Claim: The Himalayas crosses a country that borders China.

Pakistan -LRB- -LSB- pɑːkᵻˈstɑːn -RSB- -LSB- -RRB- , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan -LRB- -LSB- -RRB- , is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia on the crossroads of Central and Western Asia . It is the sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 201 million people . In terms of area , it is the 33rd-largest country spanning 881,913 km2 . Pakistan has a 1,046 km coastline along the Arabian Sea and its Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east , Afghanistan to the west , Iran to the southwest , and China in the far northeast , respectively . It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan 's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north , and also shares a maritime border with Oman .   The territory that now constitutes Pakistan is considered a cradle of civilisation that was previously home to several ancient cultures , including the Mehrgarh of the Neolithic and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation , and later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures , including Hindus , Indo-Greeks , Muslims , Turco-Mongols , Afghans , and Sikhs . The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties , including the Persian Achaemenid Empire , Alexander of Macedonia , the Indian Mauryan Empire , the Arab Umayyad Caliphate , the Delhi Sultanate , the Mongol Empire , the Mughal Empire , the Durrani Empire , the Sikh Empire , and most recently , the British Empire .   Pakistan is unique among Muslim countries in that it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam . As a result of the Pakistan Movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah and the subcontinent 's struggle for independence , Pakistan was created in 1947 as an independent homeland for South Asian Muslims . It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country , with a similarly diverse geography and wildlife . Initially a dominion , Pakistan adopted a constitution in 1956 , becoming an Islamic republic . An ethnic civil war in 1971 resulted in the secession of East Pakistan as the new country of Bangladesh . In 1973 Pakistan adopted a new constitution establishing , alongside its pre-existing parliamentary republic status , a federal government based in Islamabad consisting of four provinces and four federal territories . The new constitution also stipulated that all laws were to conform to the injunctions of Islam as laid down in the Quran and Sunnah .   A regional and middle power , Pakistan has the sixth-largest standing armed forces in the world and is also a nuclear power as well as a declared nuclear-weapons state , being the second in South Asia and the only nation in the Muslim world to have that status . Pakistan has a semi-industrialised economy with a well-integrated agriculture sector , and a growing services sector . The Pakistani economy is the 24th-largest in the world in terms of purchasing power and the 41st-largest in terms of nominal GDP -LRB- World Bank -RRB- . It is ranked among the emerging and growth-leading economies of the world , and is backed by one of the world 's largest and fastest-growing middle classes .   The post-independence history of Pakistan has been characterised by periods of military rule , and since 2008 a transition to democracy , amid conflicts with neighbouring India . The country continues to face challenging problems such as illiteracy , healthcare , and corruption , but has substantially reduced poverty and terrorism and expanded per capita income . Pakistan is a member of the United Nations , the Non-Aligned Movement , the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation , the Commonwealth of Nations , the ECO , the SAARC , the Developing Eight , and the G20 developing nations , Group of 24 , Group of 77 , and ECOSOC . It is also an associate member of CERN . Pakistan is a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol , the Paris Agreement , and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights .