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Pakistan - RationalWiki
<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"/> <title>Pakistan - RationalWiki</title> <script>document.documentElement.className="client-js";RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":!1,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"Z92pbLPHlRHOI0jTOShBTQAAAJI","wgCSPNonce":!1,"wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":!1,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Pakistan","wgTitle":"Pakistan","wgCurRevisionId":2720916,"wgRevisionId":2720916,"wgArticleId":11461,"wgIsArticle":!0,"wgIsRedirect":!1,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Articles with unsourced statements","Silver-level articles","Asian countries","Atheophobia","Antisemitism","Anti-Christian bigotry","Antifeminism","Territorial disputes","Denialism","Islamism","Imperialism","Genocide","Homophobia","Transphobia","Racism","Sexism","Purity culture","Terrorism","Blasphemy","Genocide denial", "Islamic fundamentalism","Islamic extremism","Theocracy","South Asian countries","Authoritarian regimes"],"wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Pakistan","wgRelevantArticleId":11461,"wgIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgMediaViewerOnClick":!0,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":!0};RLSTATE={"site.styles":"ready","noscript":"ready","user.styles":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","mediawiki.page.gallery.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles.legacy":"ready","mediawiki.toc.styles":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","site","mediawiki.page.startup","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.legacy.js","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","mmv.head","mmv.bootstrap.autostart"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.implement("user.options@1hzgi",function($,jQuery,require,module){/*@nomin*/mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); });});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cmediawiki.page.gallery.styles%7Cmediawiki.toc.styles%7Cskins.vector.styles.legacy&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.35.6"/> <meta name="description" content="Pakistan (Urdu: پاكستان Pākistān), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاكستان Islāmī Jumhūriyah-yi Pākistān), is a country located in the northwestern portion of the Indian subcontinent. It is the world's fifth-most populous country&#91;2&#93; and an acknowledged nuclear-weapons state.&#91;3&#93; That last bit is unfortunate since its even-more populous neighbor India is also a nuclear-weapons state, and the two countries hate each other over issues like the Kashmir land dispute. The vast majority of Pakistanis are Muslim, and Pakistan's government provides a textbook example of what happens when Islamic fundamentalism takes hold of culture and population. Pakistan's human rights are abysmal, with blasphemy carrying a mandatory death sentence, religious minorities mistreated, and freedom of speech suppressed. Pakistan's capital is Islamabad, and its largest city is Karachi."/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit"/> <link rel="edit" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit"/> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/opensearch_desc.php" title="RationalWiki (en)"/> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"/> <link rel="license" href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="RationalWiki Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="RationalWiki"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Pakistan"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Pakistan (Urdu: پاكستان Pākistān), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاكستان Islāmī Jumhūriyah-yi Pākistān), is a country located in the northwestern portion of the Indian subcontinent. It is the world's fifth-most populous country&#91;2&#93; and an acknowledged nuclear-weapons state.&#91;3&#93; That last bit is unfortunate since its even-more populous neighbor India is also a nuclear-weapons state, and the two countries hate each other over issues like the Kashmir land dispute. The vast majority of Pakistanis are Muslim, and Pakistan's government provides a textbook example of what happens when Islamic fundamentalism takes hold of culture and population. Pakistan's human rights are abysmal, with blasphemy carrying a mandatory death sentence, religious minorities mistreated, and freedom of speech suppressed. Pakistan's capital is Islamabad, and its largest city is Karachi."/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Pakistan"/> <!--[if lt IE 9]><script src="/w/resources/lib/html5shiv/html5shiv.js"></script><![endif]--> </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Pakistan rootpage-Pakistan skin-vector action-view minerva--history-page-action-enabled skin-vector-legacy"> <div id="mw-page-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="mw-head-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="content" class="mw-body" role="main"> <a id="top"></a> <div id="siteNotice" class="mw-body-content"><div id="localNotice" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div id="2025_RationalWiki_.27Oregon_Plan.27_Fundraiser"> <table role="presentation" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; width: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="width: 60%; text-align: left;"><big><center><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">2025 RationalWiki 'Oregon Plan' Fundraiser</a></b></center></big> <p><b>There is no RationalWiki without you.</b> We are a small non-profit with no staff—we are hundreds of volunteers who document pseudoscience and crankery around the world every day. 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Typically, it’s members of religious minorities or other vulnerable communities who are wrongly accused and left unable to defend themselves.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Brad Adams, <a href="/wiki/Human_Rights_Watch" title="Human Rights Watch">Human Rights Watch</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-blasi_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-blasi-1">[1]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="navbox" style="float: right; clear:right; border: 2px solid silver; margin: 0 0 .5em .5em; width: 200px;"> <div style="background-color: #e7ece6; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; padding: .3em;"><b>Pakistan</b> <b></b></div> <center><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_Pakistan.svg" class="image"><img alt="Flag of Pakistan.svg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Flag_of_Pakistan.svg/195px-Flag_of_Pakistan.svg.png" decoding="async" width="195" height="130" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Flag_of_Pakistan.svg/293px-Flag_of_Pakistan.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Flag_of_Pakistan.svg/390px-Flag_of_Pakistan.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></center> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>Demographics</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by population" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by population">Population</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>220,425,254 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by GDP (nominal)" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by GDP (nominal)">GDP (million)</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>376,533 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita">GDP p/cap.</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>1,658 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by life expectancy" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by life expectancy">Life expectancy</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>66.1 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by Human Development Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by Human Development Index">Development Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>0.544 </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>Government</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Democracy Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Democracy Index">Democracy Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>4.13 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Corruption Perceptions Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Corruption Perceptions Index">Corruption Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>27 </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>More</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Education Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Education Index">Education Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>0.402 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Importance_of_religion_by_country" class="extiw" title="wp:Importance of religion by country" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Importance of religion by country">Religiosity</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>92 </td></tr></tbody></table> </div> <p><b>Pakistan</b> (Urdu: <span lang="ur">پاكستان</span> <i>Pākistān</i>), officially the <b>Islamic Republic of Pakistan</b> (<span lang="ur">اسلامی جمہوریۂ پاكستان</span> <i>Islāmī Jumhūriyah-yi Pākistān</i>), is a country located in the northwestern portion of the Indian subcontinent. It is the world's fifth-most populous country<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[2]</a></sup> and an acknowledged <a href="/wiki/Nuclear_weapons" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuclear weapons">nuclear-weapons</a> state.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[3]</a></sup> That last bit is unfortunate since its even-more populous neighbor <a href="/wiki/India" title="India">India</a> is also a nuclear-weapons state, and the two countries hate each other over issues like the <a href="/wiki/Kashmir" title="Kashmir">Kashmir</a> land dispute. The vast majority of Pakistanis are <a href="/wiki/Muslim" class="mw-redirect" title="Muslim">Muslim</a>, and Pakistan's government provides a textbook example of what happens when Islamic <a href="/wiki/Fundamentalism" title="Fundamentalism">fundamentalism</a> takes hold of culture and population. Pakistan's <a href="/wiki/Human_rights" title="Human rights">human rights</a> are abysmal, with <a href="/wiki/Blasphemy" title="Blasphemy">blasphemy</a> carrying a mandatory death sentence, religious minorities mistreated, and <a href="/wiki/Freedom_of_speech" title="Freedom of speech">freedom of speech</a> suppressed. Pakistan's capital is Islamabad, and its largest city is Karachi. </p><p>Like many other dumpster fire states in the region, Pakistan was once home to powerful civilizations. The mysterious Bronze Age Indus River Valley Civilization gave way to various <a href="/wiki/Hindu" class="mw-redirect" title="Hindu">Hindu</a> Indian kingdoms and then to the Indo-Hellenic<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[4]</a></sup> successors of Alexander the Great. The invasion by the Arab Umayyad Caliphate<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[5]</a></sup> in the early 8th century CE and the coming of Islam permanently altered Pakistan's culture, as much of its population became devout <a href="/wiki/Sunni" title="Sunni">Sunni</a> Muslims. The area became an essential part of the Mughal Empire,<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[6]</a></sup> which stretched across India (1526-1857). That empire collapsed due to its Muslim rulers deciding to become religiously intolerant toward their Hindu subjects. <sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[7]</a></sup> </p><p>As the Mughals declined, the <a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a> gradually stepped in to take their place (<i>circa</i> 18<sup>th</sup> to 20<sup>th</sup> centuries CE). British rule in Pakistan saw religious tensions grow further between Hindus and Muslims. The British responded to this by codifying an early version of Pakistan's current blasphemy laws in 1860.