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Sergey Kamenev

Kamenev Sergey Naumovich - Candidate of Economic Sciences, Leading Researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Head of the Pakistan Sector of the Center for the Study of the Countries of the Near and Middle East.

In the past year, Indo-Pakistani relations have reached a level that has not been seen since the partition of British India into two independent states - India and Pakistan. And even the terrorist actions of the militants could not disrupt the progressive course of the dialogue between Delhi and Islamabad.

The preparation of analytical material on this topic is fully justified, first of all, by the fact that in the last year there has been a steady positive forward movement in relations between Pakistan and India, which, almost from the very beginning of the emergence in 1947 of two independent states (directly India and Pakistan) were extremely tense. Suffice it to mention the meeting expected by both sides on July 15 of this year. Foreign Ministers of the two countries, during which it is planned to consider in the aggregate practically all the problems of bilateral relations, including, of course, the Kashmir one.

We do not aim to analyze the historical background against which these bilateral relations developed over a period of more than 60 years. It suffices to refer in this connection, for example, to the recently published comprehensive work "History of Pakistan", prepared by the leading Russian experts on Pakistan V. Ya. Belokrenitsky and V. N. Moskalenko. Or to the study "South Asia in World Politics", written by the same authors, as well as by one of the prominent Russian Indologists T. L. Shaumyan.

We consider it expedient to analyze only the events that have taken place in Pakistani-Indian relations in the 21st century, naturally focusing on their state in the last year and a possible development scenario in the near future. We only note that political scientists, even those who do not deal with conflicts in Asia, are well aware that for the two largest South Asian states, their bilateral relations are a priority in the foreign policy sphere. Especially after a number of armed conflicts in the last century - bloody clashes during the partition of British India in 1947-1948, the war between these countries in the autumn of 1965, the armed conflict at the end of 1971 during the partition of Pakistan directly into Pakistan and Bangladesh and etc.

In the ending decade of this century, the most serious conflict between these two states arose in 2002, when in May of that year, Kashmiri militants dressed as Indian soldiers staged a literally bloody massacre in the Kashmir Valley, for which there is a dispute. Hundreds of civilians were killed during the fighting then. The Indian side accused Pakistan of preparing and sending militants, in turn, Pakistan categorically rejected such accusations against itself and shifted all the blame for what happened to Delhi. But the fact remained that a serious armed clash had taken place and, most dangerously, both sides spoke openly about the possibility of local use of nuclear weapons.

As early as the end of March 2002, CIA Director George Tenet said that there was a real danger of starting a war. Speaking later before the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services Commission in the Senate, he stressed: “If India launches large-scale offensive operations in the part of Kashmir under Pakistani control, then Islamabad can strike back, based on the calculation that the nuclear threat will limit the possibilities of the Indian offensive.” .

Fortunately, such potential actions on both sides were rather quickly prevented, starting with the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, held in Alma-Ata in early June 2002, during which the leaders of Russia and China, Vladimir Putin and Jian Zemin seems to have succeeded in conveying to the leaders of Pakistan (Pervez Musharraf) and India (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) the danger of nuclear saber-rattling.

US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, who visited both countries at the same time, described the situation as follows: “We are now in a position where, instead of increasing tension, we feel wariness, and we hope that this will pass with time.” One way or another, the threat of a military clash was over. At the same time, as is clear from the statements of Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Delhi won a "significant victory without a war." And Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf emphasizes that the conflict was avoided because his country has nuclear weapons. That is , both sides take credit for easing tensions and pay attention to their own gains .

It is no coincidence that we pay so much attention to the events of 8 years ago; the fact is that after 1971 it was, perhaps, the most dangerous confrontation between the two South Asian states. Further, relations between the two countries can rather be characterized as a state of the cold war, although certain positive surges and negative drops took place.

The author of these lines happened to visit in 2003 in Azad Kashmir (part of Kashmir under the control of Pakistan) directly on the so-called. "Line of Control", dividing Kashmir into Indian and Pakistani parts and observe with your own eyes the consequences of a tough military confrontation in the form of destroyed buildings, other residential premises, shell craters, as well as numerous inscriptions on the walls of houses and simply on concrete blocks installed on the very line of control - "Enemy is watching" (The enemy is watching).

The meeting in Islamabad at the beginning of 2004 of the leaders of the two states was of great importance for reducing tension and developing good neighborly relations, during which it was decided to hold the so-called. "Integrated Dialogue" between the two countries. In this case, negotiations at the political level were implied on almost all interstate issues, namely: the Kashmir problem, the dispute over the ownership of the Suachin glacier, the watershed of the Indus River and a number of rivers flowing into it, terrorism and extremism, drug trafficking, trade and economic cooperation and etc. It was also decided to hold relevant consultations on a regular basis. However, the last decision was hardly respected, which was the result of some terrorist actions in both Pakistan and India, when both sides accused each other of organizing and carrying out them.

The negotiation process had just begun to gain momentum, as in July 2006, a terrorist act was committed in the Indian city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay), as a result of which almost 200 people died. The Indian side immediately accused Islamabad of directly assisting the Kashmiri separatists in its implementation and demanded that all measures be taken to eliminate cross-border terrorism. Fortunately, prudence prevailed, and after the meeting of the leaders of the two states within the framework of the Summit of Non-Aligned States in Havana in September of the same year, the negotiation process resumed. Among the decisions taken later, one of the most important was the fight against terrorism and extremism through (among other things) the exchange of intelligence information, as well as the coordination of anti-terrorist actions and investigations. According to the intention of the developers of such decisions, their adoption should contribute to the elimination of unfounded accusations of each other in committing terrorist acts.

Alas, the barely put forward proposals began to be implemented, as in the same Mumbai, a little over 2 years later (November 2008), explosions again thundered in a number of hotels, armed groups opened fire on civilians in the streets. A total of almost 200 people were killed (including over 20 foreigners living in hotels) and several hundred were wounded. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh immediately announced Pakistan's involvement in this terrorist attack, which, in general, already then became the traditional position of India. Such accusations boiled down primarily to the fact that terrorists operating in the Indian part of Kashmir penetrate there from the territory of Azad Kashmir, which is under Pakistani control.

