Portal:Pakistan
Introduction
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Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population in the world as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 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 the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to 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.
Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, the Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age, and the ancient Gandhara civilisation. The regions that compose the modern state of Pakistan were the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahis, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Samma, the Shah Miris, the Mughals, and finally, the British Raj from 1858 to 1947. (Full article...)
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Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (sawm), communal prayer (salah), reflection, study of the Quran, charity, and strengthening community ties. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed to have been revealed to the Islamic prophet Muhammad, known as Laylat al-Qadr. The annual observance of Ramadan is regarded as one of the five pillars of Islam and lasts 29 to 30 days, from one sighting of the crescent moon to the next.
Fasting from dawn to sunset is obligatory (fard) for all Muslims who have reached puberty, and who are not acutely or chronically ill, traveling, elderly, breastfeeding, pregnant, or menstruating. The predawn meal is suhur, and the nightly feast that breaks the fast is iftar. Although rulings (fatawa) have been issued that Muslims who live in regions with a midnight sun or polar night should follow the timetable of Mecca, it is common practice to follow the timetable of the closest country in which night can be distinguished from day. (Full article...)
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An illuminated view of famous Empress Market in Karachi. Empress Market is located in Saddar Town of Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. It was built in 1889 and was named in honour of Queen Victoria, Empress of British Empire in South Asia. Empress Market is the central shopping centre of Karachi. Photo credit: Cyclops1789 | |
General images
The Sunehri Mosque was built in the walled city in the early 18th century, when the Mughal Empire was in decline. (from Lahore)
Constructed in the aftermath of the 1857 Sepoy Mutiny, the design of the Lahore Railway Station was highly militarised to defend the structure from further uprisings against British rule. (from Lahore)
Aerial view of Badshahi Mosque (from Lahore)
The Orange Line is Pakistan's first metro rail line. (from Lahore)
The Lahore Fort, a landmark built during the Mughal era, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (from Culture of Pakistan)
Much of old Lahore features colonial-era buildings, such as the Tollinton Market. (from Lahore)
Sections of the Walled City of Lahore have been under restoration since 2012 in conjunction with the Agha Khan Trust for Culture. (from Lahore)
K2, at 8,611 metres (28,251 feet), is the world's second highest peak (from Geography of Pakistan)
University of the Punjab, Old Campus (from Lahore)
Geological map of Pakistan. (This image is from 1964, and so includes East Pakistan, modern Bangladesh.) (from Geography of Pakistan)
Kalma Underpass (from Lahore)
Artistic depiction of Sindhi soldiers during medieval times (from Culture of Pakistan)
The Data Darbar shrine was built to commemorate saint Ali Hujwiri, who lived in the city during 11th century. (from Lahore)
The Lahore Darbar by Ágoston Schoefft (1842) (from Lahore)
The Tomb of Asif Khan was one of several monuments plundered for its precious building materials during the Sikh period. (from Lahore)
Lahore's Hazuri Bagh is at the centre of an ensemble of Mughal and Sikh era monuments, including the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort, Roshnai Gate, and the Samadhi of Ranjit Singh. (from Lahore)
Cityscape of Lahore (from Lahore)
A traditional cup of black tea (from Culture of Pakistan)
A sitar workshop in Islamabad, Pakistan. (from Culture of Pakistan)
A syncretic architectural style that blends Islamic, Hindu, and Western motifs took root during the colonial era, as shown at Aitchison College. (from Lahore)
Tomb of Qutb-ud-Din Aybak in Anarkali Bazaar, Lahore (from Lahore)
The marble Hazuri Bagh Baradari was built in 1818 to celebrate Ranjit Singh's acquisition of the Koh-i-Noor diamond. (from Lahore)
Dust storm over Pakistan and surrounding countries, 7 April 2005 (from Geography of Pakistan)
