PAKISTAN

A Country Study

A few facts about Pakistan

Founded by Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

Pakistan emerged as an independent sovereign state on August 14th 1947.

Capital City: Islamabad

Total Area: 796,095 sq km

Population: 167,421,000

Language: Urdu (National) English (official)

Divided into 4 provinces: Sindh, Punjab, North West Frontier Province, and Balochistan.

A few facts… continued.

• Pakistan relies on its network of canals to run its agricultural economy.

• Major Crops: Wheat, cotton, rice, millet, sugar canes.

• Major Fruits: mangos, oranges, bananas, apples

• Main Resources: natural gas, coal, salt & iron.

• Cotton, textiles, sugar, cement & chemicals play an important role in the economy.

Government Pakistan has a parliamentary form government, it consists

of two houses, the senate (upper house) and the national assembly (lower house)

The senate consists of 100 members and the national assembly has a total of 342 elected members (272 general seats, 60 women, and 10 Non-Muslim seats)

The President is elected for a 5 year term by the electoral college. The electoral college is made up of the four provincial assemblies, the federally administered tribal areas & the federal capital form.

The President MUST be Muslim.

The President may be reelected but for no more than two consecutive terms.

Government Continued..

The Chairman of Senate is next in line to act as the President.

The Prime Minister is appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly.

Only the National Assembly can approve federal budget and finance bills.

The Senate and National Assembly can initiate and pass legislation.

Each province has a govenor, and a council of ministers headed by a chief minister appointed by the govenor and a provincial assembly.

Who’s who in Pakistan’s Government Today:

President: Asif Ali Zadari

Prime Minister: Yousaf Rasa Gilani

Chairman of the Senate: Farooq Hamid Naek

Religion

97% of all Pakistanis are Muslims.

77% of the population are Sunni Muslims.

20% are adherents of Shia Islam.

Christians, Hindus and other religions make up only 1%.

The central belief of Islam is that there is one God, Allah and the prophet, Mohammed is his final messenger.

Islam is derived from the Judeo-Christian tradition and considers Abraham and Jesus as prophets.

The Islamic religion recognizes both the Old & New Testaments.

Religion continued…

The Quran is the holy scripture of Islam and is recognized as the holy word of God.

The Muslim people follow the Five Pillars:1. Shahada: (testimony) “There is no god but God, and Mohammad is his Prophet.”2. Salat: Mulims must pray five times a day.3. Zakat: The obligation to provide alms for the poor and disadvantaged.4. Sawm: The obligation to fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan.5. Hajj: The pilgrimage to Mecca, this must be done at least once in an adult Muslim’s lifetime. The pilgrimage occurs during the last month of the Muslim lunar calender.

Women in Pakistan

Pakistani women are considered subordinate to men.

A women’s actions are held responsible for the reputation of the family.

Women are allowed only limited mobility and contact with the opposite sex so they do not dishonor their families.

Women live under the constraints of veiling.

Women spend most of their lives in their homes and can only go out for serious and approved reasons.

If a women has a small job their income is credited to their husband or man of the house.

Media

The major news agencies in Pakistan are the Associated Press of Pakistan and Pakistan Press International.

The Government took over The Associated Press of Pakistan in 1960.

Radio is an effective method for spreading news in Pakistan because the literacy rate is not as high as it is in countries like the United States.

The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation spreads information about government policy and promotes Islamic principles.

By the mid 1990’s television reached 80% of the Pakistan population.

Media continued…

Until 1990 the government owned Pakistan Television Corporation was the only channel available. PTV then bought Cable News Network (CNN) to Pakistan.

The government owned t.v channels and newspapers show ideas from the governments view point.

There are a lot of restrictions in the media, frequently controversial songs are banned from the radio.

The government required women to wear scarves over their heads during newscasts and other television shows.

Education

Education is Pakistan is very poor.

The government only sets aside 3%of the annual budget for education.

There are three types of schools: Private for the wealthy, Public which is government run, and Religious schools.

The government run schools do not teach English and many of them exist only on paper.

Many poor families try to send their children to Private schools for the public ones are so terrible.

The Pakistani government estimates the literacy rate of Pakistan to be at 47% but outside spectators beg to differ claiming the rate must be around 20%.

Top Stories in Pakistan

TodayFlour Giveaway in Pakistan Turns Into Deadly

Stampede. (CNN) 18 women are dead after a mob scene broke out at a flour giveaway in Karachi.

US Missile Strike Kills Four in Pakistan (LA Times). An unmanned US plane fired a missile and hit a moving car killing four citizens of Pakistan by the Afgan border.

Pakistan Army Said to Be Linked to Swat Killings (NY Times). Hundreds of dead bodies are being dumped onto the streets locals and politicians believe it to be the work of the army because of their desire to “silence any enthusiasm of Taliban supporters.

Pakistan and the Millennium Development Goals

Here is the progress Pakistan has made in reaching the Millennium Development Goals:-Nearly 1.4 million children have been enrolled in primary school.-9,121 community based schools have been established.-1.4 million women have been trained different techniques to save children from dehydration.-300,000 women and children have received vaccinations.-9,000 adult literacy centers have been established.-Volunteers from more than 30,000 villages have been enlisted to help support human development at the grassroots level.

This information was found on the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals Website.

My Research was done on:www.pak.gov.pkhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/pk.html