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pakistan country information
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HISTORY:Pakistan traces its history back to 2,500 years B.C., when a highly developed civilization in the Indus Valley, excavations at Harappa, Moenjodaro, Kot Diji and Mehr Garh have brought to light, the evidence of an advanced civilization existing even in more ancient times.
Around 1,500 B.C., the Aryans
overwhelmed this region, and influenced the Hindu civilization, whose center
moved to Ganges Valley, further east. Later, the Persians occupied the northern
region in the 5th century B.C. up to the 2nd century A.D. The Greeks came in 327
B.C., under Alexander of Macedonia, and passed away like a meteor. In 712 AD,
the Arabs, led by Muhammad Bin Qasim, Landed somewhere near modern Karachi and
ruled the lower half of Pakistan for two hundred years. During this time, Islam
took roots in the soil and influenced the life, culture and traditions of the
people.
In the 10th century AD, began
the systematic conquest of South Asia by the Muslims from Central Asia, who
ruled here up to the 18th century,. Then the British became the masters of the
land and ruled for nearly 200 years and for only 100 years over what is Pakistan
now. The Muslim revival began towards the end of the last century when Sir Syed
Ahmed Khan, a renowned Muslim leader and educationist, launched a movement for
intellectual renaissance of the Muslims of South Asia. In 1930, the well known
poet - philosopher, Allama muhammad Iqbal, conceived the idea of a separate
state for the Muslims of the South Asia. In 1940, a resolution was adopted by
the all-India Muslim League, demanding a separate dependent homeland for the
Muslims of South Asia. After seven years of un-tiring struggle under the
brilliant leadership of Quaid-e-Azam (The great leader) Muhammad Ali Jinnah,
Pakistan emerged on the world map as a sovereign state, on 14th August,
1947.
GOVERNMENT:
Pakistan is an Islamic republic with its capital at Islamabad. It has four provinces: Balochistan, North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Punjab and Sindh. Their respective capitals are Quetta, Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi. In addition to provinces, are the Federal Administered Northern Areas (F.A.N.A) and Federal Administered Tribal Areas (F.A.T.A). Pakistan has a federal structure. Parliament consists of National Assembly and the Senate. Members of the National Assembly are directly elected on the adult franchise base and there term of office is five years. The National Assembly determine the major policy issue and passes annual budget and legislation. It elects the Prime Minister from among its members. The Prime Minister forms his / her cabinet from among members of the Assembly and Senate. Provinces have their own elected legislative Assemblies and Chief Ministers. Majority of the members, of the upper house are elected by the Provincial Assemblies.
LOCATION &
GEOGRAPHY:
Pakistan is situated between latitude 24 and 37 degrees north and longitude 62 and 75 degrees east. The country borders Iran on the west, India in the east, Afghanistan in the north-west, China in the north and Arabian sea on the south. The great mountain ranges of the Himalayas, the Karakorams and the Hindukush form Pakistan's northern highlands of the north-west frontier province and the Northern Area; Punjab province is a flat, alluvial plain with five major rivers dominating the upper region eventually joining the Indus river flowing south to the Arabian sea; Sindh is bounded on the east by the thar desert and the Rann of Kutch and on the west by the Kirthar range; the Balochistan plateau is an arid tableland, encircled by dry mountains.
POPULATION (1998
Census):
Total population : 130.58 million, Growth Rate : 2.61% per annum. Density : 164 person / Sq.kms Sex Ratio : 108 males to 100 females
AREA:
8,03,940 Sq.km (including FATA and FANA).
CLIMATE:
Pakistan has well defined seasons; Winter (December - February), Spring (March - April), Summer (May - September) and Autumn (October - November). During summer in central and southern parts of the country, the temperature may go as high as 45oC. However, the northern regions have very pleasant weather during summers. Between July and August, the season brings an average 38-51cm of rain to plains and 152-203cm in lower Himalayan valleys of Murree, Kaghan, Swat and Azad Kashmir.
RELIGION:
Muslim (97%), Hindu (1.5%), Christian (1%) and several other minorities.
LANGUAGES:
National language : URDU Official language : ENGLISH Main Regional Languages : Sindhi, Balochi, Punjabi and Pashto.
CURRENCY:
Basic unit of currency is Rupee which divides into 100 paisa. Currency notes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100,. 500 and 1000 rupees are in use.
CREDIT CARDS:
American Express is the most widely accepted card. Master card and Visa are also good. Dinner club and other cards have more limited use.
TRAVELERS CHEQUE:
Generally accepted at most banks, four & five star hotels and major shops. To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travelers are advised to take travelers cheque in US Dollars or Pounds Sterling.
