officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan, republic, S Asia, bounded on the N and NW by Afghanistan, on the NE by China, on the E and SE by India, on the S by the Arabian Sea, and on the W by Iran. The status of Kashmir is a matter of dispute between India and Pakistan. Until December 1971 Pakistan included Bangladesh, known as East Bengal from 1947 to 1955 and East Pakistan from 1955 to 1971. The area of Pakistan is 796,095 sq km (307,373 sq mi), not including the section of Kashmir under Pakistani control.

LAND AND RESOURCES

Pakistan is mostly a dry region characterized by great extremes of altitude and temperature. Its topography is partly divided by the Indus R., which enters the country in the NE and flows S into the Arabian Sea. The Indus forms in general the line of demarcation between the two main landforms of the country, namely, the Indus Plain, which extends principally along the E side of the river, and the Baluchistan Highlands, which lie to the W. Three lesser landforms of Pakistan are the coastal plain, which is a narrow strip of land bordering the Arabian Sea; the Kharan Basin, which is W of the Baluchistan Highlands; and the Thar Desert, which straddles the border with India in the SE.

The Indus Plain in Pakistan varies in width from about 80 to 320 km (about 50 to 200 mi); from N to S it includes portions of two main regions, namely, the Punjab Plain and the Sind Plain. The Punjab region is drained by the Sutlej, Ravi, Chenab, and Jhelum rivers, which are tributaries of the Indus; these rivers supply the irrigation system that waters the Indus Plain.

The Baluchistan Highlands contain a series of mountain ranges; among these are the Toba Kakar Range, the Siahan Range, the Sulaiman Range, and the Kirthar Range. A number of peaks are located in the Hindu Kush area of the country, including Tirich Mir (7690 m/25,230 ft); K2, or Mt. Godwin Austen (8611 m/28,250 ft); Nanga Parbat (8126 m/26,660 ft); and Rakaposhi (7788 m/25,550 ft). The Safed Koh Range is pierced by the famed Khyber Pass (q.v.) on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

Climate.

The climate of Pakistan varies widely from place to place. In the mountain regions of the N and W, temperatures fall below freezing during winter; in the Indus Plain area, temperatures range between about 32° and 49° C (90° and 120° F) in summer, and the average in winter is about 13° C (55° F). Throughout most of Pakistan rainfall is scarce. The Punjab region receives the most precipitation, more than 508 mm (20 in) per year. The arid regions of the SE and SW receive less than 127 mm (5 in) annually. Most rain falls from July to September.

Natural Resources.

The resources of Pakistan are primarily agricultural. Mineral resources include sulfur, salt, chromite, coal, gypsum, limestone, iron ore, sulfur, clay, graphite, copper, petroleum, and natural gas.

Plants.

Vegetation in Pakistan varies according to the altitude. Alpine flora grows on the higher slopes. Dense forests of spruce, evergreen oak, chir or cheer pine, and a cedar known as the deodar are found at lower altitudes.

Animals.

Animal life abounds in Pakistan, including deer, boar, bear, crocodile, and waterfowl. In the freshwater and saltwater areas, fish of many varieties are found. Marine fish include herring, mackerel, sharks, and shellfish.

POPULATION

The ethnological background of the population of Pakistan is extremely varied, largely because the country lies in an area that was invaded and occupied repeatedly during its long history. The people of the area come from such ethnic stocks as the Dravidian, Persian, Indo-Aryan, Greek, Scythian, Hun, Arab, and Mongol.

Population Characteristics.

Pakistan's population according to the 1998 census was 130,579,571. The estimated population in 2006 was 165,803,560, for a population density of 212 persons per sq km (551 per sq mi). More than 60 percent of the population is rural. Some 3.3 million Afghans sought refuge in Pakistan during the 1980s; in the early 2000s it was estimated that Pakistan still had about 1 million Afghan refugees; another 2 million Afghans were living in the country illegally.

Political Divisions.

For administrative purposes, Pakistan is divided into four provinces: Baluchistan (Balochistan), North-West Frontier Province, Punjab, and Sind (Sindh). Also part of Pakistan are the Islamabad Capital Territory, comprising the capital city of Islamabad; the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, located near the Afghanistan border; and the Northern Areas, near the China border. The disputed region of Kashmir claimed by Pakistan is called Azad Kashmir.