Naturally, official Islamabad immediately denied these accusations. Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar firmly stated that Pakistan had nothing to do with these attacks. To this, he added in his interview to representatives of the Indian media that such accusations, which have no basis, completely undermine everything positive that has been created in bilateral relations in recent years. We add to this that on the same day, November 27, 2008, Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani expressed deep condolences to the Indian people and the country's leadership in connection with the tragedy.

After that, the cold war between the two countries almost turned into a "hot" one. The report of the CIA intelligence agency for South Asia noted that "the armed forces of India are practically ready to conduct a military operation against Pakistan and are only waiting for a signal from the country's leadership to carry it out, and the Indian security forces on the Line of Control in Kashmir are constantly on high alert" ; Indian fighter jets began to openly and regularly violate Pakistani airspace near the Indo-Pakistani border.

Attempts to accuse Pakistan of organizing the terrorist attack in Mumbai are directly related to the assertion of the Indian side that in this way Islamabad seeks (by the hands of Islamist militants) to "revenge" India for the monstrous explosion on September 20, 2008 in the best hotel of the Pakistani capital "Marriott", as a result of which 53 people were killed (including foreigners, among whom was the Czech ambassador to Pakistan) and more than 200 were injured. And although the orthodox Islamic group Fedayeen-e-Islam (which is suspected of having close ties to al-Qaeda) almost immediately claimed responsibility for the terrorist attack, Pakistani intelligence services believe that the hand of Indian extremists should not be ruled out here.

We have listed here the most serious terrorist acts carried out in both countries. The number of small actions of this kind is in the hundreds (primarily, for example, to note the unprecedented terrorist attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001). And in many cases, both Pakistan and India accuse each other of complicity in their conduct in the territory of one and the other country. The removal of questions and claims in this and many other areas of bilateral relations were the focus of attention during meetings of officials at various levels in 2009 and in the first 6 months of this year. We will note and analyze some of the most significant of them.

After the terrorist attack in Mumbai mentioned above, the peace dialogue between the two countries was interrupted at the initiative of the Indian side in December 2008. At the same time, bilateral trade between the countries was frozen. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has unequivocally accused Pakistan of allowing terrorists to prepare to carry out bombings in this Indian city on Pakistani soil. In fairness, we note here that even if these accusations against Islamabad are true, then the leadership of Pakistan was largely deprived of the opportunity to stop such training, since it was carried out in areas located near the Afghan border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly the province of NWFP) where federal laws are almost non-existent, and the possibilities for federal forces to act there are extremely limited. But in this case, it is important for us that the Pakistani-Indian talks on existing problems in bilateral relations were interrupted, and interrupted for an indefinite period, despite all Islamabad's assurances of its complete innocence in the Indian tragedy.

Simultaneously, Delhi developed a deep sympathy for the United States; At the same time, there was a reciprocal attraction of Washington to India in various fields. In the immediate aftermath of the Mumbai attack, then-U.S. Ambassador to India David Mulford fully supported India in “bringing to justice those involved in the attacks in this metropolis that killed six U.S. citizens. If the Americans were killed, then the US has an obligation to investigate the killing,” the ambassador said. The United States proposed to expand cooperation in the field of the use of atomic energy (the corresponding Agreement was previously signed in July 2005 and later ratified by the US Congress and the Indian Parliament in 2008), to which Indian businessmen interested in implementing this project reacted almost immediately by investing from 1 to 5 million dollars to the Hillary Clinton Foundation, and the IAEA agreed at the end of January 2009 (albeit under considerable pressure from the United States) for India to import nuclear materials and technologies.

Let us note, running a little ahead, that Washington has always pushed both South Asian states to hold peace talks on all disputable issues of bilateral relations. At the end of June 2009, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, during a foreign policy hearing in the US Congress, stated that “India and Pakistan are facing common problems, and we will maintain an ongoing dialogue in order to find a joint solution to the issue of fight against terrorism and ensure regional security”. He later dismissed Indian fears that American financial assistance to Islamabad could be used to bolster Pakistan's military power against India. (However, the United States could not completely eliminate Delhi's wariness in this direction, as a result of which India increased its military spending by 34% in July 2009 - up to $ 29.4 billion compared to the budget outlines announced earlier in February 2009 for the 2009/10 financial year).

True, Russia also tried to return the process of normalizing relations between the two countries to a peaceful course. This, in particular, happened at the summit of the SCO member states on June 16 last year in Yekaterinburg, where Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari met with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. But, as expected, the efforts of the two superpowers did not lead to any noticeable positive result.

However, let us return directly to the Pakistani-Indian relations.

Only in February 2009, there was a slight decrease in tension in relations between the two South Asian states, as stated by the Chief of Staff of the Indian Army, General Deepak Kapoor, in his interview with the Hindustan Times, although he noted at the same time that the security forces were fully prepared for a possible infiltration of militants from the territory of Pakistan to India, especially since the passes in the Himalayas opened after the winter. And yet, already in May of the same year, when S.M. Krishna (former Chief Minister of Karnataka), the latter said at a press conference on the occasion of his appointment that India is ready to extend a hand of friendship to Pakistan and emphasized that “we want to live in peace and harmony with our neighbors and are ready to create a free from any tension zone, of course, this is possible if Pakistan destroys the terrorist training camps on its territory. At the same time, Pakistan, for its part, decided to put before India the question of the need to resume negotiations on the distribution within the framework of the permanent bilateral Commission on the distribution of water resources, which meant that Islamabad was ready for further negotiations on a number of other controversial issues existing in bilateral relations.

The further development of events confirmed in practice the irreconcilable position of both sides, which happened in Egypt during the 15th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement on July 16-17, 2009. Speaking formally in favor of the resumption of the "comprehensive dialogue", both prime ministers did not drop accusations of address each other, although this was presented in an indirect form (and at the same time curtsy was made to each other - India seeks cooperation with Pakistan in all areas, and Pakistan, accordingly, also wants the same) - the need to combat extremism and terrorism, the achievement stable peace in the region, the need to resolve all contentious issues peacefully, the development of South-South cooperation, etc., implying that one (or the other) side is not ready for such actions.

However, this was to be expected, since during the meeting of the Deputy Foreign Ministers of the two states the day before, the latter failed to develop an agreed approach to the resumption of the "Comprehensive Dialogue", and the next day the meeting of the two prime ministers only confirmed this fact, although, for example, US media widely cited Hillary Clinton's statement about the success of bilateral negotiations. And during her 5 (!) day visit to India in July 2009, the US Secretary of State strongly urged India to put aside interstate differences and provide maximum assistance to Pakistan in its fight against terrorism. It is curious to note that the former President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, in his interview to Indian television during the Egyptian summit, stressed that the main threat to Pakistan does not come from India at all, but from the Taliban and Al-Qaeda terrorists.