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[8]</a></sup> When the time came to consider independence for the sub-continent, controversies arose over how to accomplish this. Following Muhammad Ali Jinnah's <a href="/wiki/Pakistan#Two-Nations_Theory" title="Pakistan">Two-nation theory</a> (basically a declaration that <a href="/wiki/Hindu" class="mw-redirect" title="Hindu">Hindus</a> and <a href="/wiki/Muslims" class="mw-redirect" title="Muslims">Muslims</a> should not live together in the same country), the then-powerful Muslim League, led by Jinnah, demanded a separate state solely for Muslims. The Muslim League got what it wanted in 1947 when the British Empire hastily drew a line between "India" and "Pakistan" (and gave present-day <a href="/wiki/Bangladesh" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a> to Pakistan). This sparked mass migrations, <a href="/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing" title="Ethnic cleansing">ethnic cleansing</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Genocide" title="Genocide"> genocidal</a> riots, killing 200,000 to 500,000 people.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[9]</a></sup> </p><p>As you can see, the relationship between India and Pakistan thus got off on the wrong foot, and tensions between the two states have remained high ever since. The two powers have fought several <a href="/wiki/War" title="War">wars</a> over issues like Kashmir and Bangladeshi independence. Pakistan's government has featured instability and periods of military rule. In 1973 Pakistan adopted its current <a href="/wiki/Constitution" title="Constitution">constitution</a>, which mandates that all laws in Pakistan must conform with the <a href="/wiki/Quran" class="mw-redirect" title="Quran">Quran</a> and the Sunnah, effectively turning it into a <a href="/wiki/Theocracy" title="Theocracy">theocracy</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[10]</a></sup> Oh, and if that wasn't enough, Pakistan became a major sponsor of the <a href="/wiki/Taliban" title="Taliban">Taliban</a> in neighboring <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[11]</a></sup> This promptly <a href="/wiki/Blowback" title="Blowback"> backfired</a> on the Pakistanis when Taliban militants started waltzing across the border to dodge <a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a> fury during the <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan_War" title="Afghanistan War">Afghanistan War</a> of 2001 and following.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[12]</a></sup> </p><p>Despite Pakistan's <a href="/wiki/Authoritarianism" title="Authoritarianism">authoritarianism</a>, brinksmanship with India, and <a href="/wiki/Islamism" title="Islamism">Islamism</a>, the <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> considers Pakistan a major non-<a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a> ally and an important bulwark against <a href="/wiki/Terrorism" title="Terrorism">terrorism</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13">[13]</a></sup> </p><p>Pakistan also denies the <a href="/wiki/Armenian_genocide" class="mw-redirect" title="Armenian genocide">Armenian genocide</a> because "<a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">one-sided approaches and political categorisation of historical events” could undermine trust and lead to polarisation between nations</a> ", an excuse which rings hollow since Pakistan also refuses to recognize Armenia as a nation.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14">[14]</a></sup> </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#About_the_name"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">About the name</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Historical_overview"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Historical overview</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#Indus_Valley_Civilization"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Indus Valley Civilization</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Indian_civilizations"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Indian civilizations</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Islam_comes_knocking"><span class="tocnumber">2.3</span> <span class="toctext">Islam comes knocking</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-6"><a href="#Mughal_Empire"><span class="tocnumber">2.4</span> <span class="toctext">Mughal Empire</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-7"><a href="#British_rule"><span class="tocnumber">2.5</span> <span class="toctext">British rule</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-8"><a href="#East_India_Company"><span class="tocnumber">2.5.1</span> <span class="toctext">East India Company</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-9"><a href="#Indian_Uprising"><span class="tocnumber">2.5.2</span> <span class="toctext">Indian Uprising</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-10"><a href="#.22Divide_and_Rule.22_strategy"><span class="tocnumber">2.5.3</span> <span class="toctext">"Divide and Rule" strategy</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-11"><a href="#The_Durand_line"><span class="tocnumber">2.5.4</span> <span class="toctext">The Durand line</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-12"><a href="#Two-Nations_Theory"><span class="tocnumber">2.5.5</span> <span class="toctext">Two-Nations Theory</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-13"><a href="#Partition_from_India"><span class="tocnumber">2.6</span> <span class="toctext">Partition from India</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-14"><a href="#Independence_and_crises"><span class="tocnumber">2.7</span> <span class="toctext">Independence and crises</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-15"><a href="#Kashmir_War"><span class="tocnumber">2.7.1</span> <span class="toctext">Kashmir War</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-16"><a href="#Growing_pains"><span class="tocnumber">2.7.2</span> <span class="toctext">Growing pains</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-17"><a href="#1965_Indo-Pakistan_War"><span class="tocnumber">2.7.3</span> <span class="toctext">1965 Indo-Pakistan War</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-18"><a href="#Military_dictatorship"><span class="tocnumber">2.7.4</span> <span class="toctext">Military dictatorship</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-19"><a href="#Bangladesh_war_and_genocide"><span class="tocnumber">2.7.5</span> <span class="toctext">Bangladesh war and genocide</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-20"><a href="#Modern_Pakistan"><span class="tocnumber">2.8</span> <span class="toctext">Modern Pakistan</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-21"><a href="#Reconstruction_and_a_new_constitution"><span class="tocnumber">2.8.1</span> <span class="toctext">Reconstruction and a new constitution</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-22"><a href="#More_dictatorship"><span class="tocnumber">2.8.2</span> <span class="toctext">More dictatorship</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-23"><a href="#Instability_and_nuclear_tests"><span class="tocnumber">2.8.3</span> <span class="toctext">Instability and nuclear tests</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-24"><a href="#Kargil_War"><span class="tocnumber">2.8.4</span> <span class="toctext">Kargil War</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-3 tocsection-25"><a href="#Dealing_with_the_Taliban"><span class="tocnumber">2.8.5</span> <span class="toctext">Dealing with the Taliban</span></a></li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-26"><a href="#Government"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Government</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-27"><a href="#Islamic_republic"><span class="tocnumber">3.1</span> <span class="toctext">Islamic republic</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-28"><a href="#Foreign_relations"><span class="tocnumber">3.2</span> <span class="toctext">Foreign relations</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-29"><a href="#Human_rights"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Human rights</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-30"><a href="#Violence_and_honor_killing"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Violence and honor killing</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-31"><a href="#Women.27s_rights"><span class="tocnumber">4.2</span> <span class="toctext">Women's rights</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-32"><a href="#Freedom_of_speech"><span class="tocnumber">4.3</span> <span class="toctext">Freedom of speech</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-33"><a href="#Blasphemy_law"><span class="tocnumber">4.4</span> <span class="toctext">Blasphemy law</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-34"><a href="#Genocide_denial"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Genocide denial</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-35"><a href="#Gallery"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">Gallery</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-36"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-37"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-38"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="About_the_name">About the name</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: About the name">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Provinces_and_territories_of_Pakistan_named_es_(2018).svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Provinces_and_territories_of_Pakistan_named_es_%282018%29.svg/330px-Provinces_and_territories_of_Pakistan_named_es_%282018%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="280" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Provinces_and_territories_of_Pakistan_named_es_%282018%29.svg/500px-Provinces_and_territories_of_Pakistan_named_es_%282018%29.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f7/Provinces_and_territories_of_Pakistan_named_es_%282018%29.svg/960px-Provinces_and_territories_of_Pakistan_named_es_%282018%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1126" data-file-height="1052" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Provinces_and_territories_of_Pakistan_named_es_(2018).svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Map of Pakistan's provinces to help with the acronym.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>We address this appeal to you, in the name of our common heritage, and on behalf of our thirty million Muslim brethern who live in PAKSTAN by which we mean the five Northern units of India viz: <b>P</b>unjab, North-West Frontier Province (<b>A</b>fghan Province), <b>K</b>ashmir, <b>S</b>ind, and Baluchis<b>tan</b>... Our brave but voiceless nation is being sacrificed on the altar of Hindu Nationalism...</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Choudhary Rahmat Ali, "Now or Never", 1933.