Portal:Pakistan

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THE PAKISTAN PORTAL

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکستان, islāmī jamhūriya i pākistān), or Pakistan (Urdu: پاکستان, pākistān), is a country located in South Asia and Central Asia and was a part of Ancient Pakistan and became a subject to British rule in the 1800s. The country borders India, Afghanistan, Iran (Persia), China and the Arabian Sea. With around 162 million inhabitants, it is the sixth most populous country, the second most populous Muslim-majority nation. It is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations and the OIC.

Pakistan was made into a separate nation from Britain in 14th August 1947 for Muslims of the sub-continent, but the region has a long history of settlement and civilisation that includes some of the most ancient cultures. The region was invaded by Greeks, Persians and Arabs, before being invaded by the British Raj in the Eighteenth century. Following independence, Pakistan has seen the loss of East Pakistan in 1971, repeated military coups, widespread Islamic fundamentalism and significant military and economic growth, with the second-fastest growing economy amongst the ten most populous countries in the world in 2005 and the twenty-fifth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity. Pakistan has the seventh largest armed forces in the world and is one of eight declared nuclear weapons states.

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Hingol National Park or Hungol National Park (Urdu: ہنگول ) covers about 1,650 km². and is the largest of National Parks of Pakistan and lies on the Makran coast in Balochistan and approximately 190 km from Karachi. The area was for the first time declared reserved in 1988. The park area covers parts of the three districts, namely; Lasbela, Gwadar and Owaran of Balochistan province containing a variety of topographical features and vegetation, varying from arid sub tropical forest in the north to arid montane in the west. Large tracts of the NP are covered with drift sand and can be classified as coastal semi desert. The National Park includes the estuary of the Hingol river which supports a significant diversity of bird and fish species. Currently, 20 staff members including 18 game watchers, two deputy rangers are responsible for the management of the Park under the guidance of the park Manager who reports to the Conservator and the Secretary Wildlife, Forest, Livestock, Environment and Tourism. Hingol is known to support at least 35 species of mammals, 65 species of amphibians and reptiles and 185 species of birds. Some 250 plant species were recorded in the initial surveys including 7 yet undescribed species. Many more species are yet to be collected. The park forms an excellent habitat to wild Sindh Ibex, Afghan Urial and Chinkara Gazelle. Ibex is found in all steep mountain ranges and numerous in the Hinglaj and Rodani Kacho Mountain areas. Total population is estimated over 3000.

(More about Hingol National Park)

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Panorama at Jaulian - Ancient Buddhist Monastery, Taxila (Urdu: ٹیکسلا, Sanskrit: तक्षशिला Takṣaśilā, Pali:Takkasilā). It is an important archaeological site of Ancient India and is currently in modern-day Pakistan. It contains the ruins of the Gandhāran city of Takshashila (also Takkasila or Taxila).

Photo credit: Waqas Usman

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Did you know

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...that Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) in Lahore Fort was originally decorated with frescoes that were later replaced with pietra dura and convex glass and mirror mosaic?

...that Moti Masjid (Lahore) built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan was turned into a repository of gemstones by Ranjit Singh during the Sikh rule of Punjab?

...that Naulakha pavilion, situated in Lahore Fort, was the inspiration behind Rudyard Kipling's novel The Naulakha and his house Naulakha?

...that Karachi’s Lyari River is the major contributor to the annual discharge of 200 million gallons of sewage and Industrial waste into the Arabian Sea?

...that Ahmad Hasan Dani, an expert of South Asian archaeology and Ancient history, was the first Muslim graduate of the Banaras Hindu University?

...that the National Language Authority in Pakistan is the first autonomous regulatory institution to have internationally standardized the Urdu language code table and Urdu keyboard for typewriters, teleprinters, and computer software?

...that since the first Urdu language typewriter was created in 1911, the Urdu keyboard layout has evolved to accommodate the needs of the digital age?

...that Justice Rana Bhagwandas was the first Hindu to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan?

...five mountains in Pakistan are more than 8,000 meters high, including K2 which is the second highest mountain in the world ?

...that Pakistan Air Force Academy is the only Military Academy of Pakistan visited by Quaid-e-Azam?

Provinces and Territories

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Provinces:

Balochistan and NWFP also have Provincially Administered Tribal Areas(PATA) which are being developed into regular districts.

Territories:

Pakistani-administered portions of the Kashmir:

News

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Today is June 14, 2008

June 12 2008

Finance minister Syed Naveed Qamar on Wednesday unveils the national budget of 2,010 billion rupees (over 30 billion dollars) in parliament with a deficit estimated at 582 billion rupees, or 4.7 percent of GDP., said it targets a growth rate of 5.5 percent.(Dawn.com) (Business Recorder)

June 11 2008

Reports claim that at least 10 Pakistan Army soldiers have died in an apparent United States-led air strike near the border with Afghanistan with eight Taliban militants also killed. Pakistan condemns the airstrike as "unprovoked and cowardly". (BBC News) (Reuters)

June 7 2008

Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif became the Chief Minister of Punjab for the second time. After securing a provincial assembly seat he is elected as new CM replacing a recently choosen CM Dost Muhammad Khosa and is linked with the political party Pakistan Muslim League (N).(Dawn.com)

June 2 2008

A massive blast targeting the Danish Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan on Monday killed at least eight people and wounded more than a dozen. (CNN)

This week in history

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28 May 1998 - The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission carried out five underground nuclear tests at the Chagai test site at 3:16 p.m. (PST) on the afternoon of May 28, 1998. The yield of the tests was reported to be 40 kt. Following the tests, the then Prime Minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif addressed the nation via Pakistan's government channel PTV and congratulated the entire nation.

1 June 1998 - Pakistan's top nuclear scientist, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan, said in an interview that Pakistan was the first between the neighbours to have successfully enriched uranium by 90 per cent in 1982, and that Pakistan had conducted a large number of cold tests and established that their nuclear weapon design could work.[1] [2]