Pakistan پاكِستان Timeline: Cherry, Plum, and Chrysanthemum
OTL equivalent: Pakistan and Bangladesh | ||||||
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Motto: ایمان، اتحاد، نظم (Urdu) ("Faith, Unity, Discipline") |
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Anthem: Qaumī Tarānah/Qaumī Saṅgīt |
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Location of Pakistan
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Capital | Jinnahabad | |||||
Other cities | Karachi, Dhaka | |||||
Official languages | Urdu; Bengali; English | |||||
Other languages | Punjabi; Sindhi; Pashto; Balochi; Saraiki; Hindko; Brahui | |||||
Ethnic groups | Punjabi; Pasthuns; Sindhis; Seraikis | |||||
Religion | Islam; Christianity; Hinduism; Sikh; Buddhism; Jainism | |||||
Demonym | Pakistani | |||||
Government | Federal state; Parliamentary elective monarchy | |||||
- | Sardar-e-Azam | Salahuddin Ahmad Abbasi | ||||
- | Prime Minister | |||||
Legislature | National Assembly of Pakistan | |||||
- | Upper house | Senate | ||||
- | Lower house | House of Representatives | ||||
Establishment | ||||||
- | Independence from the United Kingdom | August 14, 1947 | ||||
- | Constitution of Pakistan | March 23, 1952 | ||||
Area | ||||||
- | Total | 944,555 km2 364,695 sq mi |
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Population | ||||||
- | estimate | 384,231,099 | ||||
Currency | Pakistani rupee (PKR ) |
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Time zone | PST (UTC+5) | |||||
Internet TLD | .pk | |||||
Calling code | +92 |
Pakistan (Urdu/Bengali: پاكِستان Pākistān) is a sovereign country in South Asia. With a population of more than 384 million, it is the world's third-most populous country, and has the world's largest Muslim population. Pakistan is consisted of two de facto exclaves: West Pakistan and East Pakistan. West Pakistan is bordered by India to the east, by Afghanistan to the west and north, by Iran to the southwest and by Altishahr in the far northeast. It is separated from the Soviet Union by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north and also shares a marine border with Oman. Bengali-majority East Pakistan is bordered by India to the north, west and east, by Burma to the south-east and by the Bay of Bengal to the south.
The geography and climate of Pakistan are extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife. Pakistan covers an area of 944,555 km2 (364,695 sq mi). The climate varies from tropical at the east to temperate at the west, with arid conditions in the coastal south. West Pakistan experiences four seasons throughout the year: a cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. East Pakistan, on other hand, experiences a mild winter from October to March and a hot, humid summer from March to June.
Pakistan is a middle power nation, and has the world's sixth-largest standing armed forces. It is a declared nuclear-weapons state, and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies, with a large and rapidly-growing middle class. Pakistan's political history since independence has been characterized by periods of significant economic and military growth as well as those of political and economic instability. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. The country continues to face challenges, including poverty, illiteracy, corruption and terrorism. Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the Central Treaty Organization, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Commonwealth Confederation, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, and the Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition.
Politics and government[]

Aiwan-e-Sardar, the official residence of the monarch of Pakistan.
Pakistan is a federal elective monarchy with a constitution that prescribes a Westminster-style parliamentary democracy that has universal suffrage and establishes Islam as the state religion. The Constitution of Pakistan was adopted in 1952, laying the foundations of the country's political system. Pakistani constitutional framework is modelled closely on the British constitution, a legacy of its colonial past. The constitution provides clear division of powers and checks and balances among the branches of government that consisted of the executive, legislative and judicial branches.
The head of state of Pakistan is the King, whose official title is the Sardar-e-Azam (سردار اعظم, "Great Chieftain"). The monarch is elected to a five-year term by and from among the eight hereditary rulers of the princely states, convened as an electoral college called the Durbar of Princes (دربار ا نوابوں Darbar-e-Nawabun), with the officeholder practically rotated between them. The monarch's role has been largely ceremonial, limited to the appointment of ministers and members of the upper house. The monarch is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and is vested with the powers of granting pardons, reprieves, and the control of the military, but these must be confirmed by the Prime Minister to be in effect.