<sup id="cite_ref-nnever_15-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nnever-15">[15]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Pakistan's name has a rather interesting origin. Technically, there is no "Pakistani" ethnic group or Pakistani people. Instead, the name is an acronym coined to describe the northwest Indian subcontinent's Muslim-majority areas, first used by Muslim intellectual Choudhary Rahmat Ali in a pamphlet called "Now or Never", published in 1933.<sup id="cite_ref-nnever_15-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-nnever-15">[15]</a></sup> In that pamphlet, Ali advocated creating an Islamic state separate from India. He called it "<b>PAKSTAN</b>", drawn from the <b>P</b>unjab region, <b>A</b>fghania (later called the North-West Frontier Province and then Khyber Pakhtunkhwa),<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">[16]</a></sup> <b>K</b>ashmir, <b>S</b>indh, and Baluchis<b>tan</b>.<sup id="cite_ref-pakronym_17-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pakronym-17">[17]</a></sup> Advocates of the idea later added the "i" for ease of pronunciation. There might not be an "i" in team, but it was best for everyone that there was an "i" in Pakistan. It also helped that the word "<i>pak</i>" in Urdu and Pashto means "pure", making Pakistan the "Land of the Pure."<sup id="cite_ref-pakronym_17-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pakronym-17">[17]</a></sup> Sadly, Pakistan's Muslim fundamentalists take that part very, very seriously. </p><p>Pakistan is also noticeably one of the -stan countries. The suffix "-stan" simply means "land of" in Persian derived languages.<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18">[18]</a></sup> Therefore, Pakistan is the land of the pure, Afghanistan is the land of the Afghans, <a href="/wiki/Kazakhstan" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a> is the land of the Kazakhs, and so on. Other countries get this treatment too when referred to in the Persian language, like <a href="/wiki/Mongolia" title="Mongolia">Mongolia</a> being "Mogholestan", India being "Hindustan", <a href="/wiki/Serbia" title="Serbia">Serbia</a> being Serbestân, <a href="/wiki/Hungary" title="Hungary">Hungary</a> being Majarestan, and so on. We'll leave it up to you to puzzle out the meanings of those names. Remember the formula! </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Historical_overview">Historical overview</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Historical overview">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Mohenjodaro_Sindh.jpeg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Mohenjodaro_Sindh.jpeg/330px-Mohenjodaro_Sindh.jpeg" decoding="async" width="300" height="191" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9a/Mohenjodaro_Sindh.jpeg/500px-Mohenjodaro_Sindh.jpeg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Mohenjodaro_Sindh.jpeg 2x" data-file-width="583" data-file-height="371" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Mohenjodaro_Sindh.jpeg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Public bath complex of an Indus Valley settlement. <a href="/wiki/Understatement" title="Understatement">Probably not as nice as it used to be</a>.</div></div></div> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Indus_Valley_Civilization">Indus Valley Civilization</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Indus Valley Civilization">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>The Indus Valley Civilization was one of the three earliest Old World civilizations, alongside <a href="/wiki/Ancient_Egypt" title="Ancient Egypt">Ancient Egypt</a> and Ancient <a href="/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq">Iraq</a>, and it's probably the one about which modern <a href="/wiki/Historian" class="mw-redirect" title="Historian">historians</a> know the least. One of the first regions to urbanize, the Indus Valley people had an advanced city life with wells, restroom areas, drainage systems, and advanced urban planning.<sup id="cite_ref-ivc_19-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ivc-19">[19]</a></sup> The quality of life here was probably higher than that in either Egypt or most of Mesopotamia. The civilization probably represented around a million people, mainly localized around the Indus River. </p><p>The main problem with understanding the Indus Valley Civilization is that their writing system has yet to be deciphered.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20">[20]</a></sup> There's probably a Nobel Prize in it for you if you figure it out. Good luck! </p><p>Around 1800 BCE, the Indus Valley Civilization started to decline, likely due to drought and drying of their home river.<sup id="cite_ref-ivc_19-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ivc-19">[19]</a></sup> The Indo-Aryans gradually settled down into an agricultural lifestyle, and it's theorized by modern historians that many Hindu gods were adapted from deities the Indus Valley people worshiped. </p><p>Sadly, one of the major Indus Valley settlements, Harappa, was severely damaged by the <a href="/wiki/British" class="mw-redirect" title="British">British</a> when they used stone from its buildings to assist with constructing railways.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21">[21]</a></sup> Goddamn limeys. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Indian_civilizations">Indian civilizations</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Indian civilizations">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles.JPG" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles.JPG/200px-Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles.JPG" decoding="async" width="200" height="217" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles.JPG/300px-Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles.JPG 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles.JPG/400px-Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles.JPG 2x" data-file-width="983" data-file-height="1068" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Buddha-Vajrapani-Herakles.JPG" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Depiction of <a href="/wiki/Buddha" class="mw-redirect" title="Buddha">Buddha</a> as a Greek, from a region in Pakistan. <a href="/wiki/Multiculturalism" title="Multiculturalism">Multiculturalism</a> in action!</div></div></div> <p>After moving in, the Indo-Aryans did what conquerors do and started oppressing the shit out of the people who were there before. This may be how the infamous Hindu caste system evolved, as the higher castes were composed of Indo-Aryans while the lower castes and Untouchables were all the indigenous people.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22">[22]</a></sup> </p><p>For most of this time, Pakistan was inhabited by various small princely states that warred with each other constantly. This time is now called the Vedic Period, as this was when the Vedas, Hindu scriptures, were composed.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23">[23]</a></sup> Pakistan was home to many important centers of early Indian civilization. Multan, for instance, was an important Hindu religious site that attracted pilgrimages.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24">[24]</a></sup> </p><p>The spread of <a href="/wiki/Buddhism" title="Buddhism">Buddhism</a> had a major impact here since Pakistan had great numbers of people oppressed under the caste system. Buddhist rejection of the caste system appealed to these people,<sup>[<a href="/wiki/Help:References" title="Help:References"><i>citation needed</i></a>]</sup> naturally, and the new religion gained great numbers of adherents even before the Mauryan Empire converted much of the rest of India. Buddhist culture combined with the Greek influences brought by the invading Alexander the Great to create Greco-Buddhist culture <sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25">[25]</a></sup>, which spread across Afghanistan and much of Pakistan. This persisted throughout the ages, even after various imperial conquests by Hindu empires. </p><p>With the contention between Buddhists and Hindus and popular discontent against the caste system, the Pakistan region was politically turbulent and disunited when the Islamic invaders finally came knocking. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Islam_comes_knocking">Islam comes knocking</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Islam comes knocking">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:187px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Mbq.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Mbq.jpg/185px-Mbq.jpg" decoding="async" width="185" height="237" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Mbq.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="234" data-file-height="300" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Mbq.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Muhammad ibn Qasim's invasion of southern Pakistan.</div></div></div> <p>Islam arrived in Pakistan in the 8th century when Arab warlord Mohammad Bin Qasim conquered the southern part of the region; many Pakistanis wanted to declare him their country's founder to emphasize its Arab identity.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26">[26]</a></sup> He had been dispatched by the Umayyad Caliphate to spread Islam further east, but in this, Qasim largely failed. However, although his invasion was a relatively minor event, it did open the way for trade with Islamic states and the travel of Islamic scholars into the region. Muslim influence thus gradually increased throughout the centuries. </p><p>Islam in the region got a major shot in the arm around 1000 CE when Turkic warlord from Afghanistan Mahmud of Ghazni launched huge raids into Pakistan and northern India to plunder wealth, smash idols, and forcibly convert its population to Sunni Islam on the threat of death.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27">[27]</a></sup> Despite modern Pakistan's reverence for the Arab Qasim, Mahmud of Ghazni from Afghanistan did the real heavy lifting. Unfortunately, Mahmud's violent tactics stained Islam's reputation across India, leaving Hindus and Buddhists perceiving that Muslims were dangerous barbarians. That legacy remains in the region and forms the root of much antipathy towards Muslims in North India and <a href="/wiki/Burma" title="Burma">Burma</a>. </p><p>The Ghaznavid occupation of Pakistan opened the way for further Islamic penetration of the Indian subcontinent. Most notable was the Delhi Sultanate, which came to encompass most of the Indian subcontinent. The Delhi Sultanate brought about something of a cultural renaissance for Indian Islam, as they halted the religious hostility in favor of allowing limited <a href="/wiki/Freedom_of_religion" title="Freedom of religion">freedom of religion</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28">[28]</a></sup> Notably, the downfall of the Delhi Sultanate came when they abandoned religious tolerance in favor of oppressing Hindus again.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29">[29]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Mughal_Empire">Mughal Empire</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Mughal Empire">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Badshahi_Masjid_-_Side_View.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Badshahi_Masjid_-_Side_View.jpg/300px-Badshahi_Masjid_-_Side_View.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="200" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Badshahi_Masjid_-_Side_View.jpg/450px-Badshahi_Masjid_-_Side_View.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2a/Badshahi_Masjid_-_Side_View.jpg/600px-Badshahi_Masjid_-_Side_View.