What is the largest province in Pakistan?
Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab (Urdu, Punjabi: , "panj-āb", "five waters": ) is Pakistan's second largest province by area, after Balochistan, and it is the most populated province, with an estimated population of 110,012,442 as of 2017. Forming the bulk of the transnational Punjab region, it is bordered by the Pakistan provinces of Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the enclave of Islamabad, and Azad Kashmir. It also shares borders with the Indian states of Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. The provincial capital of Punjab is the city Lahore, a cultural, historical, economic and cosmopolitan centre of Pakistan where the country's cinema industry, and much of its fashion industry, are based.
List of cities in the Punjab region by population
The following is a list of the largest cities in the Punjab region by population located in modern divisions which were part of the British Punjab Province as at 1947 when the modern countries of India and Pakistan were created. Accordingly, the Punjab is a geographical region in South Asia now divided politically by Pakistan and India and is also administratively divided into provinces, states, and territories within both countries. This list deals with the areas within city administrative boundaries (city propers), urban areas, and metropolitan areas.
Geography of Pakistan
Hydrological power is a renewable resource which benefits Pakistan a lot. After the Indus Water Treaty on 1960 World Bank decided that River Sutlej, Ravi and Beas water will be used by India and River Indus, Jhelum and Chenab water will be used by Pakistan. Pakistan was told to build 2 Dams one Tarbela And second Mangla, 5 Barrages, 8 Link Canals and one gated siphon. For this India was told to Participate 60% while Pakistan will participate 40%. Pakistan is considering to develop wind turbines to fulfill the demand for electricity.solar power is now slowly flourishing but it is still installed on a small scale.
Pakistan Largest River is known as River Indus which Flows from Tibet China and enters through Pakistan by Gilgit Baltistan. River Indus System is known as Indus System. It is divided into two plains. Upper Indus Plain starts from Northern Pakistan and ends up at Mithankot. River Indus has tributaries on both western and eastern side. River Indus eastern tributaries are River Jhelum, Chenab, Sutlej, Ravi and Beas. These four rivers flow in Punjab. These four rivers meet at Panjnad where they are known as River Panjnad. River Indus western tributaries are River Swat, Kabul, Kurrram, Tochi, Gomal, Zhob. These rivers join River Indus at KPK. At Mithankot these rivers finally meet with River Indus. After this River Indus flows alone through Lower Indus Plain. Lower Indus Plain Starts from Mithankot up to Thatta where River Indus meets with the Arabian Sea. This place is also known as Indus Delta.
Economy of Sindh
The economy of Sindh is the 2nd largest of all the provinces in Pakistan. Much of Sindh's economy is influenced by the economy of Karachi, the capital of the province and also the largest city and economic capital of the country. Sindh remark ably has a high GDP per capita was $1,400 in 2010 which is three times that of the rest of the nation or 1.33 times the national average. Historically, Sindh's contribution to Pakistan's GDP has been between 30% to 32.7%. Its share in the service sector has ranged from 21% to 27.8% and in the agriculture sector from 21.4% to 27.7%. Performance wise, its best sector is the manufacturing sector, where its share has ranged from 36.7% to 46.5%. Since 1972, Sindh's GDP has expanded by 3.6 times.
Local government in Pakistan
Pakistan is a federal republic with three tiers of government: national, provincial and local. Local government is protected by the constitution in Articles 32 and 140-A, and each province also has its own local-government-enabling legislation and ministries responsible for implementation. District councils and metropolitan corporations are respectively the highest rural and urban tiers of local government in the provinces. Both urban and rural local government have two or three tiers in all provinces except Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where councils are not identified as either urban or rural. There are 129 district councils across the four provinces, 619 urban councils made up of one city district, four metropolitan corporations, 13 municipal corporations, 96 municipal committees, 148 town councils, 360 urban union committees, and 1,925 rural councils. Additionally there are 3339 neighbourhood, ‘tehsil’ and village councils in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Punjab, Pakistan
Agriculture continues to be the largest sector of Punjab's economy. The province is the breadbasket of the country as well as home to the largest ethnic group in Pakistan, the Punjabis. Unlike neighbouring India, there was no large-scale redistribution of agricultural land. As a result, most rural areas are dominated by a small set of feudalistic land-owning families.
Lahore
Lahore (; ; ) is a city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Lahore is the country's second-most populous city after Karachi, and is one of Pakistan's wealthiest cities with an estimated GDP of $58.14 billion (PPP) as of 2015. Lahore is the largest city, and historic cultural centre of the Punjab region, and one of Pakistan's most socially liberal, progressive, and cosmopolitan cities.
Agriculture in Pakistan
Pakistan's principal natural resources are arable land and water. About 25% of Pakistan's agriculture accounts for about 21% of GDP and employs about 43% of the labour force. In Pakistan, the most agricultural province is Punjab where wheat and cotton are the most grown. Mango orchards are mostly found in Sindh and Punjab provinces that make Pakistan the world's 4th largest producer of mangoes.
List of Pakistani provinces by gross domestic product
Figures are derived from statistics in 2017
Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The Districts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are administrative divisions of the province in which their boundaries are drawn. The province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is divided into 35 districts. Peshawar is the provincial capital and largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The northern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (Malakand Division and Hazara Division) are situated in hilly areas. As one moves further away from the foothills of the Hindu Kush, Himalayas, and Karakoram ranges, the climate changes from the humid subtropical climate of the foothills to the typically arid climate of the plains of South Asia. On 28 May, 2018, Parliament of Pakistan passed the 31st amendment and merged all seven agencies of FATA along with Frontier Regions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province. After the merger, the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has added the newly merged FATA agencies into the nearby divisions.
Administrative units of Pakistan
The administrative units of Pakistan () consist of four provinces (Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh), two autonomous territories (Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan) and one federal territory (Islamabad Capital Territory). Each province and territory is subdivided into divisions, which are further subdivided into districts, which are further subdivided into tehsils, or taluka, which are further subdivided into union councils.
