Pakistan: Difference between revisions

'''Pakistan''',{{refn|name = name|group= n|{{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|پَاکِسْتَان}}}} {{translation|ur|पाकिस्तान Pākistāna}}}}, officially the '''Islamic Republic of Pakistan''',{{refn|name= long name|group=n|[[ISO 15919|ISO]]: {{lang-ur|{{Nastaliq|اِسْلامی

جُمْہُورِیَہ پَاکِسْتَان}}|label=none}}, {{Transliteration|ur|इस्लामी जम्हूरिया पाकिस्तान Islāmi Jumhūriyāh Pākistān}}}} is a country in the  [[Indian Subcontinent]]. It is the [[List of countries and dependencies by population|fifth-most populous country]], with a population of over 24.15 crores,{{efn|"This figure does not include data for Pakistan illegally occupied areas of Kashmir; Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan."}} having the [[Islam by country#Countries|second-largest Muslim population]] as of 2023. [[Islamabad]] is the nation's capital, while [[Karachi]] is [[List of cities in Pakistan by population|its largest city]] and [[financial centre]]. Pakistan is the [[List of countries and dependencies by area|33rd-largest country by area]]. Bounded by the [[Arabian Sea]] on the south, the [[Gulf of Oman]] on the southwest, and the [[Sir Creek]] on the southeast, it shares land borders with [[India]] to [[India–Pakistan border|the east]]; [[Afghanistan]] to [[Durand Line|the west]]; [[Iran]] to [[Iran–Pakistan border|the southwest]]; and [[China]] to [[China–Pakistan border|the northeast]]. It shares a maritime border with [[Oman]] in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from [[Tajikistan]] in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow [[Wakhan Corridor]].

Spurred by the [[Pakistan Movement]], which sought a homeland for the Muslims of [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]], and election victories in 1946 by the [[All-India Muslim League]], Pakistan created in 1947 after the [[Partition of India]], which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life.{{R|Copland-2001|Metcalf-2006}} Initially a [[Dominion of Pakistan|Dominion]] of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|British Commonwealth]], Pakistan officially drafted [[Constitution of Pakistan|its constitution]] in 1956, and emerged as a declared [[Islamic republic]]. In 1971, the exclave of [[East Pakistan]] seceded as the new country of [[Bangladesh]] after a [[Bangladesh Liberation War|nine-month-long civil war]]. In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments whose descriptions, although complex, commonly alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, and Islamist.{{sfn|Talbot|2016}}

Pakistan is considered a [[middle power]] nation,{{refn|name="Middle power nation"}}{{efn|name="RSCT"}} with the world's [[List of countries by number of military and paramilitary personnel|sixth-largest standing armed forces]]. It is a declared [[List of states with nuclear weapons|nuclear-weapons state]], and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies,{{sfn|Zia|Burton|2023}} with a large and rapidly growing middle class.{{sfn|Rais|2017}}{{sfn|Cornwall|Edwards|2014}} Pakistan's political history since its creation has been characterised by periods of significant economic and military growth as well as those of political and economic instability. It is an [[Ethnic groups in Pakistan|ethnically]] and [[Languages of Pakistan|linguistically]] diverse country, with similarly diverse [[Geography of Pakistan|geography]] and [[Wildlife of Pakistan|wildlife]]. The country continues to face challenges, including [[Poverty in Pakistan|poverty]], [[Literate Pakistan Foundation|illiteracy]], [[Corruption in Pakistan|corruption]], and [[Terrorism in Pakistan|terrorism]].{{sfn|Joseph|2016}}{{sfn|Baqir|2018}}{{sfn|SATP|2024}} Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the [[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation]], the [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]], the [[Commonwealth of Nations]], the [[South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation]], and the [[Islamic Military Counter Terrorism Coalition|Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition]], and is designated as a [[major non-NATO ally]] by the [[United States]].