Principal Cities.

Pakistan's largest city is Karachi, with a population (2005, urban agglomeration) of 11,608,000 Other significant urban areas include Lahore (6,289,000), an industrial center; Faisalabad (2,494,000), a center of the cotton industry; Rawalpindi (1,409,768; 1998), an industrial center; Multan (1,197,384; 1998), an industrial and commercial center for S Punjab; Hyderabad (1,166,894; 1998), a manufacturing center; and Peshawar (982,816; 1998), a hub of trade with Afghanistan. Islamabad (736,000; 2005) is the capital of Pakistan.

Language.

The official language of Pakistan is Urdu, but comparatively few persons use it as their first language; a member of the Indic branch of Indo-Iranian languages, Urdu is written in Persian Arabic script. Punjabi, which is written in the Gurmukhi script, is spoken by close to half the population; other languages include Sindhi, Pashtu, Baluchi, and Brahui. English is used extensively in business and government and by educated persons.

Religion.

The leading religion of Pakistan is Islam, the faith of about 97% of the population. About four-fifths of the Muslims are Sunnites, and about one-fifth are Shiites. Hinduism and Christianity are the leading minority religions; other religious groups include Sikhs, Parsees, and a small number of Buddhists. The constitution, although defining Pakistan as an Islamic nation, guarantees freedom of religion.

Education.

Only about one-half of adult Pakistani males and one-fourth of adult females are literate. Although the constitution prescribes free and compulsory primary education, this remains a goal to be achieved. Five years has been established as the period of primary school attendance; nevertheless, more than half of the population dropped out of primary school before finishing, or never attended school at all.

In the early 2000s about 21 million pupils were enrolled in primary schools, and about 6.6 million students attended secondary and vocational schools. About 1 million attended institutions of higher education. Among Pakistan's leading universities are the University of Karachi (1951), the University of the Punjab (1882), in Lahore; the University of Peshawar (1950); the University of Sind (1947), near Hyderabad; and the University of Agriculture (1909), located in Faisalabad.

Culture.

As a Muslim nation, Pakistan is strongly influenced by the culture and traditions of Islam. Hindu and British influences, however, are also widespread.

Libraries and museums.

Karachi is the seat of some of the most important libraries in Pakistan; these include the Liaquat Memorial Library and the University of Karachi library. Also of note are the National Archives of Pakistan, in Islamabad, and the Punjab Public Library, in Lahore. The National Museum of Pakistan, in Karachi, contains important materials from the Indus Valley civilization, as well as Buddhist and Islamic artifacts. Cultural materials also are displayed in the Lahore Museum and the Peshawar Museum. The Industrial and Commercial Museum, in Lahore, contains exhibits on the manufactures of Pakistan.

Literature.

See Urdu Literature..

Art, music, and dance.

See INDIAN ART AND ARCHITECTURE,; INDIAN DANCE,; INDIAN MUSIC..

ECONOMY

Pakistan is a poor nation long handicapped by a low level of development, fast-growing population, low levels of foreign investment, and political turmoil. Since 200l increased foreign assistance and access to global markets have spurred improvement, and the nation's gross domestic product grew about 7% in 2004 and 2005. Nevertheless, a majority of the people remain poor and heavily dependent on the agricultural sector for employment. In 2005 the gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at around $395 billion; per capita GDP was about $2400.

The government of Pakistan has long been deeply involved in directing the country's economy, and most major industries have been nationalized. A government economic plan for 1983–88 emphasized investment in hydroelectric power and rural development. An economic reform program introduced in 1988 called for liberalization of trade policies and the privatization of banks, manufacturing enterprises, and some public utilities.

Pakistan's economy continued to be burdened by corruption and heavy public debt. The estimated budget for 2005 included $20 billion in revenues and $15 billion in expenditures. The World Bank and Asian Development Bank agreed to provide $1 billion in aid to help the nation rebuild areas hit by the October 2005 earthquake centered in Kashmir.

Agriculture.