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5078" data-file-height="3385" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Badshahi_Masjid_-_Side_View.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Badshahi Mosque built in Lahore by the Mughals.</div></div></div> <p>In the wake of the Delhi Sultanate's disintegration, India reverted to the old ways of small warring kingdoms, with some good ol' religious war thrown into the mix. Into this mix came Babur, another conqueror from Central Asia who claimed descent from <a href="/wiki/Mongolia" title="Mongolia">Mongolia</a>'s Genghis Khan.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30">[30]</a></sup> In 1526, he swept aside most of the north Indian states to found his own dynasty: the Mughal Empire. It would become the largest and most centralized state in Indian history before the British invasion. Its prosperous rule turned the Pakistani city of Lahore into one of the cultural centers of the Islamic world.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31">[31]</a></sup> </p> <div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Beautiful_pavilion_of_Faiz_Baksh_terrace.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Beautiful_pavilion_of_Faiz_Baksh_terrace.jpg/250px-Beautiful_pavilion_of_Faiz_Baksh_terrace.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="237" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Beautiful_pavilion_of_Faiz_Baksh_terrace.jpg/375px-Beautiful_pavilion_of_Faiz_Baksh_terrace.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Beautiful_pavilion_of_Faiz_Baksh_terrace.jpg/500px-Beautiful_pavilion_of_Faiz_Baksh_terrace.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3478" data-file-height="3297" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Beautiful_pavilion_of_Faiz_Baksh_terrace.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Mughal-built Shalimar Gardens in Lahore.</div></div></div> <p>Due to ruling most of India, the Mughal state had a vast Hindu majority population. To deal with this problem, Babur and his successors adopted a policy of (for the most part) religious equality, allowing Hindus to earn government posts, and even forbidding the killing of cows due to the offense it caused to Hindus.<sup id="cite_ref-mug_32-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-mug-32">[32]</a></sup> Babur may have been a descendant of Genghis Khan, but he was no barbarian, instead focusing on patronizing the arts and commissioning grant works of architecture. His successor Akbar was even nicer, believing firmly that all faiths should be honored by rulers. Akbar married Hindu women and ended the extra tax placed on Hindu subjects.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33">[33]</a></sup> </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:287px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Prince_Awrangzeb_(Aurangzeb)_facing_a_maddened_elephant_named_Sudhakar_(7_June_1633).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Prince_Awrangzeb_%28Aurangzeb%29_facing_a_maddened_elephant_named_Sudhakar_%287_June_1633%29.jpg/330px-Prince_Awrangzeb_%28Aurangzeb%29_facing_a_maddened_elephant_named_Sudhakar_%287_June_1633%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="285" height="177" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Prince_Awrangzeb_%28Aurangzeb%29_facing_a_maddened_elephant_named_Sudhakar_%287_June_1633%29.jpg/500px-Prince_Awrangzeb_%28Aurangzeb%29_facing_a_maddened_elephant_named_Sudhakar_%287_June_1633%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Prince_Awrangzeb_%28Aurangzeb%29_facing_a_maddened_elephant_named_Sudhakar_%287_June_1633%29.jpg/960px-Prince_Awrangzeb_%28Aurangzeb%29_facing_a_maddened_elephant_named_Sudhakar_%287_June_1633%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1500" data-file-height="933" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Prince_Awrangzeb_(Aurangzeb)_facing_a_maddened_elephant_named_Sudhakar_(7_June_1633).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Shah Aurangzeb fights a Hindu rebellion. You know you're fucked when the other side has elephants.</div></div></div> <p>Most famously of all, Shah Jahan ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal in 1631 to honor the memory of his favorite wife.<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34">[34]</a></sup> The Taj Mahal remains one of India's most famous landmarks. </p><p>Tragically, this legacy of religious coexistence came to an abrupt end. The policies of the previous empires had sparked a furious reaction from Sunni fundamentalists, who then manipulated Shah Jahan's son Aurangzeb into following their mold. The hardliners supported Aurangzeb in launching a civil war against Shah Jahan's chosen successor, his more tolerant son Dara Shikoh.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35">[35]</a></sup> Aurangzeb defeated his good brother in the war and then had him decapitated in 1662. Once in power, he imposed discriminatory policies against Hindus to harass them into conversion <sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36">[36]</a></sup>. Instead, this rather predictably sparked an uprising that ruined the empire. By being an Islamic fundamentalist and a discriminatory piece of shit, Shah Aurangzeb had personally destroyed one of the greatest empires in Indian history. Way to go, guy. </p><p>As the Mughal Empire decayed, <a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">European</a> imperialists from places like <a href="/wiki/Portugal" title="Portugal">Portugal</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Netherlands" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> started buying up chunks of India. The British and French showed up too and started warring over influence in India. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="British_rule">British rule</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: British rule">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Battle_of_Gujrat.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/The_Battle_of_Gujrat.jpg/275px-The_Battle_of_Gujrat.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="211" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/The_Battle_of_Gujrat.jpg/413px-The_Battle_of_Gujrat.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/72/The_Battle_of_Gujrat.jpg/550px-The_Battle_of_Gujrat.jpg 2x" data-file-width="626" data-file-height="480" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Battle_of_Gujrat.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Company redcoats battle Punjabis during the Anglo-Sikh Wars.</div></div></div> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="East_India_Company">East India Company</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: East India Company">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>Throughout the early 1700s, northern India fell back into the old cycle of religious war, this time pitting the rising Afghan Durrani dynasty against the Hindu Maratha Empire.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37">[37]</a></sup> The Mughals, torn apart by Hindu rebellion, were largely irrelevant unless someone decided to push them around. To the north, encompassing much of <a href="/wiki/Kashmir" title="Kashmir">Kashmir</a> was the Sikh Empire, which had to keep itself fairly decentralized due to Kashmir's very diverse religious landscape.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38">[38]</a></sup> </p><p>Meanwhile, the British East India Company was rampaging through the rest of the Indian subcontinent with its privately hired and financed armies. The Battle of Plassey in 1757 saw the British Company defeat the monarch of Bengal and his French allies, leaving the British <a href="/wiki/Capitalist" class="mw-redirect" title="Capitalist">capitalists</a> in charge of much of the continent.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39">[39]</a></sup> In 1764, the British smashed the remnants of the Mughal Empire and then turned it into a hollow puppet to be used as a cover to force their rule onto much of the rest of India; this pretense would later be cast aside in 1827.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40">[40]</a></sup> With the British expanding westward and the <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russian</a> Empire expanding southward, the independent kingdoms of Pakistan soon realized that they might not be independent for too much longer. </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Iln1857amax.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Iln1857amax.jpg/300px-Iln1857amax.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="205" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Iln1857amax.jpg/450px-Iln1857amax.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/87/Iln1857amax.jpg/600px-Iln1857amax.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2926" data-file-height="2002" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Iln1857amax.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Mass <a href="/wiki/Execution" class="mw-redirect" title="Execution">execution</a> of Pakistani mutineers in Peshawar, 1857.</div></div></div> <p>Facing the threat of Russian domination, many of those states signed defense agreements with the British, who almost immediately abused those agreements to bring the Pakistani princely states under Company domination. <sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41">[41]</a></sup> By 1838, eastern Pakistan had become little more than a springboard for the Company's <a href="/wiki/Imperialism" title="Imperialism">imperialism</a> against Afghanistan. However, the Punjab region received help from the British in constructing modern irrigation systems to turn it into northern India's breadbasket. Many Punjabi soldiers would volunteer to serve in British colonial armies in gratitude. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Indian_Uprising">Indian Uprising</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Indian Uprising">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>Things changed in 1857, though, due to the British East India Company's incompetent decision to issue rifle cartridges to their colonial garrisons that had been greased with pig and cow fat.<sup id="cite_ref-sepoy_42-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-sepoy-42">[42]</a></sup> That managed to be religiously offensive to <i>both</i> Muslim and Hindu soldiers, who promptly decided "fuck this" and began a general mutiny that escalated into a war of independence. It was an extremely bloody affair, and the British ended up completely razing major cities across India like Delhi and Lucknow to put the rebellion down.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43">[43]</a></sup> Although many Punjabis stayed loyal to the British and helped suppress the uprising, Pakistan also saw significant action.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44">[44]</a></sup> British troops also used an especially grotesque form of execution whereby they would lash a native to the mouth of a cannon and fire the weapon, blasting the man to pieces and scattering those pieces everywhere.<sup id="cite_ref-sepoy_42-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-sepoy-42">[42]</a></sup> That was done in public to inflict terror upon the local population. </p><p>As a result of the Company fucking up tremendously and sparking a months-long anti-colonial uprising, the British Parliament liquidated the East India Company in 1858 and placed India under the Crown's direct control.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45">[45]</a></sup> </p> <h4><span id=""Divide_and_Rule"_strategy"></span><span class="mw-headline" id=".22Divide_and_Rule.22_strategy">"Divide and Rule" strategy</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: "Divide and Rule" strategy">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Prince_of_Wales_-_Lucknow.