List of capitals in Pakistan
The capitals of the provinces and territories of Pakistan have remained the same since the 1970s when the current administrative structure was established. All four provincial capitals are the largest cities of their respective provinces.Pakistan has a total population of 207,774,520 according to 2017 census estimate.
Pakistan
Pakistan (), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (), is a country in South Asia. It is the world’s sixth-most populous country with a population exceeding 212,742,631 people. In area, it is the 33rd-largest country, spanning . Pakistan has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest, and China in the far northeast. It is separated narrowly from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor in the northwest, and also shares a maritime border with Oman.
Administrative units of Pakistan
here is big news about upcomming new province of pakistan.
In 2019 we have 5 provinces.
1. Punjab
2.Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
3.Sindh
4.Balochistan
5.Gilgit Baltistan
Districts of Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is one of the four provinces of Pakistan.It is the largest province by population and second largest by land. There are 36 districts in the province. The provincial capital and largest city is Lahore which was the historical capital of the wider Punjab region. Largest cities in Punjab include Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Attock, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Multan, Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Sheikhupura, Jhelum and Sahiwal.
Peshawar Division
At abolition it contained the following districts:The ancient name of Peshawar is Purushapur. Peshawar Division was originally a district of the North-West Frontier Province of British India. The district was administratively subdivided into five tehsils;After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the tehsil of Peshawar became the new district of Peshawar. At that time the old district became a division.Peshawer is the biggest of all
Divisions of Pakistan
From 1955 to 1970, the One Unit policy meant that there were only two provinces – East and West Pakistan. East Pakistan had the same divisions as East Bengal had previously, but West Pakistan gradually gained seven new divisions to add to the original six. The Baluchistan States Union became Kalat Division, while the former Baluchistan Chief Commissioner's Province became Quetta Division. Most of the former Sind Province became Hyderabad Division, with some parts joining the princely state of Khairpur to form Khairpur Division. The former princely state of Bahawalpur became Bahawalpur Division, therefore joining West Punjab. The Federal Capital Territory was absorbed into West Pakistan in 1961 and merged with the princely state of Las Bela to form the Karachi-Bela Division. In 1969, the princely states of Chitral, Dir and Swat were incorporated into West Pakistan as the division of Malakand with Saidu as the divisional headquarters.
List of provincial governments of Pakistan
The four provincial governments of Pakistan administer the four provinces of Pakistan. There are also two territories and two disputed regions which have similar governments but with some differences. The head of each province is a non-executive Governor appointed by the President, on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Governors play a similar role, at the provincial level, as the President does at the federal level. Each province has a directly elected unicameral legislature (provincial assembly), with members elected for five-year terms. Each provincial assembly elects a Chief Minister, who then selects a cabinet of ministers from amongst the members of the Provincial Assembly. Each province also has a High Court, which forms part of the superior judiciary.
Pakistan
A federal parliamentary republic state, Pakistan is a federation that comprises four provinces: Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan and three territories: Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit–Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir. The Government of Pakistan exercises the "de facto" jurisdiction over the Frontier Regions and the western parts of the Kashmir Regions, which are organised into the separate political entities Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas). In 2009, the constitutional assignment () awarded the Gilgit–Baltistan a semi-provincial status, giving it self-government.
Divisions of Pakistan
Administrative divisions had formed an integral tier of government from colonial times. The Governor's provinces of British India were subdivided into divisions, which were themselves subdivided into districts. At independence in 1947, the new nation of Pakistan comprised two wings – eastern and western, separated by India. Three of the provinces of Pakistan were subdivided into ten administrative divisions. The single province in the eastern wing, East Bengal, had four divisions – Chittagong, Dacca, Khulna and Rajshahi. The province of West Punjab had four divisions – Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sargodha. The North-West Frontier Province (as it was then called) had two divisions – Dera Ismail Khan and Peshawar. Most of the divisions were named after the divisional capitals, with some exceptions.
Karachi Metropolitan Corporation
Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC)() (formerly called Karachi Municipal Corporation) is a public corporation and governing body to provide municipal services in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan.
Ahmedpur East
Ahmedpur East (Saraiki, ) is a city located in Punjab, Pakistan and the capital of Ahmadpur East Tehsil in Bahawalpur District, Punjab, Pakistan. Ahmadpur East, which has the historical Sadiq Garh Palace, which was the center of ruling Nawabs of the state of Bahawalpur. It is 38th biggest city in Pakistan in terms of population. The city is Undeveloped but developing very fast.
Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab has the largest economy in Pakistan, contributing most to the national GDP. The province's economy has quadrupled since 1972. Its share of Pakistan's GDP was 54.7% in 2000 and 59% as of 2010. It is especially dominant in the service and agriculture sectors of Pakistan's economy. With its contribution ranging from 52.1% to 64.5% in the Service Sector and 56.1% to 61.5% in the agriculture sector. It is also major manpower contributor because it has largest pool of professionals and highly skilled (technically trained) manpower in Pakistan. It is also dominant in the manufacturing sector, though the dominance is not as huge, with historical contributions raging from a low of 44% to a high of 52.6%. In 2007, Punjab achieved a growth rate of 7.8% and during the period 2002–03 to 2007–08, its economy grew at a rate of between 7% to 8% per year. and during 2008–09 grew at 6% against the total GDP growth of Pakistan at 4%.
Jinnah International Airport
Jinnah International Airport (; ) is Pakistan's busiest international and domestic airport, and handled 6,697,073 passengers in 2017-2018. Located in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan and capital of the province of Sindh, it is named after Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan.
Topography of Pakistan
Satellite image of the Sulaiman Range 
Balochistan is located at the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau and in the border region between Southwest, Central, and South Asia. It is geographically the largest of the four provinces at 347,190 km² or (134,051 square miles) of Pakistani territory; and composes 48% of the total land area of Pakistan. The population density is very low due to the mountainous terrain and scarcity of water. The southern region is known as Makran. The central region is known as Kalat.
The Sulaiman Mountains dominate the northeast corner and the Bolan Pass is a natural route into Afghanistan towards Kandahar. Much of the province south of the Quetta region is sparse desert terrain with pockets of inhabitable towns mostly near rivers and streams. The largest desert is the Kharan Desert which occupies the most of Kharan District.
