Pakistan: Political System
According to EQUZHOU.NET, Pakistan is theoretically a parliamentary democracy with a bicameral system, but the president has special rights (Pakistan is de facto a presidential regime). The country is suffering heavily from the conflict with India and the sometimes terrible terrorist attacks by extremist Muslims. See AbbreviationFinder for more information about Pakistan politics, and acronyms as well.
The official name of the country is:
| Islami Jumhuriat Pakistan |
National anthem
Based on flag descriptions by Countryaah.com, the national anthem of Pakistan was written by Abu-Al-Asar Hafeez Jullandhuri and set to music by Ahmed Ghulamali Chagla. It became the country’s official anthem in 1954.
- Check top-mba-universities for public holidays, sports events, UNESCO world heritage sites and major places to visit in Pakistan.
In Urdu, the country’s official language, but in Latin letters:
| Pak sarzamin shad badKishware haseen shad bad
Tunishane azmealishan arze Pakistan Markazeyaqin shadbad. Pak sarzamin ka nizam quwate akhuwati awam Qaum, mulk, Sultanate Painda ta binda bad shad, bad man zele murad. Parchame sitarao hilal Rahbare tarraqio ka mal Tarjumane mazishane hal jane istaqbal Sayyai, khudae zul jalal. |
Pakistan: Known People
Politicians and rulers
- Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876 – 1948)Muhammad Ali Jinnah is one of the most important political figures of modern Asia and is considered to be the founder of Pakistan.The charismatic resistance fighter in British India is honored in the country as Qaid-e Azam (German Greatest Leader) or Baba-e-Qaum (German Father of the Nation).He is also honored by the fact that his birthdays and deaths are national holidays in Pakistan.
In Karachi, where Jinnah was born and also died, the Mazar-e-Quaid mausoleum is one of the city’s most important sights.
- Shaukat Aziz (born March 6, 1949)He was Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Pakistan.
- General M. Ayub Khan (1907 – 1947)He was Prime Minister, Head of State and Defense Minister of Pakistan from 1958.Supported by the army, he began a series of reform measures (including the introduction of a controlled democracy).Pressure from the opposition led to his resignation in 1969.
- Yahya Khan (1917-1980)He was President of Pakistan from 1969-1971.
- Zulfikar Bhutto (1928-1979)Pakistani President from 1971 to 1973 and Prime Minister until the military coup of General Zia Ul-Haq in 1977.
- General Zia Ul-Haq (1924-1988)was Pakistan’s Supreme Commander after his military coup from 1977 to 1988. It was not until 1985 that he repealed martial law and made himself president.
- Nawaz Sharif (born 1949)had been Finance Minister since 1981. In 1990 he was sworn in as Prime Minister.
- Benazir Bhutto (born 1953) wasHead of Government of Pakistan from 1988 to 1996. Constitutional amendments under General Zia ul-Haq in 1985 had pushed the Islamization of society forward and put a strain on democratic institutions.In 1988, after the death of General Zia, the leader of the PPP party, Benazir Bhutto, became Prime Minister for 20 months.In 1990 she was deposed and Nawaz Sharif was appointed Prime Minister.
Benazir Bhutto formed the federal government. In 1997, after parliament was again dissolved by the President, the PML-N won an overwhelming victory with Chairman Nawaz Sharif.
The religious-conservative Mohammad Rafiq Tarar, nominated by Prime Minister Sharif, was elected the 9th President of Pakistan in 1997.
Mohammad Rafiq Tarar (born 1929)
was President of Pakistan from 1998 to 2001.
- General Pervez Musharraf (born 1943) hasexercised power since a bloodless coup in 1999, and he has also been President since June 20, 2001. This is the fourth time in its short history that Pakistan will be ruled by the military.The dictator who came to power through the bloodless coup calls himself the chief executive.
Writer and poet
- Muhammad Iqbal (1873/77-1938)was an Indian poet and philosopher. He is regarded as the most important Urdu poet and “spiritual father” of Pakistan.
- Aftab Husain (born 1962)is a writer, journalist, publisher, university teacher, literary critic, translator and founder of a literary newspaper.For political reasons he had to leave his home country and found asylum in Vienna.
- Tariq Ali (born 1943)The writer, journalist and filmmaker studied politics and philosophy at Oxford.His resistance to the military dictatorship in Pakistan prevented his return to his homeland, so that London became an exile for him.
- Abul A’la Al-Mawdudi (1903-1979)He wrote mainly in terms of religion and is considered a strict Islamist.
Other personalities, Nobel Prize winners
Nayyar Ali Dada (born 1945)
The Indian-Pakistani architect was able to build the first building of modern architecture in Pakistan with his first major project, the Al-Hamra Arts Complex in Lahore, and to achieve great fame for it.
The multiple award-winner constructed the Serena Hotel, the Saudi-Pak Tower, the Punjab House and the Fatima Jinnah Park in Islamabad.