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/The_Prince_of_Wales_-_Lucknow.jpg/275px-The_Prince_of_Wales_-_Lucknow.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="196" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/The_Prince_of_Wales_-_Lucknow.jpg/413px-The_Prince_of_Wales_-_Lucknow.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3b/The_Prince_of_Wales_-_Lucknow.jpg/550px-The_Prince_of_Wales_-_Lucknow.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1260" data-file-height="900" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Prince_of_Wales_-_Lucknow.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>The Prince of Wales greets loyal Punjabi soldiers in 1876.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>‘Divide et impera’ was the old Roman motto and it should be ours... The strong necessity which exists for so dividing and separating into distinct bodies 'the different nationalities and castes,' anything, in short, to divide and so neutralise the strength of the castes and nationalities which compose our armies in the East.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Lord Elphinstone, Governor of Bombay, 1859.<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46">[46]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Having dealt with such a bloody revolution in India, the British decided to take a much more cautious approach to manage so many people. The Victorian administration saw a relatively light British presence. At the top would be the Governor General, who was always a white British citizen. Still, most other administrative posts would be open to natives who could demonstrate their worthiness by passing tough examinations.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47">[47]</a></sup> </p><p>It also became official British policy to ensure that Hindus and Muslims would never again unite against the British. The British did everything they could to foster a separate identity between Hindus and Muslims and set them against each other, from promoting violence to establishing separate electorates and segregated and unequally-treated communities.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48">[48]</a></sup> </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:227px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Durand_Line_Border_Between_Afghanistan_And_Pakistan.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Durand_Line_Border_Between_Afghanistan_And_Pakistan.jpg/250px-Durand_Line_Border_Between_Afghanistan_And_Pakistan.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="276" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Durand_Line_Border_Between_Afghanistan_And_Pakistan.jpg/500px-Durand_Line_Border_Between_Afghanistan_And_Pakistan.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="1036" data-file-height="1272" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Durand_Line_Border_Between_Afghanistan_And_Pakistan.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Pashtun lands (in blue) deliberately divided between Afghanistan and Pakistan.</div></div></div> <p>The success in setting religions against each other became evident in the sharp increase in religious riots and violence after 1857.<sup id="cite_ref-49" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-49">[49]</a></sup> The British even went so far as to bribe impoverished Hindus and Muslims into talking shit about each other's religions in public. With this kind of verbal and political poison being injected into Indian and Pakistani society for decades, it makes perfect sense that Muslims and Hindus ended up hating each other. </p><p>The goal was to keep India dependent on the British and too divided to survive on its own. Unfortunately, the strategy worked. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Durand_line">The Durand line</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: The Durand line">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>Per their stated "Divide and Conquer" policy, the British also sought to ensure that neighboring Afghanistan would never be strong enough to be a threat by separating its people from their fellows. One of Afghanistan's primary ethnic groups is the tribal Pashtun people. The British deliberately drew the "Durand Line" right through Pashtun tribal lands to keep them divided between two different countries, with no regard for history or ethnicity.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50">[50]</a></sup> This imposed great hardship on the traditionally nomadic people, as the British then had a good incentive to end their freedom of movement. </p><p>Even today, the Durand Line is a flashpoint for tension between Afghanistan and Pakistan, and it's a major reason why the <a href="/wiki/Taliban" title="Taliban">Taliban</a> has proven so hard to defeat (see the article on <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan_War" title="Afghanistan War">Afghanistan War</a>) <sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51">[51]</a></sup>. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Two-Nations_Theory">Two-Nations Theory</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Two-Nations Theory">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:All_India_Muslim_League_Working_Committee_Lahore_1940.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/All_India_Muslim_League_Working_Committee_Lahore_1940.jpg/275px-All_India_Muslim_League_Working_Committee_Lahore_1940.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="167" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/eb/All_India_Muslim_League_Working_Committee_Lahore_1940.jpg/413px-All_India_Muslim_League_Working_Committee_Lahore_1940.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/All_India_Muslim_League_Working_Committee_Lahore_1940.jpg 2x" data-file-width="458" data-file-height="278" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:All_India_Muslim_League_Working_Committee_Lahore_1940.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Leaders of the All-India Muslim League in Lahore, 1940.</div></div></div> <p>The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by Hindus to advocate for an end to British colonial rule.<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52">[52]</a></sup> Although the INC attempted to include the Muslim community, the "Divide and Conquer" had been going on for too long, and most Muslim intellectuals distrusted the Hindus. The Muslims then decided to form a league of their own, the All-India Muslim League, in 1906 to defend the rights of Muslims and their place in the anti-colonial struggle.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53">[53]</a></sup> By 1940, Mohammad Ali Jinnah pushed for creating a separate state for Muslims due to his fear that Muslims would face oppression within a Hindu-ruled India.<sup id="cite_ref-two_54-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-two-54">[54]</a></sup> As mentioned above in this article, that new country got its name from an acronym coined by Choudhary Rahmat Ali based on an acronym of the provinces this new Muslim country would encompass. </p><p>The Muslim League split hard with the Indian National Congress over the issue, as leaders like <a href="/wiki/Mahatma_Gandhi" title="Mahatma Gandhi">Mahatma Gandhi</a> hoped to see a <a href="/wiki/Secular" title="Secular">secular</a> and united Indian subcontinent. In 1940, Jinnah and the Muslim League held their annual meeting in Lahore, making the partition agenda known and stating that it was nonnegotiable in the "Lahore Resolution".<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55">[55]</a></sup> Interestingly, the partition idea got its greatest support from places where Muslims were in the minority, as those were the people who were most afraid of Hindu oppression.<sup id="cite_ref-two_54-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-two-54">[54]</a></sup> </p><p>Having made their intentions clear, the Muslim League then won the support of the British by remaining loyal to the Crown during <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> and opposing Gandhi's "Quit India" movement.<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56">[56]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Partition_from_India">Partition from India</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Partition from India">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Mountbatten_partition.jpeg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/e/e3/Mountbatten_partition.jpeg/200px-Mountbatten_partition.jpeg" decoding="async" width="200" height="225" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/e/e3/Mountbatten_partition.jpeg 1.5x" data-file-width="285" data-file-height="320" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Mountbatten_partition.jpeg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Mountbatten's partition committee. "We can totally finish this in 11 days!"</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>India is free but she has not achieved unity, only a fissured and broken freedom.... The old communal division into Hindu and Muslim seems to have hardened into the figure of a permanent political division of the country.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Sri Aurobindo, Indian nationalist and mystic.<sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57">[57]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Foot caravans of destitute refugees fleeing the violence stretched for 50 miles and more. As the peasants trudged along wearily, mounted guerrillas burst out of the tall crops that lined the road and culled them like sheep. Special refugee trains, filled to bursting when they set out, suffered repeated ambushes along the way. All too often they crossed the border in funereal silence, blood seeping from under their carriage doors</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Nisid Hajari, Indian-American foreign affairs journalist.<sup id="cite_ref-parti_58-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parti-58">[58]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Largely thanks to British gratitude to the Muslim League for supporting them in the war, the British sided with them when the time came to decide on how independence could happen. The battered and broke empire could no longer support the demands of ruling such a large colonial territory, and they were eager to get the fuck out as soon as possible. The need for a speedy withdrawal also contributed to the decision to partition India. Lord Mountbatten, India's last viceroy, decided that partitioning India was simpler than trying to craft a multi-religious Indian government.<sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-59">[59]</a></sup> </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:A_refugee_train,_Punjab,_1947.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/A_refugee_train%2C_Punjab%2C_1947.jpg/330px-A_refugee_train%2C_Punjab%2C_1947.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="188" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/A_refugee_train%2C_Punjab%2C_1947.jpg/500px-A_refugee_train%2C_Punjab%2C_1947.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/A_refugee_train%2C_Punjab%2C_1947.jpg 2x" data-file-width="500" data-file-height="342" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:A_refugee_train,_Punjab,_1947.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Muslim refugee train on the way to Punjab.