Islamic Republic of Pakistan.

In Urdu, "pak" means "clean" and "stan" means "country".

Pakistan Square. 804000 km2.

Population of Pakistan. 144716 thousand people

Location of Pakistan. Pakistan is a state in the South. In the north and northeast it borders with, in the northeast, east and southeast - with, in the west - with, in the south it is washed by. Disputes with India the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, which is divided between the two states.

Administrative divisions of Pakistan. A federal republic consisting of 4 provinces, a federal capital district, and a federally administered tribal area.

Form of government of Pakistan. Islamic republic.

Head of State of Pakistan. President elected for a term of 5 years.

Supreme legislature of Pakistan. Bicameral Parliament (National Assembly, elected for 5 years, and the Senate, whose term of office is 6 years).

Higher executive agency Pakistan. Government.

Major cities of Pakistan. Karachi, Faisalabad, Peshawar, Rawal Pindi, Multan, Hyderabad.

State language of Pakistan. Urdu.

Religion of Pakistan. 97% - Muslims, 3% - Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Parsis, Buddhists.

Ethnic composition Pakistan. 66% are Punjabis, 13% are Sindhis, as well as Pashtuns, Balochs, Brahuis, etc.

Currency of Pakistan. Pakistani rupee = 100 paisam.

Pakistan. Monsoonal, tropical in most of the country, in the northwest. Average January on the plain from + 12 ° С to + 16 ° С (in the highlands there are frosts down to -20 ° С), July - from + 30 ° С to + 35 С. falls 100-400 mm per year, in th pax - up to 1000 mm per year. The year in Pakistan is divided into three seasons: cool (October to March), hot (March to June) and rainy (July to September). With the onset of the hot season in the south, it becomes hot and humid, in the northern regions at this time it is quite pleasant. AT mountainous areas the weather directly depends on the height above sea level and can vary greatly during the day.

Flora of Pakistan. The vegetation is predominantly and, in the mountains - areas (spruce, evergreen oak, cedar).

Fauna of Pakistan. The animal world is represented by a bear, a deer, a wild boar, a crocodile. In and coastal waters there are a large number of species of fish.

Rivers and lakes of Pakistan. The main river is Panjnad.

Landmarks of Pakistan. In Karachi - the Mausoleum of Khaid-i-Aza-ma - a monument to the founder of Pakistan Ali Jinn, the white marble mosque of the National Protection Society (its only dome is believed to be the largest in the world), the Honeymoon House, in which the Aga Khan was born, the Cathedral of St. Trinity, the Church of St. Andrew, the city zoo. In Lahore, the Mall is of interest - a place of classic English parks and buildings in the colonial, the largest and best Lahore Museum in the country, the famous Kim cannon - a weapon immortalized in Kipling's work "Kim".

Useful information for tourists

Pakistan is the country of the most majestic in Asia, numerous cultural traditions and extremely hospitable people. It is one of the earliest human settlements, the cradle of the most ancient civilization, challenging the leadership of Mesopotamia and the place where Islam, Hinduism and. Of particular importance are the archaeological sites of the Harappan civilization (III-II millennium BC), Persia and other ancient states.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan appeared on the world map in 1947 after the division of the territory british india. More than 200 million people consider this rather small state to be their home, and this is the sixth indicator among the countries of the world. The British colonial past has left its mark on the history of the Islamic Republic and the state language of Pakistan, in addition to the national Urdu, is English.

Some statistics and facts

• Despite the state status of Urdu, less than 8% of Pakistanis consider it native.
• The first place among the prevalence of national languages ​​and dialects in the country is occupied by Punjabi. It is regularly spoken by almost 45% of the population. Second place for Pashto - 15.5%.
• The national language of Pakistan, Urdu, originated in the 13th century and is related to Hindi. It belongs to the Indo-European group. Widespread in neighboring India, Urdu has the status of one of its 22 official languages. In India, up to 50 million people communicate on it.

Urdu: history and features

The name "Urdu" is related to the word "horde" and means "army" or "army". Its roots are in the Hindustani dialect, which has absorbed Persian, Arabic, and Turkic vocabulary and even Sanskrit since the time of the Great Moghuls.
Urdu is identical to Hindi, and legal differences only arose in 1881, when the religious aspect influenced the disengagement. Hindus began to speak Hindi, and Muslims began to speak Urdu. The first preferred to use Devanagari for writing, and the second - the Arabic alphabet.
By the way, the second state language of Pakistan has significantly influenced the modern Urdu and many borrowings from English have appeared in it.
About 60 million people speak Urdu in the world or consider it native, most of whom live in India. This language is compulsory in Pakistan school subject, it is used by official bodies and administrative institutions.
The world significance of Urdu, as the language of a large part of the Islamic population, is very high. This confirms the duplication in the state language of Pakistan of most of the signs in Mecca and Medina - the sacred places of pilgrimage for Muslims around the world.

Note to the tourist

Due to the state status of English, tourists in Pakistan usually do not have problems with communication. All maps, restaurant menus, traffic patterns and public transport stops are translated into English. It is owned by taxi drivers, waiters, hotel workers and the vast majority of ordinary residents of the country.

- so-called. Azad Kashmir (i.e. Free Kashmir).

NATURE

Terrain relief.

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 have been discovered in the mountains brown coal, chromite ore and other minerals.

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. Altitude of this region from 100 to 200 m. From the south, the desert is framed by the saline lowlands of the Great Kutch Rann, 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 lies the Hinduraj Range, southwest end which is separated from the Spingar border range by the Khyber Pass (1030 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 strong influence 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°C, and in July 30–35°C. In the highlands, frosts down to –20°C occur, 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.

In the Indian Plain, fertile alluvial soils are widespread in 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.

Vegetable world.

The Indus Plain is dominated by herbaceous-shrub semi-desert (Punjab) and desert (Sindh) vegetation. Excessive plowing and grazing of livestock, intensive water intake, and the reduction of tree vegetation have led to a decrease in river flow, degradation of landscapes, and an expansion of the area of ​​anthropogenic deserts. Artemisia, capers, camel's thorn, saltwort dominate in the meager vegetation cover. Grasses settle on the fixed sands. Individual trees and groves, usually mangoes and other fruit trees, grow along roads, around villages and wells. Gallery forests of Euphrates poplar and tamarisk have been preserved in places along the river valleys. Thanks to artificial irrigation, large areas in the Indus basin and its tributaries have been turned into a system of oases, where rice, cotton, wheat, millet and other crops are grown.

The highlands of Balochistan are dominated by desert vegetation with characteristic prickly cushion forms (acanthus, astragalus, etc.). Wormwood and ephedra are widely distributed. Higher in the mountains, sparse forests of olive, pistachio, and juniper appear.

Coniferous and deciduous forests have been preserved in the mountains in the north and northeast of Pakistan, occupying approx. 3% of the country's area. In the Salt Range, located on the interfluve of the Jhelam and Indus and forming the southern edge of the Potwar Plateau, as well as in the foothills of the Himalayas and some other regions of the country, peculiar subtropical woodlands grow from evergreen xerophytic species. Wild olives, acacias and dwarf palms dominate there. In the mountains at altitudes of 2000–2500 m above sea level. Significant areas are occupied by tall forests of evergreen broad-leaved species, mainly oaks and chestnuts. Above, they give way to majestic forests of Himalayan cedar ( Cedrus deodara), long-coniferous pine ( Pinus longifolia), fir and spruce. They often have a dense shrub layer of magnolia, laurel and rhododendron.

Mangrove forests grow in the Indus Delta and on the coast of the Arabian Sea.

Animal world

Pakistan is quite diverse. Wild rams and goats, including the Siberian mountain goat, live in the mountains from large mammals, and wild boars, antelopes, gazelles, kulans and the Persian gazelle live on the plains. There are many monkeys in the forests and groves. From predators in the mountains there are leopard, snow leopard, brown and white-breasted bear, fox, hyena, jackal. The world of birds is diverse, including such birds of prey as eagles, kites, vultures, as well as peacocks, parrots and many others. Snakes live almost everywhere, including many poisonous ones. There are crocodiles in the Indus Delta. Of the invertebrates, scorpions, ticks, malarial mosquitoes and mosquitoes are common. The Arabian Sea is rich in fish resources. The most important commercial value are herring, sea bass, ravance (Indian salmon). Sharks, stingrays, octopuses and shrimps are also caught. Giant sea turtles up to 1.5 m in diameter live off the coast.

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 data from 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 people.

In 2011, the population of the country amounted to 190.291 million people. The birth rate was 24.3 per 1,000 people. The death rate is 6.8 people per 1000. The average population density is 239 people. Life expectancy is 66.3 years (men - 64.5, women - 68.3).

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, 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, and 5.2 million came to their place. 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. 13 million people (2009). 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 7 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. . 3 million people), a center for trade in agricultural products and small industry.

The fourth largest city is Rawalpindi in northern Punjab with over 2 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 (832 thousand people in 2009), where government offices were transferred in the late 1960s institutions. Other large Pakistani cities include Hyderabad, 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%) - the language of the Pashtuns, who live mainly in the North-West Frontier Province, 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.

President and Government of Pakistan.

Under the 1973 constitution, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a federal state. The head of state and the symbol of its unity is the president. He is considered the head of the executive branch, part of the legislature and supreme commander armed forces. The President has the power to pardon, repeal and commute the sentence of any court.

The President makes appointments for the Prime Minister, members of the government, provincial governors, members of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and the supreme courts of the provinces, the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission, the Chief Electoral Commissioner and members of the Electoral Commission, senior military leaders. He convenes parliamentary sessions, gives sanctions to parliamentary bills and can reject them (deputies can override the "veto" by a majority vote at a joint meeting of both houses of parliament). Between sessions, the President may issue decrees for up to 4 months. Previously, the head of state had the authority to dissolve the country's parliament and announce a new election campaign, but changes made to the text of the constitution in 1997 deprived him of this right. The President may call a referendum on matters of national importance. According to the constitution, he can declare a state of emergency in case of a threat to the security of Pakistan (with the right to restrict basic civil rights), suspend constitutional guarantees in a particular province, declare state of emergency in the field of finance.

Apart from the sphere of exclusive competence, in which the president acts at his own discretion, in other cases he must be guided by the advice and recommendations of the prime minister and the government. However, he may require them to reconsider these recommendations.

In accordance with the constitution, the president of Pakistan is elected for a term of 5 years by an electoral college consisting of deputies from both houses of parliament and provincial parliaments. According to the constitution, he is not eligible for re-election for a new term. To remove the president, it was required that the corresponding proposal be put forward by at least half of the deputies of one of the chambers of parliament and supported by at least two-thirds of the participants in the joint meeting of both chambers.

In 2001, the country's military leader, General Pervez Musharraf, became president of Pakistan under the suspension of the constitution. In 2002, the authorities held a referendum, as a result of which Musharraf was confirmed in the presidential office. The president again received the right to dissolve the country's parliament.

The supreme legislative body of Pakistan is the Parliament (Majlis-i-Shura), which consists of two chambers: the lower (National Assembly) and the upper (Senate). The National Assembly is elected by popular vote for a term of 5 years. Since 2002, it has consisted of 342 deputies: 272 are elected by the Muslim curia, 10 by the list of religious minorities, 60 seats are reserved for women (these are representatives of the provinces, for whom other deputies of the assembly vote). The Senate consists of 100 members. They are elected for 6 years by deputies of the provincial assemblies, the National Assembly, etc.; half of the members of parliament are renewed every three years.

