INDEPENDENT PAKISTAN INDEPENDENT PAKISTAN Pakistan Table of Contents Problems at Independence In August 1947, Pakistan was faced with a number of problems, some immediate but others long term. The most important of these concerns was the role played by Islam. Was Pakistan to be a secular state serving as a homeland for Muslims of the subcontinent, or was it to be an Islamic state governed by the sharia, in which non-Muslims would be second-class citizens? The second question concerned the distribution of power between the center and the provincial governments, a question that eventually led to the dissolution of the country with the painful loss of the East Wing (East Bengal, later East Pakistan, now Bangladesh) in 1971, an issue that remained unresolved in the mid-1990s. The territory of Pakistan was divided into two parts at independence, separated by about 1,600 kilometers of Indian territory. The 1940 Lahore Resolution had called for independent "states" in the northwest and the northeast. This objective was changed, by a 1946 meeting of Muslim League legislators to a call for a single state (the acronym Pakistan had no letter for Bengal).

Pakistan lacked the machinery, personnel, and equipment for a new government. Even its capital, Karachi, was a second choice--Lahore was rejected because it was too close to the Indian border. Pakistan's economy seemed enviable after severing ties with India, the major market for its commodities. And much of Punjab's electricity was imported from Indian power stations. Above all other concerns were the violence and the refugee problem: Muslims were fleeing India; Hindus and Sikhs were fleeing Pakistan. Jinnah's plea to regard religion as a personal matter, not a state matter, was ignored. No one was prepared for the communal rioting and the mass movements of population that followed the June 3, 1947, London announcement of imminent independence and partition. The most conservative estimates of the casualties were 250,000 dead and 12 million to 24 million refugees. The actual boundaries of the two new states were not even known until August 17, when they were announced by a commission headed by a British judge. The boundaries-- unacceptable to both India and Pakistan--have remained. West Pakistan lost Hindus and Sikhs. These communities had managed much of the commercial activity of West Pakistan.

The Sikhs were especially prominent in agricultural colonies. They were replaced largely by Muslims from India, mostly Urdu speakers from the United Provinces. Although some people, especially Muslims from eastern Punjab (in India), settled in western Punjab (in Pakistan), many headed for Karachi and other cities in Sindh, where they took the jobs vacated by departing Hindus. In 1951 close to half of the population of Pakistan's major cities were immigrants (muhajirs--refugees from India and their descendants). The aspirations for Pakistan that had been so important to Muslims in Muslim-minority provinces and the goals for the new state these urban refugees had fled to were not always compatible with those of the traditional rural people already inhabiting Pakistan, whose support for the concept of Pakistan came much later. Pakistani society was polarized from its inception. The land and people west of the Indus River continued to pose problems. The most immediate problem was the continued presence of a Congress government in the North-West Frontier Province, a government effective at the grassroots level and popular despite the loss of the plebiscite.

Led by Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and his Khudai-i-Khitmagar (Servants of God, a Congress faction), this group was often referred to as the Red Shirts after its members' attire. Ghaffar Khan asked his followers not to participate in the July 1947 plebiscite. Pakistan also had to establish its legitimacy against a possible challenge from Afghanistan. Irredentist claims from Kabul were based on the ethnic unity of tribes straddling the border; the emotional appeal of "Pakhtunistan," homeland of the Pakhtuns, was undeniable. However, Pakistan upheld the treaties Britain had signed with Afghanistan and refused to discuss the validity of the Durand Line as the international border. Relations with Afghanistan were hostile, resulting in the rupture of diplomatic and commercial relations and leading Afghanistan to cast the only vote against Pakistan's admission to the United Nations (UN) in 1947. The India Independence Act left the princes theoretically free to accede to either dominion. The frontier princely states of Dir, Chitral, Amb, and Hunza acceded quickly to Pakistan while retaining substantial autonomy in internal administration and customary law.

The khan of Kalat in Balochistan declared independence on August 15, 1947, but offered to negotiate a special relationship with Pakistan. Other Baloch sardar (tribal chiefs) also expressed their preference for a separate identity. Pakistan took military action against them and the khan and brought about their accession in 1948. The state of Bahawalpur, with a Muslim ruler and a Muslim population, acceded to Pakistan, as did Khairpur. The maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, unpopular among his subjects, was reluctant to decide on accession to either dominion. He first signed agreements with both Pakistan and India that would provide for the continued flow of people and goods to Kashmir--as it is usually called--from both dominions. Alarmed by reports of oppression of fellow Muslims in Kashmir, armed groups from the North-West Frontier Province entered the maharaja's territory. The ruler requested military assistance from India but had to sign documents acceding to India before that country would provide aid in October 1947.

The government of Pakistan refused to recognize the accession and denounced it as a fraud even though the Indian government announced that it would require an expression of the people's will through a plebiscite after the invaders were driven back. Pakistan launched an active military and diplomatic campaign to undo the accession. The UN Security Council eventually brought about a cease-fire between Pakistani and Indian troops, which took place on January 1, 1949, thus ending the first Indo- Pakistani War, and directed that a plebiscite be held. The cease- fire agreement formalized the military status quo, leaving about 30 percent of Kashmir under Pakistani control. Partition and its accompanying confusion also brought severe economic challenges to the two newly created and antagonistic countries. The partition plan ignored the principles of complementarity. West Pakistan, for example, traditionally produced more wheat than it consumed and had supplied the deficit areas in India. Cotton grown in West Pakistan was used in mills in Bombay and other west Indian cities. Commodities such as coal and sugar were in short supply in Pakistan--they had traditionally come from areas now part of India. Furthermore, Pakistan faced logistic problems for its commercial transportation because of the four major ports in British India, it was awarded only Karachi.