About 24% of Pakistan's total land area is considered arable. Agriculture and related activities engage about 42% of the work force and provide 22% of the gross domestic product. Principal crops produced in the country in the early 2000s (with output in metric tons) included sugarcane, 53 million; wheat, 20 million; rice, 7 million; cotton, 7 million; and corn, 3 million. The livestock population in Pakistan (2005) included about 56 million goats, 25 million sheep, 24 million head of cattle, and 166 million chickens.

Forestry and Fishing.

About 3% of Pakistan is forested. Most of the roundwood harvested in the early 2000s was used as fuel.

Fishing resources, though underdeveloped, are extensive. In 2004 the fish catch was about 570,000 metric tons, most of it obtained from the Indian Ocean.

Mining.

The most important minerals exploited in Pakistan include sulfur, coal, rock salt, marble, and gypsum. Production of crude petroleum was about 63,000 barrels per day in 2005, much less than consumption; production of natural gas was about 24 billion cu m.

Manufacturing.

The manufacturing capacity of Pakistan is still small, but production has been expanding. In the early 2000s manufacturing accounted for about 16% of the gross domestic product. Important products include processed foods, cotton textiles, sugar, fertilizers, motor vehicles, bicycles, air conditioners and refrigerators, refined petroleum, cement, and cigarettes. Many handicrafts, such as pottery and carpets, also are produced. The government emphasized development of the computer software industry in the late 1990s.

Energy.

In 2001 about 68% of Pakistan's electricity was from fossil fuels, and most of the rest was generated in hydroelectric facilities, including the large Tarbela project on the Indus R. A nuclear power plant operates near Karachi. Pakistan's output of electricity (2003) was 77 billion kwh.

Currency and Banking.

The basic monetary unit is the Pakistani rupee, consisting of 100 paisa (61 rupees equal U.S.$1; 2006). The State Bank of Pakistan, established in 1948, issues banknotes and manages currency and credit, the public debt, and exchange controls. Pakistani banks, nationalized in 1974, were being returned to private control.

Foreign Trade.

The foreign trade of Pakistan consists largely of the exporting of raw materials and basic products such as cotton yarn and the importing of manufactured products, mineral fuels, and foodstuffs. In 2005 exports earned about $14.9 billion, while imports cost $21.3 billion. The chief exports included raw cotton and cotton goods, rice, and other agricultural products; the main imports included crude petroleum and petroleum products, machinery, motor vehicles, chemicals, and foodstuffs. Pakistan's leading trade partners were the U.S., China, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Japan, and Great Britain.

Transportation.

The lack of modern transportation facilities is a major hindrance to the development of Pakistan. Its terrain, laced with rivers and mountains, presents formidable obstacles to internal overland transportation. The country has about 247,800 km (about 154,000 mi) of roads, of which 57% are paved. The railroad network totals about 8160 km (about 5070 mi). Karachi is the principal port; a second major port, Muhammad bin Qasim (near Karachi), was opened in the early 1980s.

Pakistan International Airlines, in large part government owned, provides overseas service to a number of countries. The main international airports are located in Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar.

Communications.

Pakistan's government-run postal system operated more than 12,500 post offices in the late 1990s; in addition to mail handling, the system provided banking, life insurance, pension, licensing, and other services. The telecommunications network in the early 2000s encompassed about 5.3 million main telephone lines, 13 million cellular telephones, 10 million Internet users., and 22 million televisions. Television broadcasting began in Lahore in 1964 and in Karachi in 1966.

Newspapers are mainly printed in Urdu and English. Most have small circulations; the major dailies are concentrated in Lahore and Karachi.

GOVERNMENT

Pakistan adopted a constitution in 1973, subsequently amended. Following a military coup d'état in 1977, martial law was put into effect, and most aspects of the 1973 constitution were suspended. In 1985 parliamentary government was reestablished, the constitution restored, and martial law ended. Legislation enacted in 1991 made Sharia, or Islamic law, the supreme law of the land. The constitution was suspended again when the military seized power in October 1999; it was restored in stages in 2002 and amended in December 2003.

Executive.

According to the 1973 constitution, as amended, the head of state is a president, elected to a 5-year term by the legislature, while the chief executive official is a prime minister, who is responsible to the legislature. Legislation enacted in 1997 repealed the right of the president to unilaterally dismiss the prime minister; the power had been invoked three times since 1990. Following the 1999 coup, the National Security Council became the nation's governing body; it consisted of the chiefs of the army, navy, and air force, along with four civilian members. In May 2000 the Supreme Court granted army chief Pervez Musharraf executive authority; he was sworn in as president and his term was renewed for five years after a 2002 referendum.

Legislature.

Under the constitution, legislative power is vested in a bicameral parliament. The National Assembly consists of 342 seats (formerly 217) directly elected by universal suffrage for terms of up to five years; 60 seats represent women, and 10 represent minority groups. The Senate, consisting of 100 members (formerly 87), is elected indirectly, by the provincial legislatures; senators serve 6-year terms. Legislative elections were held in 2002 (Assembly) and 2006 (Senate).

Judiciary.

The highest tribunals in Pakistan are the supreme court and the Sharia court; the latter applies Islamic law. The judicial system in each province is headed by a high court.

Local Government.

Under the 1973 constitution the four provinces of Pakistan, headed by governors appointed by the national president, are subdivided into divisions, districts, and agencies. The Tribal Areas are administered by agents of the Pakistani government; the federal government administers the Northern Areas directly; and Azad Kashmir is administered by its own government, headed by a prime minister.

Political Parties.

There are numerous political parties and frequently shifting political alliances. The dominant political party is the Pakistan Muslim League.

Health and Welfare.

Health services in Pakistan are limited by a lack of facilities. In the late 1990s the country had about 78,500 physicians and some 89,900 hospital beds. In 1976 an old-age pension system was inaugurated, but it covers relatively few Pakistanis. Average life expectancy at birth in the early 2000s was 62 years for women and 60 for men; the infant mortality rate was about 70 per 1000 live births.

Defense.

Military service in Pakistan is voluntary. In the early 2000s active duty military personnel numbered about 620,000, most of whom were army personnel; an additional 300,000 were paramilitary forces. Pakistan funds a nuclear weapons program and conducted a series of underground tests in 1998.

International Organizations.

Pakistan is a member of the United Nations (UN), the World Trade Organization, and the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The Commonwealth of Nations suspended Pakistan's membership after the 1999 coup but restored it in 2004.

HISTORY

The British ruled the Indian subcontinent for nearly 200 years—from 1756 to 1947. After the revolt in 1857, the British initiated political reforms, allowing the formation of political parties. The Indian National Congress, representing the overwhelming majority of Hindus, was created in 1885. The Muslim League was formed in 1906 to represent the Muslim minority. When the British introduced constitutional reforms in 1909, the Muslims demanded and acquired separate electoral rolls. This guaranteed Muslims representation in the provincial as well as national legislatures until the dawn of freedom in 1947.

By 1940, however, the Muslim League had resolved to seek the partitioning of the subcontinent and the creation of a separate Muslim state—Pakistan. During preindependence talks in 1946, therefore, the British government found that the stand of the Muslim League on separation and that of the Congress on the territorial unity of India were irreconcilable. The British then decided on partition and on Aug. 15, 1947, transferred power dividedly to India and Pakistan. The latter, however, came into existence in two parts: West Pakistan, as the country stands today, and East Pakistan, now known as Bangladesh. The two were separated by 1600 km (1000 mi) of Indian territory.

For the history of the area prior to 1947, see India; Indus Valley Civilization.

Problems of Partition.

The division of the subcontinent caused tremendous dislocations of populations. Some 3.5 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan into India, and about 5 million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan. The demographic shift caused an initial bitterness between the two countries that was further intensified over the accession of the princely states by either country. Nearly all of these 562 widely scattered polities had joined either India or Pakistan; the princes of Hyderabad, Junagadh, and Kashmir, however, had chosen to join neither country.