</div></div></div> <p>Mountbatten set a very short deadline of six months to resolve the complicated issue, so it's no surprise that the British didn't do a great job. The Radcliffe Line, drawn by British diplomats with haste and indifference to separate India and Pakistan, left many Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims suddenly stuck on the wrong side.<sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-60">[60]</a></sup> The British hi-fived each other for a job well done and then left in 1947. Welcome to the rest of the story. </p><p>The partition caused one of the greatest human migrations in history as millions upon millions of Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims packed their shit and fled their homes to reach the country of their chosen religion.<sup id="cite_ref-parti_58-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parti-58">[58]</a></sup> Riots and massacres exploded across the subcontinent even before the partition, and British officials departed New Delhi, stepping over carpets of corpses to reach the train station.<sup id="cite_ref-parti_58-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parti-58">[58]</a></sup> British "Divide and Conquer" reached its inevitable conclusion when <a href="/wiki/Ethnic_cleansing" title="Ethnic cleansing">ethnic cleansing</a> and near-<a href="/wiki/Genocide" title="Genocide">genocide</a> broke out across the border areas, the violence killing somewhere between 200,000 and <i>two million</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-61">[61]</a></sup> </p><p>Once the home of a diverse Muslim and Hindu culture with members of both faiths in every village and every city, India had changed dramatically. Delhi, India's capital, went from being one-third Muslim to being Muslim-free.<sup id="cite_ref-parti_58-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parti-58">[58]</a></sup> Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, went from being nearly half Hindu to being Hindu-free.<sup id="cite_ref-parti_58-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parti-58">[58]</a></sup> These dramatic instances of ethnic cleansing had occurred in just months. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Independence_and_crises">Independence and crises</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Independence and crises">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:202px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Kashmir_map.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Kashmir_map.jpg/250px-Kashmir_map.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="230" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Kashmir_map.jpg/330px-Kashmir_map.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Kashmir_map.jpg/500px-Kashmir_map.jpg 2x" data-file-width="974" data-file-height="1120" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Kashmir_map.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Zones of Control in Kashmir, basically in place since the first war.</div></div></div> <p>A nation born out of bloodshed and hatred, Pakistan wasn't exactly in the best spot to establish for itself any stable place in the world. Amid horrific violence, an unacceptable border for both India and Pakistan stayed put. Trouble started brewing between them almost immediately. The two countries agreed to allow free movement of people and goods through their borders for a year before immediately breaking the agreement over trade disputes.<sup id="cite_ref-indp_62-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-indp-62">[62]</a></sup> It also didn't help that India had inherited most of the industry and most of the military and police capability. </p><p>Pakistan was also split in two, as it had been granted the Muslim-majority part of Bengal as an exclave called East Pakistan.<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-63">[63]</a></sup> With most of the Muslim League's members hailing from the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, East Bengal was an afterthought. Notice that there's no "B" in Pakistan. </p><p>Along with the border problems with India, Afghanistan also revived the idea of a united "Pashtunistan", which would require Pakistan to surrender a big chunk of its country.<sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-64">[64]</a></sup> Pakistan predictably told them to fuck off, and a vengeful Afghanistan thus cast the only vote against Pakistan's admission to the <a href="/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations</a> in 1947.<sup id="cite_ref-indp_62-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-indp-62">[62]</a></sup> </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Kashmir_War">Kashmir War</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Kashmir War">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Indian_soldiers_fighting_in_1947_war.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Indian_soldiers_fighting_in_1947_war.jpg/330px-Indian_soldiers_fighting_in_1947_war.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="227" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Indian_soldiers_fighting_in_1947_war.jpg/500px-Indian_soldiers_fighting_in_1947_war.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8b/Indian_soldiers_fighting_in_1947_war.jpg/550px-Indian_soldiers_fighting_in_1947_war.jpg 2x" data-file-width="556" data-file-height="458" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Indian_soldiers_fighting_in_1947_war.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Indian infantry advance through Kashmir during the first war.</div></div></div> <p>Worst of all, the various princely states that had served as British vassals throughout the region were tossed aside and told to pick a side and join either India or Pakistan. Most of those states had no trouble doing this, but Hari Singh, the maharajah of Jammu and Kashmir, hoped to remain independent by playing the big boys off each other.<sup id="cite_ref-65" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-65">[65]</a></sup> Pakistan lost its patience and sponsored Muslim militias in an uprising against him, and Singh then reluctantly agreed to join India in exchange for military support against them. </p><p>Pakistan wasn't down with that. They claimed that Singh had acceded to India under duress and then used that as a pretext to deploy forces into Kashmir to "protect" him.<sup id="cite_ref-66" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-66">[66]</a></sup> Cue the first war between India and Pakistan, not even a year after the two countries' independence. Kashmir's mountainous terrain prevented major military operations, which was significant because most of the war took place there. Fighting settled into <a href="/wiki/World_War_I" title="World War I">World War I</a>-style mountain warfare with static lines and many people dying for nothing. </p><p>In 1949, this frontline was confirmed as the Line of Control, which has remained unchanged.<sup id="cite_ref-67" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-67">[67]</a></sup> The Line has taken a dreadful toll on the people of Kashmir, with families separated and religious minorities unable to enter the country of their choice. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Growing_pains">Growing pains</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: Growing pains">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Jinnah_announces_the_creation_of_Pakistan_over_All_India_Radio.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Jinnah_announces_the_creation_of_Pakistan_over_All_India_Radio.jpg/300px-Jinnah_announces_the_creation_of_Pakistan_over_All_India_Radio.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="180" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Jinnah_announces_the_creation_of_Pakistan_over_All_India_Radio.jpg/450px-Jinnah_announces_the_creation_of_Pakistan_over_All_India_Radio.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Jinnah_announces_the_creation_of_Pakistan_over_All_India_Radio.jpg/600px-Jinnah_announces_the_creation_of_Pakistan_over_All_India_Radio.jpg 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="480" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Jinnah_announces_the_creation_of_Pakistan_over_All_India_Radio.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Jinnah delivers a speech via radio.</div></div></div> <p>For all his efforts to create an Islamic state, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a <a href="/wiki/Secular" title="Secular">secular</a> man who barely went to mosque services and occasionally ate pork.<sup id="cite_ref-parti_58-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-parti-58">[58]</a></sup> He certainly wasn't the kind of Islamic extremist who would dominate Pakistan in the following decades. He started off as an effective <a href="/wiki/Dictator" class="mw-redirect" title="Dictator">dictator</a>, but he was determined to transform Pakistan into a parliamentary <a href="/wiki/Republic" title="Republic">republic</a> where religious minorities would be treated equally.<sup id="cite_ref-68" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-68">[68]</a></sup> That was easier planned than done. The Muslim League had been so preoccupied with getting its Pakistani idea implemented that it had never considered what it would <i>do</i> after it became a reality. While the Indian National Congress had drawn up plans on how to build a modern Indian nation, the Muslim League was utterly unprepared to cope with the difficult questions of what kind of government they wanted and what role Islam would have in it. Life comes at ya fast. </p> <div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:247px;"><a href="/wiki/File:21_Feb_1953_Dhaka_University_female_students_procession.png" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/21_Feb_1953_Dhaka_University_female_students_procession.png/245px-21_Feb_1953_Dhaka_University_female_students_procession.png" decoding="async" width="245" height="188" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/21_Feb_1953_Dhaka_University_female_students_procession.png/368px-21_Feb_1953_Dhaka_University_female_students_procession.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/21_Feb_1953_Dhaka_University_female_students_procession.png/490px-21_Feb_1953_Dhaka_University_female_students_procession.png 2x" data-file-width="1374" data-file-height="1056" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:21_Feb_1953_Dhaka_University_female_students_procession.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Women marching in a Bengali Language Movement protest, 1953.</div></div></div> <p>Jinnah's dream of Pakistani <a href="/wiki/Democracy" title="Democracy">democracy</a> thus never really materialized. Amid political instability and public dissatisfaction, the Muslim League increasingly relied on <a href="/wiki/Authoritarian" class="mw-redirect" title="Authoritarian">strict</a> laws left over by the British to suppress dissent. That tendency could primarily be seen in how Pakistan's government treated East Pakistan, the province that <a href="/wiki/Indira_Gandhi#Administration_and_policies" title="Indira Gandhi">would eventually become</a> the independent <a href="/wiki/Bangladesh" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a>. Pakistan's government was dominated by Urdu-speaking people from the western portion of Pakistan, and they wasted no time in declaring their Urdu language the only official language in Pakistan.<sup id="cite_ref-69" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-69">[69]</a></sup> This infuriated the people of Bangladesh, who realized that they were being intentionally excluded from the government.