A major step forward in improving bilateral relations was Manmohan Singh's speech in Srinagar (the largest city in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir) at the end of October 2009, in which he clearly indicated India's readiness to consider during the negotiations, including the Kashmir problem, which is up to is still the cornerstone in relations between the two countries. These words of the Indian prime minister did not go unnoticed by Islamabad, which was officially confirmed at a briefing by the press secretary of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry; he also voiced the readiness of the Pakistani leadership to resume a "comprehensive dialogue" with India.

No less significant in relation to the positive prospects for bilateral relations were Manmohan Singh's statements in the same city in June 2010, when the Indian Prime Minister reiterated that "comprehensive negotiations with Pakistan lead to the solution of 'old problems' and are fully in line with India's interests. This will help create an environment where the peoples living on both sides of the Line of Control (in Kashmir - S.K.) can live in peace, harmony and work together.”

It should be noted that in the course of their foreign visits, Indian leaders have ceased to use harsh (and even simply negative) formulations regarding Pakistan. In particular, during the visit in early June 2010 of Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Islamabad's fight against terrorism. Moreover, in the process of negotiations with Barack Obama, the head of the Indian Foreign Ministry emphasized "the need to improve relations with Pakistan after more than 60 years of war, tension and mutual suspicion" .

This and some other mutual aspirations of both states to reduce tension once again welcomed Washington in every possible way. Earlier, in an interview with Fox News, National Security Adviser to the President of the United States James Jones said that Barack Obama wholeheartedly welcomes any positive steps taken by the two states to improve security in the South Asian region, especially given that India and Pakistan have nuclear weapons. . Casino Lotoro Slot Machines Are Hundreds of Your Favorite Slots And now both the US President and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton see, as Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake stated in his public speech at the end of S. M. Krishna's visit to the United States, that the process of positive development India-Pakistan relations are clearly gaining momentum.

We do not touch here on trade and economic relations between the two states, since this is the topic of a separate article. However, it is worth noting that both the businessmen of the two countries and the leaders of these states have repeatedly expressed the opinion that, despite the complexity of political relations, trade relations and other economic contacts should not suffer in any way. A report prepared a few months ago by the Planning Commission of India noted that now, more than ever, there are all conditions for a significant expansion of bilateral trade, which currently stands at about $2 billion, but could actually increase to $3 billion within a few years. , and in the future up to 10 billion dollars. True, from our point of view, the last figure looks clearly unrealistic.

Summarizing the above, we note that now the Pakistani-Indian relations have reached such a high level, which was not observed after the division in 1947 of colonial India directly into India and Pakistan. And even the terrorist actions of militants (in particular, the explosions in Mumbai in November 2008) could not disrupt the progressive process of their development. It seems that the current leadership of both states is serious about trying to normalize relations between the two countries, even despite the existing serious differences on the main problem - Kashmir.

Notes:

V.Ya. Belokrenitsky, V.N. Moskalenko. History of Pakistan. XX century. M., IV RAN, Kraft+, 2008.

V.Ya.Belokrenitsky, V.N.Moskalenko, T.L.Shaumyan. South Asia in world politics. M., "International Relations", 2003.

Cit. by: "Le Monde". 1.06.2002. A brief analysis of both this conflict and its prehistory is given in the article by V.N. Moskalenko “The dispute between India and Pakistan is originally of an inter-civilizational character”. Nezavisimaya Gazeta, June 14, 2002

Quoted from: Vladimir Moskalenko. "The Kashmir problem will still have to be solved sometime." - "Independent newspaper". July 2, 2002

For more details, see: V.I. Sotnikov. "Who's Behind the Mumbai Attack?". www.iimes.ru November 28, 2008 N.A. Zamaraev. "Indo-Pakistani relations after the Mumbai attack". www.iimes.ru December 4, 2008

The News. 11/28/2008.

The News. 12/20/2008. The News. 12/13/2008.

Dawn. 09/23/2008.

See: Dawn. 01/25/2009., Dawn. 01/28/2009., The News. 01/29/2009. Pakistan. times. 01/31/2009. Dawn. 3.02.2009.

Cit. by: N.A. Zamaraev. "Paki-Indian Relations: Is the Conflict Over or a New Round of Tensions?" www.iimes.ru January 9, 2009

business recorder. 01/23/2009. Dawn. 01/31/2009.

Dawn. 06/29/2009. Pakistan Times. 2.07.2009.

The main part of them was planned to be directed to the purchase of modern types of weapons - 126 modern fighters worth $ 12 billion, an aircraft carrier, helicopters, artillery pieces, small arms, and the modernization of existing various weapons systems. - Dawn. 07/07/2009.

For more details see: N.A. Zamaraev. "Pakistan: Resetting Relations with India". www.iimes.ru August 1, 2009

Hindustan Times. 01/31/2009.

Dawn. May 24, 2009. Dawn. May 28, 2009.

Dawn. 07/16/2009. Daily Mail. 07/17/2009 Washington Post. 07/18/2009. The News. 07/18/2009. Dawn. 07/22/2009.

Dawn. 07/17/2009.

Pakistan Times. 10/30/2009. Times of India. 10/30/2009.

Cit. by: Business Recorder. 06/8/2010.

Dawn. 6.12.2009.

The News. 06/9/2010.

Shahid Javed Burki. “Pakistan, India and Regional Cooperation”. South Asian Journal. no. 4, April-June, 2004, p. 57-70. Saad Hasan. "Indian Business Houses want to trade with Pakistan: Hashwani". - The News. 12/27/2009. Mohsin S. Jaffri. Beginning with business. – “Business & Finance Review”. 1.02.2010. "Indo-Pak trade can grow upto $10bn: Indian envoy". - Dawn. 06/9/2010. "Trade between Pakistan, India: businessmen can create win-win situation, says Sabharwal". – Business recorder. 06/10/2010.

India, Pakistan, China after World War II

Independence gained by India.

Development of India and Pakistan. After the end of the Second World War, India experienced the rise of the national liberation movement. The British authorities, trying to hold on to India, maneuvered, combining the methods of his brutal suppression of speeches with concessions and actions aimed at splitting the Indians.