But the problem that proved most intractable was defining relations between the two wings of Pakistan, which had had little economic exchange before partition. The two dominions decided to allow free movement of goods, persons, and capital for one year after independence, but this agreement broke down. In November 1947, Pakistan levied export duties on jute; India retaliated with export duties of its own. The trade war reached a crisis in September 1949 when Britain devalued the pound, to which both the Pakistani rupee and the Indian rupee were pegged. India followed Britain's lead, but Pakistan did not, so India severed trade relations with Pakistan. The outbreak of the Korean War (1950-53) and the consequent price rises in jute, leather, cotton, and wool as a result of wartime needs, saved the economy of Pakistan. New trading relationships were formed, and the construction of cotton and jute mills in Pakistan was quickly undertaken. Although India and Pakistan resumed trade in 1951, both the volume and the value of trade steadily declined; the two countries ignored bilateral trade for the most part and developed the new international trade links they had made.

The assets of British India were divided in the ratio of seventeen for India to five for Pakistan by decision of the Viceroy's Council in June 1947. Division was difficult to implement, however, and Pakistan complained of nondeliveries. A financial agreement was reached in December 1948, but the actual settlement of financial and other disputes continued until 1960. Division of the all-India services of the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Police Service was also difficult. Only 101 out of a total of 1,157 Indian officers were Muslim. Among these Muslim officers, ninety-five officers opted for Pakistan; they were joined by one Christian, eleven Muslim military officers transferring to civilian service, and fifty Britons, for a total of 157. But only twenty of them had had more than fifteen years of service, and more than half had had fewer than ten years. These men formed the core of the Civil Service of Pakistan, which became one of the most elite and privileged bureaucracies in the world. Members of the Civil Service of Pakistan were the architects of the administrative, judicial, and diplomatic services.

They proved indispensable in running the government machinery during Pakistan's first two decades, and their contributions to government policy and economics were profound during the era of Mohammad Ayub Khan. The Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto government in the 1970s precipitated a major reorganization and reorientation of the bureaucracy, however, which resulted in a noticeable decline in both the morale and the standards of the bureaucracy. Custom Search Pakistan : History | The Commonwealth The Commonwealth Pakistan : History History The region of Pakistan was one of the cradles of civilisation. Stone-age hunter-gatherers lived on the Potohar plateau and in the Soan Valley in northern Punjab 300,000 or more years ago. Excavations on the Balochistan plateau show a more advanced culture which flourished from 4000 to 2000 BCE. At Kot Diji in the Khairpur district, an early bronze age culture developed in this period. These early civilisations reached their peak in the Indus valley cities, of which Harappa is the most notable. These societies had mastered town planning and pictographic writing. In 327 BCE Alexander the Great invaded with his Macedonian army.

Later, Mauryans from India ruled the northern Punjab area, to be replaced by Bactrian Greeks from Afghanistan and central Asian tribes. Different religions prevailed in turn: Buddhism (under the Mauryans), Hinduism and, with Arab conquest in the eighth century, Islam. Two main principalities emerged under Arab rule, that of al- Mansurah and that of Multan. The Ghaznarid sultans gained ascendancy in Punjab in the 11th century. The subsequent ascendancy of the Moghuls, who originated in Central Asia, lasted from 1536 to 1707; their rule lingered nominally until 1857. They established a sophisticated imperial administration and left a rich legacy of forts and walled cities, gardens and gateways, mosques and tombs. In the early 17th century European traders arrived on the subcontinent. Through the East India Company, the British became the dominant force. After the unsuccessful uprising against Britain of 1857, the British took direct control. Slowly a national Muslim identity emerged, championed by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan (1817–89).

The All India Muslim League was founded in 1907. As the subcontinent moved towards independence, it became clear that Hindu and Muslim interests could not be reconciled. The campaign to establish an independent Muslim state came to prominence in the 1920s and 30s. It was led by the philosopher and poet Mohammad Iqbal and Mohammad Ali Jinnah. Pakistan was created, as an Islamic state, out of the partition of the UK’s Indian Empire, at independence in August 1947. It originally consisted of two parts, West Pakistan (now Pakistan) and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), separated by 1,600 km of Indian territory. Partition was followed by war with India over Kashmir and the mass migration of Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs to resettle within the new borders, an upheaval which led to violence, financial loss and death on a large scale. With the arrival of Indian Muslims and departure of Pakistan’s Hindus and Sikhs, Pakistan became an almost entirely Muslim society. Jinnah, who is honoured as the Quaid-i-Azam, or great leader, died in 1948. In 1956, Pakistan became a federal republic.

It has been under military rule for long periods. Its first Prime Minister, Liaquat Ali Khan, was assassinated in 1951. In 1958, martial law was declared and political parties abolished. General (later Field Marshal) Ayub Khan became President in 1960 and allowed a form of guided ‘basic democracy’. However, failure to win the 1965 war against India and accusations of nepotism and corruption undermined his position. In the east, the Awami League of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman voiced the grievances of the Bengali population. Ayub Khan resigned in 1969 and power was taken over by General Yahya Khan, who in December 1970 held the first national elections in independent Pakistan. Mujib and the Awami League won an electoral majority in Pakistan’s general election on a platform demanding greater autonomy for East Pakistan. At the same time Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) gained a majority in the West. Despite Mujib’s victory, he was prevented by the Pakistan authorities from becoming Prime Minister of the combined state and the Awami League then issued their own plans for a new constitution for an independent state in the East.

