Once a part of British India, Pakistan was created in 1947 in response to the demand for an independent and predominantly Muslim Indian state. Initially the new nation included East Pakistan, present-day Bangladesh, which seceded from Pakistan in 1971. Eastern and southern Pakistan, the flood plain of the Indus river, is highly fertile and produces cotton, the basis of the large textile industry.

Punjabis account for 50% of the population, while Sindhis, Pathans, and Baluch are also prominent. Mohajirs – Urdu-speaking immigrants from pre-partition India – predominate in Karachi and Hyderabad. Punjabi political and military dominance of the centralized state has spawned many separatist and autonomy movements. Pathans have frequently threatened to establish a homeland with ethnic kin in Afghanistan. Tensions between the Baluch and Pathan refugees from Afghanistan sporadically erupt into violence, as do those between native Sindhis and immigrant mohajirs.

The gap between rich and poor, for example between the feudal land-owning class and their serfs, is considerable. There is an expanding middle class of small-scale traders and manufacturers.

Recent years have witnessed a marked increase in Islamist militancy, accompanied by growing discrimination against religious minorities. After the 1999 coup, the Musharraf regime trod a fine line in trying to avoid conflict with Islamic militants, both over issues such as the strict application of Islamic sharia law, and over foreign policy.

The extended family is an enduring institution, and ties between its members are strong, reflected in the dynastic and nepotistic nature of the political system. Although some women hold prominent positions, and Benazir Bhutto has twice been prime minister, relatively few are allowed to work by their religiously conservative menfolk. Pakistan has one of the world's lowest ratios of females to males, implying widespread neglect and some female infanticide. Amnesty International criticized Pakistan in 2000 for its failure to give women's rights sufficient protection. Women's rights groups are mainly based in cities, and have made little overall impact.

Strengths

Gas, water, coal, oil. Substantial untapped natural resources. Low labor costs. Potentially huge market. One of the world's leading producers of cotton and a major exporter of rice.

Weaknesses

Production and sales of cotton and rice vulnerable to weather conditions. History of inefficient and haphazard government economic policies. Weak and overstretched infrastructure.

Profile

Pakistan has yet to show progress in tackling its considerable economic problems. Although successive governments have reversed the nationalization policies instituted in the 1970s, private enterprise has been stifled by the rules of a massive bureaucracy. There is some foreign investment in previously state-only sectors such as banking, and water and other utilities. However, corruption at all levels of government undermined economic confidence throughout the 1990s, and it was particularly acute under the administration of Benazir Bhutto. Efforts by the military government to tackle corruption and poverty were praised by the World Bank in 2001. Defense spending remains high.

The military suspended multiparty democracy in 1999. The National Assembly was dissolved in June 2001.

Profile

Throughout the 1990s fragile coalitions had to rule in cooperation with the president and the army, and were hampered by a large bureaucracy. The current military regime remains committed to restoring democracy by 2003. It faces pressure from all opposition parties to accelerate the transition. In June 2001 Gen. Pervez Musharraf appointed himself president, and in May 2002 he was endorsed for a further five years following a controversial referendum.

The national security council (NSC) acts as a cabinet under Musharraf. The popularity of the 1999 coup indicated the loss of respect for corrupt politicians and the country's much-abused democratic institutions. The ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif was found guilty of treason in 2000.

Main Political Issue

Militant Islam

Under pressure to curb the ambitions of radical Islamists in Kashmir, as in Afghanistan, the Musharraf regime treads a tightrope in domestic politics, where militant Islam has a powerful grip on the urban poor. There was a fresh upsurge in 2002 in Sunni extremist violence against the Shi'a minority.

Apart from cotton and rice, Pakistan's major resources are oil, coal, gas, and water. The state hopes that the privatization of the utilities industries will reduce energy imports and shortages – peak electricity demand, for example, exceeds supply by 20%. Refining capacity is also well below present demand. Steps are being taken to attract more foreign investment in oil and gas exploration, extraction, and distribution, but privatization plans went on hold in October 2001 because of the region�s acute instability.

Availability of doctors and hospital beds is among the lowest in the world, and there is a shortage of equipment and medicines. Uncontrolled counterfeit drugs are common. A specialized cancer hospital in Lahore, opened in 1995, offers modern facilities and advanced treatment. Pakistan has a high incidence of heroin addicts, due largely to its proximity to Afghanistan.

Although universal free primary education is a constitutional right, education is not compulsory. Literacy rates in Pakistan are among the lowest in the world. The education system is heavily Islamized, and weighted toward educating males; a large majority of children enrolled in primary schools are boys. The 23 universities, 99 professional colleges, and 675 arts and sciences colleges all have a heavy preponderance of arts students. Wealthy parents frequently choose to send their children abroad for higher education, mainly to colleges in the UK or the USA.

Members of the bureaucratic and political elite tend to be extremely rich, as are some of the top military. Despite Pakistan's considerable economic potential, much of its population lives below the poverty line.

From the 8th to the 16th centuries, Islamic rule extended to northwest and northeast India. Punjab and Sindh, annexed by the British East India Company in the 1850s, were ceded to the British Raj in 1857.

• 1906 Muslim League founded as organ of Indian Muslim separatism.
• 1947 Partition of India. Muhammad Ali Jinnah first governor-general of Pakistan, divided by 1600 km (994 miles) of Indian territory into East and West Pakistan. Millions displaced by large-scale migration.
• 1948 First Indo-Pakistan war over Kashmir.
• 1949 New Awami League (AL) demands East Pakistan's autonomy.
• 1956 Constitution establishes Pakistan as an Islamic republic.
• 1958 Martial law. Gen. Muhammad Ayub Khan takes over; elected president two years later.
• 1965 Second Indo-Pakistan war over Kashmir.
• 1970 Ayub Khan resigns. Gen. Agha Yahya Khan takes over. First direct elections won by AL; West Pakistani parties reject results. Military crackdown in East Pakistan. War with India over East Pakistan.
• 1971 East Pakistan secedes as Bangladesh. PPP leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto becomes Pakistan's president.
• 1972 Simla (peace) agreement with India.
• 1973 Bhutto, now prime minister, initiates Islamic socialism.
• 1977 General election. Riots over allegations of vote rigging. Gen. Zia ul-Haq stages military coup.
• 1979 Bhutto executed.
• 1986 Bhutto's daughter Benazir returns from exile to lead PPP.
• 1988 Zia killed in air crash. PPP wins general election.
• 1990 Ethnic violence in Sindh. President dismisses Benazir Bhutto. Nawaz Sharif becomes premier.
• 1991 Muslim sharia law incorporated in legal code.
• 1992 Violence between Sindhis and Mohajirs escalates in Sindh.
• 1993 Elections; Bhutto returns to power.
• 1996 President dismisses Bhutto.
• 1997 PML wins landslide election victory; Sharif elected prime minister.
• 1998 Nuclear tests.
• 1999–2000 Military coup. Sharif found guilty of treason and exiled to Saudi Arabia.
• 2001 National Assembly suspended, Gen. Musharraf appoints himself president. India–Pakistan summit talks fail in Agra. Pakistan emerges as key ally in US-led "war against terrorism."
• 2002 Controversial referendum endorses Musharraf as president. US and French nationals killed in terrorist attacks in Islamabad and Karachi. Threat of imminent war with India over Kashmir.