PAKISTAN

, officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan Urdu Islam-i Jamhuriya-e Pakistan country in South Asia. It is bounded to the west by Iran, to the north by Afghanistan, to the northeast by China, to the east and southeast by India, and to the south by the Arabian Sea. It has an area (excluding the Pakistani-held part of Jammu and Kashmir) of 307,374 square miles (796,095 square kilometres). The capital is Islamabad. Pakistan was brought into being at the time of the Partition of British India in 1947 in order to create a separate homeland for India's Muslims in response to the demands of Islamic nationalists, demands that were articulated by the All India Muslim League under the leadership of Mohammed Ali Jinnah. From independence in 1947 until 1971, Pakistan (both de facto and in law) consisted of two regionsWest Pakistan, in the Indus River basin, and East Pakistan, located more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) away in the Ganges River delta. In response to grave internal political problems, however, an independent state of Bangladesh was proclaimed in East Pakistan in 1971. Since 1947 the territory of Jammu and Kashmir, along the western Himalayas, has been disputed between Pakistan and India, with each holding sectors. The two countries have gone to war over the territory three times, in 194849, 1965, and 1971. officially Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Urdu Islam-i Jamhuriya-e Pakistan Asia's seventh largest country, occupying the northwestern portion of the Indian subcontinent. It covers an area of 307,374 square miles (796,095 square km), excluding the Pakistani-held part of Jammu and Kashmir in the northeast. The capital is Islamabad. The country extends for more than 990 miles (1,600 km) from south to north and for about 550 miles (880 km) from west to east. It is bounded to the west by Iran, to the north by Afghanistan, to the northeast by China, to the east and southeast by India, and to the south by the Arabian Sea. The population in 1992, including Afghan refugees and residents of Pakistani-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, was estimated to be 130,129,000. Additional reading Geography B.L.C. Johnson, Pakistan (1979); and Peter R. Blood (ed.), Pakistan: A Country Study, 6th ed. (1995), are useful introductions to the people and land of Pakistan. Geography is discussed in O.H.K. Spate and A.T.A. Learmonth, India and Pakistan: A General and Regional Geography, 3rd ed. rev. (1967); and K.U. Kureshy, A Geography of Pakistan, 4th ed. (1977). Aloys Arthur Michel, The Indus Rivers: A Study of the Effects of Partition (1967), is concerned with development and with the dispute with India over allocation of river waters. J. Russell Andrus and Azizali F. Mohammed, The Economy of Pakistan (1958), and Trade, Finance, and Development in Pakistan (1966) analyze the development of the economy. Gustav F. Papanek, Pakistan's Development: Social Goals and Private Incentives (1967), analyzes the role played by private entrepreneurs during the period of Ayub Khan. Shahid Javed Burki, Pakistan under Bhutto, 19711977, 2nd ed. (1988), analyzes economic developments, in particular the motives that led to the nationalization of private assets. Omar Noman, The Political Economy of Pakistan, 194785 (1988), describes the impact of politics on the economy. Shahid Javed Burki and Robert Laporte, Jr., Pakistan's Development Priorities: Choices for the Future (1984), presents an agenda for reform of the economy. W. Cantwell Smith, Modern Islam in India: A Social Analysis, 2nd ed. (1946, reissued 1974), is an introductory account of the Muslim intellectual and political movements that culminated in the creation of Pakistan. Shahid Javed Burki, Pakistan: A Nation in the Making (1986), surveys Pakistan's evolution as a nation. Anwar Hussain Syed, Pakistan: Islam, Politics, and National Solidarity (1982), is a thoughtful discussion. Lawrence Ziring, Pakistan: The Enigma of Political Development (1980), discusses the quest by Pakistan's people for democracy and strong leaders. G.W. Choudhury, Constitutional Development in Pakistan, 2nd ed. rev. and enlarged (1969), and Democracy in Pakistan (1963), are oriented toward the Muslim League point of view; whereas Tariq Ali, Pakistan: Military Rule or People's Power? (1970), offers a left-wing analysis. Anwar S. Dil (ed.), Perspectives on Pakistan (1965), contains essays by Pakistani scholars. Akbar S. Ahmed, Pakistan Society: Islam, Ethnicity, and Leadership in South Asia (1986), is a collection of essays. Stanley Maron (ed.), Pakistan: Society and Culture (1957), contains essays on history and rural social organization. Fredrik Barth, Political Leadership Among Swat Pathans (1959, reissued with corrections, 1980), is a classic study in political anthropology. Hamza A. Alavi Shahid Javed Burki History Khalid B. Sayeed, Pakistan: The Formative Phase, 18571948, 2nd ed. (1968), discusses the historical background, and his The Political System of Pakistan (1967) is also useful. Hugh Tinker, Experiment with Freedom: India and Pakistan, 1947 (1967), analyzes the pressures that led to partition. Leonard Binder, Religion and Politics in Pakistan (1961), describes early problems. Herbert Feldman, From Crisis to Crisis: Pakistan, 19621969 (1972), is a shrewd observation of the political game. Mushtaq Ahmad, Government and Politics in Pakistan, 3rd ed. (1970), examines the political system at the end of the Ayub era. D.K. Palit, The Lightning Campaign: The Indo-Pakistan War, 1971 (1972), is an account by a scholarly Indian general. Mushtaq Ahmad, Pakistan's Foreign Policy (1968), describes the country in the American orbit. Viqar Ahmed and Rashid Amjad, The Management of Pakistan's Economy, 194782 (1984), profiles the evolution of a dependent economy. Anthony Hyman, Muhammad Ghayur, and Naresh Kaushki, Pakistan: Zia and After (1989), is instant history