As a result of the military intervention that ensued, civil war broke out in the eastern region in 1971; the Indian army intervened in support of the Bengalis; Pakistan forces withdrew and Bangladesh became an independent state. In 1972 Pakistan withdrew from the Commonwealth but rejoined in 1989. Under a new constitution introduced in 1973, Bhutto became Prime Minister. He undertook agrarian reform and the nationalisation of large sections of industry and the financial sector. In July 1977 the army, under General Zia ul-Haq, intervened in the urban unrest. Zia declared martial law and arrested Bhutto who was convicted, after a controversial trial, of conspiring to murder a political opponent. Despite international appeals, he was hanged in April 1979. Zia promised elections within 90 days, but ruled without them until his death. He assumed the presidency and embarked on a programme of Islamisation. Martial law and the ban on political parties were lifted in 1985, Bhutto’s daughter Benazir returned from exile to lead the PPP and Zia died in a plane crash in August 1988.

Elections in November 1988 brought the PPP to power in coalition with the Mohajir Qaumi Movement (MQM). However, in October 1989 the MQM left the coalition and in August 1990 Bhutto was dismissed by the President Ghulam Ishaque Khan and charged with corruption. The National Assembly was dissolved and a caretaker leader installed until Islami Jamhoori Ittehad led by Nawaz Sharif won a decisive election victory in October 1990. Sharif pursued economic reforms and privatisation and instituted Sharia (Islamic) law until 1993 when President and Prime Minister resigned under pressure from the military, making way for fresh elections which brought Benazir Bhutto back to power by a small majority. In November 1996, President Sardar Farooq Khan Leghari, prompted by the army high command and opposition leaders, used the eighth amendment to the constitution, and dissolved the National Assembly, bringing down the Bhutto government and alleging corruption, financial incompetence, and human rights violations. New elections were held in February 1997.

The Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) – previously the main component of the Islami Jamhoori Ittehad – won 134 seats in the National Assembly and Sharif became Prime Minister. Bhutto’s Pakistan People’s Party retained only 18 seats. In April 1997, Sharif was able to gain the PPP’s support to achieve the two- thirds majority necessary to repeal the eighth amendment, ending the President’s ability to dissolve the National Assembly. He also took over from the President the power to appoint Supreme Court judges and military chiefs-of-staff. In October 1999, Sharif ordered the dismissal of Army Chief of Staff General Pervez Musharraf, and refused permission to land for the commercial aircraft in which he was returning to Karachi (from an official visit to Sri Lanka). The army countermanded the Prime Minister’s orders and immediately seized power, dismissing the government and arresting Sharif. Musharraf justified his actions as necessary to restore both the economy and the deteriorating political situation. Pending the restoration of democracy the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) suspended Pakistan from the councils of the Commonwealth.

Kashmir The dispute with India over Kashmir escalated sharply in 1999, when militants with Pakistani military support crossed the Line of Control at Kargil and engaged in major battles with Indian forces. More than 1,000 people were killed in the fighting. In July 1999, Pakistan finally agreed to withdraw from Indian-controlled territory, but the state of tension, which had been heightened by the nuclear testing of 1998 (India had detonated five nuclear devices on 11 and 13 May 1998 and Pakistan responded with six on 28 and 30 May), persisted. At the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, in 2001 President General Pervez Musharraf attended a summit in India, focusing on their dispute over Kashmir. Although there was no substantive outcome, this first face-to-face meeting between leaders of the two countries since 1999 was characterised by a new interest on both sides in seeking a resolution to this long- standing problem. However, by May 2002 India had mobilised a vast army along the Line of Control and the two countries were again on the brink of war.

Tension eased considerably in October 2002 when India reduced its number of troops along the Line of Control; diplomatic relations were restored in August 2003 and a ceasefire along the Line of Control was agreed and took effect from 26 November 2003. Peace talks between India and Pakistan began in 2004, marking a historic advance in relations between the two countries. The talks led to the restoration of communication links and a range of confidence-building measures, including co- ordinated relief efforts in the aftermath of the October 2005 earthquake. Independence Day in Pakistan Home Calendar Holidays Pakistan Independence Day Independence Day in Pakistan Pakistan’s Independence Day, which is annually held on August 14, celebrates the country’s independence from the British rule on that date in 1947. This day is an occasion to promote patriotism and national unity. Many people dress in or use the colors green and white, which are Pakistan’s official colors, during Pakistan's Independence Day. Many people dress in or use the colors green and white, which are Pakistan’s official colors, during Pakistan's Independence Day. ©iStockphoto.com/duncan1890 What Do People Do?