This area is subject to frequent seismic disturbances because the tectonic plate under the Indian plate hits the plate under Eurasia as it continues to move northward and to push the Himalayas ever higher. The region surrounding Quetta is highly prone to earthquakes. A severe quake in 1931 was followed by one of more destructive force in 1935. The small city of Quetta was almost completely destroyed, and the adjacent military cantonment was heavily damaged. At least 20,000 people were killed. Tremors continue in the vicinity of Quetta; the most recent major earthquake occurred in October 2008. In January 1991 a severe earthquake destroyed entire villages in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, but far fewer people were killed in the quake than died in 1935. A major earthquake centred in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa's Kohistan District in 1965 also caused heavy damage.
Corruption in Pakistan
The bureaucratic influence was strong in the western provinces of Pakistan while the eastern province retained a majority of the population. On 22 November 1954, bureaucratic administrators moved a resolution to merge the four western provinces into a single unit called West Pakistan. This led to public outcry in East Pakistan who felt that they were being misrepresented and systematically marginalised by the land-owning Punjabi Muslim elites who enjoyed higher bureaucratic positions at the time. This led to the secession of East Pakistan into the separate nation state of Bangladesh and lay witness to the corrupt malpractices of the Punjabi elite in West Pakistan. Punjabis argued that East Pakistan's majority was a consequence of the high percentage of Bengali Hindus in the province who were not involved in the state's decision-making processes. Thus, the Punjabi landowners remained largely unrepentant of their desires to ""[secure] their own hegemony"" leading to the loss of the eastern province in 1971.
Politics of Pakistan
Pakistan is subdivided into 4 provinces, 2 territories, and 1 capital territory. Each province has a Provincial Assembly, a directly elected legislature. Members are elected for five-year terms. Each Assembly elects a Chief Minister, who then selects the ministers of his or her cabinet.Pakistan's provinces are divided into districts called "zillas" in local languages (counterpart to a county in US or UK terminology). A "zilla" is further subdivided into "tehsils" (roughly equivalent to a borough in an integrated multi-tier (federated) systemic context, such as the one to be found in Montreal (Canada, 2002) and Birmingham (UK, 2001 announcement) or known as arrondissements in French context. Tehsils may contain town or municipalities. Pakistan's system is the one that applies an integrated federated systemic framework most comprehensively, so far.
Districts of Pakistan
Chagai is the largest district of Pakistan by area while Lahore District is the largest by population with total population of 11,126,285 by 2017 census. Quetta is the largest district of Balochistan by population with total population of 2,275,699 by 2017 census. Bahawalpur is the largest district of Punjab by area. Chitral is the largest by area and Peshawar is the largest by population from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with the population of 4,269,079 by Census 2017. Sindh's largest district by area is Tharparkar and by population its Karachi West with a population of 3,914,757 by 2017 Census. The combined population of six districts of Karachi division is over 16 million by 2017 census making an average population of these six districts of Karachi division over 2.675 million each. Neelum and Kotli are the largest from Azad Kashmir by area and population respectively. Gilgit is the largest by area and population both for Gilgit-Baltistan.
1970s operation in Balochistan
The 1970s operation in Balochistan was a five-year military conflict in Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, between the Pakistan Army and Baloch separatists and tribesmen that lasted from 1973 to 1978.
Yarkhun
Chitral is the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km². It is the northernmost district of Pakistan. The district of Chitral is divided into two tehsils and 24 Union Councils.
Demographics of Pakistan
The Pashtuns (Pakhtuns or Pathans), originally from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, FATA and northern Balochistan, are now the city's second largest ethnic group in Karachi after Muhajirs. With as high as 7 million by some estimates, the city of Karachi in Pakistan has the largest concentration of urban Pakhtun population in the world, including 50,000 registered Afghan refugees in the city. Karachi is the biggest Pashto speaking city in the world although the Pashto speakers constitute only about 25% of Karachi's population.
Sikhism in Pakistan
The largest Sikh population in Pakistan is found in Peshawar, in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, where the Pashtun law of "nanawati" (protection) spared the scale of violence which had raged across the Indus River in Punjab. Despite the longstanding tensions between the Sikh and Muslim communities in South Asia, the Pashtuns were tolerant towards the religious minority of Sikhs.
Sindhri (town)
Sindhri (, ) is the biggest area and a town located in the Mirpur Khas District of the Sindh province of Pakistan, before it was part of Tharparkar District, Sindh, Pakistan. Muhammad Khan Junejo, former Prime Minister of Pakistan, was born in this town.
List of Pakistani provinces by gross domestic product
As of 2010, Punjab had the largest economy in Pakistan (contributing 57.5% to Pakistan's GDP), followed by Sindh (27%), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (8%) Balochistan (3%) Azad Kashmir(2.3%) and Gilgit-Baltistan (1.5%) respectively. Islamabad, the capital entity, contributes about 1%; while FATA contribute 1.5% according to economist.
List of Pakistani provinces by gross domestic product
Pakistan, as of 2017, had a gross domestic product (GDP) of $304 billion US$. This value can be further divided into the provincial levels (GSP), providing an outlook of how much value each province contributes to the national GDP. 
Pakistan has traditionally followed a "top-down" approach in its analysis of economic development; that is, authorities have scarcely attempted to break up national GDP statistics into provincial and subnational units and have focused more on the federation as a whole. 
Thus, many accounts of provincial GDPs that do exist have usually been projected estimates made by economists, based on the likely percentage of contribution of the respective province to the national GDP and some yearly studies.
Sheikhupura
Shekhupura (, ) is a city the Pakistani province of Punjab. Founded by the Mughal Emperor Jehangir in 1607, Sheikhupura is now the 17th largest city in Pakistan, and is the headquarters of Sheikhupura District. The city is an industrial center, and satellite town, located about 38 km northwest of Lahore.