Any bill, except for the financial one, is discussed at a separate meeting of each of the chambers. In case of disagreement between the chambers, it is submitted to a joint meeting of both chambers, and a simple majority of the votes of the participants is required for adoption. Bills on financial matters are discussed by the National Assembly and, once passed, are sent to the president for signature.

The government - the body of executive power - should "help" the president in the exercise of his functions. The Prime Minister (mandatory Muslim) is appointed by the President from among the members of the National Assembly; he must enjoy the confidence of the majority of his deputies. On the advice of the prime minister, the president appoints the ministers. The government must receive a vote of confidence in the National Assembly and is collectively responsible to it. It develops bills and submits them to parliament for discussion.

After the elections to the National Assembly in 2002, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, a representative of the Pakistan Muslim League (Quaid-e Azam faction), was appointed Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Provincial and local governments.

Pakistan is a federation consisting of four provinces (Punjab, Sindh, North-West Frontier Province, Balochistan), the Islamabad metropolitan area, the tribal area and the centrally administered Northern Regions. The highest person in the province is the governor, appointed and removed by the president. The legislature is the provincial assembly; a provincial government is formed from its deputies, bearing collective responsibility to it. Pakistani legislation stipulates the distribution of competencies between the center and the provinces. The exclusive prerogatives of the center include defense, foreign relations, money turnover, foreign trade, part of taxes, planning and coordination, communications, inter-provincial trade, etc. The joint competence of the center and the provinces includes criminal law, civil litigation, transfer of property (except for agricultural land), environmental problems, social security, trade union activities, labor conflicts, navigation on inland waters, electricity generation, etc. The remaining issues are within the jurisdiction of provinces.

The provinces of Pakistan are divided into regions, which consist of districts, and the latter - from districts (tahsils), which unite a group of villages. The people elect members of the councils of communities, districts, township and municipal committees and corporations. The tribal area is divided into agencies; each of them is headed by a political agent appointed by the central government, and local issues are decided at a general meeting of the adult male population. The Northern Territories also have local governments.

Azad Kashmir. Part of the territory of the former Indian principality of Jammu and Kashmir, occupied in 1947, has a special status. Pakistani authorities. In October 1947, the independent state "Azad (Free) Jammu and Kashmir" was proclaimed here, which has political ties with Pakistan and is connected with it by an agreement of 1949. At present, Azad Kashmir occupies an area of ​​about 33 thousand square meters. km., where about 2 million people live. The capital is Muzaffarabad. About 50 thousand more square meters. km. administered directly by Pakistan. Pakistan has a representative in Azad Kashmir.

The governing bodies of Azad Kashmir are the Council (located in Islamabad and headed by the authorities of Pakistan), the President, the Assembly and the government headed by the Prime Minister. The constitution was adopted in 1974. The president since 2001 is former General Muhammad Anwar Khan, the prime minister is Iskander Hayat Khan. Political parties that reject Kashmir's ties to Pakistan are banned.

Judicial system.

Higher Judicial authority Pakistan - the Supreme Court in Islamabad (there are branches in Lahore and Karachi). The President (Chief Justice of Pakistan) and members of the court are appointed by the President. The Supreme Court hears disputes between central and provincial governments and between provinces. In addition, it is the appellate court in cases involving questions of law related to the interpretation of the constitution, when we are talking on capital punishment, etc. The Supreme Court gives opinions on issues of law submitted for its consideration by the president, exercises control over the observance of the fundamental rights of citizens, makes decisions on the constitutionality of certain actions of state bodies and on their legality.

The provinces have their own superior courts; their chairmen (chief judges) and members are appointed by the president. The lower courts (from local to district) are divided into criminal and civil. They are appointed by the provincial governors. Administrative courts or tribunals may be established by law to deal with the cases of public servants. During the reign of Zia, the Federal Sharia Court was also created, which decided whether the laws corresponded to the canons of Islamic law.

Administrative apparatus.

AT public institutions predominantly professionals. Their top layer is formed by well-trained officials of the Pakistan Civil Service, which once included 1000-1500 people and was abolished in 1973 under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto.

Political parties.

Pakistan Muslim League(PML) was created in 1947 from the provincial organizations of the All India Muslim League, which had existed since 1906. The party led the creation of the Pakistani state and ruled it practically undividedly until 1955. Representatives of large landowners, entrepreneurs, and merchants of West Pakistan played a leading role in it. The conservatism of the PML led to a number of splits in the party, resulting in the emergence of the first significant opposition parties - the People's League (Awami League), the Free Pakistan Party, the Republican Party, etc. In 1955, the PML was forced to share power with the opposition, and then to give way to it.

The revival of the influence of the PML occurred after the coup of Ayub Khan in 1958. The new government reorganized it and turned it into the ruling party of the regime in 1962. As a program, the PML put forward the principle of a presidential form of government, an indirect system of elections to state bodies, the preservation of the administrative unity of West Pakistan and the limitation of the autonomy of East Pakistan. Removed from power along with the regime of Ayub Khan, the party suffered a crushing defeat in the 1970 parliamentary elections, winning only 2 out of 300 seats. The PML split into several factions, one of which was in opposition to the government of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the other collaborated with him.

In 1979-1984, when political activity in Pakistan was banned, the PML was inactive. In 1986, the dictator Zia-ul Haq appointed Muhammad Khan Junejo as prime minister, who announced the re-establishment of the party and led it.

After Junejo was removed from power in 1988, the PML again broke up into factions - the pro-government led by Nawaz Sharif, the main opposition (Junejo and Pir Pagaro) and 6 others.

PML Nawaz Sharif headed the block Islamic Democratic Alliance with the participation of religious and right-wing parties (“Jamiat-i Islami”, factions of the party “Jamiat-i Ulama-i Islam”, etc.). The IDA promised to protect the interests and rights of workers, improve the well-being of the people, ensure the development of education, health care, the payment of old-age pensions, and so on. Junejo and Pir Pagaro's faction, along with the Freedom Movement party and another faction, Jamiat-i Ulama-i Pakistan, formed the Pakistan People's Alliance. Both alliances were defeated in the elections.

The 1990 elections brought victory to the IDA, and Nawaz Sharif led the government of Pakistan, which was in power until 1993. In the next elections, the PML factions came out on their own: Nawaz Sharif's organization won 72 seats in the National Assembly out of 217, and Junejo's organization - 6. The first of them went to opposition, and the second entered into a coalition with the Pakistan People's Party of the new Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The 1997 elections brought Nawaz Sharif's PML an absolute majority in the National Assembly, but in 1999 his cabinet was overthrown in a military coup.

In the parliamentary elections of 2002, the various factions of the PML ran separately from each other. Supporting President-General Pervez Musharraf, the Kuaid-i Azam PML (honorary nickname of the founder of the Pakistani state, M.A. Jinnah), led by Muhammad Azhar, collected 26% of the vote and eventually took 117 out of 342 seats in the National Assembly. Its representative Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali became the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

Other factions of the PML were defeated: the PML of Nawaz Sharif received only 9% of the vote (19 seats), the PML ("functional") - 1% (5 seats), the PML Junejo - less than 1% (4 seats), and the PML of "Martyr Ziya- ul-Haq" - 0.3% of the vote (1st place).

Pakistan People's Party(PNP; also Pakistan People's Party) founded in 1967 by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. The party's program was considered to be its election manifesto of 1970, which put forward the slogan of "Islamic democratic socialism." The goal of the PPP was declared to be the construction of a classless society based on social justice. The Party promised to abolish monopolies, nationalize the main branches of industry, banks, Insurance companies, transportation, destroy feudalism in the countryside, develop cooperatives in the countryside, improve the living and working conditions of wage workers. In 1970 the PPP won elections in West Pakistan and was in power in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan from 1971-1977.

In 1977, the PPP government was overthrown by the military, led by Zia-ul-Haq. The party went into opposition and was heavily repressed by the authorities. Its activists were arrested, and the leader, ZA Bhutto, was executed. The PPP was led by his widow Nusrat and later by his daughter Benazir. In 1981, the PPP led the opposition Movement for the Restoration of Democracy bloc, but by 1988 it had collapsed.

After the restoration of democratic government in 1988, the PPP won a relative majority of seats in the National Assembly elections, and Benazir Bhutto led a coalition government with National Movement muhajirs and independent deputies.

The PPP's new election manifesto was more moderate than in the 1970s. It lacked radical slogans and the term "socialism". The party promised the workers participation in the management of production with the help of trust funds, the democratization of trade unions, the extension of labor legislation to agricultural workers. She also intended to encourage entrepreneurs who create jobs to continue agrarian reform, develop production and education. The PPP identifies itself with the European type of social democracy and cooperates with the Socialist International.

The new PPP program, adopted in 1992, advocates a "new social contract" based on a "social market economy", the privatization of the means of production, the decentralization of local government and the "devolution" of the central government.

In 1990, the PPP government was removed from power. The party lost the 1990 elections, but in 1993 managed to regain a relative majority of seats in the National Assembly. In 1996, Benazir Bhutto was again removed from the post of prime minister, and in 1997 the PPP lost the general election and went into opposition. After the 1999 military coup, she initially opposed the Musharraf regime, but then supported him in the fight against Islamic fundamentalists. In the 2002 elections, the PPP collected 26% of the vote and took 81 seats in the National Assembly.

Separately from the main faction of the PPP, a faction of the party led by Sherpao acted. In 2002 she received 0.3% of the vote and has 2 seats in the National Assembly.

"Jamiat-i Islami"(DI; Islamic Society) is a right-wing religious party formed in 1941 and enjoying significant influence among the poor urban population. Until 1977, she was invariably in opposition (in 1958-1962 it was forbidden). Demanded the Islamization of the country. Later, she supported the dictatorship of Zia-ul-Haq, and her student organization actively fought against opponents of the regime. In the 1988 elections, JI was part of the Islamic Democratic Alliance (IDA). The party promised to fight against feudalism, capitalism, the rule of the landlords, bureaucracy and exploitation, to carry out agrarian reform and to give the provinces of the country greater autonomy. JI announced the creation of a society based on the principles of "Islamic justice" as its main goal. The elections turned out to be unsuccessful for JI - the party received only 1 seat in the National Assembly. In 1990, she again acted as part of the IDA, and this time became part of the new government. But the 1993 elections again brought defeat to JI (4 seats). The party failed to succeed in 1997 either.

JI actively supported the Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan and strongly condemned the pro-American policy of the Musharraf government to overthrow this regime in 2001. seats in the National Assembly.

"Jamiat-i Ulama-i Islam"(SUI; Society of Islamic Theologians) is a party of orthodox Muslim clergy, followers of the Deoband religious school, which denies Western ideas about the state, culture, philosophy and education. Created in 1941, the religious-political movement occupies a center-right position and proclaims its opposition to both capitalism and socialism.

The JUI participated in the struggle against colonial dependence on Great Britain, collaborated with the Indian National Congress and opposed a separate Pakistani state for a long time. She was in opposition against the creation of the government of Z.A. Bhutto, later - against the dictatorship of Zia-ul-Haq, she was a member of the Movement for the Restoration of Democracy.