People all over Pakistan celebrate Independence Day with patriotic zest. Many people who attend the Independence Day parades dress up in green and white, which are the Pakistani flag’s colors. People visit national monuments and places of national significance to celebrate Independence Day. This is also a time to meet relatives, exchange gifts and visit recreational spots. Pakistan’s national flag is hoisted on public, private buildings, residences and monuments at dawn. Official buildings, including Parliament House, are decorated and colorfully lit. The prime minister and president address and congratulate the nation and talk about the day’s significance. Streets and houses are decorated with candles, oil lamps and pennants. Firework shows are put together on the eve of Independence Day. Pakistan’s Independence Day also pays homage to people who devoted their lives for Pakistan’s freedom movement and made sacrifices to attain Pakistan’s independence. A change of guard takes place at national monuments, including the mausoleums of Muhammad Iqbal, who was a poet, philosopher, and politician, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who is considered by many as Pakistan’s founder and Quaid-i-Azam (supreme leader). Events held during the day include special theatre shows, national song competitions, concerts, and Independence Day pageants.

Radio and television stations broadcast national songs and specially prepared Independence Day programs. Public Life Independence Day is an official holiday in Pakistan on August 14. All governmental, non-governmental offices, organizations, educational institutions, post offices, and major markets are closed. Public transport remains unavailable on all major routes. Traffic congestion is common due to Independence Day parades. Background The Indo-Pak subcontinent remained a British colony from 1849–1947. The subcontinent’s inhabitants did not approve of the British rule in united India. An uprising that occurred in 1857 eventually formed the shape of a freedom movement, which exemplifies the efforts of the people of British India in gaining their independence. Muslims ruled the subcontinent before the British incursion and suffered due to the 1857 uprising against the British East India Company. Leaders such as Sir Syed Ahmed Khan and Syed Ameer Ali worked diligently for the Muslim people’s political advancement. The Indian National Congress was formed in 1885, which later on became British India’s largest political party. Major Muslim political leaders, including Muhammad Ali Jinnah, were members of the Indian National Congress and worked towards Hindu-Muslim unity and India’s independence.

The All India Muslim League was founded on December 30, 1906. There was growing demand for an independent Muslim state in India. In 1930 Muhammad Iqbal presented the idea of a separate Muslim state that would geographically consist of the Muslim majority areas in the subcontinent. The word Pakistan is a conjunction of two words Pak meaning Pure and Stan meaning Land, a name coined by Choudhary Rahmat Ali. Strong Hindu nationalism gave birth to the Two Nation Theory, an ideology that is accredited as being the basis for Pakistan’s creation. In 1940 the Pakistan Resolution was passed in Lahore demanding greater Muslim autonomy in British India. After World War II, it was expected that the British colonies would soon disintegrate. The Pakistan Movement, spearheaded by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, resulted in creating a Muslim state. Pakistan gained independence from the British rule on August 14, 1947. At its birth, Pakistan had two parts commonly referred to as East and West Pakistan. In 1971 East Pakistan parted from West Pakistan and became Bangladesh. Symbols Green and white are Pakistan’s official colors. White represents peace while green symbolizes prosperity and good fortune.

Independence Day Observances Note: During a public holiday, government offices and most businesses are closed so people have a day off work. Holiday currently only shown for years 2005–2017. Weekday How did bangladesh become an independent country? How did bangladesh become an independent country? by / Piers Brown Question by ThatOneGirl: How did bangladesh become an independent country? I have a test tomorroww and this is the essay question which counts for 10 points. i’ve readd the section about independency and blahh likee 4 times! andd it says nothingg about how bangladesh became independent ! I really need to knoww this! Best answer: June 25th, 2010 at 1:27 am Bengali population of the then East Pakistan-EP (now Bangladesh) got fed-up with the lop-sided share of the country’s fortune which was heavily controlled and managed by the then West Pakistan (now Pakistan)-WP’s Central Government sitting in Islamabad and its politicians, mostly from Punjab of the Pakistan side.

When there was a general election in 1970 held all over Pakistan (East & West) and then our Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s party Awami League (AL) got not only absolute majority in East Pakistan, but also the mandate to form Central Government of Pakistan. The other contender for the Prime Ministership was Zulfiquar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) was very frustrated and furious to the prospect of a Bengali getting the top-job, started conspiring to make the sitting of the parliament get delayed under this or that pretext. The Pakistani Military Junta led by notorious General Yeah-ya Khan in connivance with Bhutto of PPP lingered the process of handing over of the power and while under the guise of ‘talks’ with AL leadership, he was amassing troops and ammunitions from West wing to the East wing of Pakistan. On the night of 25th March 1971, the military junta of Pakistan ordered their henchman General Tikka Khan to launch full-blast attack on un-armed Bengali population firstly from Dhaka and then from all over the military garrison already stationed in major 17-district of EP.

The military massacred people in Dhaka University, Police Line in Rajarbagh and gradually allover EP. India was helping us from the back-door till 4th December (not sure about this date now due to fading memory) and then extended all its military force to help the local people who by that time formed “Mukti Bahini” (freedom fighters – FF) with active help and training from Indian military and civilian administrations, bordering EP. About 1 Million of refugees crossed EP due to the brutal attacks launched by the EP forces with the help of some local fundamentalist led by the Jamat-e-Islami’s (JI) leader Professor Golam Azam and Company who helped form para-military forces in the name & style of “Razakar” and “Al-Badar”, local forces designed to assist the Pakistani military identify the Bengali FF and destroy their houses and kill their relatives so that they can subjugate Bengali population and milk them for the interest of WP people.