Under the pretext of protecting the interests of Muslims and other minorities, in 1946 the authorities established a system of elections to the Central Legislative Assembly for religious curia, which aggravated the conflict between the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Muslim League. The INC program included demands for the independence of the country and the equality of all its citizens, the unity of Hindus, Muslims and adherents of other religions. The main demands of the Muslim League were the division of India into two states on religious grounds and the creation of a Muslim state of Pakistan ("country of the pure").

The INC and the Muslim League received a majority in their curiae, but in a number of provinces a large number of Muslims supported the program of the INC. The vast majority of the population spoke out against British domination.

The INC included representatives of various social strata, was very authoritative due to many years of opposition to the colonialists. The most popular leaders of the INC were M. Gandhi and J. Nehru.

In August 1946, a provisional government headed by Nehru was established. The Muslim League refused to enter the government and proclaimed the start of a direct struggle for Pakistan. In Calcutta, pogroms broke out in the Hindu quarters, in response, the Muslim quarters flared up. Clashes between Hindus and Muslims, which escalated into a massacre, spread to other parts of the country.

In February 1947, the British government announced its intention to give India the rights of a dominion, on the condition that it be divided along religious lines into the Indian Union and Pakistan. The principalities themselves decided which of the dominions they would join. The INC and the Muslim League accepted this plan.

In a short period, a huge number of refugees moved from the Pakistani parts to the Indian regions and vice versa. Hundreds of thousands were killed. M. Gandhi spoke out against inciting religious hatred. He demanded that acceptable conditions be created for the Muslims who remained in India. This led to accusations of betraying the interests of the Hindus. In January 1948, M. Gandhi was killed by a member of one of the religious Hindu organizations.

On August 14, 1947, the founding of the Dominion of Pakistan was proclaimed. Liqiat Ali Khan, the leader of the Muslim League, became the prime minister of Pakistan. The next day, the Indian Union declared its independence. Of the 601 principalities, the vast majority joined India. The first government of the country was headed by J. Nehru.

When dividing the territory, neither geographical boundaries, nor economic ties between regions, nor national composition were taken into account. 90% of all mineral resources, textile and sugar industries are concentrated on Indian territory. Most of the areas for the production of bread and industrial crops went to Pakistan.

The most tense situation has developed in the principality of Kashmir. It was supposed to become part of the Indian Union, although the majority of the population were Muslims. In autumn 1947, Pakistani troops invaded western Kashmir. The Maharaja announced his accession to India, and Indian troops entered Kashmir. The Kashmir issue became a bone of contention between India and Pakistan and one of the main causes of the Indo-Pakistani wars of 1965 and 1971. As a result of the 1971 war, the state of Bangladesh was formed on the site of East Pakistan.

In 1949, India adopted a constitution declaring it a federal republic (a union of states). Victory in all elections until the end of the 70s. won the INC. Its leaders advocated the development of a mixed economy with a strong position of the state in it. Agrarian reform and various social transformations were carried out. The Indian economy, despite all the difficulties, developed quite successfully. From the end of the 20th century the rapid growth of advanced technologies began in the country. A nuclear weapon was tested.

India's foreign policy has taken a course of non-participation in blocs, of fighting for peace. Friendly relations were maintained with the USSR. After Nehru's death, the post of prime minister passed to his daughter, Indira Gandhi. After the assassination of I. Gandhi in 1984, her son Rajiv Gandhi, who was killed in 1991, became prime minister. These murders were associated with the activation of the nationalist and separatist movement in the country (Sikhs, Tamils). At the end of the XX century. The INC experienced splits and lost its monopoly on power. Representatives of the Hindu parties came to rule the country (Prime Minister A. Vajpayee). At the beginning of the XXI century. The INC again won a majority in the parliamentary elections (M. Singh became prime minister).

The political development of Pakistan is characterized by instability. The army played a large role in the country, often carrying out military coups. In foreign policy, Pakistan followed a pro-American course. The country's economy has been relatively successful (Pakistan has also developed atomic weapons), although, like India, a significant part of the population continues to live in poverty. At the beginning of the XXI century. speeches demanding to strengthen the role of Islam in the life of society became more frequent.

The development of China in the 50s - 70s.XXin.

As a result of the victory of the Communists in the Civil War in 1949, the remnants of the Kuomintang, under the cover of the US Air Force and Navy, fled to the island of Taiwan. On October 1, 1949, the establishment of the People's Republic of China (PRC) was proclaimed. The People's Government of the People's Republic of China was headed by Mao Zedong.

The new Chinese leadership set a course for the construction of socialism. Industrial enterprises were nationalized, cooperatives were created in the countryside. In the 50s. China worked closely with the USSR, which provided it with enormous assistance in the development of industry, agriculture, and culture. During this period there was a successful industrialization of the country.

At the end of the 50s. Mao Zedong set a course for an ultra-fast pace of development. The "great leap" began, which was an attempt to "join communism" under the slogan "A few years of hard work - and ten thousand years of happiness." As a result, chaos reigned in the economy, a terrible famine gripped the country. The policy of the "Great Leap Forward" caused dissatisfaction with a number of party leaders. To suppress their resistance from 1965 - 1966. At the initiative of Mao Zedong, the so-called "cultural revolution" was organized. The forces of the youth ("hong-weibins" - red guards) launched an attack on officials under the slogan "Fire at the headquarters!". Hundreds of thousands of workers of the party and the state apparatus were executed or evicted to remote areas for "re-education". During this period, relations between China and the USSR escalated, in 1969 armed clashes took place (Damansky Island on the Ussuri River). In 1972, China entered into an agreement with the United States.

The death of Mao Zedong on September 9, 1976 led to an intensification of the internal political struggle. Fanatical adherents of Mao's policies ("gang of four") were arrested. Deng Xiaoping, a former associate of Mao who suffered during the years of the "cultural revolution", stood at the head of the party and state. The “four modernizations” policy proclaimed in 1978 provided for transformations in the field of industry, agriculture, culture and rearmament of the army.

Modern China.

During the 80s - 90s. In China, under the leadership of the Communist Party, serious reforms were carried out that dramatically changed the face of the country. The reforms began with agriculture. Most of the cooperatives were dissolved, each peasant household received a piece of land on a long-term lease. Gradually, the food problem was solved. Industrial enterprises were granted independence, market relations developed. Private enterprises emerged. Foreign capital has increasingly penetrated into China. By the end of the XX century. the volume of industrial production increased by 5 times, Chinese goods began a victorious expansion abroad, including in the United States. The standard of living of a significant part of the population has risen.

The successful economic development of the country (production growth from 7 to 15% per year), which began to be called the "workshop of the 21st century," continues at the present time. Economic achievements were evidenced by the launch in 2003 of China's first spacecraft with an astronaut on board and the development of plans for a flight to the moon. In terms of economic potential, China has taken second place in the world, and in a number of indicators it has overtaken the United States. The Chinese demonstrated their great success during the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008.

Political power in China remained unchanged. An attempt by some students and intellectuals to launch a liberalization campaign during a speech on Tiananmen Square in Beijing in 1989 was brutally suppressed. The country's leading force is still the CCP, which claims to "build socialism with Chinese characteristics."

In foreign policy, the PRC has achieved considerable success: Hong Kong (Xianggang) and Mokao (Aomen) were annexed to China. Since the mid 80s. normalized relations with the USSR. Friendly relations have been established between China and Russia and other post-Soviet states.

QUESTIONS AND TASKS

How were India and Pakistan formed? Tell us about their development.

How was the People's Republic of China established? What were the features of China's development in the 50-70s?

What are the directions and results of the reforms carried out in China in the late 20th and early 21st centuries?

Compare the development of China and India in the second half of the 20th - early 21st centuries. What was similar in their development and what were the differences?

Relations between India and Pakistan are tense due to a number of historical and political issues. In 1947, the partition of British India took place, which led to tensions over the status of Kashmir and numerous military conflicts between the two countries. Consequently, even though these two South Asian states have common historical, cultural, geographic and economic ties, their relationship is full of hostility and suspicion. The length of the state border between the countries is 2,912 km. Trade between the two countries is small (In 2012/13, Indian exports were $2,607 million and imports from Pakistan were $542 million), but growing. The share of India in Pakistani trade is about 1%, the share of Islamabad in Indian trade is even lower.

Indian-Pakistani relations
India	Pakistan

Review

After the collapse of British India in 1947, new sovereign states were formed: the Union of India and the Dominion of Pakistan. The partition of the former British India led to the forced relocation of up to 12.5 million people, from several hundred thousand to a million people died in the process. India became a secular state with a majority Hindu population and a Muslim minority, while Pakistan was established as an Islamic Republic with an overwhelming Muslim majority.

Shortly after independence, India and Pakistan established diplomatic relations, but a violent partition and numerous territorial disputes soured their relationship dramatically. India and Pakistan have experienced three major wars, one undeclared war and have been involved in numerous armed skirmishes and confrontations. The issue of ownership of Kashmir is the main cause of all these conflicts, with the exception of the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, which led to the secession of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

Numerous attempts have been made to improve relations, notably the Shimla Summit, the Agra Summit and the Lahore Summit. Since the early 1980s, relations between the two countries have deteriorated further, especially after the Siachen conflict, the Jammu and Kashmir uprising, Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests, and the Kargil War. At the same time, some confidence-building measures were taken: the signing of a ceasefire agreement in 2003, the launch of a bus on the Delhi-Lahore route. However, these efforts were thwarted by periodic terrorist attacks. In 2001, the Indian parliament was attacked, bringing the two countries to the brink of nuclear war. In 2007, a passenger train was blown up. Samjhauta Express, resulting in the deaths of 68 civilians (most of whom were Pakistani citizens). In 2008, the Mumbai Attack took place, terrorists from Pakistan killed about 160 Indian citizens in this attack, as a result of which India stopped peace negotiations with the government of Pakistan.

In 2013, according to the BBC World Service Poll, 11% of Indians view Pakistan positively and 45% negatively. At the same time, 19% of Pakistanis have a positive attitude towards India, and 54% - negatively.

mutual trade

For a long time, the volume of Indo-Pakistani trade remained insignificant: in the 1985/86 financial year, Indian exports amounted to $59 million and imports to $47 million. In the 2012/13 fiscal year, India's exports were already $2,065 million and Pakistan's imports were $542 million. Sometimes India helps out Islamabad: in 1990, it supplied Pakistan with potatoes and onions, which had a crop failure, and in 1997, 500 tons of raw sugar. The main Indian exports are vegetables, fruits and wool. Imports from Pakistan are mainly represented by refined sugar, organic fertilizers, soy products, metal products. Main channels of trade: maritime

In the first half of July, relations between India and Pakistan, the conflict between which had been in the “freeze” stage for a long time, again. The reason for the aggravation once again was the situation in the predominantly Muslim province of Jammu and Kashmir, which both states consider their territory.

A couple of weeks ago, Indian security forces in a special operation eliminated one of the members of the local group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, whose members are fighting for secession from India. In response, riots broke out in the province, according to some reports, 46 people have already become victims, and more than three thousand more were injured of varying severity.

Commenting on the unrest, Indian Interior Minister Rajnath Singh said that Pakistan is behind them, which is trying to destabilize the situation in the region by supporting terrorist groups operating on its territory.

“Instead of solving its internal problems, Pakistan is trying to destabilize India,”- said the head of the Indian Ministry of Internal Affairs.

In turn, Islamabad made an appeal to the UN Security Council, in which he called on the international organization to influence the Indian government, which, according to Pakistan, violates human rights in the region and conducts large-scale political repression there.

In light of the conflict flaring up before our eyes, it must be emphasized that both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers. They have repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons in the event of an armed conflict. At the same time, the history of relations between the two states that appeared on the world political map in 1947 tells us that such an outcome is quite real.

The fact is that both states over the past 60 years have been at war with each other more than once, colliding in all sorts of local border conflicts. And the main reason for this tension has always been, again, the province of Jammu and Kashmir.

After the division of the former British colony of India into, in fact, India and Pakistan, the fate of the principality of Kashmir, whose head was a Hindu, while the vast majority of the population professed Islam, the main religion of Pakistan, remained not completely determined.