<sup id="cite_ref-70" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-70">[70]</a></sup> Their protests and rioting were uncontrollable despite being met with bullets from police, and Pakistan's government eventually caved.<sup id="cite_ref-71" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-71">[71]</a></sup> Unfortunately, things didn't get much better for East Pakistan. </p><p>Closer to home, Jinnah's secular instincts were also not shared by the other Pakistani politicians. In 1949, Pakistan's parliament passed the "Objectives Resolution", which proclaimed their intent to devote Pakistan's government to Islamic principles and the "sovereignty of Allah".<sup id="cite_ref-72" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-72">[72]</a></sup> Uh-oh. </p><p>Much of that early Islamic fundamentalism materialized due to the high influence Muslim clergy had gained in Pakistani society, especially in urban areas. Thus, they had the ear of most of Pakistan's politicians, and no politician's career could survive if the clergy denounced them as "un-Islamic".<sup id="cite_ref-73" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-73">[73]</a></sup> </p><p>Rather predictably, the parliamentary system collapsed due to a general lack of faith in it. In 1958, Pakistan's president Iskander Mirza suspended the constitution with military support before being ousted and replaced with a military dictator, General Ayub Khan.<sup id="cite_ref-74" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-74">[74]</a></sup> </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="1965_Indo-Pakistan_War">1965 Indo-Pakistan War</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: 1965 Indo-Pakistan War">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Destroyed_Sherman_Tank_(1965_Indo-Pak_War).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Destroyed_Sherman_Tank_%281965_Indo-Pak_War%29.jpg/275px-Destroyed_Sherman_Tank_%281965_Indo-Pak_War%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="178" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Destroyed_Sherman_Tank_%281965_Indo-Pak_War%29.jpg/413px-Destroyed_Sherman_Tank_%281965_Indo-Pak_War%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b1/Destroyed_Sherman_Tank_%281965_Indo-Pak_War%29.jpg/550px-Destroyed_Sherman_Tank_%281965_Indo-Pak_War%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="796" data-file-height="514" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Destroyed_Sherman_Tank_(1965_Indo-Pak_War).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Indian soldier poses with a destroyed Pakistani tank.</div></div></div> <p>If all of that wasn't shitty enough, tensions with India also started ramping up through the 1960s. Another unresolved issue between the two countries concerned the Indian state of Gujarat, south of Sindh, which also had a fairly large historical Muslim presence and many Muslims still living there.<sup id="cite_ref-75" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-75">[75]</a></sup> It also helped that the Rann of Kutch, part of Gujarat, had a shitload of natural gas, making the region extremely valuable.<sup id="cite_ref-76" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-76">[76]</a></sup> Oh, and Kashmir played into it too as Pakistan launched a vast covert operation in an attempt to spark a Muslim insurgency against India.<sup id="cite_ref-77" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-77">[77]</a></sup> </p><p>Pakistan had cozied up to the <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> during the <a href="/wiki/Cold_War" title="Cold War">Cold War</a> and, as a result, enjoyed significant military aid from the Western Bloc.<sup id="cite_ref-78" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-78">[78]</a></sup> However, India still possessed an advantage of numbers and had superior military training. Nonetheless, Pakistan had its own armed forces, and the outbreak of war saw the largest deployment and warfare among armored vehicles since <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-79" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-79">[79]</a></sup> </p><p>The war ultimately resulted in a cease-fire and status quo, as India had beaten back Pakistan's invasion of Gujarat while Pakistan had beaten back India's surprise attack against Lahore.<sup id="cite_ref-80" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-80">[80]</a></sup> That hasn't stopped both India and Pakistan from claiming victory. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Military_dictatorship">Military dictatorship</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Military dictatorship">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:327px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Arrival_Ceremonies_for_Mohammad_Ayub_Khan,_President_of_Pakistan_crop_use_(cropped).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Arrival_Ceremonies_for_Mohammad_Ayub_Khan%2C_President_of_Pakistan_crop_use_%28cropped%29.jpg/325px-Arrival_Ceremonies_for_Mohammad_Ayub_Khan%2C_President_of_Pakistan_crop_use_%28cropped%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="325" height="183" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Arrival_Ceremonies_for_Mohammad_Ayub_Khan%2C_President_of_Pakistan_crop_use_%28cropped%29.jpg/488px-Arrival_Ceremonies_for_Mohammad_Ayub_Khan%2C_President_of_Pakistan_crop_use_%28cropped%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Arrival_Ceremonies_for_Mohammad_Ayub_Khan%2C_President_of_Pakistan_crop_use_%28cropped%29.jpg/650px-Arrival_Ceremonies_for_Mohammad_Ayub_Khan%2C_President_of_Pakistan_crop_use_%28cropped%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="908" data-file-height="511" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Arrival_Ceremonies_for_Mohammad_Ayub_Khan,_President_of_Pakistan_crop_use_(cropped).jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Ayub Khan with US president <a href="/wiki/JFK" class="mw-redirect" title="JFK">JFK</a> in <a href="/wiki/Maryland" class="mw-redirect" title="Maryland">Maryland</a>.</div></div></div> <p>After taking over the government following President Iskander Mirza's attempted coup, General Ayub Khan suspended the parliamentary system and ruled Pakistan as its military dictator. According to him, he did this to restore "order". Khan imposed <a href="/wiki/Martial_law" title="Martial law">martial law</a> to crack down on <a href="/wiki/Crime" title="Crime">crime</a>, and he also flipped the civil service upside down to root out corruption.<sup id="cite_ref-81" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-81">[81]</a></sup> </p><p>Although he ruled like a typical autocrat, the Ayub Khan years were relatively benign by the standards of military dictatorships. The army maintained low visibility, and most government affairs were left in the hands of the civil service. Khan himself understood the need for good public relations and thus kept a high public profile and even expanded Bengali involvement in government.Women also benefited, as Khan implemented some humane policies restricting their unfair treatment in marriage while cracking down on any religious authorities who objected. The Ayub Khan years had their bright points but still sucked for all the people who got tossed in jail for mouthing off to him. Despite his authoritarianism, Khan cozied up to the United States for most of his reign, only seeking other benefactors after the US sanctioned him for attacking India.<sup id="cite_ref-82" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-82">[82]</a></sup> </p><p>Things eventually went south for Ayub Khan after failing to win any territory in the 1965 war and the general economic downturn.<sup id="cite_ref-83" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-83">[83]</a></sup> He also had Bengali activist Shiekh Mujibur Rahman arrested on trumped-up charges, resulting in significant social unrest in Bangladesh.<sup id="cite_ref-84" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-84">[84]</a></sup> Together, these factors weakened his political position and allowed him to be overthrown by a much nastier personality: Yahya Khan. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Bangladesh_war_and_genocide">Bangladesh war and genocide</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Bangladesh war and genocide">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Pakistan_soldier_beats_Bengali.jpeg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/6/63/Pakistan_soldier_beats_Bengali.jpeg/300px-Pakistan_soldier_beats_Bengali.jpeg" decoding="async" width="300" height="180" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/6/63/Pakistan_soldier_beats_Bengali.jpeg/450px-Pakistan_soldier_beats_Bengali.jpeg 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/6/63/Pakistan_soldier_beats_Bengali.jpeg/600px-Pakistan_soldier_beats_Bengali.jpeg 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="720" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Pakistan_soldier_beats_Bengali.jpeg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Brutal treatment towards Bengali freedom fighters.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Kill three million of them, and the rest will eat out of our hands.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Yahya Khan orders <a href="/wiki/Genocide" title="Genocide">genocide</a> against Bangladesh.<sup id="cite_ref-pakgeno_85-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pakgeno-85">[85]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Yahya Khan's cruel personality proved to be just the wrong leadership quality at the wrong time. He put Pakistan under martial law again after holding elections in 1970 that favored a Bengali independence party.<sup id="cite_ref-86" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-86">[86]</a></sup>He also started sending troops into East Pakistan, hoping to forcefully prevent any dissent from the Bengalis. As the Bengali Language Movement showed, though, the Bengalis didn't tend to react well to this kind of coercion. </p><p>Deciding that he needed to get serious, Yahya Khan ordered the Pakistani military to begin a massive state terror campaign against the Bengali people, killing hundreds of Bengalis and capturing Mujib.<sup id="cite_ref-87" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-87">[87]</a></sup> Pakistan detained foreign journalists and then expelled them from Pakistani soil to hide their atrocities. Some reporters evaded the censorship net and estimated that between 300,000 to 1,000,000 Bengalis died in 1971.<sup id="cite_ref-88" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-88">[88]</a></sup> </p> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:The_IAF_strikes_the_enemy%27s_rail_communication_in_West_Pakistan,_Dec_71.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/The_IAF_strikes_the_enemy%27s_rail_communication_in_West_Pakistan%2C_Dec_71.jpg/250px-The_IAF_strikes_the_enemy%27s_rail_communication_in_West_Pakistan%2C_Dec_71.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="158" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b2/The_IAF_strikes_the_enemy%27s_rail_communication_in_West_Pakistan%2C_Dec_71.jpg/375px-The_IAF_strikes_the_enemy%27s_rail_communication_in_West_Pakistan%2C_Dec_71.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/The_IAF_strikes_the_enemy%27s_rail_communication_in_West_Pakistan%2C_Dec_71.jpg 2x" data-file-width="443" data-file-height="280" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:The_IAF_strikes_the_enemy%27s_rail_communication_in_West_Pakistan,_Dec_71.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Indian airstrike on West Pakistan.