So, it was almost 95% of the population of EP supported the freedom struggle of Bangladesh, except for the JI Razakars & Al-Badars and Urdu speaking Muslim minorities known as Biharis (who earlier migrated to EP from Bihar & allied provinces during August 1947 partition of India) and Chakma Tribals with their King supporting WP, whole population hated WP forces occupation of our motherland and helped India to help us evict the enemies and win our independence on 16th December 1971. Hope above helps in your essay. PS. We declared 26th March as our “Independence Day” and “16th December” as our Victory Day. Like or Dislike: Pakistan Pakistan "A CASTLE WITH A THOUSAND DOORS" (Created by Daphne Ahalt, History 135, March 2002) Contents Back to top History Pakistan is a country rich in history. From the time civilization began its initial development in the Indus River valley over five thousand years ago to the present, the people and cultures of the region have experienced a diverse set of changing influences.

In the 1700s the British East India Company became the strongest power in South Asia, wresting control from the Mughal Empire, which had been created by invading Muslim Turks, and over time the British gained political control over much of the region. A series of wars fought in the Punjab and Sind in the 1840s added these territories to British control, and by 1900 British India included all of what is now Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. After World War I, both Indian nationalist leaders, such as Mohandas Gandhi, and the Muslim League called for South Asian independence. During the 1930s, the Muslim League increasingly began to prefer the creation of a separate Muslim nation. Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the League's president, opted to call the proposed country, "Pakistan," which means "land of the pure" in Urdu. After World War II, England committed itself to an independent South Asia. After unrest between Hindus and Muslims in the region, the United Kingdom and Hindu leaders agreed to a partition of the region. Pakistan became an independent country on 14 August 1947 with Muhammad Ali Jinnah as the first head of government.

Fighting continued between Hindus and Muslims despite the partition. Hindus and Sikhs fled to India, while Muslims departed for Pakistan, a disaster. Thousands died in the scuffle. India and Pakistan also went to war over Kashmir in 1948. Pakistan claimed Kashmir because most of its residents where Muslim, while the region's Hindu leader made Kashmir part of India. The fighting ended only after the United Nations arranged for a cease-fire in 1949. Eventually in 1956, Pakistan became a republic with Major-General Iskander Mirza as the first president. Military leaders controlled the republican government. In 1965 the dispute over Kashmir led to renewed fighting, and once again, the United Nations had to arrange for a cease-fire. In 1970, representatives from East Pakistan (present-day Bangladesh) objected to West Pakistan's control of the nation's government, economy and armed forces. Elections were held for a new National Assembly responsible for drafting a revised constitution. But shortly after the elections, the differences and disagreements erupted in civil war. President Yahya Kahn, after inciting protests in East Pakistan, postponed the first meeting of the Assembly.

Resisting the army, East Pakistan declared itself an independent country on 26 March 1971, "Bangladesh." In the early 1970s Kahn resigned, and Zulfikar Ali Bhutto restored constitutional government and civilian rule. Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi agreed to withdraw her troops from all Pakistan territories. Kashmir, however, remained in dispute, and Indian troops remained positioned there. In 1973 Pakistan adopted a new constitution that provided for a president as head of state and a prime minister as chief executive. Bhutto became Prime Minister, and Chaudhri Fazal Elahi was elected president. When Bhutto's political party was accused of election fraud in the mid-1970s, General Mohammed Zia-Ul-Haq declared martial law and removed Bhutto from office. Elahi resigned in 1978, and Zia declared himself president. His government convicted Bhutto of ordering the murder of a political opponent and executed him in 1979. Martial law ended in 1985 when Zia allowed the election of a new parliament.

However, three years later he removed the prime minister and parliament from power, but later that year he died in a plane crash. Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and head of the Pakistan People's Party, was elected prime minister of the new parliament. She became the first woman to ever head an elected government in an Islamic nation. Ghulan Ishaq Khan became president and, in 1990 accused Bhutto of corruption and removed her from office. The Islamic Democratic Alliance, a coalition of reformist political parties, won a majority of parliamentary seats in the new October elections. Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League, the chief party of the coalition, became Prime Minister, but political unrest continued. In the mid-1990s military pressure dissolved Pakistan's parliament and Khan and Sharif resigned. Once more, Benazir Bhutto became prime minister. This time President Leghari accused her of corruption, and she was removed from office again three years later. A law passed by parliament in April 1997 stripped the Pakistani president of the powers to dismiss the prime minister and to call new elections.

In October 1999 General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup to stop government corruption. He dissolved the parliament, suspended the Constitution and declared himself the head of a transition government; in 2001 he declared himself president. Musharraf incited protests from Pakistani supporters of Afghanistan's Islamic government when he allowed United States armed forces to operate in Pakistan during the war on terrorism. After India's Parliament building was attacked, causing the death and injury of 20 people, India blamed Pakistan of supporting terrorists. The incident led both countries to build up military forces along their common border, again threatening the fragile stability of the region. Back to top Timeline 1940 - 1949: 1947: Pakistan became an independent nation; Muhammad Ali Jinnah elected Governor General with Liaquat Ali Khan as Prime Minister; 1948: Jinnah died; Kwaza Nazimuddin became Governor General.

1950 - 1959: 1951: Nazimuddin became the Prime Minister after Liaquat was assassinated 1956: The Constitution adopted; Governor General Mirza announced as President; 1958: Mirza declared martial law; he was sent into exile when General Mohammad Ayub Khan assumed the presidency. 1960 - 1969: 1965: Second war between India and Pakistan over Kashmir; cease-fire arranged by the United Nations; 1969: Ayub Khan resigned and martial law declared again; General Agha Mohammad Yahya Khan assumed the presidency.