On Aug. 15, 1947, these three states became technically independent, but when the Muslim ruler of Junagadh, with its predominantly Hindu population, joined Pakistan a month later, India annexed his territory. Hyderabad's Muslim prince, ruling over a mostly Hindu population, tried to postpone any decision indefinitely, but in September 1948 that issue was also settled by Indian arms. The Hindu ruler of Kashmir, whose subjects were 85 percent Muslim, decided to join India. Pakistan, however, questioned his right to do so, and a war broke out between India and Pakistan. Although the UN subsequently resolved that a plebiscite be held under UN auspices to determine the future of Kashmir, India continued to occupy about two-thirds of the state and refused to hold a plebiscite. This deadlock, which still persists, has intensified suspicion and antagonism between the two countries.

Prerepublican Era.

The first government of Pakistan was headed by Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, with Muhammad Ali Jinnah as governor-general, and it chose Karachi as its capital. From 1947 to 1951 the country functioned under chaotic conditions. The government endeavored to create a new national capital, organize the bureaucracy and the armed forces, resettle refugees, and contend with provincial politicians who often defied its authority. Failing to offer any program of economic and social reform, however, it did not capture the popular imagination.

In his foreign policy Liaquat established friendly relations with the U.S. when he visited President Harry S. Truman in 1950, but he overlooked the Soviet Union's geographical closeness to Pakistan and the implications of that fact for the future security of the country. The U.S. visit injected bitterness into Soviet-Pakistani relations because Liaquat had previously accepted an invitation from Moscow that never materialized in a visit. The U.S. gave no substantial aid to Pakistan until three years later, but the USSR had been alienated.

After Liaquat was assassinated in 1951, Khwaja Nazimuddin (1894–1964), an East Pakistani who had been governor-general since Jinnah's death (1948), became prime minister. Unable to prevent the erosion of the Muslim League's popularity in East Pakistan, however, he was forced to yield to another East Pakistani, Muhammad Ali Bogra (1909–63), in 1953. When the Muslim League was nevertheless routed in East Pakistani elections in 1954, the governor-general dissolved the constituent assembly as no longer representative. The new assembly that met in 1955 was no longer dominated by the Muslim League. Muhammad Ali Bogra was then replaced by Chaudhri Muhammad Ali (1905–80), a West Pakistani. At the same time, Gen. Iskander Mirza (1899–1969) became governor-general.

The new constituent assembly enacted a bill, which became effective in October 1955, integrating the four West Pakistani provinces into one political and administrative unit. The assembly also produced a new constitution, which was adopted on March 2, 1956. It declared Pakistan an Islamic republic. Mirza was elected provisional president.

Cabinet Shifts.

The new charter notwithstanding, political instability continued because no stable majority party emerged in the National Assembly. Prime Minister Ali remained in office only until September 1956, when he was succeeded by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy (1893–1963), leader of the Awami League of East Pakistan. His tenure lasted for slightly more than a year. When President Mirza discovered that he was planning an alliance between East and West Pakistani political forces by supporting Firoz Khan Noon (1893–1970), leader of the Republican party, for the presidency, he forced Suhrawardy to resign. The succeeding coalition government, headed by Ismail Ibrahim Chundrigar (1897–1960), lasted only two months before it was replaced by a Republican party cabinet under Noon. President Mirza, however, found that his influence among the Republicans was diminishing and that the new prime minister had come to an understanding with Suhrawardy. Against such a coalition Mirza had no chance of being reelected president. Dissatisfied with parliamentary democracy, he then proclaimed martial law on Oct. 7, 1958, dismissed Noon's government, and dissolved the National Assembly.

The president was supported by Gen. Muhammad Ayub Khan, commander in chief of the armed forces, who was named chief martial-law administrator. Twenty days later Ayub forced the president to resign and assumed the presidency himself.

The Ayub Years.

Ayub ruled Pakistan almost absolutely for more than ten years, and his regime made some notable achievements, although it did not eliminate the basic problems of Pakistani society. A land reforms commission appointed by Ayub distributed some 900,000 ha (about 2.2 million acres) of land among 150,000 tenants. The reforms, however, did not erase feudal relationships in the countryside; about 6000 landlords still retained an area three times larger than that given to the 150,000 tenants. Ayub's regime also increased developmental funds to East Pakistan more than threefold. This had noticeable effect on the economy of the eastern part, but the disparity between the two sectors of Pakistan was not eliminated.

