About Pakistan 1

Pakistan

P akistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along
the Arabian Sea and the 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. In the north, Tajikistan lies adjacent
to Pakistan but is separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor. In addition, Oman is also located in
maritime vicinity and shares a marine border with Pakistan. Pakistan is strategically situated
between the important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the greater Middle East.
About Pakistan 2

Punjab

Punjab is the most developed, most populous, and most prosperous province of
Pakistan. Lahore has traditionally been the capital of Punjab for a thousand years; it is Punjab's
main cultural, historical, administrative and economic center. Historically, the Punjab region has
been the gateway to the Indian subcontinent for invaders who came from Greece, Central Asia,
Iran and Afghanistan. Due to its strategic location, it has been part of various empires and
dynasties throughout history, including the Indus Valley Civilization, Aryans, Kushans,
Scythians, Greeks, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Ghaznavids, Timurids, Mughals, Afghans, Sikhs and
the British.
About Pakistan 3

Gujranwala

Humans settlements in Gujranwala have been present since antiquity. According to the Imperial
Gazetteer of India the town was originally founded by Gujjars, and renamed Khanpur by the
Sansi Jats of Amritsar who settled there; but its old name has survived. Many historians also
states that place was named after Gujjars, while they formerly ruled the Gurjara Pratihara Empire
for centuries.

In 630 the Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Hsuan Tsang visited a major town known as Tse-kia (or
Taki), which was in the vicinity of modern Gujranwala. A mound near the modern village of
Asarur has been identified as the site of the ancient city. Until the arrival of the Muslims little is
known of Gujranwala, except that Taki had fallen into oblivion and Lahore had become the chief
city. Under Muslim rule the district flourished for a time; but a mysterious depopulation took
place and the whole region seems to have been almost entirely abandoned. The district gazetteer
dates the name of Gujranwala to approximately the middle of the 16th century
About Pakistan 4

Sindh

Sindh historically referred to as Babab-ul-Islam (lit. The gateway of Islam) is one

of the four provinces of Pakistan and historically is home to the Sindhi people. It
is also locally known as the "Mehran". Though Muslims form the largest religious
group in Sindh, a good number of Christians, Zoroastrians and Hindus can also be
found. Sindh is bounded to the west by the Indus River and Balochistan, to the
north by Punjab, the east by the Indian states of Gujarat and Rajasthan and to the
south by the Arabian Sea. The main language spoken is Sindhi by about 40
million people. The name is derived from the Indus River that separates it from
Balochistan and the greater Iranian Plateau. This river was known to the to the
ancient Iranians in Avestan as Harauhuti, in Sanskrit as Sarasvati, to Assyrians (as
early as the seventh century BC) as Sinda, to the Greeks as Indos, to the Romans
as Indus, to the Persians as Ab-e-sind, to the Pashtuns as "Abasind", to the Arabs
as Al-Sind, to the Chinese as Sintow, and to the Javanese as the Santri.
About Pakistan 5

Karachi

Karachi is the largest city, main seaport and the main financial centre of Pakistan, as well as the
capital of the province of Sindh. The city has an estimated population of 13 to 15 million,
while the total metropolitan area has a population of over 18 million. Karachi is the most
populous city in the country, one of the world's largest cities in terms of population and
also the 10th largest urban agglomeration in the world. It is Pakistan's premier centre of
banking, industry, economic activity and trade and is home to Pakistan's largest
corporations, including those involved in textiles, shipping, automotive industry,
entertainment, the arts, fashion, advertising, publishing, software development and
medical research. The city is a major hub of higher education in South Asia and the wider
Muslim world.