1970 - 1979: 1971: East Pakistan attempted to secede and civil war broke out; East Pakistan declared an independent country named Bangladesh; Yahya Kahn resigned; Zulfikar Ali Bhutto elected President of Pakistan; 1972: Bhutto and Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi signed the SIMLA Agreement which created a new Line of Control; 1973: A new constitution was put into effect; Bhutto became Prime Minister; 1976: Diplomatic ties established between Pakistan and Bangladesh; 1977: General Mohammad Zia Ul-Haq proclaimed martial law; 1978: Zia became the sixth president of Pakistan; 1979: The Islamic penal code was introduced; Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was hanged for government corruption. 1980 - 1989: 1983: Zia lifted martial law; 1985: General elections were held: 1988: Zia dismissed the government and orders new elections; Zia killed in plane crash; Benazir Bhutto sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of an Islamic country.

1990 - 1999: 1990: Bhutto lost to the coalition of rightist parties in the national election; Nawaz Sharif elected Prime Minister; 1995: Benazir Bhutto elected again as Prime minister by a slim margin; 1996: President Farooq Leghari accused Bhutto of government corruption and nepotism; Bhutto was dismissed from her position; 1997: Sharif became head of the government after national elections; 1998: Nuclear tests in India and Pakistan produced worldwide condemnation and sanctions from countries such as the United States and Japan; 1999: General Pervez Musharraf led the Pakistani army in a coup that toppled Sharif's government; Sharif was accused of massive corruption, destroying institutions and undermining the Constitution.

2000 - Present: 2000: A two-year drought forced hundreds of thousands of Pakistanis to leave the southern desert region; deposed Prime Minister Sharif tried for treason; 2001: Musharraf appointed himself President of Pakistan; Musharraf set a date of 1 October 2002 for the return of a democratic government; Pakistan shut down its border with Afghanistan preventing more refugees from entering; Pakistan joined and international coalition against terrorism at the United States' urging. Back to top Fact Sheet Flag: Pakistan's flag has a star and a crescent, both traditional symbols of Islam. Green stands for the nation's Muslim majority. Official Name: The Islamic Republic of Pakistan Capital: Islamabad Manas: History and Politics, Constitution of India Independent India India acquired independence on 15 August 1947 though sections of the country were carved out and stitched together to create another new country, Pakistan. The “institutional” road to independence was perhaps laid down by the Government of India Act of 1935, where the gradual emergence of India as a self-governing entity had first been partly envisioned.

Following India's independence in 1947, the Constituent Assembly deliberated over the precise constitutional future of India. On 26 January 1950, India became a Republic, and the Constitution of India was promulgated. Jawaharlal Nehru had become the country’s first Prime Minister in 1947, and in 1952, in the country’s first general election with a universal franchise, Nehru led the Indian National Congress to a clear victory. The Congress had long been the principal political party in India, providing the leadership to the struggle for independence, and under Nehru’s stewardship it remained the largest and most influential party over the next three decades. In 1957, Nehru was elected to yet another five-year term as a member of the Lok Sabha and chosen to head the government. His ‘regime’ was marked by the advent of five-year plans, designed to bring big science and industry to India; in Nehru's own language, steel mills and dams were to be the temples of modern India. Relations with Pakistan remained chilling, and the purported friendship of India and China proved to be something of a hoax.

China’s invasion of India's borders in 1962 is said to have dealt a mortal blow to Nehru. Nehru was succeeded at his death on 27 May 1964 for a period of two weeks by Gulzarilal Nanda (1898-1998), a veteran Congress politician who became active in the non-cooperation movement in 1922 and served several prison terms, principally in 1932 and from 1942-44 during the Quit India movement. Nanda served as acting Prime Minister until the Congress had elected a new leader, Lal Bahadur Shastri, also a veteran politician who came of age during the Gandhi-led non-cooperation movement. Shastri was the compromise candidate who, perhaps unexpectedly, led the country to something of a victory over Pakistan in 1965.

Shastri and the vanquished Pakistani President, Muhammad Ayub Khan, signed a peace treaty at Tashkent in the former Soviet Union on 10 January 1966, but Shastri barely lived to witness the accolades that were now being showered upon him since he died of an heart attack the day after the treaty was signed. Shastri’s empathy for the subaltern classes is conveyed through the slogan, “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”, “Hail the Soldier, Hail the Farmer”, which is attributed to him and through which he is remembered at Vijay Ghat, the national memorial to him in New Delhi in the proximity of Rajghat, the national memorial to Mohandas Gandhi. On Shastri’s death, the Congress was once again engulfed by an internal struggle. Gulzarilal Nanda once again served as the acting Prime Minister, again for a period of less than a month, before being succeeded by Indira Gandhi, Nehru's daughter.

By the late 1960s, Indira Gandhi had engineered a split in the Congress, as the only means to ensure her political survival, and the Congress party, which with every passing year was losing something of its shine, now went into a precipitous decline. In 1971, India crushed Pakistan in a short war that also saw the birth of Bangladesh, and Indira was now at the helm of her powers. But the Congress was now a mere shadow of its former self, and as domestic problems mounted and popular movements directed at Indira Gandhi began to show their effect, she resorted to more repressive measures. An internal emergency, which placed almost the entire opposition behind bars, was proclaimed in May 1975, and only removed in 1977; and the same opposition, which hastily convened to chart its strategy, achieved in delivering the Congress party its first loss in national elections. This government, serving various political interests and led by the victorious Janata Party, which had been formed out of various opposition parties, lasted a mere three years.