but nonetheless perceptive. Hugh Russell Tinker Administration and social conditions Government The political system of Pakistan has undergone several far-reaching changes since independence. In 1971 its turbulent politics culminated in the secession of its eastern region (having more than 54 percent of the total population at that time), which established itself as the independent state of Bangladesh. In the aftermath of that event, Pakistan (now reduced to what was previously West Pakistan) faced a number of political and economic problems and uncertainties about its future. Several conflicts have left their mark on the politics of Pakistan. The first of these, initially obscured by the paraphernalia of a parliamentary form of government but later made manifest by overt seizure of power by men at the head of the military and bureaucratic establishment, was a continuing struggle between political leadership and a military-bureaucratic oligarchy for supremacy and authority in the state; ideologically, this struggle was expressed as a struggle for democracy. The military-bureaucratic oligarchy triumphed for a while and set up three military administrations, in 195869, 196971, and 197788. A second and quite distinct conflict was a struggle between regional groups. Because it was directed against centralized authority, it merged with the democratic struggle. But its express aims were to secure greater regional representation in the bureaucratic and military establishment, especially in the higher echelons, and to achieve effective decentralization of powers within a federal governmental structure by emphasizing regional autonomy. This struggle manifested itself first in the civil war between East and West Pakistan in 197172. It also brought to a virtual standstill the working of the first civilian government after the 197788 military administration. A third conflict concerned the allocation of economic resources and burdens and the distribution of a greater share of the benefits of development among the more deprived regions and strata of the population. This resulted in a number of violent confrontations between the less-privileged segments of society and the state. Some of these confrontations, such as those in 1969 and 1977, led to the fall of constitutional governments and the imposition of martial law. A fourth conflict was between the landed interests that had dominated Pakistan's political and economic life for much of the country's history and the new urban interests that began to assert themselves in the late 1980s and the 1990s. One manifestation of this was the struggle between Punjab and the federal government in the late 1980s. Under the Islamic Democratic Alliance, the Punjab government continued to represent the interests of the landed aristocracy, while the government of Benazir Bhutto, with a more liberal bent and a wider support base, espoused the economic and social interests of urban groups and nonpropertied classes. The two governments often clashed in the late 1980s, creating serious economic management problems. The constitutional framework The task of framing a constitution was entrusted in 1947 to a Constituent Assembly that was also to function as the interim legislature under the 1935 Government of India Act, which was to be the interim constitution. Pakistan's first constitution was enacted by the Constituent Assembly in 1956. It followed the form of the 1935 act, allowing the president far-reaching powers to suspend federal and provincial parliamentary government. It also included the parity formula, by which representation in the National Assembly for East and West Pakistan would be decided on a parity, rather than population, basis. (A major factor in the political crisis of 197071 was abandonment of the parity formula and adoption of representation by population, giving East Pakistan an absolute majority in the National Assembly.) In 1958 the constitution was abrogated and martial law was instituted. A new constitution, promulgated in 1962, provided for the election of the president and national and provincial assemblies by an electoral college composed of members of local councils. Although a federal form of government was retained, the assemblies had little power, which was, in effect, centralized through the authority of governors acting under the president. In April 1973 Pakistan's third constitution was adopted by the National Assembly; it was suspended in 1977. In March 1981 a Provisional Constitutional Order was promulgated, providing a framework for government under martial law. Four years later a process was initiated for reinstating the constitution of 1973. By October 1985 a newly elected National Assembly had passed an amended constitution, giving extraordinary powers to the president, including the authority to appoint any member of the National Assembly as prime minister. With the end of military rule in 1988 and following elections to the National Assembly held in November of that year, the new president used these powers to appoint a prime minister to form a civilian government under the amended 1973 constitution. The amended constitution provides for a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government; both must be Muslims. The president is elected for a term of five years by the National Assembly, the Senate, and the four provincial assemblies. The prime minister is elected by the National Assembly. The president acts on the advice of the prime minister. The National Assembly has 237 seats. Of these, 217 are filled by direct popular election; 207 are for Muslim candidates and 10 for non-Muslims. The remaining 20 seats are reserved for women who are chosen by the elected members. Members of the National Assembly serve five-year terms. The Senate has 87 members who are chosen by the provincial assemblies for six-year terms. One-third of the senators relinquish their seats every two years.