List of companies of Pakistan
Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic in South Asia on crossroads of Central Asia and Western Asia. Economists estimate that Pakistan has been part of the wealthiest region of the world throughout the first millennium CE having the largest economy by GDP. This advantage was lost in the 18th century as other regions edged forward such as China and Western Europe. Pakistan is considered as a developing country and is one of the Next Eleven, the eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a high potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century. However, after decades of social instability, , serious deficiencies in macromanagement and unbalanced macroeconomics in basic services such as train transportation and electrical energy generation had developed. The economy is considered to be semi-industrialized, with centres of growth along the Indus River. The diversified economies of Karachi and Punjab's urban centres coexist with less developed areas in other parts of the country particularly in Balochistan. According to the Economic complexity index, Pakistan is the 67th largest export economy in the world and the 106th most complex economy. During the fiscal year 2015–16, Pakistan's exports stood at US$20.81 billion and imports at US$44.76 billion, resulting in a negative trade balance of US$23.96 billion.
Pishin, Pakistan
Pishin or Pshin () is a city that is the capital of the Pishin District of Balochistan province, Pakistan. Pishin connects Quetta, the provincial capital, to Afghanistan. It is considered part of the Pashtun belt of Balochistan, and it is the largest district of Pashtun tribes in the region. Due to its high population and vast area, a new tehsil, Huramzai, has been established, and Malikyar is popular place/village for its greenery and production of different kinds of fruits and vegetables. and beautiful lake Band Khushdil Khan is present in Malikyar.
Majha
The Indian state of Punjab has continued to recognize the Majha region through maintaining the districts that have always belonged to the renowned historic Majha region. However, Majha being the only region that the Pakistani province of Punjab had, it has made Lahore as its provincial capital consisting of 10 sub-divisions such as Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal and Sargodha.
Malakand Division
Malakand Division is an administrative division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North West Frontier Province) of Pakistan .It contains the following districts:Until 1970 the area was a Tribal Area known as the Malakand Agency. In 1970, Malakand Division was formed from the princely states of Chitral, Dir and Swat (incorporated into West Pakistan in 1969) and an area around the Malakand Fort known as the Malakand Protected Area. The capital of Malakand Division is Saidu Sharif, with the largest city being Mingora.
Dominion of Pakistan
The dominion began as a federation of five provinces: East Bengal (later to become Bangladesh), West Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh, and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). Each province had its own governor, who was appointed by the Governor-General of Pakistan. In addition, over the following year the princely states of Pakistan, which covered a significant area of West Pakistan, acceded to Pakistan. They included Bahawalpur, Khairpur, Swat, Dir, Hunza, Chitral, Makran, and the Khanate of Kalat.
West Pakistan
After gaining independence from the British in 1947, the State of Pakistan was physically separated into two exclaves, with the western and eastern wings separated from each other by the Republic of India. The western wing of Pakistan comprised three Governor's provinces (North-West Frontier, West-Punjab and Sindh Province), one Chief Commissioner's province (Baluchistan Province), and the Baluchistan States Union along with several other independent princely states (notably Bahawalpur, Chitral, Dir, Hunza, Khairpur and Swat), the Federal Capital Territory around Karachi, and the tribal areas. The eastern wing of the new country – East Pakistan – formed the single province of East Bengal (including the former Assam district of Sylhet).
Districts of Pakistan
The Districts of Pakistan (), are the third-order administrative divisions of Pakistan, below provinces and divisions, but form the first-tier of local government. In total, there are 154 districts in Pakistan.
Geography of Karachi
Karachi is Pakistan's largest city and is the capital of Sindh; it lies on Pakistan's southern coast, on the Arabian Sea just northwest of the Indus River Delta .
Originally a tiny fishing village, Karachi became a trading center in the 18th century. The British, after gaining control of the region in the 19th century, developed the city into an important port. Rapid growth came after Pakistan became independent in 1947, largely, because of the city having been historically the largest urban centre during British rule in regions forming modern Pakistan. Karachi was the national capital from 1947 until 1959. Over the next several decades it became one of the fastest growing cities in the world, doubling its population from 1981 to 1999.
Tourism in Punjab, Pakistan
Punjab is the second largest province in Pakistan. It is known for its ancient cultural heritage as well as its religious diversity. The lands of Punjab have been home to a number of religions and civilisations. The Indus Valley Civilization once ruled the region and a significant archaeological find was discovered at the ancient city of Harrapa. The Gandhara civilisation was also quite dominant in the northern region of Punjab at the site of Taxila. Several other civilisations such as Greeks, Central Asians, and Persians ruled Punjab leaving a number of sites which still exist today. The arrival of Islam came about during the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate followed by the Ghaznavids. The Mughals took control of the region and ruled its land for several centuries. The mughal heritage remained quite strong in Punjab with a large number of forts, tombs and monuments still intact today. The Durrani Empire ruled the Punjab at the fall of the Mughal Empire for a short period following the rise of the Sikh Empire. The strong control of the Sikhs also lead to a number of sites still remaining intact throughout Punjab. The British Raj took control of the region until the independence.
List of Pakistani provinces by gross domestic product
This is a list of provinces of Pakistan by their gross state product (GSP) (the value of the total economy, and goods and services produced in the respective province) in nominal terms. GSP is the provincial-level counterpart of the national gross domestic product (GDP), the most comprehensive measure of a country's economic activity.
Geography of Pakistan
Balochistan is located at the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau and in the border region between Southwest, Central, and South Asia. It is geographically the largest of the four provinces at 347,190 km² or (134,051 square miles) of Pakistani territory; and composes 48% of the total land area of Pakistan. The population density is very low due to the mountainous terrain and scarcity of water. The southern region is known as Makran. The central region is known as Kalat.
Shagram
Chitral is the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km². It is the northernmost district of Pakistan. The district of Chitral is divided into two tehsils and 24 Union Councils.
Laspur
Chitral is the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km². It is the northernmost district of Pakistan. The district of Chitral is divided into two tehsils and 24 Union Councils and among those, Laspur Valley tends to show its identity with its natural environment, traditions and mostly for they people for their bravery being part of war and freedom fight, their truthfulness and hospitality.