It was led by the controversial Gandhian and Congress stalwart, Morarji Desai, for two years, and for another year by Chaudhary Charan Singh (1902-1987), who came from a Jat farming community with roots in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The Lok Sabha or Lower Assembly never met during Charan Singh’s Prime Ministership and the political alliance crumbled. Indira Gandhi rode a spectacular wave of victory in 1980. But she did not live to complete her term: shot by her own Sikh bodyguards, who sought to avenge the destruction unleashed upon the Golden Temple, the venerable shrine of the Sikh faith, by Indian government troops given the task of flushing out the terrorists holed in the shrine, she was succeeded by her son, Rajiv Gandhi, in late 1984. In the December 1994 Lok Sabha elections, Rajiv Gandhi and the Congress party won a landslide election.

But Rajiv’s premiership was to be marked by numerous political disasters, and Rajiv’s own name was tainted by the allegation that he had received huge bribes from a Swedish firm of Bofors, manufacturers of a machine-gun for which the Indian army placed a large order. His own finance minister, V. P. Singh (1931-), once a Indira Gandhi loyalist who had been picked by her in 1980 to serve as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, was to turn against Rajiv; and in 1989, V. P. Singh led the Janata Party to an electoral rout over the Congress. However, the revived Janata party mustered only 145 votes, and it had to take the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by L. K. Advani and Atal Behari Vajpayee, in order to form a government. It is at this juncture that India truly entered the era of coalition governments. V. P.

Singh would soon be brought down by two disputes: one over the status of the Babri Masjid, a sixteenth-century mosque that Hindu militants claimed had been built over the Ram Janmasthan [birthplace], and the second over the recommendations of the Mandal commission pertaining to quotas for various elements of India’s underprivileged masses. On 7 November 1990, by a vote of 356-151, V. P. Singh lost the confidence of the Lok Sabha, and some days later Chandra Sekhar (1927-), with the support of Rajiv Gandhi’s Congress, was sworn in as the next prime minister. However, Congress withdrew its support in March 1991, and elections were called in May. On 21 May 1991, as intense electioneering was taking place, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Sri Lankan suicide bomber. The mantle of Congress leadership fell on the veteran P. V. Narasimha Rao (1921-2004), who led the party to triumph, even as the BJP raised the number of its seats in Parliament from a little over 80 to 120.

On 6 December 1992, acting in defiance of Supreme Court orders, Hindu militants destroyed the Babri Masjid, and so initiated one of the most intense crises in India’s post-independent history. Rao weathered many a storm, and presided over the liberalization of the economy -- the architect of which was Manmohan Singh, then Finance Minister and, since 2004, the Prime Minister of India. But Rao could not keep the BJP and its friends in check. In the general elections of 1996, the BJP emerged as the largest party, but its 194 seats were not enough to give it a working majority in the 545-seat Lok Sabha, and Atal Behari Vajpayee’s first government lasted a mere twelve days.

A 13-party coalition of the United National Front and the Indian left was brought into power, and Deve Gowda, the Chief Minister of Karnataka, was raised to the office of the Prime Minister; but after less than a year in office, he resigned and was succeeded by Inder Kumar Gujral, whose main contribution in office was to bequeath “the Gujral doctrine” – a reference to his genuine attempts to mend India’s relations with its South Asian neighbors, based on the principle that as the largest country, India could afford to be generous, and did not have to require reciprocity for all its munificent actions. But Gujral’s government similarly lasted less than a year; and in the general elections of February 1998, the BJP emerged again as the single largest party, this time with 200 seats. Vajpayee was invited to form a government, and did so with a coalition of several parties, including the AIADMK, led by Jayalalitha. Nothing that the BJP did was so ripe with consequences as the decision to turn India into a nuclear state with a series of nuclear tests in May 1998.

The coalition, not unpredictably, broke down; but the general elections of September 1999, in which the BJP again emerged as the single largest party, and the Congress had a poor showing at the polls, despite being led by Sonia Gandhi, a scion of the ‘Nehru dynasty’, were to reinforce the impression that regional parties and politics have fundamentally altered the state of Indian politics. Under Vajpayee, the BJP presided over the country’s destiny until 2004, even though it was becoming inescapably clear that the dominance of any one party is no longer a foregone conclusion and that coalition politics appears to be the way of the future. Many commentators were rightfully alarmed by various ominous developments that transpired during the BJP’s years in office, such as the coercive Hinduization of the country, the inability of the state to guarantee the rights of religious minorities, and other obvious manifestations of an utter disregard for human rights, such as state-sponsored killings in Kashmir, the north-east, and elsewhere, or the oppressions unleashed upon Christians and women.

On the other hand, Vajpayee and the BJP are not only credited with having administered a crushing blow to Pakistan’s adventurism on the Himalayan mountain tops at Kargil, but with having spearheaded a rapid expansion of the Indian economy. In provincial elections held in several states in late 2003, the BJP registered impressive triumphs and the party leadership was led into thinking that, in calling for early elections, it could consolidate its gains with a magisterial showing in national elections. The BJP waged a campaign on the slogan of “India Shining”, trumpeting the emergence of India as a major power. However, the Indian electorate once again showed that it was not to be taken for granted, and the BJP and its allies lost to a coalition headed by the Congress party. [ See India’s Moment: Elections 2004. ] The Fourteenth Lok Sabha convened on 17 May 2004 and Manmohan Singh (1932-) assumed the office of the Prime Minister at the head of what is known as the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government.