Since the 1960s, the JUI has been split into various factions that operate separately from each other. In the 1988 elections, one of them - the DUI(F) - acted independently, the other (the Dharvasti faction) joined the IDA. The subsequent elections of 1990, 1993 and 1997 did not bring significant success to the JUI. The movement supported the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. In 2002, two factions of the party acted as part of the Islamist alliance Muttahid Majlis-i Amal.

"Jamiat-i Ulama-i Pakistan"(DUP; Society of theologians of Pakistan) is a religious and political organization that focuses on the ideas of the Islamic Sunni school of Bareilly. DUP, founded in the 1940s, advocates a "third way" of development - not capitalist, not socialist, but based on the principles of Islam. The organization is more tolerant of alternative interpretations of Islamic sacred texts and regulations, and focuses on the humanitarian aspects of public life. The party is supported primarily by Urdu-speaking Pakistanis, primarily Muhajirs. The leader of the DUP, Shah Ahmad Nurani, was one of the leaders of the implacable opposition against the Zia-ul-Haq regime, demanding the restoration of democracy in the country. In 1988, the DUP joined the Pakistan People's Alliance, but the latter performed unsuccessfully in the elections. The next decade also did not bring political success to the party. In 2002, the DUP acted as part of the Muttakhida Majlis-i Amal bloc, and Nurani, the leader of the party, became its head.

In addition to DUP, JUI and JI, the Muttahida Majlis-i Amal block also included "Jamiat-i Ahl-i Hadith"(Hadith Covenant Society; leader - Hadith Syed Mir) and the Shiite Party Islamic Movement of Pakistan(Movement for the implementation of Jafari fiqh, founded in 1980, leader - Allama Syed Naqvi).

Federal National Movement (FND) It was created in 1984 as the National Muhajir Front (NFM), transformed from the All-Pakistan Muhajir Student Organization, which in 1977, together with the opposition, opposed the administration of Z.A. Bhutto. The party has a strong position in Sindh. The main task of the PFM was to protect the interests and rights of the Muhajirs. He demanded an amendment to the constitution recognizing them as the fifth nationality of Pakistan, guaranteeing them access to government posts and civil service, and limiting the activities of Afghan emigrants in the country. In 1988, the Muhajir Party became the third most important political force in Pakistan. Receiving about 5% of the vote in the 1988-1997 elections, she had 12-15 seats in the National Assembly. In 1988-1990, the Muhajirs were in a coalition with the Pakistan People's Party, and in 1997-1999 - with the PML of Nawaz Sharif. The renaming of the FND is intended to emphasize the party's desire to protect the interests of national minorities on a wider scale. In the 2002 elections, the movement acted in two factions. The main one (led by Altaf Hussain) collected 3% of the vote and has 17 seats in the National Assembly; the other - FND (X) - was content with 1 place.

National Alliance- a political bloc formed before the 2002 elections. It included the Democratic Alliance of Sindh, the Millat Party and other organizations. The leader is Imtaz Sheikh. In the elections, he collected about 5% of the vote and has 16 seats in the National Assembly.

People's National Party (PNP) - the leading left party of Pakistan. It was created in 1986 as a result of the unification of part of the National Democratic Party, the Pakistan National Party, the People's Movement, the Workers' and Peasants' Party, etc. Headed NNP former leader banned by the government of Z.A. Bhutto of the National People's Party of Abdul Wali Khan.

The NPP advocated a new, more democratic constitution and the building of an "economic and social democracy" society in Pakistan, in which citizens are guaranteed food, shelter, clothing, education, health care and employment opportunities. The ANP demands greater economic independence for Pakistan and calls for the unification of left-wing democratic forces. In the elections of 1988, 1990 and 1993, the party received 3, and in 1997 - 9 seats in the National Assembly. In 1997–1998, the NPP supported the government of Nawaz Sharif. In the 2002 elections, she performed unsuccessfully: having gained 1% of the vote, she did not receive representation in the National Assembly.

Pakistan Labor Party (PTP) arose in the second half of the 1990s as a result of the unification of a number of Trotskyist, former pro-Soviet or Maoist organizations. The first congress of the party was held in April 2000 in Lahore. The PTP advocates a workers' revolution, the liberation of Pakistan from the rule of foreign and national capital, and the transition to socialism. Strongly condemns Islamic fundamentalism. The party enjoys some influence in the trade unions. The leader is Faruk Tariq.

In addition to these parties and movements, there are: People's Movement of Pakistan, Republican Fatherland Party, Balochistan National Party, Pakistan Socialist Party and etc.

In Azad Kashmir, the leading party is Muslim Conference of Jammu and Kashmir (MK). The party was formed in the 1940s and was in power in Azad Kashmir until 1990, in 1991-1996 and since 2001. In 1990-1991 and 1996-2001 the government formed a local branch Pakistan People's Party. The consignment Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front led by Amanullah Khan advocates the independence of Kashmir from both India and Pakistan; its activities in Azad Kashmir are limited.

Armed forces.

With help from the United States and a number of other countries, Pakistani troops are well trained and equipped with modern weapons. In 1998, the ground armed forces numbered 450 thousand, the sea 16 thousand and the air 17.6 thousand people. The army has always possessed in the country huge influence. Generals often switched to high positions in the civil administration, actively participated in political events countries, declared a state of emergency and established control over the government.

Foreign policy.

In 1947 Pakistan was admitted to the UN and in the same year became a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. In 1972, when Great Britain and other Commonwealth countries recognized Bangladesh, Pakistan withdrew from it and returned only in 1989. Pakistan's foreign policy was determined primarily by how relations developed with its neighbors - India and Afghanistan, which was reflected in the nature of diplomatic relations even with superpowers . Since 1970, Pakistan has been a member of the Organization of the Islamic Conference, since 1979 - the Non-Aligned Movement, since 1985 - the Association regional cooperation South Asia and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

For over 50 years, Pakistan has been in conflict with India over the issue of Kashmir. In 1947–1948, these states found themselves on the brink of war because of this. In 1972, with the mediation of the UN in Kashmir, it was possible to draw a demarcation line. The southeastern regions of Kashmir remained under Indian administration, while the rest of the former principality, known as Azad (Free) Kashmir, is controlled by Pakistan. It is partly integrated into its composition under the name "Northern Territories" mountainous areas in the north of Kashmir, including Gilgit, Hunza and Baltistan, but their inhabitants do not participate in elections to the all-Pakistani authorities. The dispute over the division of the waters of the Indus system overshadowed India-Pakistan relations until it found successful resolution in a 1960 agreement brokered by the World Bank.

In 1990, another outbreak of unrest occurred in Kashmir, in which the Indian side accused Pakistan of fomenting it. The latter denies its participation, recognizing the right to diplomatic support of Kashmiri Muslims and insisting on holding a referendum in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in accordance with UN resolutions. India demands that Pakistan withdraw its troops from Kashmiri territory, and the rejection of the referendum, which Pakistan accuses it of, is explained by the fact that the state legislature spoke in favor of its full integration with India. As a result, no action was taken to resolve the conflict. In 1998, the Indian government, led by representatives of the Bharatiya Janata party, and the Pakistani government, led by Nawaz Sharif, agreed to discuss all contentious issues, including Kashmiri, at the diplomatic level.

In the 1950s, Pakistan signed a bilateral treaty with the United States and in 1954-1972 was part of the SEATO regional military bloc, and in 1955-1979 - in the Baghdad Pact (later CENTO). In 1962, after armed clashes broke out between India and China, Pakistan managed to reach an agreement on border issues and strengthen good neighborly contacts with the PRC.

Throughout the 1970s, Pakistan strengthened ties with the developing countries of the Middle East and other Third World regions. In 1974 he held a conference of leaders of Muslim states. Relations have been established with Saudi Arabia and the emirates of the Persian Gulf.

The authorities in Kabul have never accepted as official state border the Durand Line, by which Great Britain in 1893 separated from Afghanistan the Pashto-speaking areas that were under its control. Kabul also sought, first in the 1950s and again in the 1970s, to encourage the separatist aspirations of the Pashtuns in the North-West Frontier Province by proposing the creation of the state of Pashtunistan. However, Afghanistan itself, as a weak neighbor, did not cause serious concern. The uprising of conservative Islamists in 1978 against the new left-wing government in Afghanistan and the invasion of the Soviet army in that country in 1979 changed the situation dramatically. Within a few years, 3 million Afghan refugees arrived in Pakistan. The main thing was that Afghanistan, being a potential ally of India, would pose a real threat to the security of Pakistan. Therefore, in the 1980s, Afghan rebels received a safe haven and the opportunity to organize military camps on its territory. Through Pakistan, weapons for the Mujahideen came from the United States and Saudi Arabia. Military assistance was also provided to Pakistan itself. After the Soviet military contingent was withdrawn from Afghanistan in 1988-1989, the resistance fighters turned to an internal civil war. Pakistan tried to help end it and reach an agreement between the hostile factions.

Pakistan has diplomatic relations With Russian Federation(installed in May 1948 with the USSR).

ECONOMY

Historical background.

The territories on the basis of which Pakistan was formed after the partition of British India in 1947 had a typical agricultural economy. Punjab, over 50% of which was within West Pakistan, was known as the granary of the colony. During the Second World War, the Punjab remained a major exporter of wheat and cotton, and the local villages, compared with other parts of India, were distinguished by their material well-being. East Bengal, which became the province of East Pakistan, was the world's leading exporter of jute used for bagging and carpeting. West Pakistan had an extensive system of irrigation canals and dams in Punjab and Sindh, while Karachi served as an important port. In the eastern part of the country, the port infrastructure was extremely weak, so that foreign trade was conducted through Calcutta.

The economy of Pakistan was seriously damaged during the partition of 1947 due to the outflow of refugees. Businessmen and entrepreneurs left the country, the loss of which could not be compensated by Muslim merchants from India (especially those who arrived from Bombay and Calcutta). Only a limited number of settlers had experience in industry. Migration processes also had a negative impact on the agricultural sector. Many of the most skilled farmers, mainly Sikhs who lived in the Indus Valley, left the province of Sindh and the western Punjab.

In the first years of independence, the authorities were forced to deal mainly with the problems of resettlement of refugees and the settlement of relations with India. In the future, the government was able to turn to the solution of purely economic issues, giving Special attention industrialization. During the Korean War in 1950-1951, a sharp rise in world prices for raw materials allowed Pakistan to accumulate foreign exchange reserves, which were used to import industrial equipment. This course was maintained in the future. Cotton milling was especially active in West Pakistan and jute production in East Pakistan, so that the regime of Ayub Khan became associated in the mid-1960s with the "22 families" who took control of the country's industry.

With the secession of the Eastern Province in 1971, Pakistan lost a major market for its industrial products. Emphasis had to be placed on finding new export opportunities for Pakistani goods, primarily cotton and rice. After Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto came to power in 1971, large enterprises, life insurance companies, and later shipping companies and the oil trade were nationalized. Bhutto also carried out a curtailed agrarian reform, in accordance with which 400,000 hectares of land were distributed among 67,000 peasant farms by 1976.

General characteristics of the economy.

Pakistan is an agro-industrial country in which the majority of the economically active population is employed in agriculture. In 1991–1992, approximately 48% of the total labor force was concentrated in the agricultural sector, 20% in industry and 32% in the service sector. Unemployment and underemployment remain chronic problems. To many Pakistanis, from qualified specialists to ordinary workers, they have to work abroad, especially in the countries of the Middle East.