Tourism in Pakistan
Punjab is the second largest province in Pakistan. It is known for its ancient cultural heritage as well as its religious diversity. The lands of Punjab have been home to a number of religions and civilisations. The Indus Valley Civilization once ruled the region and a significant archaeological find was discovered at the ancient city of Harrapa. The Gandhara civilisation was also quite dominant in the northern region of Punjab at the site of Taxila. Several other civilisations such as Greeks, Central Asians, and Persians ruled Punjab leaving a number of sites which still exist today. The arrival of Islam came about during the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate followed by the Ghaznavids. The Mughals took control of the region and ruled its land for several centuries. The mughal heritage remained quite strong in Punjab with a large number of forts, tombs and monuments still intact today. The Durrani Empire ruled the Punjab at the fall of the Mughal Empire for a short period following the rise of the Sikh Empire. The strong control of the Sikhs also lead to a number of sites still remaining intact throughout Punjab. The British Raj took control of the region until the independence.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (abbreviated as KP or KPK; ; ) is one of the four administrative provinces of Pakistan, located in the northwestern region of the country along the international border with Afghanistan. It was previously known as the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) until 2010 when the name was changed to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the 18th Amendment to Pakistan's Constitution, and is known colloquially by various other names. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is the third-largest province of Pakistan by the size of both population and economy, though it is geographically the smallest of four. Within Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa shares a border with Punjab, Balochistan, Azad Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Islamabad. It comprises 10.5% of Pakistan's economy, and is home to 17.9% of Pakistan's total population, with the majority of the province's inhabitants being Pashtuns. The province is the site of the ancient kingdom Gandhara, including the ruins of its capital Pushkalavati near modern-day Charsadda. Originally a stronghold of Buddhism, the history of the region was characterized by frequent invasions under various Empires due to its geographical proximity to the Khyber Pass.
Karachi (disambiguation)
Karachi is the largest city in Pakistan.
Faisalabad District
Faisalabad District (Lyallpur District until 1979) (Punjabi and ) is one of the districts of Punjab province, Pakistan. According to the 1998 census of Pakistan it had a population of 3,029,547 of which almost 42% were in Faisalabad City. It is the third largest city of Pakistan after Karachi and Lahore.
Human rights violations in Balochistan
Human rights violations in the Balochistan province of Pakistan have drawn concern and criticism in the international community, being described by Human Rights Watch (HRW) as having reached epidemic proportions. The violations have taken place during the ongoing Balochistan conflict between Baloch nationalists and the Government of Pakistan over the rule of Balochistan, the largest province by land area of modern-day Pakistan.
Federalism
Pakistan consists of four provinces and three territories, including the Islamabad Capital Territory.
South Waziristan
In terms of area South Waziristan was the largest agency in FATA, being 6,619 km. It has been functioning since 1895. In 2018, it became a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan with merger of FATA with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is bordered to the north by the North Waziristan District, to the north-east by Bannu and Lakki Marwat Districts, to the east by tribal areas adjoining the Tank and Dera Ismail Khan Districts, to the south by Zhob District of Balochistan Province and tribal areas adjoining Dera Ismail Khan District, and to the west by Afghanistan.
Balochistan, Pakistan
Balochistan is situated in the southwest of Pakistan and covers an area of . It is Pakistan's largest province by area, constituting 44% of Pakistan's total land mass. The province is bordered by Afghanistan to the north and north-west, Iran to the south-west, Punjab and Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to the north-east. To the south lies the Arabian Sea. Balochistan is located on the south-eastern part of the Iranian plateau. It borders the geopolitical regions of the Middle East and Southwest Asia, Central Asia and South Asia. Balochistan lies at the mouth of the Strait of Hormuz and provides the shortest route from seaports to Central Asia. Its geographical location has placed the otherwise desolate region in the scope of competing global interests for all of recorded history.
2018 Pakistani presidential election
The votes of the members of the Senate and National Assembly are counted as single votes. Meanwhile, the votes given by the provincial assembly legislators are adjusted so as to give each province an equal share in the election. This is so because, each provincial assembly has a varying number of members, depending upon population size. The largest province by population size, Punjab, has a total of 371 members in its assembly, whereas the smallest province of Balochistan has a mere 65 members in its legislature. Therefore the provincial votes are weighted against the Balochistan assembly in the following manner:
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi (Punjabi, , '), commonly known as Pindi (), is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. Rawalpindi is adjacent to Pakistan's capital of Islamabad, and the two are jointly known as the "twin cities" on account strong social and economic links between the cities. Rawalpindi is the fourth-largest city in Pakistan by population, while the larger Islamabad Rawalpindi metropolitan area is the country's third-largest metropolitan area.
Divisions of Pakistan
The four provinces and autonomous territories of Pakistan are subdivided into administrative "divisions", which are further subdivided into districts, tehsils and finally union councils. These divisions were abolished in 2000, but restored in 2008. The divisions do not include the Islamabad Capital Territory or the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, which were counted at the same level as provinces, but in 2018 the Federally Administered Tribal Areas were subsumed into Khyber-Paktunkhwa Province.
Awami National Party
The strongholds of the ANP are in the Pashtun dominated areas of Pakistan, particularly in the Mardan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and it has traditionally dominated Charsadda, Mardan, Nowshera, Peshawar, and Swabi areas of central KPK. On the other hand, the city of Karachi in Sindh province hosts one of the largest Pashtun populations in the world, but the ANP only had 2 seats in 2011, whereas the number of Pashtuns present would predict them having "up to 25 seats".
Freedom of religion in Pakistan
Progress on religious freedom is being made gradually as Pakistan transitions to democracy from Zia's legacy, in 2016 Sindh with Pakistan's largest Hindu minority passed a bill that outlawed forced conversions. The bill was tabled by a faction of the Pakistan Muslim League which in Sindh is led by Sufi leader Pir Pagara, called PML-F, Pakistan Muslim League functional. Pakistan is 96% Muslim, and most provinces are overwhelmingly Muslim, Pakistan's most religiously diverse province is Sindh with an 8% religious minority population (predominantly Hindus and also Christians) and there is significant protection within Sindh province against forced conversions against one's will.
