PAKISTAN

Pakistan  (Urdu: پاکِستان) officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (Urdu: اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاکِستان) is asovereign state in South Asia. It has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Seaand 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.Strategically, Pakistan is located in a position between the important regions of South Asia, Central Asia and the greater Middle East.

The name Pakistan means Land of (the) Pure in Urdu and Persian. It was coined in 1933 asPakstan by Choudhary Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan movement activist, who published it in his pamphlet Now or Never.Pakistan is a federation of four provinces, Punjab, Sind, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a capital territory and a group of federally administered tribal areas. The government of Pakistan exercises de facto jurisdiction over the western parts of the disputed Kashmir region, organised as separate political entities; Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan. The latter has been given a province-like status for self government by the Gilgit-Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order, 2009.

Pakistan is the second-most populous Muslim-majority country and also has the second-largest Shi`a population in the world. About 97% of the Pakistanis are Muslim. The majority are Sunni, with an estimated 20-30% Shi`a. 2.3% are Ahmadis, who are officially considered non-Muslims since a 1974 "anti-Ahmadi" constitutional amendment. There are also several Sufi and Quraniyoon communities. Although the groups of Muslims usually coexist peacefully, sectarian violence occurs sporadically. The religious breakdown of the country is as follows:

• Islam 173,000,000 (97%) (majority Sunni, 20-30% Shi`a and 2.3% Ahmadis, minority Sufi).
• Hinduism 2,800,000 (1.6%)
• Christianity 2,800,000 (1.6%)
• Sikhs Around 20,000 (0.001%)
• The remaining are Parsis, Buddhists, Jews, Bahá`ís and Animists (mainly the Kalasha of Chitral)