Shortly after the emergence of two independent states, the Pashtun tribes allied to Pakistan, who lived near the Afghan border, invaded the principality. This was the reason for the announcement by the authorities of Kashmir about the accession of the principality to India, after which the regular units of the Pakistani army, which entered the territory of the principality in 1948, joined the Pashtuns. A year later, bloody battles were hardly stopped with the mediation of the UN. At the same time, two-thirds of the province remained under the control of India, while the last third of the territory went to Pakistan.

Since then, the territories of the principality of Kashmir, which became part of India as a result of the war, have become known as Jammu and Kashmir. The Pakistani part was called "Free Kashmir".

Despite UN mediation, it is obvious that the problem of the region's status has not been resolved, but only postponed for an indefinite period of time. As it turned out, this period lasted as much as 17 years - in 1965, the conflict between India and Pakistan flared up again. It all started with border artillery skirmishes, after which regular military units intervened on both sides. With international mediation, the fire was stopped only at the end of September of the same year.

The third round of the Indo-Pakistani conflict came in 1970. The reason for it was the internal political crisis in Pakistan, which began after the Awami League party, which advocated the independence of East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) from Islamabad, won the parliamentary elections. The head of state, General Yahya Khan, deployed troops to East Pakistan, who unleashed terror against supporters of independence.

As a result, millions of refugees poured into neighboring India, fleeing rampant political repression. After that, India sent troops into East Pakistan, and Ahya Khan, wanting to take revenge on Delhi, launched an offensive against Jammu and Kashmir. However, the two-fold superiority of the Indian army in manpower and equipment, as well as the hopeless position of the Ahya Khan army in East Pakistan, forced him to sit down at the negotiating table, as a result of which, nevertheless, East Pakistan gained independence, and Islamabad retained the territories of the former principality of Kashmir.

And although the country was weakened after this unsuccessful war, Pakistani politicians did not give up hope of returning the entire territory of the Kashmir principality under their control.

Naturally, unresolved territorial contradictions would sooner or later become a source of new conflicts. Moreover, small skirmishes on the borders after 1970 arose constantly, but, fortunately, it never came to full-scale actions.

The last major escalation of the conflict, which threatened to escalate into a new war, occurred in 2008-2009, when a group of terrorists attacked the largest Indian city of Mumbai. Then Delhi suspected Islamabad of supporting terrorists, calling for the extradition of the protesters to India. However, Pakistan refused to do so. The next round of the crisis between the two countries threatened to develop into a nuclear confrontation, but, fortunately, both sides once again pressed the “stop tap” in time.

Despite this, both Pakistan and India are confident that a fourth war between the two countries is inevitable. The Indian authorities even declare that it will be the last between the two states, thus hinting at the final victory of Delhi and the solution of the problem of the northern territories in their favor.

At the same time, some experts note that there will be neither winners nor losers in the smoldering Indo-Pakistani conflict as such. It is worrying that supporters of the terrorist organization Islamic State (ISIS, ISIL, DAISH), banned in Russia, are showing an active interest in the escalation. So, an employee of the Center for Indian Studies of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences Lyudmila Pechishcheva, that radical Islamists are starting to play an increasingly significant role in the 150 million Muslim community in India, which is very influential inside the country.

Associate Professor of the Faculty of World Economy and World Politics at the Higher School of Economics Olga Solodkova said that the success of the Islamists in the local Muslim environment lies in the total poverty of Indian Muslims and the absence of any prospects for them. Islamists, according to the expert, offer a solution to this problem, a chance to break out of the social bottom. So far, fortunately, according to the expert, despite the attempts of the Islamists to stir up the conflict in Jammu and Kashmir, a serious aggravation will not happen there.

However, Vladimir Sotnikov, director of the Center for Strategic Studies "Russia-East-West", leading researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that the Islamists may well push India and Pakistan to a new conflict.

“I do not rule out that if ISIS has a hand in this - and most likely already has a hand in it, if they inflate this, then a new conflict situation may arise between India and Pakistan. ... This is fraught with a large-scale conflict, even with the use of tactical nuclear weapons,” he said.

The expert clarified that it is ISIS that is interested in a nuclear conflict between the two countries.

Meanwhile, the Western media are not yet too active and rather restrained in their comments on the new wave of escalation of the conflict in the region. Thus, the influential American edition of The New Tork Times questioned the need for US intervention in the conflict in order to resolve it. At the same time, the article notes that India and Pakistan should not impose their protectorate on the region - the inhabitants have the right to create an independent state, or at least they themselves must decide in which country they want to live.

“I would like to emphasize that the need to find a solution acceptable to all cannot be left to India and Pakistan alone. The situation requires the participation of the world community, primarily the United States. The participation of the United States in the settlement of the conflict would be a confirmation of Washington's global role as a pillar of the international security system. In this situation, the decision should be based on the principles of self-determination. People should have a choice - to join India or Pakistan, or create their own independent state, ”the material says.

One way or another, but the problem of Jammu and Kashmir is one of the main challenges to the system of not only Eurasian, but also global security. How successfully it will be solved and, most importantly, with what consequences, time will tell.

In the meantime, we can note that Russia should not stand aside either. She has quite friendly relations with both India and Pakistan; both of these countries claim to be a member of the SCO, where the Russian Federation plays a leading role - all this indicates that the Russian Federation can become a mediator in the conflict. Well, how to deal with terrorists, our country shows clearly and every day.

general characteristics

PAKISTAN, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a state in South Asia. Formed in 1947 after the partition of India. It exists within modern borders since 1971. (Appendix No. 1; No. 2)

Islamabad. Population - 159.20 million people (2004). The population density is 184 people per 1 sq. km. km. Urban population - 35%, rural - 65%. Area - 796,095 sq. km. The highest point is Mount Tirichmir (7690 m). Main languages: Urdu (official), Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi, Balochi (Baluchi). The state religion is Islam. Administrative-territorial division: 4 provinces and 1 federal district. The monetary unit is the rupee. National holiday: Pakistan Day - 23 March. National anthem: "Blessed be the sacred land..."

Pakistan is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the southwest, Iran to the west, Afghanistan to the northwest, Jammu and Kashmir (claimed by both India and Pakistan) to the northeast, and Pakistan to the east. India. Under the control of Pakistan are the northern and western regions of Jammu and Kashmir - the so-called. Azad Kashmir (i.e. Free Kashmir

NATURE

Terrain relief.(Appendix No. 3 ) Within Pakistan, two large orographic regions are clearly distinguished - the Indus Plain (the western part of the Indo-Gangetic Plain) and the mountains and uplands bordering it from the west and north, belonging to the systems of the Iranian Highlands and the Hindu Kush and the Himalayas, formed mainly in the era of Alpine orogeny. The Indian Plain arose on the site of a vast foothill marginal foredeep, to which considerable reserves of natural gas and oil are confined. Significant deposits of brown coal, chromite ore and other minerals have been discovered in the mountains.