In 2002, Pakistan's GDP was $295.3 billion, or $2,000 per capita. In 2011, the per capita accounted for $2,800.

20.9% of GDP is created in agriculture, 25.8% in industry and construction, and 53.3% in trade and transport. In general, undoubted economic progress was achieved during the period of independence: from 1947 to 1990, production increased its capacity by an average of 5% per year, but then the pace slowed down and in 1996–1997 was estimated at 2.8%. In 2011, this figure fell to 2.4%.

In 2001, the population on the verge of poverty was 35%, in 2011 about half of the population.

Decades of internal political disputes and low level foreign investment led to slower growth and economic backwardness of Pakistan. Agriculture accounts for over one-fifth of output and two-fifths of employment. Textile exports account for the bulk of Pakistan's income, and Pakistan's inability to expand its export base for other manufacturers leaves the country vulnerable to changes in global demand.

The official unemployment rate is 6%, but this fails to show the true picture because much of the economy is not quantifiable.

Over the past few years, low economic growth and high inflation, rising food prices have led to the impoverishment of the population. The UN in its 2001 Report assesses the situation of almost 50% of the country's population as living below the poverty line.

Inflation worsened the situation in the country, rising from 7.7% in 2007 to over 13% in 2011, but dropped to 9.3% at the end of the year. As a result of political and economic instability, the purchasing power of the Pakistani rupee has declined by more than 40% since 2007.

Remittances from overseas workers, averaging about $1 billion per month since March 2011, remain a significant source of income for Pakistan. Rising prices for imported oil and declining prices for exported cotton have relegated Pakistan to a ranks of low-income countries with a high dependence on foreign investment.

Agriculture.

In supplying food and providing industry with raw materials, the country is highly dependent on its agricultural sector. The main grain crop is wheat. The government buys it from the peasants at a fixed price and subsidizes the sale of flour to the population. Government organizations promote the introduction of new high-yielding Mexican-Pakistani wheat varieties by distributing seeds to farmers at low prices, as well as providing support for the purchase of pesticides to combat pests and plant diseases and mineral fertilizers.

Among commercial industrial crops, cotton is the most important. It is cultivated mainly on small farms that supply raw materials to ginneries at government procurement prices. These businesses then sell the fiber state corporation, which sells it for export or to textile factories.

Leading food crops include rice, corn, chickpeas, sugarcane and millet. Rice is especially significant as an export commodity: the Basmati variety grown in the country produces an oblong, aromatic grain that is highly valued in the Middle East.

The country's agriculture relies on the most extensive irrigation network in the world. Flood filling channels, devoid of head structures that would guarantee the intake of water in low water, existed already in the era early civilization the Indus valley. In the 19th and 20th centuries, under English rule, a system of canals of constant filling was created, which are fed by rivers all year round. Many peasants also build wells. More than 80% of arable land is irrigated in Pakistan.

After the partition of 1947, some of the hydraulic facilities that ensured the filling of canals in Pakistan ended up within India. The dispute over the rights to river flow was resolved, with the participation of the World Bank as an intermediary, by the signing of the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960. According to this treaty, India received the right to control the flow of Ravi, Beas and Sutlej, and Pakistan - over the flow of the Indus, Jelam and Chenab. In the 1960s, a large earthen dam, Mangla, was built on the Jelam River bordering India, and in 1976–1977, the Tarbela Dam on the Indus River.

Mining industry.

The main deposits of gas were explored in Sui (Baluchistan) in 1952, followed by discoveries in the Punjab and Sindh. Oil was first discovered in the Punjabi district of Attock before the First World War. There are currently 7 fields in operation, but they meet less than 10% of Pakistan's liquid fuel needs. Other identified mineral resources include coal, chrome ores, marble, common salt, gypsum, limestone, uranium ore, phosphorites, barite, sulfur, fluorite, precious and semi-precious stones. A large deposit of copper ore was discovered in Balochistan.

Energy.

Energy consumption in the country is low and in coal equivalent is 254 kg per capita, i.e. about the same as in India. More than half of the electricity is generated by hydropower plants, but importance They also have thermal stations, the role of nuclear power plants is limited.

Manufacturing industry.

In Pakistan, the most developed textile industry (manufacturing of yarn and fabrics from domestic cotton) and the production of clothing for export.

With the help of the Soviet Union, a metallurgical plant near Karachi was built and in 1980 was put into operation. The capacities of the cement and sugar industries are being increased, several oil refineries are operating. Natural gas serves as a raw material base chemical industry, in particular the production of fertilizers, and is used as fuel for thermal power plants.

An important place in the economy of Pakistan is occupied by small-scale industries, for example, sports goods (footballs and other balls, hockey sticks) and surgical instruments in Sialkot. In the informal sector of Faisalabad and other cities, there are numerous small cotton weaving enterprises. In a number of Punjabi settlements, workshops for the manufacture of agricultural implements, pumps and diesel engines have grown. Carpet weaving is developing rapidly.

Transport.

The length of railways (including narrow-gauge) is 8.8 thousand km. The main highway connecting a number of cities runs along the Indus. Export cargoes are delivered to the ports of Karachi and Bin Qasim mainly by railways. The length of highways is more than 100,000 km, including the Indus Valley Expressway connecting Peshawar and Karachi. In addition to road transport, carts pulled by buffaloes, donkeys and camels are widely used for transportation.

Part of the freight and passenger traffic is carried out along the rivers.

Main sea ​​port country - Karachi, the second most important - Bin Qasim, opened in 1980. Maritime shipping companies were nationalized in 1974. Domestic merchant navy is small and does not fully provide foreign trade transportation.

The State Aviation Company of Pakistan operates successfully, which, in addition to domestic communications, accounts for the majority of foreign passenger traffic. Since 1992, several private aviation firms have also been operating.

International trade.

Trade relations with foreign countries are essential for modern economy Pakistan, especially for manufacturing and commercial agriculture.

Pakistan has been experiencing difficulties for a long time due to a negative balance of foreign trade. During the 1970s, export earnings increased rapidly, but imports were even more dynamic, partly due to the oil price spike in 1973–1974. In 1996, exports reached $9.3 billion and imports $11.8 billion. The deficit was partly covered by remittances from Pakistanis who went to work in other states (more than $1.5 billion) and foreign aid. Pakistan's external debt was estimated at about $30 billion. In 1997, the country's foreign exchange reserves amounted to $1.8 billion.

Thousands of Pakistani citizens different levels vocational training work abroad, primarily in the Gulf states, but also in the UK, Canada and the US.

As in most Third World countries, Pakistan big role play foreign funds coming in the form of gratuitous loans and credits. In 1996, outside assistance amounted to almost $1 billion. Most of the resources were provided by a consortium set up by the World Bank. The United States, Germany, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom acted as the main donors.

Money circulation and banking system.

The issue of the Pakistani rupee is handled by the State Bank of Pakistan, located in Karachi. Several large commercial banks operate in the country. Financial support for development projects is within the competence of the Bank for Agricultural Development, the Federal Cooperative and a number of other banks. Pakistani banks were nationalized in 1974, but some of them were subsequently returned to the private sector.

The state budget.

The main sources of filling the current budget are import duties and excises. The largest expenditures are for the army. In second place are the costs of servicing the public debt. The capital investment budget is financed primarily by foreign loans and borrowings and is focused primarily on the development of energy, water management, transport and communications.

SOCIETY

The social structure of the population.

In Pakistan, ethnolinguistic groups are distinguished, partly associated with certain geographical areas. In addition, there is a division into tribes, castes and religious sects. Caste division is especially pronounced in Punjab and Sindh. In Pakistan, caste is a group of people with a particular social status and traditional activities. Marriages take place predominantly within castes, especially in countryside.

Punjab.

This province is dominated by three castes: Rajputs, Jats and Aryans. Muslim Rajputs belong to the local tribal elite, which was converted to Islam during the reign of the Great Mughals. From the beginning they were warriors, rulers, landowners and plowmen. Even today, the Rajputs form a significant layer in the Pakistani army. lower social status occupied by the Jats and Arains, who are predominantly landowners. Members of these castes serve in the military and hold prestigious professions. The next places on the social ladder belong to the Avans, Gujars, Lohars, Tarkhans and Biluchis. Of these, the first pair form agricultural clans in the northwest of the Punjab, while the Biluchi, people from Balochistan, are concentrated in the southwest. Traditionally, members of these groups are engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry, including camel breeding. Artisans, carpet weavers and blacksmiths predominate among the Tarkhans and Lokhari. They are inferior in status to julaha (weavers), shoemakers, oil workers, porters, water carriers, boatmen and fishermen. Scavengers belong to the lower caste. The landless agricultural population, employed in heavy non-prestigious work, is also part of the lower castes.

Sind.

Approximately 50% of the population of this province is represented by Sindhis and 30% by Muhajirs, belonging to the relatively prosperous detachment of migrants who arrived from India after the partition of 1947 and their descendants. Until 1947, most businessmen and white-collar workers in Sindh were from the upper Indian castes, but then they were forced to leave for India. The Hindus remained, occupying a low place in the system of caste hierarchy. Sindhis belong to different territorial, tribal, occupational and caste groups. Pirs, descendants of Muslim missionary saints, are numerous in the province, and sometimes the followers of some of them form separate social communities. Until the early 1950s, a distinct minority of wealthy landowners, lawyers, and freelancers opposed the bulk of the peasant poor in Sindh. Since then it has developed middle class, which was largely the result of the spread of education. Sayyids, Sumros, Pathans, Moghuls, Ansaris, Jatoys, Bhuttos, Khuros, Mukhdums, Agha - these are the most influential tribal and estate-clan divisions in the province.

The Urdu-speaking Muhajirs, who left the northern and central regions of India in 1947, live mainly in the Karachi region. Among them is a large stratum of people who have received a good education in colleges. They often pursue careers in the arts, journalism and other media, as university lecturers, in the military, in industry and shipping companies. The high standard of living of the Muhajirs gave rise to enmity among the Sindhis and some other ethnic groups, which led to inter-ethnic clashes in Karachi and other cities of Sindh. Muhajirs make up a significant part of the migrants who left for the countries of the Middle East, Europe and North America.

Gujarati-speaking refugees who arrived in 1947 from Western India - Bombay and Gujarat, together with their descendants, make up approx. 1% of Pakistan's population is also concentrated mainly in Karachi. Some of them belong to the richest people in the country. Leading groups within this community include the Memons (Sunni entrepreneurs), the Bohra and followers of the Aga Khan, the Khoja Ismailis (Shia entrepreneurs), and the Zoroastrian Parsis.

Northwest Frontier Province.

Pashtuns form the main ethno-linguistic element of the population of this province. In the so-called. The “tribal strip” is inhabited by many Pashtun tribes, territorially isolated, speaking different dialects, having different customs and traditional clothes. The peoples of all these tribes are famous for their love of freedom. A vast part of the border strip is included in the so-called. "centrally administered tribal areas", which are only slightly subject to the laws of Pakistan.

