Pakistan (In Urdu پاکستان Pākistān, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South and borders Central Asia and the Middle East. The country a 1,046 kilometre (650 mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast.Tajikistan also lies adjacent to it but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. In recent times, Pakistan has been called part of the Greater Middle East.
The region forming modern Pakistan was home to the ancient Indus Valley Civilization and then, successively, recipient of ancient Vedic, Persian, Indo-Greek and Islamic Cultures. The area has witnessed invasions and or settlement by the Aryans, Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Turks, Afghans, Mangols and the British. It has remained the part of British Raj from 1858 to 1947, when the Pakistan Movement struggled for a state for Muslims, under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah later who were given the title of Quaid-e-Azam (Great Leader) and the Muslim League resulted in the independence and creation of the state of Pakistan, that comprised the provinces of Sindh, North West Frontier Province, West Punjab, Balouchistan and East Bengal. With the adoption of its constitution in 1956, Pakistan became an Islamic republic. In 1971, a civil in East Pakistan resulted in the independence of East Bengal as Bengladesh. Pakistan's history has been characterized by periods of economic growth, military rule and political instability.
Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world and has the second largest Muslim Population after Indonesia. The country is listed among the "Next Eleven" economies. Pakistan is a founding member of the Organization of Islamic Conference , South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Developing 8 Countries, G20 developing nations and the Economic Cooperation Organization. It is also a member of the United Nations, Commonwealth of Nations, World Trade Organization, Shanghai Cooperation Organization, G33 developing Countries, Group 77 developing Nations, Major non-NATO ally of the United State and is a 1st and only Islamic nuclear state.
But still a long way to go.