Daily Awam
Daily Awam () is an Urdu daily newspaper in Pakistan. It is a morning daily published by Awam Group of Newspapers. The Daily Awam Quetta is the third largest circulating newspaper in the whole province of Balochistan, Pakistan which is the largest province (by area) of Pakistan. Its current Chief Executive & Editor-in-Chief is Waseem Ahmed.
Indus River Delta
Ethnic groups of lower Sindh can be found in the delta region: Mallaah, Mohano, Soomro, Samma and Jat. All of these groups speak Sindhi and follow Islam.
The delta falls within the districts of Thatta and Badin of the Sindh province. Pakistan's fifth largest city, Hyderabad, lies about 130 miles north of the mouths of the Indus. Towns are found throughout the delta, but there are no large cities on the delta south of Hyderabad. Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, lies west of the delta on the coast of the Arabian Sea.
Muzaffargarh District
Although Muzaffargarh is one of the oldest and largest districts of Pakistan by area and population, it still has only a single campus of Virtual University of Pakistan. The literacy rate is one of the lowest in the country. District Muzaffargarh has a total of 1,072 male and 1,009 female public sector schools. According to the School Education Department's data, a total of 5,023 male and 4,130 female teachers are employed in public school education sector of the district.
Akbar Bugti
Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, is abundant in natural resources but due lack of proper development and education to the masses, has become one of the poorest regions of the country. This is largely perceived as injustice by the Baloch people has led to the Baloch people calling for greater share in resources and more autonomy.
Pakistan
At the time of the partition in 1947, Pakistan had a population of 32.5 million; the population increased by ~57.2% between the years 1990 and 2009. By 2030 Pakistan is expected to surpass Indonesia as the largest Muslim-majority country in the world. Pakistan is classified as a "young nation", with a median age of 23.4 in 2016; about 104 million people were under the age of 30 in 2010. In 2016 Pakistan's fertility rate was estimated to be 2.68, higher than its neighbour India (2.45). Around 35% of the people are under 15. The vast majority of those residing in southern Pakistan live along the Indus River, with Karachi being the most populous commercial city in the south. In eastern, western, and northern Pakistan, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan, and Peshawar. During 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia, which increased to 38% by 2013. Furthermore, 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more.
List of capitals in Pakistan
Islamabad officially became the capital of Pakistan on 14 August 1967, exactly 20 years after the country's independence. Previously, Rawalpindi was the capital, designated in 1958. The first capital of Pakistan was the coastal city of Karachi, which was selected by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Karachi was and still is the largest city and economic capital of Pakistan. It remained the seat of government until 1959, when the military president, Ayub Khan, decided to build a new capital in the north of Pakistan, near the general headquarters of the Pakistani Armed Forces at Rawalpindi.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf
While according to non-official results announced by Pakistani media and the Election Commission of Pakistan. Imran Khan, Chairman of PTI won three of the four constituencies he contested winning from Constituency NA-1, Constituency NA-56 and Constituency NA-71. While Khan's party PTI won 31 directly elected parliamentary seats which is more than 300 percent more than it got in 2002 elections. PTI was third largest party nationally as well as being the largest in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and second largest in Punjab. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, PTI defeated all mainstream political parties across the province with mostly new candidates. It also won every seat in Peshawar, Nowshera and Mardan district, it is expected that PTI will lead a coalition government in the province. PTI couldn't manage to win a majority in Punjab but made some wins while barely managed to make any inroads in Sindh or Baluchistan. PTI got 34 out of 99 seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly.
Zamzama Park
Zamzama is a posh locality situated in the Clifton Town in Karachi the largest city of Pakistan. It is a highly developed commercial area with residential accommodation as well. Famous branded shops are in this area.
Pakistan
Even after partition in 1947, Indian Muslims continued to migrate to Pakistan throughout the 1950s and 1960s, and these migrants settled mainly in Karachi and other towns of Sindh province. The wars in neighboring Afghanistan during the 1980s and 1990s also forced millions of Afghan refugees into Pakistan. The Pakistan Census excludes the 1.41 million registered refugees from Afghanistan, who are found mainly in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and tribal belt, with small numbers residing in Karachi and Quetta. Pakistan is home to one of the world's largest refugee populations. In addition to Afghans, around 2 million Bangladeshis and half a million other undocumented people live in Pakistan. They are claimed to be from other areas such as Myanmar, Iran, Iraq, and Africa.
Politics of Pakistan
In every province, there is one High Court. Currently all four provinces Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have High courts, respectively called Lahore High Court, Sindh High Court, Peshawar High Court, and Balochistan High Court. After the approval of 18th Constitutional Amendment in April 2010, a new High court is established at Federal Capital Islamabad with the name of Islamabad High Court. In 18th Amendment, judges appointments are proposed by a Parliamentary Commission. Judges of the provincial high courts were, previously appointed (The seventeenth amendment give these powers to the president, previously Prime minister exercised them) by the president after consultation with the chief justice of the Supreme Court, as well as the governor of the province and the chief justice of the high court to which the appointment is being made. High courts have original and appellate jurisdiction.
Tourism in Pakistan
Karachi is the provincial capital of the province and largest city of Pakistan. It is home to the founder of the nation, Mohammad Ali Jinnah. His tomb, Mazar-e-Quaid, is the most iconic mausoleum in Pakistan. The city has the largest port in the country, Port of Karachi, followed by the second largest, Port Qasim. Karachi has also been ruled under a number of tribes which meant the city is home to a number of cultural sites including, Mohatta Palace, National Museum of Pakistan, Empress Market, Frere Hall, Jehangir Kothari Parade, Karachi Municipal Corporation Building and the Hindu Gymkhana. There are also several beaches within the city, some of the most famous are Clifton Beach, French Beach, Sandspit Beach and Manora Island.