ELECTRICITY:
220 V, 50 Hz AC.
TIME ZONE:
Pakistan Standard Time is GMT plus 5 hours. It gets dark at about 05:00pm in winter and at 07:30pm in summer.
DRIVING:
All traffic in Pakistan runs on the left side. International or own national license is valid. Cars must be insured and registered. Minimum age for driving is 18 years. Speed limit is 65 km/h at most roads and 120 km/h on Motorways.
INSURANCE:
Tourists are advised to take insurance against accidents, thefts etc. from the country of origin. There are many insurance companies in Pakistan's major cities who also offer such services.
AIRPORT
FACILITIES:
Bank, car rental, tourist information (at Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar and at Saidu Sharif), duty free shop, restaurant, hotels, reception booths, post office and public call office.
AIRPORT DEPARTURE
TAX.International
: Economy Class : Rs.400
Club/Business Class : Rs.600 First Class : Rs.800 Foreign Travel Tax (on tickets purchased inside Pakistan) : Rs.1,500 Domestic : Economy Class : Rs.20 one way Club/Business Class : Rs.40 one way
ENTERTAINMENT:Pakistan
Television (PTV) entertainment programs of music, plays/dramas and stage shows
are telecast from 05 TV Stations; Karachi, Quetta, Lahore, Peshawar and
Islamabad. PTV has also started PTV World Channel which can be viewed in the
Middle East and South Asia. The private Channel, Shalimar Television Network
(STN), besides telecast of similar programs, also re-telecast programs of BBC,
CNN & TNT movies.
Pakistan, Broadcasting
Corporation (PBC) has 22 radio stations throughout Pakistan which offer music,
plays, news and talks in national and local languages. A PBC World Service from
Islamabad presents programs in a number of international languages. A private
music channel, 'FM -100" has 24 hours music service from 04 major cities of
Pakistan. All urban areas have cinema houses which run daily 03 shows of feature
films in Urdu and other local languages. Some cinema houses in major cities run
English movies also.
NEWSPAPERS:More than
200 daily newspapers and 1700 magazines and periodicals are published throughout
the country in English, Urdu and other regional languages.
TOURISM
GROWTH:In the year 1998, Pakistan
attracted around 3,81,000 tourist from overseas and earned US$111 million as
foreign exchange receipts. The number of foreign tourist arrivals in the south
Asia region was 5 million. In 1998, the share of Pakistan in tourist arrivals in
this region was 7.6%. More than half of foreign tourist arrivals in 1998 were
for visiting friends and relatives followed by business travelers 18.3%,
holidays and recreational travelers 13.4% and religious tourists to the tune of
2.5%. Most of the tourists from overseas had visited main cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad,
mainly due to the nature of foreign tourism which is dominated by visiting
friends and relatives.
HOW TO COME TO
PAKISTAN:By Air :More
than 25 airlines fly to Pakistan from over 40 countries. Most of the flights
arrive at Karachi, but PIA, British Airways, Emirates, Saudia and China Xinjiang
Airlines fly direct to the twin cities of Rawalpindi/Islamabad. PIA, Indian
airlines, Saudia and Thai Airways fly direct to Lahore. Pakistan International
(PIA) has direct flights from the main Mediterranean and European cities, as
well as from New York, Toronto and Nairobi. It also runs a Far East Network
from Tokyo, Beijing, Jakarta, Singapur, Kuala Lampur and Bangkok. PIA has also
flights to Tashkent from Islamabad, Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi while another
Pakistani Airline, Aero Asia has a weekly flight between Karachi, Bishkek and
Dubai.
By Land :From China,
the Khunjrab Pass is open from 1st May to 31st October for groups and to 15th
November for individual tourists. Customs, immigration post shall remain open
daily from 08:30 to 11:00 for outgoing travelers and upto 16:00 for incoming
tourists. Travel time from Sost to Taxkurgan is 05hrs (220 kms). The Chinese
border post, Taxkurgan is open 12:00 noon to 14:00 for outgoing tourists and
upto 19:00 for incoming travelers.
From India :Wagha is
the only Land border open between Pakistan and India. The Wagha border post
open daily for foreigners; summer (18 April to 15 October) 08:30 to 14:30 hrs
and winter (16th October to 15th April) 09:00 to 15:00 hrs. Minibus No. 12
leaves from outside Lahore Railway Station for Wagha every fifteen minutes, cost
approximately US $ 0.20 per person. Taxi shall charge around US $ 8 for this
half an hour journey.