Dr. Abdul Kadir Khan, also Abdul Qadeer Khan (born 1935)
The Pakistani engineer developed the Pakistani nuclear weapons program. He has also sold nuclear weapons technology to Libya, Iran and North Korea.
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan (1948-1997)
was a Pakistani musician. His music can be assigned to the Qawwali, an ecstatic Sufi chant.
The special meaning of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan lies in the merging of the six centuries old Qawwali tradition with elements of modern music. Vedat Dalokay (1927-1991) Dalokay, who was mayor of the Turkish capital Ankara from 1973 to 1977, was also a famous architect, especially for Islamic religious buildings. The Faisal Mosque in Islamabad, which opened in 1984, was one of his most important works. It is considered to be one of the largest and most modern Islamic sanctuaries on earth.
Konstantinos Apostolos Doxiadis (1913-1975)
The Greek city planner distinguished himself as the main architect of Pakistan’s capital Islamabad and of its sister city Rawalpindi.
Malala Yousafzai (born 1997)
Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997. In 2012 she was the victim of a Taliban assassination attempt, which she survived at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK.
The Taliban cited their commitment to schooling for girls as the reason for the attack.
She received the Nobel Peace Prize of 2014 for her commitment and her stand against the oppression of young people and for their right to education.
Feroze Khan (1904-2005)
was a Pakistani hockey player. As a member of the Indian national team, he was Olympic champion at the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam in 1928. Khan was the oldest living Olympic champion until his death.
Abdus Salam (
1926-1996) Abdus Salam was a Pakistani physicist and Nobel Prize winner. He researched the interactions between elementary particles.
Pakistan: animals
Mammals
General information
There are still around 190 different mammal species to be found in Pakistan, with numerous mammals being exterminated in the 19th and 20th centuries through hunting and the destruction of their habitats – for example the Indian elephant, the Bengal tiger, the Asiatic lion or the cheetah.
Brown bears
A subspecies of the brown bear occurs in the Karakoram.
Brown bears are strongly built, have a long head with a pointed snout, small eyes and short, clearly rounded ears. The strong neck ends in a characteristic, muscular hump.
The short, about 10 cm long tail is almost hidden in the thick, shaggy fur.
The color ranges from yellow-white, through various shades of brown to black. With a length of 170 cm and a weight of 70 kg, the bears of the Alps are the smallest representatives.
The largest subspecies, and thus the largest land predators of all, are the Kodiak bears of Alaska and the Kamchatka bears of East Asia. With a shoulder height of 150 cm and a length of up to 3 m and a weight of almost 800 kg.
In nature, brown bears can live up to 25 years old, in zoological gardens they are significantly older.
Brown bears prefer dense, contiguous forest areas, but are also found in the tundra and subalpine regions.
They are good swimmers and like to be near water. They mainly feed on plant-based foods, such as grasses, herbs, berries, seeds and nuts.
You can find a detailed description of the European braumbear at Goruma here >>>
Hanuman monkeys These animals belong to the genus of the Hanuman langurs (Semnopithecus) within the family of the vervet monkeys (Cercopithecidae). They are cultural followers and are considered sacred in India.
They got their name after Hanuman – an Indian god in monkey form.
The animals reach a length of between 40 to 80 cm, with a tail up to 110 cm long. Your weight is a little under 25 kg. The fur of the animals is colored gray on the upper side, while the underside is whitish or orange-yellow.
Her hairless face is black or purple and impresses with its pronounced bulges above the eyes.
Their diet consists of plants and insects. The females give birth to a young every two years.
In some cities they have become almost a nuisance, but are still being fed by the people.
Leopards
Leopards belong to the group of big cats alongside lions, tigers and jaguars. The animal belongs to the same genus as the snow leopard (Panthea) but belongs to the species “Panthea paedus”. There are eight subspecies of the leopard.
The animals are found in Africa and parts of Asia, with the largest population living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The subspecies “Indian leopard” (Panthera pardus fusca) lives in Pakistan.
A detailed and illustrated representation of the leopard can be found at Goruma here >>>
Pfeifhase
Pfeifhase do not look much like the well-known field hares, in earlier times they were even regarded as rodents. There are around 30 species of the pigeon hares (Ochotona) genus.
The animal is on average 20 cm long – with a spread of 15 to about 25 cm. Their weight can reach approx. 200 g. In addition to Asia, the animals are also found in America.
The animals get their name from the high-pitched whistling tones with which they warn each other in case of danger.
The food of the animals, which can be found at altitudes up to almost 6,000 m, consists of grasses, herbs or plant stems. The female gives birth to up to 12 cubs two to three times a year.
Snow
leopards Snow leopards are a rare type of big cat that lives in the remote areas of the high mountains and forests of Central Asia at heights of up to 6,000 m. Although it looks similar to the leopard – hence the name – it belongs to a different species.
The animal belongs to the family of cats (Delidae) and to the genus of the real big cats (Panthera). The scientific name of the animals is “Panthera uncia.”
In addition to Pakistan, the animals can also be found in Nepal, China, Afghanistan, Mongolia and Russia. Unfortunately, their population has been severely decimated by humans.