The Indian Plain is one of the largest alluvial plains in the tropical zone, stretching from the foothills of the Himalayas to the Arabian Sea for 1200 km with a width of up to 550 km. Almost all of its territory is located below 200 m and is characterized by a uniform flat relief. Three parts are distinguished within its boundaries: the northern part is the Punjab (or Pyatirechye), formed by the Indus and its five large tributaries (Jelam, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej); Sindh - the middle and lower reaches of the Indus; and the Thar Desert, east of Sindh. In the north of the plain, there are numerous cones of clastic material cut through by rivers. In Sind, in the interfluves, traces of an ancient river network have been preserved, indicating a greater flooding of the plain in the past. The Indus Delta is formed by several active riverbeds, dead estuaries and a series of ancient sand banks. In the Thar desert, dunes, dunes, sandy ridges are common in combination with salt marshes, takyrs and salt lakes in depressions. The absolute height of this region is from 100 to 200 m. From the south, the desert is framed by the saline lowlands of the Greater Rann of Kach, flooded by sea tides and during heavy rainfall.

The mountains of Pakistan are young folded ranges composed of schists, limestones, sandstones and conglomerates. The highest ridges are dissected by river valleys and gorges and topped with snowfields. In the far north, the axial ridges of the Hindu Kush partly enter Pakistan with the peak of Tirichmir (7690 m), which is the highest point in the country. To the east is the Hinduraj Range, the southwestern end of which is separated from the Spingar border range by the Khyber Pass (1,030 m), the most important pass used for communication between Peshawar and Kabul. In the northeast, the western spurs of the Himalayas enter the territory of Pakistan. In the north of Pakistan, between the Indus Plain and the mountains, there is the Potwar sandstone plateau with an average height of 300–500 m, bordered from the south by the Salt Range (up to 1500 m high). The western part of Pakistan is occupied by the plateaus and mountains of Balochistan, which are the southeastern framing of the Iranian highlands. The average heights of these mountains usually do not exceed 2000–2500 m. Such, for example, are the Suleiman Mountains, elongated in a submeridional direction and abruptly ending in the Indus Valley. However, in the north of these mountains there are also higher individual peaks (up to 3452 m). The meridional ridge Kirthar with steep slopes facing the Indus Valley almost reaches the coast of the Arabian Sea and drops from 2440 m in the north to 1220 m in the south. The Makran Mountains, consisting of several subparallel ranges up to 2357 m high, frame the Balochistan plateau from the south. From the north, it is bordered by the border mountains of Chagai, where there are extinct volcanoes. Further to the northeast, the Tobakakar ridge extends (up to 3149 m), at its western tip is the Khodzhak (Bolan) pass, through which a strategically important route from Quetta to Kandahar (Afghanistan) passes. Natural disasters are not uncommon in the mountains of Pakistan. So, in the highlands, avalanches often descend, mudflows, rockfalls, glacial surges (surges) occur. There are a number of seismically dangerous areas. In 1935, the city of Quetta was badly damaged by an earthquake.

Climate Pakistan is formed under the strong influence of the monsoons. In most of the country it is tropical, in the northwest it is subtropical, dry and only in the mountains is it more humid. The average January temperatures on the plains are 12.5–17.5 0 С, in July 30–35 0 С. In the highlands, there are frosts down to –20 0 С, and frosts occur even in the summer months. The average annual rainfall in the Balochistan Plateau and the Indus Valley is less than 200 mm, in the Thar Desert - less than 100 mm, in Quetta - 250 mm, and in the mountains in the north-west of the country in the most favorable conditions 500-1000 mm. In Sindh, it does not exceed 125 mm, and the cultivation of agricultural crops there is possible only thanks to well-established irrigated agriculture using the waters of the Indus. In the foothill areas in the north of the country, the amount of precipitation increases to 300-500 mm, and in the mountains - up to 1500 mm. The maximum precipitation occurs during the summer monsoon period. In the plains of Pakistan, evaporation is 15–20 times greater than precipitation, so droughts are common.

Soils. On the Indus Plain, fertile alluvial soils are widespread in the river valleys and semi-desert gray soils in the interfluves. In mountainous areas, chestnut, brown forest, subalpine and alpine mountain meadow and meadow-steppe soils are successively replaced from bottom to top. Sandy desert soils and salt marshes are widespread in the intermountain depressions of Balochistan, salt marshes in the south of Sindh, and barren sands within the Thar Desert.

Hydrology. The largest river in Pakistan is the Indus, whose basin covers most of the country. The rivers in the west are either endorheic or have a local discharge into the Arabian Sea. The main tributary of the Indus is the Sutlej, which collects water from the main rivers of the Punjab (Chinab, Ravi, Jelam, Bias) and gives water to large irrigation canals (Dipalpur, Pakpattan, Panjnad). Large rivers experience summer floods due to monsoon rains and melting glaciers in the mountains

Vegetation. The vegetation of Pakistan is predominantly semi-desert and desert, the most sparse in the Thar Desert, where sandy ridges predominate, semi-fixed by xerophytic shrubs (acacia, calligonum ...) and hard grasses. On the Indus Plain, natural vegetation is semi-deserts and deserted savannahs (chiy, wormwood, capers, astragalus ...), along the Indus and other rivers - strips of tugai, in the Indus Delta and along the coast of the Arabian Sea - in places mangroves. Semi-desert formations of thorny cushion-like shrubs are widespread in the Iranian Highlands, and rare thickets of pistachio and juniper are found in the mountains of Balochistan. In the mountains in the north of the country at an altitude of 1500-3000 m - separate areas of deciduous (oak, chestnut) and coniferous (spruce, fir, pine, Himalayan cedar) forests. In the valleys near the villages there are plantations of date palms, citrus fruits, olives, orchards. Mulberry plantations are frequent along irrigation canals.

Animal world.

Markhor goat is one of the national symbols of Pakistan.