Sindh
Sindh has the second largest economy in Pakistan. A 2016 study commissioned by Pakistan Ministry of Planning found that urban Sindh and northern Punjab province are the most prosperous regions in Pakistan. Its GDP per capita was $1,400 in 2010 which is 50 percent more than the rest of the nation or 35 percent more than the national average. Historically, Sindh's contribution to Pakistan's GDP has been between 30% to 32.7%. Its share in the service sector has ranged from 21% to 27.8% and in the agriculture sector from 21.4% to 27.7%. Performance wise, its best sector is the manufacturing sector, where its share has ranged from 36.7% to 46.5%.
British Pakistanis
There are over 400,000 Urdu-speakers in the UK, some of whom are Muhajirs. Muhajirs originally migrated from present-day India to Pakistan following the partition of British India in 1947. Most of them settled in Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, where they form the demographic majority. Many Muhajir Pakistanis later migrated to Britain, effecting a secondary migration. Altaf Hussain, leader of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)—the largest political party in Karachi, with its roots lying in the Muhajir community—has been based in England in self-imposed exile since 1992. He is controversially regarded to have virtually "ruled" and "remotely governed" Karachi from his residence in the north London suburb of Edgware.
East Pakistan Provincial Assembly
The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the legislature of Bangladesh when the country was a province of Pakistan as East Bengal (1947-1955) and East Pakistan (1955-1971). The legislature was a successor to the British Raj-era parliament of Bengal, which was divided between East Bengal and West Bengal during the partition of Bengal in 1947. It was the largest provincial legislature in Pakistan.
Geography of Lahore
Lahore is the capital of Pakistan's largest province, Punjab; with a population exceeding 10 million, it is a megacity and ranked as the country's second largest metropolis (after Karachi). Collectively, it is also the fifth largest city in South Asia and the 26th largest city in the world in terms of population. As a major urban centre of Pakistan, it was graded in 2008 as a city with high sufficiency to become a Gamma world city.
List of political parties in Pakistan
It is currently the ruling party in the country.
In 2018 General Elections Imran Khan became the Prime Minister of Pakistan and PTI secure 116 seats in National Assemble and clean sweep KPK by taking 63 seats in Provincial Assembly.PTI also made Government in Punjab , took majority of seats in the largest city of Karachi and collaborated with Government in Balochistan.
Shishikoh
Chitral is the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km². It is the northernmost district of Pakistan. The district of Chitral is divided into two tehsils and 24 Union Councils.
Ahmadiyya in Pakistan
Between 0.22% and 2.2% of Pakistan's population is Ahmadi. Hence Pakistan is the home to the largest population of Ahmadis in the world. The city of Rabwah in Punjab, Pakistan used to be the global headquarters of the Ahmadiyya Community before they were moved to England. The Ahmadiyya population in Pakistan has often come under persecution and discrimination by the Sunni majority.
Economy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The economy of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province of Pakistan, is the 3rd largest in the country. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's share of Pakistan's total GDP has historically comprised 10.5%, although the province accounts for 11.9% of Pakistan's total population, rendering it the second-poorest province after neighboring Balochistan. The part of the economy that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa dominates is forestry, where its share has historically ranged from a low of 34.9% to a high of 81%, giving an average of 61.56%. Currently, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounts for 10% of Pakistan's GDP, 20% of Pakistan's mining output and since 1972, it has seen its economy grow in size by 3.6 times.
Geography of Pakistan
At , Pakistan is the 36th largest country by area, more than twice the size of Montana, and slightly larger than Alberta.
Muhammad Safdar
Lt. General Muhammad Safdar () is the former Governor of Punjab, the largest province of Pakistan, having served from 1999 to 2001. He has previously also served as the ambassador to Morocco and the Vice Chancellor of the University of the Punjab till 1993.
Economy of Karachi
Nearly all banks that operate in Pakistan have their corporate headquarters in the city. These include:Despite the growth and development of transport infrastructure elsewhere in the country, Karachi remains the country's transport hub. The city's two ports, Port of Karachi (Pakistan's largest) and Port Qasim, are central to nearly all shipping in Pakistan. The airport of Karachi, Jinnah International Airport (also known as Quaid-e-Azam International Airport) is the largest and busiest airport in Pakistan and handles 6 million passengers a year. The airport also receives the largest number of foreign airlines; a total of 27 airlines fly to Jinnah International, predominantly from the Middle East and South East Asia. All of Pakistan's airlines use Karachi as their primary hub, including Pakistan International Airlines, Aero Asia International, Airblue and Shaheen Air.
Government of Punjab, Pakistan
The Punjab province is the country's most populous region and is home to the Punjabis and various other groups. Neighbouring areas are Sindh to the south, Balochistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas to the west, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North West Frontier Province (NWFP)), Azad Kashmir, Indian Jammu, Kashmir, Ladakh and Islamabad to the north, and Indian Punjab and Rajasthan to the east. The main languages are Punjabi and Urdu and the provincial capital is Lahore. The name Punjab literally translates from Persian into the words 'Panj' (پانج) five, and 'Aab' (آب) water respectively, which can be translated as "five water" (hence the poetic name land of the five rivers), referring to the Beas, Ravi, Sutlej, Chenab and Jhelum rivers. Part of the Indus river also lies in Punjab, but it is not considered one of the "five" rivers.
Kerman Province
Kerman Province (, "Ostān-e Kermān") is the largest province of the 31 provinces of Iran. Kerman is in the southeast of Iran with its administrative center in the city of Kerman. In 2014 it was placed in Region 5. Mentioned in ancient times as the Achamenid satrapy of Carmania, it is the first-largest province of Iran with an area of , that encompasses nearly 11 percent of the land area of Iran. The population of the province is about 3 million (9th in the country).
Khanewal
Khanewal (Punjabi and ) is a city and the capital of Khanewal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the host city to the second largest railway station in Pakistan.
Kosht
Chitral is the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km². It is the northernmost district of Pakistan. The district of Chitral is divided into two tehsils and 24 Union Councils.https://www.facebook.com/Kosht-Chitral-176467119103910/
2018 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election
In the 2013 elections, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, led by former cricketer Imran Khan emerged as the largest party in the province with 48 seats. While this was a considerably higher number than the second largest party, (Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), with 16 seats), it was still 15 seats short of a majority government.
