived by Rekhta. (Full article...)
Did you know?
- ... that Rehri Goth, one of the poor neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Karachi, is one of the oldest settlements dating back to the 13th century? (31 March 2024)
- ... that Burushaski, a predominantly in northern Gilgit-Baltistan spoken rather than written language, has not more than 120,000 native speakers? (9 July 2023)
- ... that the MagnifiScience Centre in Karachi is the only science center in the country, and, unlike a museum, visitors are encouraged to touch and learn from the interaction with the exhibits? (11 June 2023)
- ... that Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, the famous German–Pakistani Catholic nun who devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy was the first Christian and first non-Muslim to have a state funeral in Pakistan? (2 September 2021)
- ... that Lahore Metrobus open in 2013, was modelled after the Istanbul Bus Rapid Transit System. Plans were developed in the last quarter of 2011 by both local and Turkish experts.[1] (31 August 2021)
- ... that Lahore Knowledge Park is an actualization of Triple Helix configuration; a framework to create synergies between government, academia and industry to operate into an interactive rather than linear model for the establishment of social formats and entities to promote commercial innovation and R&D. [2] (27 January 2017)
- ... that Karachi Kings is the most expensive franchise team of Pakistan Super League? (04 December 2015)
- ... that Sialkot is the world's largest producer of hand-sewed footballs, with local factories manufacturing 40~60 million footballs a year, amounting to roughly 60% of world production. (4 December 2017)
- ... that Hafiz Muhammad Fazal Azim Taha, the famous living Pakistani poet said about Iqbal's work that "He not only dreamed for Pakistan but also got the nation up for their rights". This famous saying is regarded as Iqbal's definition. (14 July 2014)
- ... that Tajammul Hussain Malik headed an unsuccessful coup attempt against Pakistani dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in 1980? (22 September 2009)
- ... that the Legal Framework Order, 1970, issued by Gen. Yahya Khan, set the rules for the first direct popular elections in the history of Pakistan? (14 September 2009)
- ... that in 1881 in the village of Bakhshali in northern Pakistan, the Bakhshali manuscript, the oldest surviving example of Indian mathematics, was discovered written on birch bark? (1 September 2008)
- ... that the original images of Lord Swaminarayan at the Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Karachi, Pakistan were removed and taken to India during the turbulent times of its partition? (1 September 2008)
- ... that Saudi Arabia promised to supply 50,000 barrels of free oil per day to help Pakistan if economic sanctions were imposed after its 1998 nuclear tests? (1 September 2008)
- ... that in a major improvement in bilateral relations in 2008, Pakistan proposed sharing nuclear technology with Bangladesh? (31 August 2008)
- ... that Abdur Rashid Kardar, a pioneer of the Pakistani film industry in Lahore, was a calligraphist who prepared posters for foreign-made films? (11 July 2008)
- ... that the Nigar Awards are the oldest awards of merit in the Pakistani film industry? (10 July 2008)
- ... that Syed Wajid Ali was the longest serving President of the Pakistan Olympic Association with a tenure of 26 years? (7 July 2008)
- ... that the 1948 film Teri Yaad was the first feature film to be released in Pakistan after the partition of India? (6 July 2008)
- ... that The Edhi Foundation, founded by Edhi, runs the world's largest volunteer ambulance service operating 1,800 of them with upto 6,000 a day in Karachi alone. (4 December 2017)
Pakistan news
- 3 June 2025 –
- Two hundred and sixteen prisoners escape from a prison in the Malir District, Pakistan. During the escape, which was a result of panic caused by an earthquake, one prisoner is killed and two prison officers are injured. A search operation is ongoing and 80 prisoners have been recaptured. (BBC News)
- 30 May 2025 – Insurgency in Balochistan
- The Balochistan Liberation Army briefly seizes control of a high-security area in Sorab in southwestern Pakistan, killing a government official and looting a bank before fleeing. (AP)
- 21 May 2025 – Insurgency in Balochistan
- At least six people are killed, including four children, and 38 others are injured, in an improvised explosive device bombing targeting an army-operated school bus in Khuzdar District, Balochistan, Pakistan. (Al Jazeera)
- 18 May 2025 – Insurgency in Balochistan
- Four people are killed and twenty others are injured in a bombing near a market in Killa Abdullah District, Balochistan, Pakistan. Several shops collapsed, fires were started and buildings were damaged. (The Hindu)
- 16 May 2025 – Persecution of Ahmadis in Pakistan
- A locally renowned doctor in Sargodha, Pakistan, belonging to the Ahmadiyya community, is killed after an unknown assailant shoots him twice in the back. (Dawn)
- 14 May 2025 – Deportation of undocumented Afghans from Pakistan
- Pakistani interior minister Mohsin Naqvi says that more than 1 million Afghans have been deported back to Afghanistan since November 2023 as Pakistani authorities intensify a crackdown on illegal immigration. (AMU TV)
Quote of the Day -
| “ | People who have no hold over their process of thinking are likely to be ruined by liberty of thought. If thought is immature, liberty of thought becomes a method of converting men into animals. | ” |
| — Allama Iqbal (National Poet of Pakistan) | ||
Subcategories
Pakistan topics
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Recognized content
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Related portals
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Religions in Pakistan
Indian Subcontinent
Other countries
WikiProjects
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You are cordially invited to join and contribute to WikiProject Pakistan, a WikiProject dedicated to the development and improvement of articles relating to Pakistan.
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Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
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Commons
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Wikibooks
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Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
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Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
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Wikivoyage
Free travel guide -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Wikipedias in Pakistani languages
Sources
- ^ Mahendra, Anjali. "The Metro Bus System comes to Lahore, Pakistan". TheCityFix. World Resources Institute. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Lahore Knowledge Park Company".