By Sea:No passenger
boats or ships for the general public sail to or from Pakistan at present. A few
pilgrim ships/boats, do ply between Pakistan and the Gulf states. There are some
plans of starting a ferry Service between Karachi and Dubai in near
future.
TRAVEL WITHIN
PAKISTAN:
Air:PIA serves 38 domestic airports with scheduled connections, including multiple daily flights between major cities of Karachi, Quetta, Multan, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar. Two private airlines, Aero Asia and Bhoja Air, also serve Karachi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Islamabad. PIA has daily flights linking the Northern tourist towns of Gilgit, Skardu and Saidu Sharif with Islamabad, and Chitral with Peshawar. All flights to the northern region are subject to good weather.
Road:Pakistan has an
extensive network of roads and highways, linking every big and small town. There
are several highways like Grand Trunk Road between Lahore and Peshawar, Super
Highway and National Highway linking Karachi with interior of Sindh and Punjab,
Indus Highway linking Peshawar with the Southern Punjab, RCD Highway linking
Karachi with Quetta and on to Taftan (Pak-Iran border) and the Karakoram Highway
joining Islamabad with Kashgar (China) through Abbottabad, Gilgit Hunza and
Khunjrab Pass. A land mark has been achieved with the completion of
Lahore-Islamabad motorway (M2) and Faisalabad-Pindi Bhatian Motorway (M3), which
have opened some of the remote areas of Pakistan for visitors. Another project
of Motorway i.e. Islamabad-Peshawar (M1) will be completed in near
future.
You will find all types of
public transport in Pakistan. Taxis, auto rickshaws, vans, tongas (horse &
carriage) and mini-buses are used for traveling within the city/town/village
limits, whereas air-conditioned, non air-conditioned and deluxe type of buses,
vans and coaches regularly ply between major cities and tourists
destinations.
Train:Pakistan has
over 12,700 kms of railways, including 8,500 kms inherited from the British.
Main line runs from Karachi to Peshawar connecting important tourist places like
Moenjodaro, Sukkur, Bahawalpur, Multan, Lahore, Rawalpindi / Islamabad, Taxila
and Peshawar. Another main line link Quetta with the rest of the country, There
are several daily trains running on these lines, however, the faster trains like
Shalimar Express and Railcar have more comfortable air-conditioned compartments
for travelers.
Pakistan Railways allow a 25%
concession in all classes, to foreign tourists and 50% discount for foreign
students. This concession is allowed on production of a recommendation
certificate issued by any PTDC Tourist Information Centre and original passport,
to the Divisional Superintendent of Pakistan Railways.
WHAT TO BUY ?
Pakistan is a treasure house of exquisite handicrafts, made by a people who grew up to weave, to pot, to work metals, wood and stone, to decorate, to build things small and great. Pottery here is a living history, a traditional craft that become an art, with its origin of Pakistan claims its own special jars and jugs, from sturdy terra-cotta to paper-thin ceramics, in vivid colors of mustard yellow, deep green, brick red and sky blue. For those keen on shopping, the prices are still quite reasonable. You will find yourself returning home with hand-woven carpets, marble pieces, copper and brass items, woodwork, embroidered "Kurtas" and "Khussas" and countless objects d'art.
WHAT TO EAT ?
Having inherited the culinary traditions of the Mughals, the Turks, the Central Asian and the Iranians, eating out in Pakistan is a rich and unique experience. Most local restaurants serve authentic Pakistani dishes straight from the oven, with the sites and sounds of a bazaar in the background. Meat, fish and vegetable dishes are seasoned with spices. Pakistani mutton and chicken curries and the oriental rice dish called, Pullao, are also popular with natives and foreigners alike.
WHAT TO WEAR ?
Lightweight, cotton clothes suffice except in north in winter. Men wear suits for business meetings, social events. Casual shalwar suits are worn by all women and the most men in public. Women should dress modestly.
FESTIVALS AND HOLIDAYS OF
PAKISTAN:
Pakistan's calendar features a great many Muslim religious festivals. Others are in memory of National Heroes or commemorate political events in the nation's recent history. Muslim festivals are celebrated according to Muslim (Lunar) Calendar and may occur some 10 days earlier each successive Christian year. There are several folk festivals held regularly in every part of the country. Exact dates of such festivals are fixed annually by the District Administration of the respective area, at least 02 months in advance.
DON'TS :Please
don't photograph military installations, bridges and airports. Taking
photographs of women is prohibited but the girls in the Kalash Valleys can be
photographed provided they agree. Don't travel at night on mountain roads and
don't swim in the rivers up north or other fast flowing mountains streams.
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