The National Assembly of Pakistan meets at the National Assembly Building located at Dhaka.
Legislative power is exercised by the National Assembly (مجلسِ شوریٰ Majlis-e-Shūrā), which is bicameral, consisted of a lower house, the House of Representatives (ایوانِ زیریں Aiwān-e-Zairīñ) and an upper house, the Senate (ایوانِ بالا پاکستان Aiwān-e-Bālā). The House of Representatives currently comprised of 370 members, which 300 of them are elected for a maximum term of five years from single-member constituencies through the first-past-the-post system, while remaining 70 seats reserved for women and religious minorities and are allocated to the political parties according to their proportional representation. The Senate comprised of 179 members, with 140 are elected by provincial legislators for a six-year term, with all the lands and provinces having equal representation, and 39 are appointed by the monarch upon the Prime Minister's recommendation.
Executive branch is comprised of the Prime Minister (وزِیرِ اعظم پاکستان Wazeer-e-Azam) and the Ministers of State, which together form the Cabinet of Pakistan. As the chief executive of Pakistan, the Prime Minister is in charge of the government's executive authority, supervises economic growth, commands the parliament, leads the government, and has significant control over the country's atomic weapons. He or she is normally the leader of the parliament's majority party or coalition. Unlike in other countries with Westminster system, according the 1971 constitutional amendment, the election of the majority leader as prime minister must be confirmed by the majority of the full Assembly, not just the lower house.

The building of the Supreme Court of Pakistan at Jinnahabad.
The judiciary of Pakistan is a hierarchical system with two classes of courts: the superior (or higher) judiciary and the subordinate (or lower) judiciary. The Chief Justice of Pakistan is the chief judge who oversees the judicature's court system at all levels of command. The superior judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Federal Shariat Court and five high courts, with the Supreme Court at the apex. The Constitution of Pakistan entrusts the superior judiciary with the obligation to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Azad Kashmir has a separate court system. Like other former British colonies, Pakistan's legal system is based on English common law.
Administrative divisions[]
Pakistan is divided into 18 first-level administrative units, which consists of eight princely lands, one self-governed land (Azad Kashmir), five provinces, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), two federally-administered municipalities (Karachi and Dhaka) and the Federal Capital Territory of Jinnahabad. Both lands and provinces of Pakistan are bestowed with a high-degree of internal self-government, with governing instrument and institutions, such as constitution, legislature, and cabinet, of their owns. On other hand, the FATA, Karachi, Dhaka and Jinnahabad are directly administered by the federal government.
The princely lands, comprised of Bahawalpur, the Baluchistan Lands Union (BLU), Dir, Khairpur, Swat, Amb, Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, are having hereditary rulers as their titular heads. The provinces of Pakistan are consisted of East Bengal, Punjab, Sind, North-West Frontier Province and Northern Baluchistan. Each province is headed by a governor, who is appointed by the Sardar-e-Azam. The BSU and Gilgit-Baltistan are federations within the federation, with the heads of lands are elected among the local rulers. While structured like a province, Azad Kashmir retains a higher degree of self-government and its head titled "President" instead, who is appointed by the Sardar-e-Azam.
History[]
Chagatai rule in western Pakistan (1299–1451)[]
Li rule in eastern Pakistan (1373–1565)[]
Mughal Empire era (1526–1760)[]
Fragmentation of the Mughals and early European influence (1690–1858)[]
British Raj (1858–1947)[]
Contemporary Pakistan (1947–present)[]
Liaquat I government (1947–1955)[]

Muhammad Ali Jinnah delivered the opening address to the Constituent Assembly on August 11, 1947.
After independence in 1947, Jinnah became the nation's first Governor-General cum the Speaker of the Constituent Assembly and Liaquat Ali Khan, the secretary-general of the League, was elected the nation's first Prime Minister. During its early days, both Pakistan and India were thrown into chaos as the partition sparked mass migration, murders, and ethnic cleansing. In addition, only few handful members of the colonial civil service and police service had chosen Pakistan, resulting in staff shortages. Jinnah and Khan had to create functioning government and civil service from the scratches.
Although already frail and weak due to his age and lung illness, Jinnah traveled across the country during the early tumultuous months, serving as a symbol of newly-emerged state. For his leadership, Jinnah was honored popularly as Quaid-i-Azam (قائد اعظم, "Great Leader") and Baba-i-Qaum (بابائے قوم, "Father of the Nation"). Jinnah's capacity as the head of state, however, took a toll on his health. In June 1948, he was diagnosed with advanced tuberculosis and suspected lung cancer. At his home in Karachi, Jinnah died on September 11, 1948 at the age of 71. Khawaja Nazimuddin was appointed new Governor-General.

