NATIONAL MAP OF PAKISTAN

NATIONAL MAP OF PAKISTAN

Area	Total 796,095 Sq. km. Punjab 205,344 Sq. km. Sindh 140,914  Sq. km. Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa 74,521 Sq. km. Balochistan 347,190 Sq. km. Federally Administered Tribal Areas 27,220 Sq. km. Islamabad (Capital) 906 Sq. km.
Population	165 million (estimated)-132 million (1998 census) (Seehttp://www.statpak.gov.pk/)
	Pakistan is divided into four provinces viz., Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. The tribal belt adjoining Khyber Pukhtoonkhwa is managed by the Federal Government and is named FATA i.e., Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas have their own respective political and administrative machinery, yet certain of their subjects are taken care of by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas. Provinces of Pakistan are further divided into Districts

Geography

Pakistan

Location:

Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north

Geographic coordinates:

30 00 N, 70 00 E

Map references:

Asia

Area:

total: 803,940 sq km land: 778,720 sq km water: 25,220 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly less than twice the size of California

Land boundaries:

total: 6,774 km border countries: Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912 km, Iran 909 km

Coastline:

1,046 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin

Climate:

mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in north

Terrain:

flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest; Balochistan plateau in west

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m

Natural resources:

land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone

Land use:

arable land: 27.87% permanent crops: 0.87% other: 71.26% (2001)

Irrigated land:

180,000 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:

frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy rains (July and August)

Environment - current issues:

water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a majority of the population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:

controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional invasion routes between Central Asia and the Indian Subcontinent

NATIONAL MOTTO OF PAKISTAN

Pakistan's Motto: Ittehad, Tanzim and Yaqeen-e-Mukham

ON DECEMBER 29th, 1930, Allama Iqbal’s presidential address in a Muslim League convention called for an autonomous “state in northwestern India for Indian Muslims, within the body politic of India.”

In the year 1934 Chaudhri Rehmat Ali published a pamphlet, “Now or Never” in which he coined the name “Pakistan” for the proposed autonomous state for Muslims. Muhammad Ali Jinnah put forth the Two Nation Theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940 (popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution).

Under the pressure of “Direct Action” of Jinnah and “Indirect Actions” of the British, Pakistan was born on 14 Aug. 1947. India was partitioned on communal basis.


In 712 AD, the Arab general Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Sindh and Multan in southern Punjab. The Pakistan’s history of the country states that “foundation of Pakistan was laid” as a result of this invasion. This statement from their official history very appropriately sums up the typical mentality of Pakistan perceiving itself as a reaction to the Indian state.

This perception has pitted Pakistan time and again against India as a competitor and rival. When India conducted nuclear tests in 1974. the then Prime minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto said, “If India acquires nuclear power Pakistan will put every effort possible to acquire the same at any cost. Even if the entire country has to feed on grass we will go for it.”


Pakistan became Islamic Jamhuriyah Pakistan (Islamic Republic of Pakistan) on 23 March 1956 with Islam as its official religion and with a motto of “Ittehad, Tanzim, Yaqeen­e-Muhkam”. Literally these words mean unity, discipline and faith respectively. The objective of this essay is to analyze to what extent Pakistan has been able to do justice to its State motto.


lttehad (Unity)

Pakistan was founded as a sanctuary for Indian Muslims. Yet it failed to fully absorb and accept the Muslims that migrated from India. The discrimination against Mohajirs (as the Indian Muslims that migrated to Pakistan are called) is still prevalent. Migrated Muslims are still struggling to get equal status under the aegis of Mohajir Quami Movement (it has rechristened itself as a political party with the name of Muttahida Qaumi Movement).

It is not uncommon to notice wall graffities in the Sindh region of Pakistan, where the Mohajir movement was strongest, reading Na Khape Pakistan (Pakistan is not Acceptable). Except the Punjab region all provinces of Pakistan see themselves as colonies of Punjab, exploited by the ruling class, majority of which comes from the Punjab region.


Tanzim (Discipline)

Volumes can be written on how undisci­plined every organ of the state machinery of Pakistan is. Even the President and the Chief Justice of the country has publicly shown their displeasure with each other on several occasions. Looking at the history of “independent” Pakistan it can be very easily concluded that the civilian authority of Pakistan has always been at the mercy of the Army.

Many of the misadventures, some of which had even led to war with India, were planed and executed by the Pakistani Army keeping the civilian authority under complete dark. Such a disciplined army of a State having Tanzim as part of their official motto!


Yeqeen-e-Muhkam (Faith)

By building the State of Pakistan on the Two Nation Theory Jinnah gave birth to a Satan that was well nourished by the succeeding rulers of Pakistan as it was quite useful for them. But after 9/11 the Satan, which was at the service of the Pakistani establishment, got out of their hold and has turned its ruinous gaze towards its earlier masters.

The driving potential of this Satan is certainly not ‘faith’ in Islam but it is a ‘fanaticism’ as followed by Qasim and other invaders. The word ‘Pakistan’ meant the ‘Land of Pure’ in Urdu or Persian, but it proved to be a ‘Land of Pure Fanaticism’n.


The awaam of Pakistan have lost faith in the State of Pakistan and may be even in the very reason of its formation. The silent majority is made to pay for the sins of fanatics. It is never too late to correct certain historical follies committed by the “founding fathers” of our country that gave birth to Pakistan.

National Airline of Pakistan

Pakistan International Airlines, or PIA, is the national air carrier of Pakistan. The airline maintains a hub at Quaid-e-Azam International Airport in Karachi and offers service to Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America. For two months during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, PIA runs a special service carrying pilgrims to and from Saudi Arabia.

Routes

1. As of June 2010, PIA offered service to about two dozen cities within Pakistan and about 40 cities in 26 foreign countries. It had three North American destinations: New York, Chicago and Toronto. Most flights to North America originate in Karachi and include a stop in Lahore. New York-bound flights also stop in Manchester, England, while Chicago-bound flights stop in Barcelona, Spain.

Fleet

2. The airline maintains a fleet of about 40 to 50 aircraft. According to the company's website, it flies Boeing 777s on routes to Europe and North America. It uses Airbus A310s on domestic and regional routes, as well as routes to East Asia. It flies Boeing 737s on domestic routes. And for service to smaller cities within Pakistan, it uses ATR42 turboprops. The airline uses Boeing 747s mostly for cargo flights and its highest-density passenger routes, carrying pilgrims to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Booking

3. You can book flights on PIA at the airline's website, or by calling its North American toll free number: 1-800-578-6786. PIA flights are designated by the International Air Transport Association code PK, and the airline maintains "code-sharing agreements"--deals in which airlines sell tickets on one another's flights as if they were their own--with four other airlines: Thai Airways, China Southern Airlines, Turkish Airlines and AeroSvit, a Ukrainian carrier. As of mid-2010, PIA is not part of a global alliance with any American carrier.

History

4. PIA traces its history to 1946, the year before Pakistan gained independence from Britain. At the time, the land that would become Pakistan consisted of two territories--West Pakistan and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh)--separated by hundreds of miles. Orient Airways was founded as a private carrier to serve as a bridge between them. The airline had trouble turning a profit and was taken over in 1955 by the government, which folded it into the newly formed, state-owned Pakistan International Airlines.

Safety

5. Citing safety and maintenance concerns, the European Union banned most of PIA's aircraft from EU airspace in 2007. Only the relatively new 777s were exempt from the ban. The EU lifted the ban that November after a review of PIA facilities and procedures.