The UPA is supported by the Left Front, a coalition of parties headed by the CPM, or the Communist Party of India (Marxist). For a Slovak translation of this page, go to: For a Russian translation of this page, go to: Geography of Pakistan - Learn about the Country of Pakistan Geography of Pakistan Geography of Pakistan Learn about the Middle Eastern Country of Pakistan The Pakistan flag is green with a vertical white band (symbolizing the role of religious minorities) on the hoist side; a large white crescent and star are centered in the green field; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam.

Source: CIA World Factbook, 2007 Population: 177,276,594 (July 2010 estimate) Capital: Islamabad Bordering Countries : Afghanistan, Iran, India and China Land Area: 307,374 square miles (796,095 sq km) Coastline: 650 miles (1,046 km) Highest Point: K2 at 28,251 feet (8,611 m) Pakistan, officially called the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is located in the Middle East near the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman. It is bordered by Afghanistan , Iran , India and China . Pakistan is also very close to Tajikistan but the two countries are separated by the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan. The country is known as having the sixth largest population in the world and the second largest Muslim population in the world after Indonesia. History of Pakistan Pakistan has a long history with archaeological remains dating back to over 4,000 years ago. In 362 B.C.E., part of Alexander the Great's empire occupied what is present-day Pakistan.

In the 8th century, Muslim traders arrived in Pakistan and began to introduce the Muslim religion to the area. continue reading below our video What are the Seven Wonders of the World In the 18th century the Mughal Empire , which occupied much of southern Asia from the 1500s, collapsed and the English East India Company began to exert influence over the area, including Pakistan. Shortly thereafter, Ranjit Singh, a Sikh explorer, took control of a large portion of what would become northern Pakistan. However, in the 19th century , the British took over the area. In 1906 though, anti-colonial leaders established the All-India Muslim League to fight British control. In the 1930s, the Muslim League gained power and on March 23, 1940, its leader, Muhammad Ali Jinnah called for the formation of an independent Muslim country with the Lahore Resolution. In 1947, the United Kingdom granted full dominion status to both India and Pakistan. On August 14th of the same year, Pakistan became an independent nation known as West Pakistan.

East Pakistan, was another nation and in 1971, it became Bangladesh . In 1948, Pakistan's Ali Jinnah died and in 1951 its first prime minister, Liaqat Ali Khan, was assassinated. This set off a period of political instability in the country and in 1956, Pakistan's constitution was suspended. Throughout the rest of the 1950s and into the 1960s, Pakistan was run under a dictatorship and was engaged in war with India. In the December 1970, Pakistan again held elections but they did not reduce instability within the country. Instead they caused the polarization of Pakistan's eastern and western areas. As a result throughout the 1970s, Pakistan was highly unstable both politically and socially. Throughout the rest of the 1970s and into the 1980s and 1990s, Pakistan held a number of different political elections but most of its citizens were anti-government and the country was unstable. In 1999, a coup and General Pervez Mushrraf became Chief Executive of Pakistan.

Throughout the early 2000's, Pakistan worked with the United States to find Taliban and other terrorist training camps along the country's borders after the events of September 11, 2001 . Government of Pakistan Today, Pakistan is still an unstable country with various political issues. However, it is considered a federal republic with a bicameral parliament consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly . Pakistan also has an executive branch of government with chief of state filled by the president and a head of government filled by the prime minister. Pakistan's judicial branch is composed of the Supreme Court and the Federal Islamic or Sharia Court . Pakistan is divided into four provinces , one territory and one capital territory for local administration. Economics and Land Use in Pakistan Pakistan is considered a developing nation and as such it has a highly underdeveloped economy. This is largely because of its decades of political instability and a lack of foreign investment. Textiles are Pakistan's main export but it also has industries that include food processing, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, paper products, fertilizer and shrimp. Agriculture in Pakistan includes cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables, milk, beef, mutton and eggs.

Geography and Climate of Pakistan Pakistan has a varied topography that consists of the flat, Indus plain in the east and the Balochistan plateau in the west. In addition, the Karakoram Range, one of the world's highest mountain ranges, is in the north and northwest part of the country. The world's second highest mountain, K2 , is also within Pakistan's borders, as is the famous 38 mile (62 km) Baltoro Glacier. This glacier is considered one of the longest glaciers outside of the Earth's polar regions. The climate of Pakistan varies with its topography, but most of it consists of hot, dry desert, while the northwest is temperate. In the mountainous north though the climate is harsh and considered Arctic. More Facts about Pakistan • Pakistan's largest cities are Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi and Gujranwala • Urdu is the official language of Pakistan but English, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Baloch, Hindko, Barhui and Saraiki are also spoken • The life expectancy in Pakistan is 63.07 years for men and 65.24 years for women References Central Intelligence Agency .

(24 June 2010). CIA - The World Factbook - Pakistan. Retrieved from: Infoplease.com. (n.d.). Pakistan: History, Geography, Government, and Culture- Infoplease.com. Retrieved from: United States Department of State. (21 July 2010). Pakistan. Retrieved from: Wikipedia.com. (28 July 2010). Pakistan - Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from:

Question: What country became independent from Pakistan?
Answer: Bangladesh