Faisal of Saudi Arabia
Lyallpur, the third largest city of Pakistan, was renamed Faisalabad (literally, "City of Faisal") in 1979 in his honor. One of the two major PAF bases in Pakistan's Sindh province's largest city, Karachi, is named "PAF Base Faisal" in honour of King Faisal.
Bahawalpur South Punjab
Bahawalpur South Punjab (BSP; ) is the name of a new province proposed by Pakistan Peoples Party Government in the National assembly of Pakistan in January 2013, to be created in the southernmost region of Pakistan's Punjab province.
Geography of Pakistan
Pakistan's largest city, Karachi, which is also the country's industrial center, is more humid than Islamabad but gets significantly lesser rainfall. Only July and August average more than of rainfall in the Karachi area; the remaining months are exceedingly dry with little rainfall. The temperature is also more uniform in Karachi than in Islamabad, ranging from an average daily low of during winter evenings to an average daily high of on summer days. Although the summer temperatures do not get as high as those in Punjab, the high humidity causes the residents a great deal of discomfort.
Provincial Government of East Pakistan
The Provincial Government of East Pakistan governed the East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) province and was centered in its provincial capital Dhaka. The head of the province was the Governor, who was nominated by the President of Pakistan. While the head of the province of East Pakistan was the Chief Minister who was elected by the East Pakistan Assembly.
Torghar District
Torghar District—alternatively Tor Ghar District () (lit. black mountain) and formerly also known as Kala Dhaka ()—is the smallest district of Pakistan and one of the 26 districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. It was officially separated from Mansehra District in 2011 under Article 246 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 1998 census, the Mansehra subdivision then known as Kala Dhaka had a population of , of which % had Pashto as their first language.
Charun, Chitral
Chitral is the largest district in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, covering an area of 14,850 km². It is the northernmost district of Pakistan. The district of Chitral is divided into two tehsils and 24 Union Councils.
Government of Balochistan, Pakistan
The Government of Balochistan () is based in the largest province of Pakistan in Quetta. The head of the province is the Governor, who is nominated by the President of Pakistan. The chief executive of the Government of Balochistan is the Chief Minister who is elected by the Balochistan Assembly and the administrative boss of the province is the Chief Secretary of Balochistan who is appointed by the Prime Minister of Pakistan.
Demographics of Karachi
Karachi is the largest and most populous city in Pakistan. The population of Karachi is estimated to be around 15 million (14,910,352) in 2017. The population and demographic distribution in the megacity has undergone numerous changes over the past 150 years. On 14 August 1947, when it became the capital city of Pakistan, its population was about 450,000 inhabitants and was capital of Sindh province. However, the population rapidly grew with large influx of Muslim refugees after independence in 1947. By 1951, the city population had crossed one million mark. in the following decade, the rate of growth of Karachi was over 80 percent. Today, the city has grown 60 times its size in 1947 when it became the country's first capital. Although, Islamabad remains the nation's capital since the 1960s, the city's population continues to grow at about 5% per annum, largely thanks to its strong economic base.
Punjab, Pakistan
The capital and largest city is Lahore which was the historical capital of the wider Punjab region. Other important cities include Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Multan, Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Sheikhupura, Jhelum and Sahiwal. The undivided Punjab region was home to six rivers, of which five flow through Pakistan's Punjab province. From west to east, the rivers are: the Indus, Jhelum, Beas, Chenab, Ravi and Sutlej. It is the nation's only province that touches every other province; it also surrounds the federal enclave of the national capital city at Islamabad. In the acronym "P-A-K-I-S-T-A-N", the P is for "Punjab".
Sindh United Party
The SUP believes that the Sindhis are a nation, and had historically been independent prior to the invasion of the British. In light of this, the party aims for a:
`confederation`, or a state where there is genuine provincial autonomy for each of the four provinces of Pakistan (Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baluchistan). The party desires to bring about the same kind of autonomy which is currently being enjoyed by the states in the US and [by the provinces of] Canada, the states of India and Australia, and the cantons in Switzerland.
However, the degree of autonomy enjoyed by provinces, states, and cantons in the mentioned countries vary widely. The party also believes its desire for a confederation of Pakistani provinces on the premise:
that the `provincial autonomy` which presently exists in Pakistan, provided in accordance with the Government of India Act 1935, was actually meant for the provinces of colonial India and not for the provinces of a free and independent Pakistan. But after that in 1940 (Lahore resolution) was the main theme of Independent Pakistan. The Lahore Resolution is totally in favour of a Confederation.
SUP also believes that the Pakistani state has been detrimentally affected by political and economic domination of the country by Punjab, the largest province in Pakistan. Furthermore, the party asserts that a Pakistani confederation would actually significantly strengthen Pakistan, while at the same time ensuring the rights of Pakistan's numerous ethnic groups, which in turn would weaken any possible secessionist sympathies in the future. It must be emphasized that contrary to media portrayal in Afghanistan and India, the party neither calls for Sindhi independence, nor does it even suggest that independence would be desirable.
West Punjab
West Punjab was a province of Pakistan from 1947 to 1955. The province covered an area of 205,344 km2 (79,284 sq mi), including much of the current Punjab province and the Islamabad Capital Territory, but excluding the former princely state of Bahawalpur. The capital was the city of Lahore and the province was composed of four divisions (Lahore, Sargodha, Multan and Rawalpindi). The province was bordered by the Indian states of East Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir to the east, the princely state of Bahawalpur to the south, the provinces of Balochistan and Sind to the southwest, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa to the northwest, and Azad Kashmir to the northeast.
Pashtuns
Important metropolitan centres of Pashtun culture include Peshawar, Kabul, Quetta, Kandahar, Mardan, Mingora, and Jalalabad. In Pakistan, the city of Karachi in Sindh province has the largest Pashtun diaspora communities in the world, with as much as 7 million Pashtuns living in Karachi according to some estimates. Several cities in Pakistan's Punjab province also have sizeable Pashtun populations, in particular Lahore.