Map of the Old City and environs. (from Lahore)
Lahore Ring Road (from Lahore)
Official political map of Pakistan (2020) showing international and internal borders (from Geography of Pakistan)
University of Engineering and Technology, Main Block (from Lahore)
Built in 2012, Grand Jamia Mosque in southern Lahore is a blend of Mughal and modern architecture. (from Lahore)
Distribution of Pakistani diasporaPakistan+ 1,000,000+ 100,000+ 10,000+ 1,000(from Pakistanis)
Samadhi of Ranjit Singh (from Lahore)
The Alamgiri Gate of the Lahore Fort (from Lahore)
The Shah Alami area of Lahore's Walled City in 1890 (from Lahore)
Lahore Metrobus (from Lahore)
The mausoleum of Jahangir in Shahdara Bagh (from Lahore)
Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore is the third-largest cricket stadium in Pakistan with a seating capacity of 27,000 spectators. (from Culture of Pakistan)
Allama Iqbal International Airport (from Lahore)
Muhammad Iqbal, Pakistan's national poet who conceived the idea of Pakistan (from Culture of Pakistan)
Located on the bank of Arabian Sea in Karachi, Port Grand is one of the largest food streets of Asia. (from Culture of Pakistan)
Truck art is a distinctive feature of Pakistani culture (from Culture of Pakistan)
The Lava Temple at the Lahore Fort dates from the Sikh period, and is dedicated to the Hindu deity Lava (from Lahore)
Wazir Khan Mosque painting by William Carpenter (1866) (from Lahore)
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This week in history
- 8 October 2005: The Kashmir earthquake (also known as the South Asia earthquake or the Great Pakistan earthquake) of 2005, was a major earthquake, of which the epicentre was the Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The earthquake occurred at 08:50:38 Pakistan Standard Time (03:50:38 UTC) on 8 October 2005. It registered 7.6 on the richter scale making it a major earthquake similar in intensity to the 1935 Quetta earthquake, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Pakistani government's official death toll was 73,276, while officials say nearly 1,400 people died in Jammu and Kashmir and fourteen people in Afghanistan. Most of the affected people lived in mountainous regions with access impeded by landslides that blocked the roads, leaving an estimated 3.3 million homeless in Pakistan.
Provinces and Territories
Clickable map of the four provinces and three federal territories of Pakistan.
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Provinces: Territories: Pakistani-administered portions of the Kashmir: | |
Things you can do
Selected biography -
Tehmina Durrani (Urdu: تہمینہ درانی; born 18 February 1953) is a Pakistani author known for her bestselling book My Feudal Lord, an artist, and a women's and children's rights activist. She is the spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif. (Full article...)
Did you know?
- ... that Rehri Goth, one of the poor neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Karachi, is one of the oldest settlements dating back to the 13th century? (31 March 2024)
- ... that Burushaski, a predominantly in northern Gilgit-Baltistan spoken rather than written language, has not more than 120,000 native speakers? (9 July 2023)
- ... that the MagnifiScience Centre in Karachi is the only science center in the country, and, unlike a museum, visitors are encouraged to touch and learn from the interaction with the exhibits? (11 June 2023)
- ... that Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, the famous German–Pakistani Catholic nun who devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy was the first Christian and first non-Muslim to have a state funeral in Pakistan? (2 September 2021)
- ... that Lahore Metrobus open in 2013, was modelled after the Istanbul Bus Rapid Transit System. Plans were developed in the last quarter of 2011 by both local and Turkish experts.[1] (31 August 2021)
- ... that Lahore Knowledge Park is an actualization of Triple Helix configuration; a framework to create synergies between government, academia and industry to operate into an interactive rather than linear model for the establishment of social formats and entities to promote commercial innovation and R&D. [2] (27 January 2017)
- ... that Karachi Kings is the most expensive franchise team of Pakistan Super League? (04 December 2015)
- ... that Sialkot is the world's largest producer of hand-sewed footballs, with local factories manufacturing 40~60 million footballs a year, amounting to roughly 60% of world production. (4 December 2017)
