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Islamic Republic of Pakistan
اسلامی جمہوریہ پاکستان
Islāmī Jomhuri-ye Pākistān
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Motto: اتحاد، تنظيم، يقين محکم
Ittehad, Tanzim, Yaqeen-e-Muhkam
"Unity, Discipline and Faith"
Anthem: "Qaumi Tarana" (National Anthem)
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Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia and also a part of the Greater Middle East & Central Asia. It has a 1,046 kilometre (650 mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in thhe west, the Republic of India in the east and the People's Republic of China in the far northeast.
The name Pakistan means Land of the Pure in Urdu and Persian. It was coined in 1934 as Pakstan by Choudhary Rahmat Ali, who published it in his pamphlet Now or Never. The name represented the "thirty million Muslims of PAKISTAN, who live in the five Northern Units of British Raj — P=Punjab, A=Afghan areas of the region (also known as North-West Frontier Province), K=Kashmir, S=Sindh, and tan=Balochistan, thus forming "Pakstan". An 'i' was later added to the English rendition of the name to ease pronunciation, producing "Pakistan".
The Indus Valley civilization, one of the oldest in the world and dating back at least 5,000 years, spread over much of what is presently Pakistan. During the second millennium B.C., remnants of this culture fused with the migrating Indo-Aryan peoples. The area underwent successive invasions in subsequent centuries from the Persians, Greeks, Scythians, Arabs (who brought Islam), Afghans, and Turks. The Mughal Empire flourished in the 16th and 17th centuries; the British came to dominate the region in the 18th century. Pakistan emerged as an independent sovereign state on 14th August 1947, as a result of the division of former British India. It lies between 23-35 to 37- 05 north latitude and 60-50 to 77- 50 east longitude touching the Hindukush Mountains in the north and extending from the Pamirs to the Arabian Sea. It is divided into four provinces: Sindh, Punjab, North West Frontier Province and Balochistan.
Today Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world and has the second largest Muslim population in the world. It also has the second largest Shia Muslim population in the world. The country is listed among the Next Eleven economies, is a founding member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, G20 developing nations, Asia Cooperation Dialogue and the Economic Cooperation Organisation. It is also a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, World Trade Organisation, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, G33 developing countries, Group of 77 developing nations, major non-NATO ally of the United States and is a Nuclear Power state.