Pashtuns are characterized by hospitality. Their code of honor (Pashtunwali) recognizes blood feuds, the need to provide shelter to exiles, long feuds and military prowess (every Pashtun is armed). Hill tribes in the past earned their livelihood by raiding lowland villages and controlling passes that provided an easy route to South Asia. Pashtuns serve in the army, work in construction, industry and transport throughout Pakistan. Zealously adhere to Muslim customs. The province's border with Afghanistan has long been used to smuggle watches, televisions, silk and woolen fabrics, transistors and calculators from Japan, Europe and the United States.

Balochistan.

Balochs make up about a quarter of all the inhabitants of the province. More than a dozen major tribes are known; their dialects are close to Farsi. Seven Baloch tribes live in the east (the largest are Marri, Rindy and Bugti), in the west - nine (the largest in number are Rindy and Rakhshani). Cattle breeding remains the basis of the traditional nomadic economy, but part of the Baluch became farmers, serving as soldiers, petty officials and policemen. Men have long been considered brave warriors.

About a quarter of the population of the province are Bragui. Their language is related to the Dravidian languages ​​of South India. The Brahui, like the Baluch, are primarily engaged in pastoral cattle breeding, as well as agriculture. In the warm season, the Brahuis work the crops, and in the winter they move north, where they sell livestock and handicrafts and are hired by seasonal workers. Many Brahui settled in the irrigated agricultural areas of Sindh and in Karachi.

Mostly in the north of Balochistan live Pashtuns (about one fifth of the population of Balochistan). Main local tribes- kakars, panis and tarins.

Other minorities are the Jats, who live in the north-central part of the province, and the Lassi, who are concentrated in the south. The tribal population of the mountainous and coastal regions of Makran is characterized by Negroid features, and some anthropologists believe that these are the descendants of African slaves. Most of the people of Makran are illiterate, and among them are numerous fishermen, donkey drivers, herdsmen (raising dairy cattle) and unskilled laborers.

Lifestyle.

The family plays a big role in the life of Pakistanis. However, tribal ties are also very important in Balochistan and a number of areas of the North-West Frontier Province. The eldest of the men is consulted on every serious matter affecting the family interests. His opinion is listened to with respect and, it happens, even with fear. In marriage, priority is given to cousins, then to second cousins, and finally to girls of the same clan or tribe. Children are considered a gift from Allah. Sons are usually preferred to daughters, because sons provide support to aged parents, and the dowry of daughters at their marriage often places such a heavy burden on the parents' shoulders that they cannot pay their debts for many years.

In all four provinces of Pakistan, male and female women's clothing make up shalvars (harem pants) and kameez (shirts). Villagers everywhere wear pugri (turban) on their heads. In the Punjabi village, the shalwars are usually replaced by the lungi, which are similar to the sarong. Educated men in the cities prefer to dress in a European way, and women wear shalwars and kameez. For work and formal occasions, city women wear silk or nylon saris. Gharars (spacious pantaloons, which were the first to be worn by the queens and princesses from the Mughal dynasty) and kameez are worn during wedding and other solemn ceremonies.

Religious life.

Over 75% of Muslims in Pakistan are Sunni and approx. 20% - to the Shiites. Less than 4% of the inhabitants, mostly Punjabis, belong to the Ahmadiyya sect and are called Qadiyani among the people. There is agreement between Sunnis and Shiites regarding the main fundamental provisions of Islam, but both of them fundamentally disagree with Ahmadiyya. Conservative Sunnis and Shiites believe that the Ahmadiyya have no right to consider themselves to be true believers, because they consider Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (c. 1839–1908), the founder of their sect, to be a prophet, while, according to orthodox Islamists, Allah did not send other prophets to Earth after Muhammad.

Religious temples occupy an important place in the public life of Muslims. Each district has a mosque headed by the abbot-imam. Many mosques have madrasahs - religious schools where children are given traditional Islamic education free of charge. There are a number of dar-ul-ulums (Muslim universities) in Pakistan where students study for several years to become learned theologians - ulema.

Unions.

Only a few trade union associations function on a national scale. Among them stands out the trade union of textile workers, numbering more than 80 thousand members. Strong trade unions have developed in such industries as ferrous metallurgy, carpet weaving, the sugar and cement industries, oil refining, and the production of mineral fertilizers.

Most labor laws date back to the colonial period. However, under Ayub Khan and Bhutto, a number of important pieces of legislation were enacted regarding the minimum wages, child employment, worker-employer relations and pensions.

The position of women.

Pakistani society is dominated by men. girls in adolescence should be trained to be able to run a household, sew, cook, and care for young children. Male relatives usually accompany the girls when they leave the house; participation in joint parties and other meetings with young men, and even more so dating, are strongly condemned. Most often, the parents of the future couple agree on the marriage union. Marriages for love are made only in big cities. Girls get married before the age of 18, and often much earlier.

After the girl is married, the main event in her life is the birth of children. When the children grow up, the status of the mother rises, especially if she has several sons. Families with marriageable daughters turn to her in search of suitors. Often mothers have great influence over their sons. In old age, women switch to raising grandchildren.

Social Security.

Many public and religious organizations operate in this area, some of them receive financial and other assistance from government agencies. Since motherhood without formal marriage is sharply condemned, and women's work outside the home is also not supported, emphasis has to be placed on the establishment of shelters for women with illegitimate children, the organization of kindergartens and women's consultations. These organizations are also involved in activities related to orphanages and youth centers, care for the chronically ill and the disabled. An important area of ​​activity is the fight against poverty.

CULTURE

Literature and art.

Urdu, the official language of Pakistan, has a rich literary past. Mushaira (congress and competition of poets) is a unique feature of Urdu culture: poets recited their poems to an audience of thousands and received an immediate response and appreciation. Canonical literature was initially dominated by romantic themes. Today, poets and prose writers write about democracy, freedom of speech, equality of opportunity, poverty, hunger, life in the slums, the disenfranchised position of women, the difficulty of getting married for urban women over 20 years old, the heavy burden of a dowry for the bride's parents.

From time immemorial, the highest form of poetry in Urdu has been ghazals (“talking with beautiful women”). Their main motives were to sing of the beauty of their beloved, although often poets also indulged in philosophical reflections. In addition to the admiration of women, religious stories and descriptions of historical events enjoyed the greatest popularity in traditional Urdu literature. Marsiya (elegiac poems) by Mirza Salamat Ali Dabir and Mir Anis (Mir Babar Ali), for example, were dedicated to the bloody murder of the grandchildren of the Prophet Muhammad in Karbala. Zauk (Sheikh Muhammad Ibrahim) composed ghazals in Urdu, classical in form, using images, metaphors, similes and vocabulary, almost inaccessible to the understanding of an ordinary person.

Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib (1797–1869) was the first great writer to use colloquial Urdu in poetry and prose. His path was taken at the end of the 19th century. prose writers Said Ahmad Khan and Khali (Altaf Hussein). Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938), recognized as the national poet of Pakistan, was a rebel in spirit, his work is full of patriotic motifs and full of pride in Islam. Collection Appeal to God and His response serves perhaps as the clearest evidence of the literary skill of Iqbal.

Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Ahmad Nadeem Kasmi and Eshan Danish became the main characters in Urdu poetry in the 20th century. exponents of progressive ideas of the left spectrum of views. An example of their creative orientation is the book of poems by Faiz hands of the wind. Unlike them, Habib Jaleb, Arif Matin and Ahmad Faraz did not adhere to radical social views, but they also had avant-garde stylistic research. Among prose writers, Ehsan Faruki, Jamila Hashmi, Saida Sultana and Fazl Ahmad Karim Fazli stood out. Fazli's work Open up, broken heart reflected new trends in prose in Urdu.

Punjabi, Pashto, Sindhi and Baluchi literatures also have an extensive heritage. The most famous Punjabi poet is Waris Shah (18th century), author of the great poem Heer and Ranjha. Since the 1950s, the main representatives of the modernist trend in Punjabi literature have been Sharif Kunjahi, Ahmad Rahi, Sultan Mahmud Ashufta, Safdar Mir and Munir Niyazi.

The central figure in Pashto literature remains Khushkal Khan Khattak (1613–c. 1687). From the poets of the 20th century. Amir Khamza Shinwari stands out, and among prose writers - Master Abdulkarim and Fazlhak Shayda.

The rich tradition of Sindhi literature produced its classic, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai (1689–1752). Prominent Sufi, poet saturated his works philosophical ideas, love for nature and mystical thoughts. Sachal Sarmast (1739–1826) followed in his footsteps.

Famous poets of the 18th–19th centuries who wrote in baluchy are Jam Durrak Dombki, Muhammad Khan Gishkori and Fazil Rind (his night candle considered a classic collection of poetry). Among the leading poets of the 20th century. includes Ata Shad, Zahoor Shah Sayyad, Murad Sakhir, Malik Muhammad Tawki and Momin Bazadar. The most significant contribution to prose in Baluchi was made by Said Khashmi.

The Arts Council of Pakistan aims to maintain the sustainability of regional styles in dance, music, sculpture and painting. Folklore troupes of the country tour all over the world. Since 1975, ensembles performing spiritual compositions about Allah, Muhammad, his grandchildren and Muslim saints in the style of kavalli (literally - singing in chorus) have been successfully giving concerts in the Middle East, Europe and North America since 1975.

Education.

There are two education systems in Pakistan. The traditional system introduces students to Islamic disciplines and provides knowledge of Urdu, Arabic and sometimes also Persian. Teaching remains the most conservative in the theological schools of madrasahs operating at mosques. In the higher schools of this system, dar-ul-ulumah, students receive a solid theological training for 5-15 years, intensively studying classical Muslim texts. As a result, the graduate becomes respected learned man- Ulema. The two most famous dar ul ulums operate in Karachi and Lahore.

The mass education system was created by the British and was originally built according to the European model. It includes kindergartens and schools. After graduation, the opportunity opens up to enter a college or university. Universities are located in Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Multan, Bahawalpur, Jamshoro, Khairpur and Deraismailkhan. Polytechnic institutes there are in Karachi, Lahore and Nawabshah, Taxila, agricultural universities - in Faisalabad and Tandojam. There are 14 medical colleges in the country, which annually graduate 4,000 doctors, many of them go to work abroad. Islamabad has an Open University. The network of educational institutions also includes more than 400 colleges that teach science and the humanities, and approx. 100 vocational schools. There are private universities, such as the University of Management in Lahore.

The country's adult literacy rate is low - 49% for men and 23% for women.

Museums and scientific institutions.

A large archaeological museum is located in Mohenjodaro, south of Larkana (Sindh), where ancient Indian civilization is being excavated. Another interesting archaeological museum has been established in northern Pakistan at Taxila (west of Islamabad), where the ancient Gandharian culture flourished. The National Museum in Karachi has valuable archaeological and ethnographic collections, testifying to the rich creative heritage of the peoples of Pakistan, and the National Museum in Lahore has magnificent historical exhibits.

Scientific research in the country is funded by the state and carried out in scientific centers and universities. In this regard, the Punjab University Social Science Research Center, the National Science Foundation, the Atomic Energy Commission and the Scientific and Technical Research Council stand out. Qaid-i Azam University in Islamabad specializes in research in the field of social, biological and a number of other sciences. Scientific research is funded in the form of grants by the University Research Foundation.

The analysis of economic and demographic problems is carried out by the Pakistan Institute for Economic Development, which publishes English language Pakistan Development Review magazine. The Agricultural Research Center and the Federal Bureau of Statistics are also well known.

Mass media.

Seal.