- ... that Hafiz Muhammad Fazal Azim Taha, the famous living Pakistani poet said about Iqbal's work that "He not only dreamed for Pakistan but also got the nation up for their rights". This famous saying is regarded as Iqbal's definition. (14 July 2014)
- ... that Tajammul Hussain Malik headed an unsuccessful coup attempt against Pakistani dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in 1980? (22 September 2009)
- ... that the Legal Framework Order, 1970, issued by Gen. Yahya Khan, set the rules for the first direct popular elections in the history of Pakistan? (14 September 2009)
- ... that in 1881 in the village of Bakhshali in northern Pakistan, the Bakhshali manuscript, the oldest surviving example of Indian mathematics, was discovered written on birch bark? (1 September 2008)
- ... that the original images of Lord Swaminarayan at the Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Karachi, Pakistan were removed and taken to India during the turbulent times of its partition? (1 September 2008)
- ... that Saudi Arabia promised to supply 50,000 barrels of free oil per day to help Pakistan if economic sanctions were imposed after its 1998 nuclear tests? (1 September 2008)
- ... that in a major improvement in bilateral relations in 2008, Pakistan proposed sharing nuclear technology with Bangladesh? (31 August 2008)
- ... that Abdur Rashid Kardar, a pioneer of the Pakistani film industry in Lahore, was a calligraphist who prepared posters for foreign-made films? (11 July 2008)
- ... that the Nigar Awards are the oldest awards of merit in the Pakistani film industry? (10 July 2008)
- ... that Syed Wajid Ali was the longest serving President of the Pakistan Olympic Association with a tenure of 26 years? (7 July 2008)
- ... that the 1948 film Teri Yaad was the first feature film to be released in Pakistan after the partition of India? (6 July 2008)
- ... that The Edhi Foundation, founded by Edhi, runs the world's largest volunteer ambulance service operating 1,800 of them with upto 6,000 a day in Karachi alone. (4 December 2017)
Pakistan news
- 11 August 2026 – Middle Eastern crisis
- Pakistan in the 2026 Iran war
- Pakistani defence minister Khawaja Asif says that a deal between Iran and the United States is "close", including an arrangement over the Strait of Hormuz. (Bloomberg News) (CNBC)
- 10 August 2026 – Murder of Mir Raza Ali
- The government of Sindh, Pakistan, announces that a judicial commission headed by a judge of the Sindh High Court would investigate businessman Mir Raza Ali's death. The decision followed a recommendation by the Sindh Assembly. (Dawn)
- 7 August 2026 – Pakistan–Saudi Arabia relations, Pakistan–Turkey relations, Saudi Arabia–Turkey relations
- Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey mutually sign the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, declaring that an attack on one will constitute an attack on all three. (Al Arabiya)
- 7 August 2026 – Crime in Karachi
- A judge of the Karachi High Court in Pakistan allows the exhumation of Mir Raza Ali's body. (Dawn)
Quote of the Day -
| “ | People who have no hold over their process of thinking are likely to be ruined by liberty of thought. If thought is immature, liberty of thought becomes a method of converting men into animals. | ” |
| — Allama Iqbal (National Poet of Pakistan) | ||
Subcategories
Pakistan topics
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Recognized content
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Related portals
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Religions in Pakistan
Indian Subcontinent
Other countries
WikiProjects
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You are cordially invited to join and contribute to WikiProject Pakistan, a WikiProject dedicated to the development and improvement of articles relating to Pakistan.
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Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
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Commons
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Wikidata
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Wikiquote
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Wikisource
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Wikiversity
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Wikivoyage
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Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus
Wikipedias in Pakistani languages
Sources
- Notes
- References
- ↑ Mahendra, Anjali. "The Metro Bus System comes to Lahore, Pakistan". TheCityFix. World Resources Institute. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ↑ "Lahore Knowledge Park Company".