It is estimated that there are only 3,000 to 5,000 animals left. One of the few protected areas for the animals has been established in Pakistan.
The snow leopard lives as a loner. After a gestation period of 90 to 100 days, the female usually gives birth to between three to five young.
The animals reach a length of approx. 130 cm, whereby their tail can reach a length of up to 100 cm – with a weight between 40 and 70 kg. Your shoulder height reaches about 60 cm.
The prey of the snow leopard is blue sheep, ibex, musk deer, hares, boars, marmots, whistle hares, yaks, goats and domestic animals.
Ibex
These animals are widely known to us as Alpine Ibex. But the Siberian or Asian ibex live here, belonging to the genus of goats (Capra) and to the species of Capra sibirica.
However, here and there the animals are also viewed as a subspecies of the Alpine ibex (Capra ibex).
The animals live at altitudes above 6,500 m, but migrate to lower regions in winter.
They have a head body length of 130 to 165 centimeters, a shoulder height of 65 to 110 centimeters and a weight of 50 to 130 kilograms, the females being smaller and lighter than the males.
The males and the females have horns, whereas those of the females are small and slightly bent backwards. The horns of the males are significantly longer and stronger with a length of up to 1 m.
Wild goats, Bezoar
goats The wild goat (Capra aegagrus) or the Bezoar goat belong to the bovidae family and to the genus Capra (wild
goats). which is common in Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Bezoar goats are excellent climbers and jumpers. It is interesting that adult animals look for vantage points that give them a good overview of their surroundings.
Like a guard, they warn the pack from here when a danger is approaching. The sense of sight, hearing and smell are well developed in the Bezoar goats
The animals have a head body length of 1.2 to 1.6 m and a 15 to 20 cm long tail. Your shoulder height varies between 0.7 to 1 m – with a weight of 25 to 45 kilograms.
The color of their fur is reddish gray-brown and a black eel line stretches across their back. A black band runs from the shoulder to the chest and the front of the neck. The belly and the inside of the thighs are white.
A black separating stripe runs between the coloring of the upper side and the abdominal coloring.
Both males and females have horns that can reach a length of up to four feet in males. The horns of the females, on the other hand, only reach a length between 20 to 30 cm
The animals are found in mountainous regions up to an altitude of about 4,200 m, but during winter they also come down to sea level.
The Bezoar goats live in herds that can be up to 50 animals.
The animals are pure herbivores that feed on grasses, herbs and other parts of plants.The
mating occurs during winter. Afterwards, after a gestation period of around 150 days, the females give birth to one or two young – rarely three – weighing around 2 kg.
In addition to humans, lynxes, Persian leopards as well as golden eagles and other large birds of prey that prey on young animals are the most important enemies.
In the past there were also tigers and lions, but they are now almost extinct.
Other mammals include screw goats, steppe sheep, giant wild sheep and lynxes
Marco Polo giant wild sheep and screw goats can be found in the Chitral Gol National Park.
The pipe cat is the most common local cat species native to the river plains.
The caracal or desert lynx can be found in open steppe and semi-desert landscapes. Collared bears live in the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush and in the mountains of Balochistan.
Wild boars are very common and there are also many rodents.
Indian gazelles and stag goat antelopes have been reintroduced in national parks such as Kirthar National Park. Indian rhinos were released into the wild along with deer goats and Nilgau antelopes in Lal Suhanra National Park.
Reptiles
There are over 200 reptiles in Pakistan – including 110 species of lizards and around 80 species of snakes and 15 species of turtles.
Particularly noteworthy among the poisonous snakes are the small but very poisonous kraits, which follow people to their homes and are responsible for numerous deaths.
The spectacled snake, the MCMalon viper, the Central Asian cobra and the Forsteins cat snake in the east of the country also live here.
It is estimated that there are 8,000 deaths from snake bites annually.
Birds
Pakistan’s bird life includes almost 670 native and migratory bird species. Unfortunately, many large birds of prey such as eagles, buzzards, falcons and vultures have been severely decimated and the early blue peacock, which is typical of the country, only occurs in small populations.
On the other hand, passerines, swallows, chicken birds, parrots, lapwing, woodpeckers, pigeons and corvids are represented in large numbers.
Water birds such as ducks, herons and flamingos can also be found in large numbers – on the other hand pelicans have become rather rare.
The country’s national bird is the chukar chicken.
Water world
Around 500 species of fish live in the waters of Pakistan in the Arabian Sea – a tributary of the Indian Ocean and around 125 species of freshwater fish.
A subspecies of the Ganges dolphin lives in the Indus. The swamp crocodile and the gharial also live here.
In the rivers and lakes you can find Catlabarke up to 1.80 m long.
In the Arabian Sea you can find a number of shark species, whales and the whale shark.
Eels, anemonefish, numerous types of perch, surgeon fish, trigger fish, bat fish, lionfish, pike, hussar fish, puffer fish, marrow fish, sea bream, parrot fish, flat fish, scorpion fish and soldier fish also live here.