More than 2,700 newspapers and other periodicals are published in the country. Of these, ok. 120 are published in English and approx. 2500 - in Urdu. The rest are printed mainly in the languages ​​of the peoples of Pakistan, as well as in Arabic and Persian. Major daily newspapers include: Urdu Jang, Nawa-e Waqt and Hurriet, Sindhi Hilal-e Pakistan and Aftab, Gujarati Millat and Watan, English - Pakistan Times, Daily News, Nation and Khyber Mail, in English and Gujarati - Dawn. Business Recorder serves as a daily source of commercial and other economic information in English, and The Friday Times is considered the leading political weekly. Among the monthly publications, Herald won the greatest authority, and Nukush (Impressions) is considered the best. literary magazine in Urdu. The weekly "Akhbar-i havatin" ("Newspaper for women") is designed for a female readership. There are two news agencies in the country: the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) and the Pakistan Press International (PPI).

Broadcasting, television and film.

Radio stations are available in all major cities of the country. Many of them have television centers and broadcast repeaters. comedies, musical and dramatic performances, motion pictures, folk dances, humorous sketches and cricket competitions are among the most popular programs. Many American television programs are broadcast. The satellite communication system is being developed.

Pakistanis, especially from the lower social classes in small towns and villages, love to go to the cinemas. In Urdu, Punjabi, Pashto and Sindhi films, the plot is usually about a love triangle. There is a lot of music and dancing in them, and the nobility of the main characters is usually presented in an emphatically sublime style. The educated stratum prefers to watch American and European films.

Sport.

The most popular sport in the country is cricket brought from England. The national team of Pakistan, one of the strongest in the world, is fighting for leadership in international competitions with rivals from Great Britain, Australia, India and the West Indies. A special national committee has been set up to guide and oversee the development of cricket. Other common sports are football, field hockey, tennis, table tennis, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, swimming, golf, polo, squash and baseball.

Holidays.

The main holidays in the country are Pakistan Day (March 23, when the Lahore Resolution was adopted in 1940, which demanded the creation of an independent Pakistan); Iqbal Day (April 21 - the birthday of the national poet Muhammad Iqbal); Eid-ul-Fitr (the feast of breaking the fast at the end of the fast in the month of Ramadan); Eid-i milad (the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed); Eid ul-Azha (holiday on the occasion of the pilgrimage to Mecca); Independence Day (August 14); Birthday of the founder of Pakistan Jinnah (December 25); New Year (January 1). Some Hindu festivals are also celebrated, such as Holi (Feast of Colors) or Deepavali (Feast of Lights).

STORY

Pakistan is a young state that emerged in 1947, but Muslims have been living on its territory for more than a thousand years. They first appeared in South Asia in the 8th century. as conquerors and remained an influential political force until the 19th century.

Early Muslim states in India.

In 710-716, troops under the command of the prominent Umayyad commander Muhammad ibn Qasim captured Sindh and southern Punjab. Those who did not convert to Islam were obliged by the new Arab authorities to pay a special soul tax for non-believers - jiziya, but they were left with freedom in the performance of religious rites and in the sphere of cultural life. Hindus were not required to military service, but if they entered it, they were exempted from jiziya and received the due salary and reward.

Between 1000-1027, Sultan Mahmud Ghazni made 17 campaigns in India, penetrating through the Indus valley to the Ganges lowland. His empire stretched from Samarkand and Isfahan to Lahore, but its western regions were lost to the heirs to the throne in the 11th century. The Ghaznavid Punjab, which included the northwestern border regions and Sindh, can be considered the prototype of Pakistan. Numerous Muslim communities that settled in the Indus basin no longer considered these lands as a conquered territory - it became their homeland.

The rule of the Ghaznavids turned out to be unstable, and in 1185 the Indus Valley became part of the Ghurid state. This happened under Sultan Muiz-ud-din Muhammad, who managed to extend Muslim rule over the whole of North-West India, as well as Bengal and Bihar. The successors of Muiz-ud-din Muhammad, who was killed in Punjab in 1206, managed to maintain control over the lands conquered in India. The period after his death until the accession of Babur, who founded the Great Mogul dynasty in 1526, is known as the time of the Delhi Sultanate. For more than 300 years, 40 sultans have changed in it, belonging to five Muslim dynasties: Gulyams (1206–1290), Khilji (1290–1320), Tughlakids (1320–1414), Saids (1414–1451) and Lodi (1451–1526) . The administrative posts in the Delhi state were occupied predominantly by Muslims, but Hindus were also involved in public service. Hindus had their own community courts (panchayats) to decide civil cases.

Islam in this era strengthened its influence in India. Conversion to it was generally done without violence, and the preaching of Muslim dogmas was taken up by Sufis, partly specially trained to bring the light of the new faith to different areas of the subcontinent. Contacts between Hindus and Muslims led to the formation of the Urdu language, which arose on the basis of one of the dialects North India enriched by the Persian vocabulary. Hindi was formed on the same dialect basis, but was influenced by Sanskrit. In the 17-18 centuries. the modern literary standard of Urdu was formed, which used the Persian-Arabic script and adopted the creative traditions of Persian and Arabic writers and the ideas of Islam; Urdu has become a powerful engine of Muslim culture in South Asia.

The Mughal Empire.

This state is known for its achievements in the field of culture, education and art. Created by Babur in 1526, it was consolidated by his grandson Akbar (c. 1556–1605). Akbar pursued a policy of reconciliation with the Hindus, and an effective administrative activities constitutes an important feature of the reign of this emperor. In 1579, the poll tax, the jiziya, was abolished. Hindu temples were taken under state protection. In 1580 Akbar announced the creation of a new religion - Din-i illahi (Divine religion), which was based on the rejection of idolatry and polytheism. The goal was to ensure the loyalty of both Hindus and Muslims, especially government employees. Under Akbar, under the leadership of the Minister of Finance, the Hindu Todar Mal, a system of land taxation was introduced, on which later, at the end of the 18th century, the British colonial authorities relied in developing their policy.

Pakistan during the period of independence before the secession of Bangladesh: 1947–1971.

After independence, Pakistan faced difficulties in building sustainable political institutions. From 1947 to 1958, the country had a parliamentary system in accordance with the Government of India Act (1935) and the Declaration of Independence (1947), but in the absence of direct elections to the supreme legislative body.

The post of Governor-General was held by the "father of Pakistan" Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1947-1948), the leaders of the Pakistan Muslim League Khoja Nazimuddin (1948-1951), Ghulam Muhammad (1951-1955) and General Iskander Ali Mirza (1955-1956), who became 1956 President of the country. The first prime minister of Pakistan, Liaqat Ali Khan, was assassinated in 1951, and the government was led by East Pakistani PML representative Khoja Nazimuddin (1951–1953) and then another PML member, Muhammad Ali Bogra (1953–1955).

In an effort to find funds for the development of the country, the PML government in 1948-1950 increased taxes and excises. In 1950-1953, partial agrarian reforms were carried out, which banned the collection of traditional feudal taxes and forced labor for landlords, and also reduced rents. The development of private capital was encouraged, but the pace economic growth remained insufficient to contribute to raising the standard of living of the population. In 1958, a military regime was established, headed by General (from 1959 - Field Marshal) Ayub Khan.

The political situation in the early 1950s became unstable. In 1951, a military conspiracy was uncovered. The authorities suppressed the activities of the communists and their supporters, but could not restrain the growth of opposition sentiments, especially in East Pakistan, where in 1954 the United Front, a coalition of opposition parties (Peasant Workers, People's League, etc.), won the provincial elections. In 1955, the leaders of the PML were forced to agree to the formation of a coalition government with the participation of the United Front (UF); it was led by PML representative Muhammad Ali Chowdhury (1955–1956). After the split of the PF and the PML (the Republican Party emerged from it), a government was formed in 1956 from members of the Popular League (Awami League) and the Republican Party; Hussain Shahid Suhrawardi (1956–1957) became prime minister. In 1957-1958, the sharp struggle of groups in the ruling camp caused a series of government crises; in power were the coalition cabinet of Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar and the government of the Republican Party, headed by Malik Feroz Khan Nun.

In February 1960, presidential elections were held, in which Ayub Khan won. A commission was set up to draft the country's constitution, which was adopted in 1962. Martial law was only abolished in June 1962. In 1965, Ayub Khan was constitutionally re-elected president of Pakistan. In 1969, martial law was again introduced in the country, and General Yahya Khan came to power (he retired in 1971).

The partition of British India in 1947 gave rise to violent clashes between Hindus and Muslims and huge refugee flows: c. 6.5 million Muslims crossed from India to Pakistan and approx. 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved in the opposite direction. Up to 500 thousand people died due to clashes on religious grounds and subsequent migrations.

The Kashmir conflict has become an obstacle to the normalization of the situation on the subcontinent. Until 1947, there were 584 principalities in British India, which had to decide whether to join Muslim Pakistan or Hindu India. In October 1947, the Maharaja of Kashmir, a Hindu by religion, made a choice in favor of India. Armed clashes between the Indian and Pakistani armed forces, which began in 1947, continued until the end of 1948, when a ceasefire line was established with the help of the UN. Proposals to hold a referendum among the people of Kashmir on the future of the principality were not supported by India. In 1965, Pakistani troops resumed hostilities in Kashmir, which they managed to stop. Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri and Pakistani President Ayub Khan met in Tashkent in January 1966 and agreed to withdraw their troops to the ceasefire line.

After lengthy debate, the Constituent Assembly in 1949, under the influence of Prime Minister Liaqat Ali Khan, approved a resolution stating that "Muslims should be guided in their personal and public life by the teachings and requirements of Islam set forth in the Holy Quran and the Sunnah." On February 29, 1956, the Constituent Assembly adopted a constitution, in accordance with which the federal Islamic Republic of Pakistan was proclaimed on March 23, 1956. The constitution stipulated that the President of the country must be a Muslim. This article was also preserved in the constitution of 1962, which was in force under Ayub Khan. In this regard, the Consultative Council of Islamic Ideology was formed, and the Institute for the Study of Islam was opened.

The debate over the electoral curia was of great importance in view of the fact that ca. 20% of the population of East Pakistan were Hindus. In 1950–1952 laws were passed for elections to provincial legislatures. It was decided that in the presence of a clear Muslim majority, it would be advisable to single out special electoral groups: Christians and "general" in a number of areas of West Pakistan; and Christians, Buddhists, Scheduled Castes ("Untouchables") and "General" in East Pakistan. Each of these groups sent representatives to the legislature on their own electoral rolls. As a result, in the elections in East Pakistan in March 1954, there were 72 non-Muslims among 309 deputies. Under Ayub Khan (1958–1969), indirect parliamentary elections were held through local self-government bodies (the so-called “fundamentals of democracy” system). At the grassroots level, there was no separate voting, which practically led to the fact that candidates from non-Muslim communities almost did not get into these bodies.

Ayub Khan's administration took steps to accelerate Pakistan's economic development. The annual growth rate of GNP reached almost 7%. Industrial production grew rapidly. Entrepreneurial activity was encouraged; it was stimulated by measures in the field of industry, trade and taxation. The new agrarian reform (starting in 1959) limited the size of landownership, and the surplus for redemption was distributed among the peasants. The norms of education, justice and law were somewhat close to modern ones. But economic development was accompanied by the preservation of a rigid authoritarian regime, the suppression of the opposition and the intensification of contradictions between various parts countries. The latter eventually led to its split.