Perhaps the most pervasive of Ayub's changes was his system of Basic Democracies. It created 80,000 basic democrats, or union councillors, who were rural influentials or leaders of urban areas around the country. They constituted the electoral college for presidential elections and for elections to the national and provincial legislatures created under the constitution promulgated by Ayub in 1962. The Basic Democratic System had four tiers of government from the national to the local level, and each tier was assigned certain responsibilities in administering the rural and urban areas, such as maintenance of elementary schools, public roads, and bridges.

Ayub also promulgated an Islamic marriage and family laws ordinance (1961), imposing restrictions on polygamy and divorce and reinforcing the inheritance rights of women and minors.

For a long time Ayub maintained cordial relations with the U.S., stimulating substantial economic and military aid to Pakistan. This relationship, however, deteriorated in 1965, when another war with India over Kashmir broke out. The U.S. then suspended military and economic aid to both countries, thus denying Pakistan badly needed weapons. The Soviet Union then intervened to mediate the conflict, inviting Ayub and Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri of India to Tashkent. By the terms of the so-called Tashkent Agreement of January 1966 the two countries withdrew their forces to prewar positions and restored diplomatic, economic, and trade relations. Exchange programs were initiated, and the flow of capital goods to Pakistan increased greatly.

The Tashkent Agreement and the Kashmir war, however, generated frustration among the people and resentment against President Ayub. Foreign Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto resigned his position and agitated against Ayub's dictatorship and the “loss” of Kashmir. Ayub tried unsuccessfully to mend his fences, and in March 1969 he resigned. Instead of transferring power to the speaker of the National Assembly, as the constitution dictated, however, he handed it over to the commander in chief of the army, Gen. Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (1917–80). Yahya assumed the presidential office and declared martial law.

Civil War.

In an attempt to make his martial-law regime more acceptable, Yahya dismissed almost 300 senior civil servants and identified 30 families that were said to control about half of Pakistan's gross national product. To curb their power Yahya issued an ordinance against monopolies and restrictive trade practices in 1970. He also made commitments to transfer power to civilian authorities, but in the process of making this shift, his intended reforms broke down.

The greatest challenge to Pakistan's unity, however, was presented by East Pakistan, led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, leader of the Awami League, who insisted on a federation under which East Pakistan would be virtually independent. He saw a federal government that would deal with defense and foreign affairs only; the currencies would be different, although freely convertible. His program had great appeal for East Pakistanis, and in the election of December 1970 called by Yahya, Mujib, as he was called, won by a landslide in East Pakistan, capturing a majority in the National Assembly. Bhutto's Pakistan People's party (PPP) emerged as the largest in West Pakistan.

Suspecting Mujib of secessionist politics, Yahya in March 1971 postponed indefinitely the convening of the National Assembly. Mujib in return accused Yahya of collusion with Bhutto and established a virtually independent government in East Pakistan. Yahya opened negotiations with Mujib in Dacca in mid-March, but the effort soon failed. Mujib was arrested and brought to West Pakistan to be tried for treason. Meanwhile Pakistan's army went into action against Mujib's civilian followers, who demanded freedom and independence for Bangladesh (“Bengali Nation”).

There were a great many casualties during the ensuing military operations in East Pakistan, as the Pakistani army attacked the poorly armed population. India claimed that nearly 10 million Bengali refugees crossed its borders, and stories of West Pakistani atrocities abounded. The Awami League leaders took refuge in Calcutta and established a government in exile. India finally intervened on Dec. 3, 1971, and the Pakistani army surrendered 13 days later. On December 20, Yahya relinquished power to Bhutto, and in January 1972 an independent Bangladesh came into existence. When the Commonwealth of Nations admitted Bangladesh later that year, Pakistan withdrew from membership, not to return until 1989. However, the Bhutto government gave diplomatic recognition to Bangladesh in 1974.

The Bhutto Government.

Under Bhutto's leadership a diminished Pakistan began to rearrange its national life. Bhutto nationalized the basic industries, insurance companies, domestically owned banks, and schools and colleges. He also instituted land reforms that benefited tenants and middle-class farmers. He removed the armed forces from the process of decision making, but to placate the generals he allocated about 6 percent of the gross national product to defense. In 1973 the National Assembly adopted the country's fifth constitution. Bhutto became prime minister, and Fazal Elahi Chaudry (1904–88) replaced him as president.