The opening procession of the Karachi Durbar, 1951.
In 1950, neighboring India had enacted its constitution three years after its independence. On other hand, by 1951, the Constituent Assembly was still unable to draft any constitution. As the disagreements among the assemblymen resulted to deadlock, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali turned to the princely states for supports. He proposed for a system of rotating head of state among the princes in return to their political and financial supports to his unstable government. On July 12, 1951, the Karachi Durbar was attended by the rulers of thirteen princely states. It adopted a resolution suggesting for the establishment of a Pakistani-style monarchy in the place of the British monarch.
Following the sudden death of George VI on February 6, 1952, the Assembly immediately adopted the Karachi Resolution and passed the Monarchy of Pakistan Set. The set established the office of ceremonial head of state, Sardar-e-Azam (سردار اعظم;, "Great Chieftain"), which elected by and among the princes. Governor-General Khawaja Nazimuddin resigned effectively on February 20, 1952 when Sadeq Mohammad Khan V of Bahawalpur was elected by the Durbar of Princes as the first Sardar. On March 23, 1952, the Constitution of Pakistan was ratified by the Sardar-e-Azam.
Liaquat II government (1952–1955)[]
Zafarullah government (1955–1956)[]
Jinnah I government (1956–1961)[]

Fatima Jinnah (1893–1967), the founding mother and third Prime Minister of Pakistan (1956–66).
With the collapse of his government, Zafarullah and other League progressives invited Fatima, the sister of late Muhammad Ali Jinnah, to became the party leader and, effectively, a candidate for prime ministership. Jinnah, who had retired from public life, accepted it albeit some reservations and stood in the leadership election. Khawaja Nazimuddin allied with right-wing party leaders to block Jinnah's campaign, which frustrated her. When the party convention was rigged in favor of Nazimuddin, Jinnah and the League progressives contested on their own as the Pakistan Muslim League (Council), or the PML-C, in 1956.
Jinnah and the PML-C allied with East Bengal-based Awami League during her campaigns. Her opposition to the controversial One Unit plan gained her a wide support in both wings. Combination of both factors resulted to the victory of pro-Fatima parties in the 1956 general election, much to dismay of conservatives. As the majority leader, Jinnah was appointed by Sardar-e-Azam Sadeq Mohammad Khan V as the first female Prime Minister of Pakistan and also the first female head of government both in the world and among the Muslim-majority nations. She appointed Hussein Suhrawardy as deputy prime minister and Zafarullah to his old foreign affairs portfolio to her first cabinet.
Referred popularly as "Mother of the Nation" (مادر ملت, Māder-e Millat), Fatima became a symbol of political stability and parliamentary democracy in the early decades of Pakistan. Opposition against her drawn from the conservatives and certain elements within the Pakistan Armed Forces, mostly because of her Bengali-friendly policies. Jinnah quelled disturbances in East Bengal by inviting many local leaders to build a consensus state government led by Nurul Amin. On July 25, 1957, Jinnah convinced the lawmakers in the parliament to amend the constitution to have Bengali recognized as one of official languages of Pakistan alongside Urdu. Her appeal was positively received by the Bengalis of all classes and sectors, but was resisted by the conservatives at the west and the military.

Iskandar Mirza (1899–1969).
Although the Sardar-e-Azam remained politically neutral at this point, other princes were privately expressed their disagreement with Jinnah's constitutional proposal, believing it will tilted the power balance in the government to the Bengalis. On October 1, 1958, Cousintory Minister Iskandar Mirza attempted a military coup against Jinnah, which backed by conservative parties and probably by some princes; the coup was failed when officers loyal to Jinnah, led by General Azam Khan, refused to follow Mirza's order. A demonstration in support of the prime minister quickly emerged in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Dhaka. To appease the princes, Jinnah assured them before the meeting with the Durbar that the amendment should only be commenced if a majority of population voted in support in agreement.
Jinnah brought Pakistan closer in alliance with the United States to contain the Soviet influence in the region, especially after Indian President Subhas Chandra Bose had approached the Soviet Union by the late 1950s. Jinnah paid a visit to the United States in 1957 and had the honour to address the joint session of U.S. Congress. Jinnah also visited Hejaz, Libya, Japan and Indonesia in 1959 to reaffirm diplomatic ties with those countries. In 1960, Pakistan and India were at the verge of war due to the dispute of Indus river water system. Conflicts were eventually resolved when Jinnah and Indian Prime Minister, Sardul Singh Kavishar, signed the Indus Water Treaty in Karachi, which allocating Pakistan 86% of water carried by the Indus system.
Jinnah II government (1961–1966)[]
Fatima was re-elected when her coalition of parties regained majority in the 1961 general election, making her the first sitting Pakistani prime minister to be re-elected as well as the first to complete a full parliamentary term since 1947.
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