At the year of independence, West Pakistan included 4 provinces and 10 principalities. The Bengalis insisted that East Pakistan had greater rights to autonomy than the territorial-administrative divisions of West Pakistan and, due to its superior population, should have priority in resolving government issues. In order to meet such requirements, in West Pakistan all 14 administrative entities that were part of it were united into one province. This event took place in October 1955, then an agreement was reached on equal representation of both parts of the country in the national parliament.

East Pakistan had good reason to express its displeasure. Although more than half of the country's population was concentrated in the province, government spending was directed primarily to West Pakistan, which also accounted for the bulk of funds received in the form of aid from abroad. There were disproportionately few East Pakistanis in the state apparatus (15%) as well as in the armed forces (17%). The central government clearly patronized the industrialists of West Pakistan in foreign exchange transactions, in issuing import licenses, loans and grants, in granting permits for the construction of enterprises in the latest industries. Industrial development after 1953 took place largely against the background of economic and military support from the United States, which focused on protecting West Pakistan from a possible Soviet threat.

In February 1966, the leader of the Awami League, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, put forward a six-point program that included: 1) the responsibility of the federal government to a parliament formed on the basis of free and fair elections, 2) limiting the functions of the center to defense and foreign affairs, 3) the introduction of separate currencies (or independent financial accounts) for each of the two provinces under the control of the interprovincial movement of capital, 4) the transfer of the collection of all types of taxes from the center to the provinces, which are funded by the federal government, 5) allowing both parts of the country to independently conclude foreign trade agreements and in connection with this, to have their own foreign exchange accounts and 6) the creation of their own irregular army in West and East Pakistan.

Agitation was launched in East Pakistan in support of this program, and Mujibur, along with 34 like-minded people, was arrested in 1968 on charges of developing a plan to organize an uprising with the help of India. In early 1969, a nationwide protest campaign was launched against the regime of President Ayub Khan. In February, the charges against Mujibur and his associates were dropped. Ayub Khan convened a Round Table to meet with the leaders of the opposition, where Mujibur proposed to develop a new constitution based on the six points listed. Ayub Khan, who resigned on March 25, was replaced by General Yahya Khan, who declared a state of emergency in the country.

Yahya Khan restored the four former provinces in West Pakistan and scheduled the first direct general elections in the country's history for the national parliament on December 7, 1970. In it, the East Pakistan MPs were effectively guaranteed a majority thanks to the adopted principle of "one voter, one vote". Awami League won 160 out of 162 seats for East Pakistan. Such a convincing victory was won as a result of a long campaign for the implementation of the Mujibur program and strong criticism of the central government for insufficient assistance to the victims of the devastating hurricane that hit East Pakistan on November 7, 1970. The Pakistan People's Party (PPP), led by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, received 81 138 seats from West Pakistan.

Mujibur announced that the new constitution should be based on his program. In response, on February 17, 1971, Bhutto informed that the PPN would boycott the work of the National Assembly if it did not get the opportunity to discuss constitutional reform. As a result, Yahya Khan postponed the opening of the parliamentary session scheduled for March 3. Awami League said this was indicative of collusion between the President and the leader of the PPN.

On March 2, Mujibur called a general strike in East Pakistan, and the population took to the streets of Dhaka and other cities in the province. Mujibur urged to refrain from paying taxes until power passes to the representatives of the people. Yahya Khan expressed his desire to convene a new Round Table for negotiations, but Mujibur rejected the proposal. On 15 March, a parallel government of the Awami Leagues was established in East Pakistan. East Bengal military formations entered into an alliance with Mujibur. On 16 March, Yahya Khan held a meeting in Dhaka on constitutional issues with Mujibur and Bhutto, but failed in an attempt to reach a compromise. On the night of March 25-26, Yahya Khan ordered the army to launch a military action in East Pakistan, banned the Awami League and arrested its leader, Mujibur.

A full-scale war flared up between the forces of the central government and the rebel detachments of the Mukti Bahini, who entered the struggle for the creation of an independent state of Bangladesh on the site of East Pakistan. Millions of refugees flocked to India. By the summer of 1971, the Pakistani army managed to establish control over the territory of East Pakistan. But India supported the armed rebels, and in November took a direct part in the hostilities. The third India-Pakistan war aggravated international relations, as the USSR supported the position of India, and the US and China supported the position of Pakistan. December 16, 1971 Indian troops entered Dhaka, and the Pakistani units were forced to capitulate. Bangladesh was proclaimed independent state. first president new country became Mujibur Rahman.

Pakistan after 1971.

Yahya Khan resigned on December 20, 1971. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became President of Pakistan. One of his first steps was an agreement with Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in Shimla that the Indian army would leave Pakistani territory. Trade and transport links between both countries were also restored. Pakistan's relations with the United States have improved, in addition, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Libya and Iran began to provide assistance.

Bhutto abolished martial law, and in April 1973 a draft new constitution was approved that restored the parliamentary system of government. The powers of the provinces have been expanded. Electoral curia for religious minorities were revived while maintaining the primacy of Islam. Adhering to the idea of ​​"Islamic socialism", Bhutto carried out the nationalization of all private banks, educational institutions, insurance companies and heavy industry enterprises. The agrarian reform led to the transfer of a significant share of cultivated land to landless tenants. The wages of those employed in industry, military personnel and officials were increased. Large funds were directed to improve living conditions in rural areas. All these activities, against the background of a fourfold increase in the price of imported oil, were accompanied by a doubling in 1972–1976 of consumer goods prices in the domestic market, which reduced Bhutto's popularity in the cities. Bhutto interacted with difficulty with the Vali Khan-led People's National Party (PNP) and the Jamiat-e Ulama-i Islam party, which in 1972 formed cabinets in the North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan, respectively. In February 1973, Bhutto dismissed these governments, banned the NNP and arrested its leaders.

In March 1977, elections were held for parliament and provincial legislatures. The opposition refused to recognize the official results of the vote and organized a protest movement that killed more than 270 people. On July 5, 1977, the army removed Bhutto, and martial law was established in the country. General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq took over as Chief Military Administrator and in 1978 became President of Pakistan. Bhutto was accused of planning the assassination of political enemies and put on trial, which sentenced him to death in 1979.

Zia followed the line of Islamization and sought to bring the country's criminal legislation in line with the norms of traditional Muslim law. Some of the legal procedures prescribed by Islam in the field of taxation and banking. In 1979, Zia participated in a meeting of heads of state of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Havana. But friendly relations remained between Pakistan and the United States, which became even closer after the armed intervention of the USSR in civil war in Afghanistan.

Zia began to gradually create new political structures. In December 1981, the creation of the Federal Advisory Council was announced. In the fall of 1983, elections to local government bodies were held on a non-party basis. They were boycotted by opposition forces and serious riots took place in Sindh. In December 1984, Zia organized a popular referendum that approved the Islamization strategy. In February 1985, elections were held, also on a non-partisan basis, for parliament and provincial legislative assemblies, after which Zia decided to form a civilian government. Muhammad Khan Junejo, the leader of the Pakistan Muslim League (Pagaro faction), was appointed Prime Minister, which turned out to be the largest parliamentary group in the National Assembly. In December 1985, Zia abolished martial law and reinstated the 1973 constitution with amendments that expanded the powers of the president, giving him the right to dissolve the government and legislatures of the country and provinces. The Law on Parties, passed a few months later, allowed them to function legally, provided that official orders were followed. Opposition groups have intensified their attacks on the Zia regime, demanding regular elections at the agreed time and the restoration of constitutional norms. The most authoritative leader was Benazir Bhutto, who headed the Pakistan People's Party (PPP).

In May 1988, Zia achieved his biggest foreign policy success when the Soviet Union began withdrawing troops from Afghanistan. The security of the northeastern borders of Pakistan has noticeably strengthened with the withdrawal of the Soviet army from Afghanistan, which ended in February 1989, and the weakening of the positions of the left.

At the end of May, Zia dismissed the government of Junejo and, due to disagreements over the control of the armed forces, dissolved the National Assembly. New elections were scheduled for November 1989.

Democratic regime 1988–1999.

On August 17, 1988, the dictator Zia-ul-Haq died in a plane crash. Acting President Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Chairman of the Senate, announced new general elections. This time they were admitted political parties. Elections were held in November and brought victory to the PPP, which won a relative majority of seats in the National Assembly. She also managed to achieve an absolute majority in the provincial assembly of Sindh. The PML-led Islamic Democratic Alliance coalition came in second place but won a relative majority in the parliaments of the Punjab and the North West Frontier Province (NWFP).

In December 1988, PPP leader Benazir Bhutto headed the federal government of Pakistan, which also included some small parties and independents. The PPP also led governments in Sindh and the NWFP. The new regime restored democratic rights and freedoms, lifted the state of emergency, permitted the activities of professional and student unions, and released political prisoners. Bhutto's cabinet sought to improve relations with India and the USSR. However, his position remained precarious: the problem of Afghan refugees was aggravated, the army and the opposition were exerting pressure on the government. constant pressure, bloody clashes broke out between communities and groups in the province of Sindh. In August 1990, President Ishaq Khan ousted Bhutto, dissolved parliament and called for new elections. An interim opposition cabinet was led by Ghulam Mustafa Jatoi, leader of a PPP splinter group. Ishaq Khan strengthened nuclear cooperation with China, which caused dissatisfaction with the United States, which announced the suspension of military assistance to Pakistan.

In the early elections in October 1990, the IDA won, which managed to almost double the number of seats in the National Assembly. The PPP was also defeated in the provincial elections. The new government from the parties belonging to the IDA was headed by PML leader Nawaz Sharif. Most of the ministers held posts under Zia-ul-Haq. In May 1991, Parliament voted to introduce Islamic law based on Sharia. The use of the death penalty was restored.

The government of Nawaz Sharif faced the same difficulties as B. Bhutto's administration. It tried to strengthen its position by receiving financial assistance from China and carrying out repressions against the opposition led by the PPP. But the economic situation remained difficult. Western creditors promised $2.3 billion in aid to the country, but demanded cuts in high government spending, primarily military spending. Bloody clashes continued in Sindh, pogroms broke out against the Indians. The PPP organized in 1992 a massive campaign of demonstrations against the government, which, in turn, was in crisis. Jamiat-i Islami left the ruling coalition, in the spring of 1993 seven ministers resigned, accusing Nawaz Sharif of corruption and tolerance for terrorists in Sindh. Attempts by the prime minister to expand his powers at the expense of the presidential ones failed. In April 1993, President Ishaq Khan removed Nawaz Sharif and replaced him with PML member Sher Mazari, who formed a coalition government with the participation of the PPP. In May, the Supreme Court ordered the reinstatement of Nawaz Sharif in power. Under pressure from the army, the parties agreed to a compromise: the president and prime minister resigned, and new elections were scheduled. The transitional cabinet was headed by the former Vice President of the World Bank Moin Qureshi, the functions of the head of state were entrusted to the chairman of the Senate. Qureshi's government, taking advantage of the absence of parliament, carried out a series of neo-liberal economic reforms.