Although discontented, the military remained silent for some time. Bhutto's nationalization and land reforms further earned him the enmity of the entrepreneurial and capitalist class, and the religious elements saw in his socialism an enemy of Islam. His decisive flaw, however, was his inability to deal constructively with the opposition. His rule grew heavy-handed. In general elections in March 1977 nine opposition parties united in the Pakistan National Alliance (PNA) to run against Bhutto's PPP. Losing in three of the four provinces, the PNA alleged that Bhutto had rigged the vote. It boycotted the provincial elections a few days later and organized demonstrations throughout the country that lasted for six weeks.

Zia Regime.

When the situation seemed to be deadlocked, the army chief of staff, Gen. Muhammad Zia ul-Haq, staged a coup on July 5, 1977, and imposed another martial-law regime. Bhutto was tried for political murder and was found guilty; he was hanged on April 4, 1979.

Zia formally assumed the presidency in 1978 and established the Sharia (Islamic law) as the law of the land. The constitution of 1973 was accordingly amended (1979), and benches were constituted at the courts to exercise Islamic judicial review. Interest-free banking was initiated, and maximum penalties were provided for adultery, defamation, theft, and consumption of alcohol.

On March 24, 1981, Zia issued a provisional constitution order, operative until the lifting of martial law in the future. It envisaged the appointment of two vice-presidents and allowed political parties approved by the election commission before Sept. 30, 1979, to function. All other parties, including the PPP, were dissolved.

Pakistan was greatly affected by the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan in December 1979; by 1984 some 3 million Afghan refugees were living along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, supported by the government and by international relief agencies. In September 1981 Zia accepted a 6-year aid package from the U.S. After a referendum in December 1984 endorsed Zia's Islamic-law policies and the extension of his presidency until 1990, Zia permitted parliamentary elections in February 1985. A civilian cabinet took office in April, and martial law ended in December. In May 1988, Zia dissolved the government and ordered new elections. Three months later he was killed in an airplane crash, and a caretaker military regime took power. A civil servant, Ghulam Ishaq Khan (1915–    ), was appointed president.

Political Turmoil.

The PPP won the general elections held in November 1988, and Benazir Bhutto, daughter of the former prime minister and a PPP leader since 1986, became prime minister. She was the first woman to head a modern Islamic state.

Bhutto and Sharif.

In August 1990 President Ishaq Khan dismissed Bhutto's government, charging misconduct, and declared a state of emergency. She was arrested for corruption and abuse of power, and her PPP lost the October elections. The new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif (1949–    ), head of the Islamic Democratic Alliance, introduced a program of privatizing state enterprises and encouraging foreign investment; he also said he would reinstitute Islamic law and act to ease tensions with India over Kashmir. The charges against Bhutto were resolved; she returned to lead the opposition in May 1993, and after a bitter election campaign, the PPP was returned to power in October, with Bhutto again as prime minister. But she encountered opposition, centered around Karachi, which was crippled by violent strikes and ethnic clashes. In November 1996, she was dismissed, again accused of corruption; an interim prime minister was appointed. (Bhutto, who went into exile, was convicted of corruption charges in absentia in 1999, but the conviction was overturned on appeal and she was not retried.)

In February 1997 elections, the Pakistan Muslim League swamped the PPP, and Sharif became prime minister with a solid parliamentary majority. His efforts to consolidate his government's hold on power met with opposition from President Farooq Leghari (1940– ) and the chief justice of Pakistan's supreme court, but he won out as the former resigned and the latter was replaced. On December 31 Mohammad Rafiq Tarar (1929–    ) was elected as the country's new president.

Tensions with India escalated in 1998 following the installation in New Delhi of a Hindu nationalist government. After India broke a 24-year moratorium on nuclear weapons testing in May, Pakistan responded with its first-ever series of underground nuclear tests. The U.S., which had strongly condemned India but had urged Pakistan not to retaliate, imposed limited economic sanctions on both countries. 

Military coup.