(Appendix No. 4)

The fauna of Pakistan is represented by Indo-African, Central Asian and Mediterranean species. Of the large mammals in the mountains, there are leopard, snow leopard, brown and white-breasted bear, fox, wild goats and rams, Persian gazelle; on the plains - hyenas, jackals, wild boars, antelopes, gazelles, kulans, wild donkeys, numerous rodents. The world of birds is diverse (eagles, vultures, peacocks, parrots). Many snakes, including poisonous ones, crocodiles are found in the Indus. Of the invertebrates, scorpions, ticks, and malarial mosquitoes are common. The Arabian Sea is rich in fish (tuna, herring, sea bass, Indian salmon), crustaceans (shrimp) and sea turtles.

POPULATION

Demography. The population of the country in 2004 was estimated at 159.20 million people, while in 1901 there were 16.6 million inhabitants in the territory occupied by Pakistan today. Consequently, in about 100 years there was an almost ninefold increase in the population. The average population density in 1999 was 184 people per 1 sq. km. km, with maximum density in Punjab and minimum density in Balochistan. The demographic growth rate in 2003 was 2.01% per year. Life expectancy is 61.3 years for men and 63.14 for women (2003). Pakistan tried to limit population growth with a family planning program. In the 1960s, the government launched a large-scale campaign to promote contraceptives, but, according to 1987–1994, only 12% of married couples use them. The birth rate in 2004 was 31.22 per 1,000 people, and the death rate was 8.67 per 1,000 human.

Migration. Since ancient times, important migrations of the population have taken place in the territory of present-day Pakistan. In the II millennium BC. Aryan tribes invaded Hindustan from the northwest, bringing their own language and a new social order. In the same way in the 8th c. and later Muslim conquerors came here, along with them their religion and culture spread. Several major population migrations have occurred in the modern era. From 1890 to 1920, the British colonial authorities resettled from 500,000 to 1 million Punjabis from East Punjab, which is now within the Republic of India, to West Punjab, i.e. to the territory of modern Pakistan, for the development of lands on which a network of irrigation canals had been created shortly before. The mass resettlement of refugees also took place immediately after the division of the Indian possessions of Great Britain that gained independence in 1947. Approximately 6.5 million people rushed from India to Pakistan, and 4.7 million in the opposite direction, i.e. the country added 1.8 million inhabitants over the year. This migration affected mainly Punjab: 3.6 million people left it, in whose place 5.2 million came. Most of the remaining refugees settled in the cities of Sindh, and less than 100 thousand settled in Balochistan and near the northwestern border. In the 1970s and 1980s, many Pakistanis left their homeland in search of work, and in 1984 approximately 2 million people lived and worked abroad, mainly in the UK and the Middle East. However, in the late 1980s, the chances of finding work in the Persian Gulf oil fields declined and mass repatriation began. In addition, in the 1980s, the civil war in Afghanistan led to the resettlement of up to 3 million people in refugee camps in Pakistan.

In Pakistan itself, there is a constant outflow of the rural population to the cities. In 1995, 35% of the country's population lived in cities.

Cities. In the composition of the population of large cities, there is a significant proportion of refugees from India (Muhajirs) and their descendants. In 1951, in each of the six largest cities, refugees made up more than 40% of the inhabitants.

The most important of the cities is Karachi with a population of approx. 9.2 million people (late 1990s). Here Urdu-speaking immigrants from India predominate, an important role is played by a layer of Gujarati refugees, although much smaller in number. There were also large communities of Sindhis, Punjabis, Pashtuns and Balochs. Karachi was the capital of the state until 1959, and is currently the administrative center of the province of Sindh. The next largest city is Lahore, the capital of the Punjab, with a population of over 5 million. Considered by many to be the center of the country's intellectual life, Lahore is home to the oldest Punjab University, founded in 1882. Faisalabad (formerly Layalpur), which grew up in the colonial era in a zone irrigated by a dense network of canals, occupies the third place in terms of population (approx. . 2.0 million people), a center for trade in agricultural products and small industry. The fourth largest city is Rawalpindi in northern Punjab with approx. 1 million inhabitants. From 1959, for some time it was the capital of the country - until the new capital Islamabad was built 13 km northeast of it, where government offices were transferred in the late 1960s. Other large Pakistani cities include Hyderabad (pop. 795,000 in 1992), Multan, Gujranwala, and Peshawar.

Ethnic composition and languages. The official language of Pakistan and the lingua franca is Urdu. At the regional level, the most commonly used languages ​​are Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto (Pashto), Bragui and Baluchi. English is widely used in business, education and administration.

Punjabi is spoken by approximately 51% of the total population. Pakistani Muslim Punjabis are ethnically identical to Hindu and Sikh Punjabis living in India. Sindhi is spoken ca. 22% Pakistanis. Pashto (15%) is the language of the Pashtuns, who live mainly in the North-West Frontier Province, and is also widely spoken in neighboring Afghanistan. Balochistan is the birthplace of the Baluch and Bragui speakers.

Two important languages ​​for the country were brought to Pakistan by migrants. Urdu-speaking Muhajirs arrived from Indian territory, mainly from the United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh) after the partition of 1947, and settled mainly in cities, especially Sindh: Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur. Only ok. 8% of Pakistanis consider Urdu as their mother tongue, but its cultural function is exceptionally great. Urdu has been given the status of the state language, its speakers occupy important positions in the state apparatus and business. A smaller group of refugees, mostly from Bombay and the Kathiyawar Peninsula, speak Gujarati and are concentrated in Karachi.

Punjabi, Sindhi, Urdu and Gujarati belong to the Indo-Aryan language group, Pashto and Belochi belong to the Iranian language group, and Bragui is the language of the Dravidian family, distributed mainly in southern India.

Baluchi is spoken by 3% of the population, Bragui by 1.5%.

Religion. The state religion is Islam, which is practiced by over 97% of the people of Pakistan (about three-quarters are Sunnis and one-fifth are Shiites). In addition, there are a significant number of Ahmadis. They consider themselves devout Muslims, although the country's government in 1974 refused to recognize the members of this sect as adherents of Islam. Christians and Hindus make up approximately 1.5% of the total population. Some of the Christians are represented by the Portuguese - immigrants from Goa, and some - by the indigenous people. Hindus left Pakistan after 1947, although some of them continue to live in rural areas in Sindh. The country has a small community of Parsi-Zoroastrians who speak Gujarati.

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