The October 1993 elections were held under tight security due to violent clashes. The Muhajir Party boycotted the vote. The PPP managed to outpace PML Nawaz Sharif in the number of seats in the National Assembly, and also came to power (alone or with allies) in Sindh, Punjab, and in 1994 in the NWFP. B. Bhutto, who also managed to enlist the support of the PML faction led by Junejo, formed a new government of Pakistan. A prominent figure in the PPP, Sardar Farouk Ahmed Leghari, was elected as the new president.

B. Bhutto's cabinet undertook in exchange for a loan from the IMF in the amount of 1.4 billion US dollars to increase economic growth, reduce the state budget deficit and carry out tax reform. Additional taxes were imposed on large landowners. In 1996, the government obtained from Western creditors a promise of $2.4 billion in aid for 1997.

Political and intercommunal tensions in the country grew. The opposition held demonstrations and protest marches against the government (at least 10 people died in October 1994 alone). Yielding to the pressure of Islamic fundamentalists, the government introduced Sharia law in the tribal area. Clashes between Islamists and police constantly broke out in this area. Since 1994, a wave of violence has continuously increased in Karachi; skirmishes between muhajirs, paramilitaries and army-police forces did not stop in the city, as a result of which 1,400 people were killed. At the end of 1994 the army was withdrawn from the city. In 1995, more than 2 thousand people died in Karachi, and only in 1996 the police managed to bring the situation under control. From time to time there were clashes between Sunnis and Shiites. In the spring of 1996, more than 70 people were killed in bomb attacks in and around Lahore. Political difficulties Cabinet

B. Bhutto were growing. In 1995, her coalition with PML Junejo in Punjab broke up. The Jamiat-i-Islam movement accused the government of corruption and nepotism; in 1996 it organized strikes and protests across the country. New unrest erupted in Sindh after the brother of Prime Minister Murtaza Bhutto, who spoke in the opposition, was killed in a skirmish with police.

In June 1996, the IMF, dissatisfied with the economic situation in Pakistan, announced the suspension of the payment of the next tranches of the loan in the amount of 600 million dollars. In the autumn, the Cabinet of Ministers accepted a number of IMF demands, but the increase in gasoline prices caused massive riots in Islamabad and Rawalpindi. In November 1996, the president deposed B. Bhutto, ordered her husband's arrest, and appointed an interim government headed by PPP member Malik Meraj Khalid, which purged the state apparatus of corrupt officials. The central and provincial parliaments were dissolved and new elections called.

The elections held in February 1997 brought a complete victory for the PML, which now had absolute majority seats in the National Assembly. The PPP received only 18 mandates. Having headed the government, Nawaz Sharif promised to restore the economy, limit the power of the president and the military, and resume dialogue with India on Kashmir. He also included representatives of the National Muhajir Movement and the People's National Party in his cabinet.

At the initiative of the government, the parliament approved in April 1997 an amendment to the constitution, which deprived the president of the right to remove the prime minister and dissolve the parliament; the appointment of the military leadership was henceforth in the competence of the prime minister. In December 1997 Leghari resigned. The same month, retired judge Rafiq Tarar was elected as the new president.

However, the new cabinet failed to cope with the difficulties. In the first half of 1997, as a result of clashes between Sunnis and Shiites, bombings, etc. 230 people died. In January 1999, Sunni extremists killed 17 Shiites. Unrest continued in the Punjab and among the Muhajirs. In 1998, Sindh's parliament was dissolved and a military governor appointed. He began to investigate cases of persecution and killings of Muhajirs. But already in 1999, Nawaz Sharif again appointed a civilian government pleasing to himself in Sindh.

In May 1998, Pakistan conducted atomic tests in response to similar tests in India carried out a month earlier. The United States applied sanctions against both states, which had a particularly strong impact on Pakistan. The IMF blocked further loans to the country in the amount of 1.4 billion dollars, and Pakistan was on the brink of financial bankruptcy. About 60% of government spending was spent on paying off external debt and on military needs. Only in November 1999, the US eased sanctions, after which the country managed to agree with the IMF on a new assistance program in the amount of 5.5 billion dollars, and with Western creditors to postpone the payment of part of the external debt.

Another political crisis was caused by the government's proposed amendments to the constitution, which declared Sharia the country's only legal system. Despite protests from the PPP and minorities, the amendments were approved by the National Assembly in 1998.

In April 1999, opposition leader B. Bhutto, who was abroad, and her husband were sentenced to 5 years in prison on charges of corruption. This was seen primarily as the government's desire to suppress the growing opposition. Back in 1998, the People's National Party left the government. In January 1999, extremists attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. After Pakistan decided to reduce its military presence in Kashmir at the insistence of the United States, in July 1999, Jamiat-i Islami organized 30,000-strong demonstrations in Lahore, demanding the resignation of the head of government. New protest marches in autumn were called economic policy government. The IMF's demand for a 15% VAT sparked a two-week protest strike, and the authorities had to cancel the levy of this tax on small traders.

The position of the ruling cabinet in the Kashmir issue was criticized by army circles. Relations with them at Nawaz Sharif became more and more tense (in 1998, the prime minister managed to remove the head general staff).

On October 12, 1999, Nawaz Sharif announced the dismissal of General Pervez Musharraf, Chief of the General Staff of the Pakistani Armed Forces, from his post. On the same day, the government was overthrown in a bloodless military coup, and Nawaz Sharif was arrested.

The military is in power and the return to civilian rule.

The military declared a state of emergency in the country, dissolved the federal and provincial parliaments, and suspended the constitution. Power passed to the National Security Council headed by General Musharraf. The government included civilians.

The new authorities appointed an anti-corruption bureau, which was supposed to check the behavior of more than 3,000 prominent politicians and officials. In 2000, Nawaz Sharif was sentenced to life imprisonment on several charges related to treason and attempted murder; on another corruption charge, he was sentenced to 14 years hard labor. The authorities carried out a purge of the judiciary from opponents of the military coup. They promised to gradually restore civilian rule.

In economic terms, the new government managed to negotiate with some Western creditors to restructure Pakistan's debt. But the IMF and the World Bank announced that they were suspending all tranches and payments. They demanded from the Pakistani authorities a tough economic policy, reducing costs and increasing revenues to the state budget. In May 2000, a general strike broke out against the government's economic measures. The military regime has agreed with the IMF that it will not insist on cutting the military budget as long as the regime pays off debts, privatizes, raises taxes, and so on. As a result of this policy, up to the end of 2001, up to 100,000 workers were laid off.

Supporters of a return to democratic rule formed the Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy in December 2000. It included activists from the PPP, the PML, the People's National Party, the Republican Fatherland Party, the left-wing Labor Party of Pakistan, and others. In March 2001, the opposition tried to organize protests against the military regime, but they were suppressed.

arrangement political forces changed dramatically after the terrorist attacks in September 2001 in the United States. The US government accused the Taliban regime in Afghanistan of being involved, and General Musharraf supported the US in their efforts to overthrow the Taliban. In exchange, the US lifted all sanctions imposed on Pakistan after 1998, and the IMF resumed lending. Pakistan received substantial assistance from abroad, part of its debts were written off.

The turn in Pakistani politics caused the collapse of the opposition bloc. Islamist and fundamentalist forces called for a nationwide general strike to protest in support of the Taliban and against the government's capitulation "to US imperialism." Jamiat-i Islami leader Qazi Hussein Ahmad called for a "revolution". On the contrary, the PPP, the Muhajir Party and the People's National Party began to lean towards cooperation with the military regime.

Pakistan in the 21st century

In 2002 Musharraf's regime held its promised parliamentary elections. Greatest Success they were achieved by the pro-government faction of the PML and the PPP. B. Bhutto and N. Sharif, who were in exile, were not allowed to participate in the elections, and they accused the authorities of fraud. In October 2002, a civilian government was formed in Pakistan, led by Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali. Musharraf remained in office as president of Pakistan, which he formally assumed in 2001.

On October 6, 2007, presidential elections were held. P. Musharraf was elected President. According to the constitution, only civilian, while Musharraf continued to hold the post of commander-in-chief. Therefore, the Supreme Court did not confirm the legitimacy of his presidency. On November 3, 2007, by order of the President, a state of emergency was introduced in the country, which meant the suspension of the constitution. The opposition led by B. Bhutto demanded the lifting of the state of emergency.

The chief judge who ruled Musharraf's illegitimacy was fired. The new members of the Supreme Court recognized him as the current president. At the end of November 2007, he left his military post and the next day took the oath as a civilian.

In early September 2008, co-chairman of the Pakistan People's Party Asif Ali Zardari was elected President of Pakistan.

Early presidential elections were called after former President Pervez Musharraf resigned under threat of impeachment on August 18. According to the Pakistani Constitution, the President is elected by members of the National Assembly and the Senate (lower and upper houses of parliament), as well as members of the assemblies of all four provinces of the country.

Asif Ali Zardari is the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was killed by terrorists in December last year. Representatives of his party and a number of allied parties confidently control the majority in parliament, Zardari has great influence in the provincial assemblies.

Immediately after taking office, Zardari announced that they intended to limit presidential powers. In November 2009, he transferred part of the presidential powers to the prime minister.

Because in the north of the territory of Pakistan, the Taliban is partially located, in May 2008 the United States launched air strikes on this territory, but as a result of an error, Pakistani soldiers were killed. The country's leadership condemned the US military actions, and this incident further complicated the tense relations between the two countries.

The country's parliament made a statement that the United States should apologize, and also demanded to stop attacks on Pakistan using drones, because. airstrikes are contrary to international law and violate the sovereignty of Pakistan.
As a result, Pakistan closed land routes for deliveries of NATO cargo to Afghanistan through its territory.

In November 2008, there were terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. Although at first the President of Pakistan denied that they were preparing on the territory of Pakistan, in February 2009 the country's leadership recognized this fact, and the militants involved were arrested. However, relations between Pakistan and India remain strained.

In April 2010, Zardari signed amendments to the Constitution regarding presidential powers. According to these amendments, the president does not have the right to dismiss the prime minister, dissolve the parliament, independently appoint the military leadership, or declare a state of emergency. Control over nuclear weapons has a prime minister.

On May 11, 2013, elections were held for the country's parliament, the National Assembly. This is the first peaceful transfer of power through a vote. The majority of votes (166 out of 342) was received by the Muslim League party (leader Nawaz Sharif), in second place was the Movement for Justice (leader Imran Khan). Third place went to the Pakistan People's Party (co-chairs Bilawal Zardari and Asif Ali Zardari). The country's parliament elected Nawaz Sharif as prime minister.

(mid 19th - 80s of the 20th century.). M., 1998



State language of Pakistan

The official languages ​​of Pakistan are Urdu and English. English has remained in this territory since the British Raj, while Urdu belongs to the Indo-European languages. The closest related language to Urdu is Hindi and in Pakistan only 7% of the population considers it their mother tongue.

In general, the country is very common provincial languages. Punjabi is spoken in Punjab, Sandhi is spoken in Sindi, Baloch is used in Balochistan, and Pashto is spoken in Khyber Pakhtwukhwa. Punjabi is spoken by about 44% of the population.

Nevertheless, it is Urdu that is considered the state language - it is studied at school without fail. True, as statistics show, slightly more than half of the children graduate from primary school. As for foreign languages, in some schools it is taught on a par with other subjects. They mainly study French, Arabic and Chinese. Such a set of foreign languages ​​is due to the state languages ​​of Pakistan's neighboring countries. In any case, travelers will have no problem communicating with the local population.