A new crisis with India arose in mid-1999 after Muslim guerrillas, apparently aided by Pakistani troops, infiltrated the Kargil region of Kashmir. India retaliated with an air assault against the infiltrators, leading to heavy fighting between the two nations. After a July meeting with U.S. President Bill Clinton, Sharif agreed to withdraw Pakistani forces. This concession helped fuel a growing rift with military leaders, culminating in the firing of Pakistan's army chief, Gen. Pervez Musharraf (1943–    ) A bloodless coup followed; Musharaff took power, declared a state of emergency, dissolved parliament, and proclaimed a crackdown on politicians guilty of corruption. In April 2000, Sharif was found guilty of hijacking and terrorism; the charges, for which he received a sentence of life imprisonment, stemmed from the day of the coup, when he refused to let a commercial aircraft carrying Musharraf and others land in Karachi. In July, Sharif was also convicted by an anticorruption tribunal of falsifying tax returns; he was sentenced to hard labor, fined, and barred from politics for 21 years. But in December, he was released and exiled to Saudi Arabia, along with his wife and family members. Musharraf formally assumed the presidency in June 2001.

Closer U.S Relations.

The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that destroyed the World Trade Center, in New York City, and also hit the Pentagon, near Washington, D.C., had profound consequences for Pakistan, which had close ties with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. Many Taliban leaders had studied at Islamic religious schools, or madrasas, in Pakistan, and the Pakistani government had welcomed Taliban support for the Muslim insurgency against Indian rule in Kashmir. However, Pakistan did not wish to antagonize the U.S., which held the Taliban and the Afghanistan-based al-Qaeda terrorist network responsible for the September 11 attacks President Musharraf accordingly pledged cooperation with the U.S. in fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban militants within its own tribal areas and in neighboring Afghanistan. The decision provoked demonstrations in Pakistani cities. The U.S., for its part, agreed to lift economic sanctions imposed in 1998 and to provide increased economic aid.

Meanwhile, tensions between India and Pakistan were reignited. On Oct. 1, 2001, Muslim militants said to be based in Pakistan attacked a state legislature in the Indian-controlled part of Kashmir, killing at least 40 people, and on December 13, five terrorists stormed the Indian Parliament in New Delhi; 14 people (including the terrorists) were killed. In response, Musharraf took steps to curb the activities of militant Islamist organizations. In early 2002, Daniel Pearl (b. 1963), a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped and killed by terrorists in Pakistan; four militants were arrested and convicted of the crime.

With an estimated 1 million Pakistani and Indian forces on high alert along the “line of control” that divides Kashmir, Musharraf moved to improve his political position. He called for a referendum in April 2002 on whether he should remain in office for another five years. According to official results Musharraf won 98% of the vote, with a turnout put at 56%, but these figures were viewed with skepticism. On May 14, 2002, Islamic militants killed 34 people, many of them women and children, at an army base near Jammu, in Indian-held Kashmir. India retaliated by expelling Pakistan's ambassador, while Pakistan conducted a series of missile tests, heightening fears of a major military confrontation. However, the crisis was defused with U.S. mediation.

Despite intervention by the Pakistani government, and the killing or capture of some high al-Qaeda leaders in Pakistan, large numbers of militants remained ensconced In Pakistan, as well as in neighboring Afghanistan, and terrorist activity continued. in July 2004 a joint Pakistani-U.S.raid broke up an al-Qaeda cell that reportedly was planning attacks abroad on U.S. financial institutions, and 2 of 4 suspects arrested in Britain connection with July 2005 London train and bus bombings had visited Pakistan beforehand. Some suspects arrested in Britain a year later for allegedly plotting to blow up transatlantic airliners also had ties to Pakistan.

An earthquake in October 2005 killed about 80,000 people mostly in Pakistan or Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir; an estimated 3 million people were left homeless by the disaster.

      H.M., HAFEEZ MALIK, Ph.D.

For further information on this topic, see the Bibliography, sections 131. Islam, 801. Martial arts, fencing, 1066. Modern Asia, 1082. India, 1083. Modern India, 1084. Bangladesh, 1085. Pakistan, 1087. Himalayas, Himalayan states.