</div></div></div> <p>The war quickly escalated to the point where Yahya Khan basically decided to commit what amounted to <a href="/wiki/Genocide" title="Genocide">genocide</a> against the Bengali people. In the first phase of the slaughter, Pakistan targeted young men, academics, and Hindus. Later, Pakistani forces went after women. Modern historians estimate that at least 200,000 women were <a href="/wiki/Rape" title="Rape">raped</a> by the Pakistani troops, many in "rape camps".<sup id="cite_ref-pakgeno_85-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-pakgeno-85">[85]</a></sup> Many tens of thousands of refugees fled the violence into neighboring India. </p><p>In the end, India became Bangladesh's saving grace. Anthony Mascarenhas, a British-Pakistani reporter, published the truth about the horrific atrocities committed by Pakistan in a <a href="/wiki/UK" class="mw-redirect" title="UK">UK</a> newspaper, decisively turning global opinion against Pakistan.<sup id="cite_ref-89" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-89">[89]</a></sup> Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who had already been considering attacking Pakistan due to the refugee crisis,<sup id="cite_ref-90" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-90">[90]</a></sup> was personally shocked at the article's contents and resolved to intervene militarily. </p><p>Seeing that India was mobilizing, Pakistan tried to launch a preemptive air strike against Indian bases, hoping that the strategy would work like it had worked for <a href="/wiki/Israel" title="Israel">Israel</a> in the then-recent Six-Day War.<sup id="cite_ref-91" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-91">[91]</a></sup> It didn't, and India was really, really pissed off. Since the Pakistanis had been waging what was basically a counter-insurgency and massacre war, their military was not at all prepared to defend themselves against the overwhelming invasion India committed against both sides of Pakistan.<sup id="cite_ref-92" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-92">[92]</a></sup> Pakistan surrendered shortly after that and agreed to Bengali independence, while India smugly strutted around after having humiliated their enemy and stopped a genocide.<sup id="cite_ref-93" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-93">[93]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Modern_Pakistan">Modern Pakistan</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Modern Pakistan">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:NixonBhutto1973.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/NixonBhutto1973.jpg/165px-NixonBhutto1973.jpg" decoding="async" width="165" height="241" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/NixonBhutto1973.jpg/248px-NixonBhutto1973.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/NixonBhutto1973.jpg/330px-NixonBhutto1973.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1600" data-file-height="2337" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:NixonBhutto1973.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Bhutto with <a href="/wiki/Richard_Nixon" title="Richard Nixon">Richard Nixon</a> in the White House.</div></div></div> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Reconstruction_and_a_new_constitution">Reconstruction and a new constitution</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Reconstruction and a new constitution">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <p>After Pakistan got its shit pushed in by India, Yahya Khan resigned the presidency in disgrace to be replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto under intense public pressure. Bhutto was smart enough to realize that things had to change, so he instituted some quasi-<a href="/wiki/Socialist" class="mw-redirect" title="Socialist">socialist</a> policies to repair Pakistan's <a href="/wiki/Economy" class="mw-redirect" title="Economy">economy</a> and then fix the country's image.<sup id="cite_ref-bhut_94-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-bhut-94">[94]</a></sup> Most importantly, though, Bhutto decided that Pakistan needed a way to deter any foreign invasions. This is when Pakistan began developing its nuclear capabilities, first with nuclear power plants and eventually escalating to weapons experiments.<sup id="cite_ref-eating-grass_95-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-eating-grass-95">[95]</a></sup><sup class="reference" style="white-space:nowrap;">:404</sup> </p><p>In 1972, Bhutto lifted martial law and re-convened parliament to build a new constitution to ensure democratic rule in Pakistan. While creating a democratic framework, the constitution also ended up with multiple sections ensuring that Pakistan's laws would be Islamic and dedicated to religion.<sup id="cite_ref-96" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-96">[96]</a></sup> The constitution was promulgated in 1973 and remains in force today. </p><p>The constitutional process had exposed serious divisions between Bhutto's leftist faction and the conservative Muslims, and political tensions exploded into a bloodless coup led by conservative military leader Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.<sup id="cite_ref-97" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-97">[97]</a></sup> Bhutto was later tortured for years, put on a show trial, and executed. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="More_dictatorship">More dictatorship</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: More dictatorship">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:President_Ronald_Reagan_and_Bill_Clark_meeting_with_President_Mohammad_Zia_Ul_Haq.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/President_Ronald_Reagan_and_Bill_Clark_meeting_with_President_Mohammad_Zia_Ul_Haq.jpg/275px-President_Ronald_Reagan_and_Bill_Clark_meeting_with_President_Mohammad_Zia_Ul_Haq.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="181" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/President_Ronald_Reagan_and_Bill_Clark_meeting_with_President_Mohammad_Zia_Ul_Haq.jpg/413px-President_Ronald_Reagan_and_Bill_Clark_meeting_with_President_Mohammad_Zia_Ul_Haq.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/President_Ronald_Reagan_and_Bill_Clark_meeting_with_President_Mohammad_Zia_Ul_Haq.jpg/550px-President_Ronald_Reagan_and_Bill_Clark_meeting_with_President_Mohammad_Zia_Ul_Haq.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4000" data-file-height="2636" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:President_Ronald_Reagan_and_Bill_Clark_meeting_with_President_Mohammad_Zia_Ul_Haq.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Zia-ul-Haq meets with <a href="/wiki/Ronald_Reagan" title="Ronald Reagan">Ronald Reagan</a> and the US Secretary of State to coordinate anti-<a href="/wiki/Soviet" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet">Soviet</a> strategies.</div></div></div> <p>Zia banned political activity and had hundreds of journalists and politicians arrested to secure his power. Although he never suspended the constitution, he did use the "doctrine of necessity" to claim that he was taking action to defend the constitution against disorder.<sup id="cite_ref-zia_98-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-zia-98">[98]</a></sup> The Pakistani Supreme Court, which Zia had packed with cronies, ruled with him. </p><p>A staunch religious fundamentalist, Zia quickly began erasing secularism and replacing it with firm <a href="/wiki/Islamism" title="Islamism">Islamism</a>. He established courts based on <a href="/wiki/Sharia" title="Sharia">sharia</a> to assign punishments for crimes like drinking <a href="/wiki/Alcohol" title="Alcohol">alcohol</a>, <a href="/wiki/Prostitution" title="Prostitution">prostitution</a>, <a href="/wiki/Sex" title="Sex">fornication</a>, and adultery.<sup id="cite_ref-zia_98-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-zia-98">[98]</a></sup> He even tried in 1985 to make religious law supreme over the constitution, but this attempt luckily failed when parliament refused to consider it. </p><p>Zia also closely cooperated with the United States and the <a href="/wiki/Ronald_Reagan" title="Ronald Reagan">Ronald Reagan</a> administration, especially at the outbreak of the <a href="/wiki/Soviet-Afghan_War" class="mw-redirect" title="Soviet-Afghan War">Soviet-Afghan War</a>. The dictator even took some ideological ideas from Reagan and declared himself the defender of "Islamic <a href="/wiki/Conservatism" title="Conservatism">conservatism</a>".<sup id="cite_ref-99" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-99">[99]</a></sup> Reagan, in turn, declared Pakistan a "front line" US ally against Soviet <a href="/wiki/Communism" title="Communism">communism</a>. The US and Pakistan heavily involved themselves in propping up the Islamist <i>mujahideen</i> in Afghanistan against the Soviet invaders.<sup id="cite_ref-100" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-100">[100]</a></sup> Pakistan also hosted religious schools funded by <a href="/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> to further radicalize the Afghans.<sup id="cite_ref-101" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-101">[101]</a></sup> <sup id="cite_ref-102" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-102">[102]</a></sup> Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became a vital base of operations for Afghan <a href="/wiki/Jihad" title="Jihad">jihad</a>, mainly due to its large Pashtun population.<sup id="cite_ref-103" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-103">[103]</a></sup> That would be a problem later. </p><p>The dictator later perished in a suspicious but still mysterious airplane crash in 1988, opening the way for a resumption of democratic rule.<sup id="cite_ref-zia_98-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-zia-98">[98]</a></sup> </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Instability_and_nuclear_tests">Instability and nuclear tests</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: Instability and nuclear tests">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Chagaiatomictests.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Chagaiatomictests.jpg/250px-Chagaiatomictests.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="156" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Chagaiatomictests.jpg/375px-Chagaiatomictests.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3f/Chagaiatomictests.jpg/500px-Chagaiatomictests.jpg 2x" data-file-width="710" data-file-height="442" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Chagaiatomictests.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Pakistan's first underground nuclear test, 1998.</div></div></div> <p>Following Zia's death, elections saw Benazir Bhutto take office as Pakistan's first female prime minister.<sup id="cite_ref-104" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-104">[104]</a></sup> Although secular and well-meaning, her time in office was plagued by further conflict between leftists and hardline Islamists, a political battle that took a toll on Pakistan's economy.<sup id="cite_ref-105" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-105">[105]</a></sup> </p><p>During this period, anger between India and Pakistan started rising again. India had beat Pakistan to the bomb, testing their first weapon in 1974<sup id="cite_ref-106" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-106">[106]</a></sup> and then testing more bombs in 1998.<sup id="cite_ref-107" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-107">[107]</a></sup> This scared the fuck out of Pakistan and the US, whose intelligence agencies had somehow ultimately failed to predict any of this. Pakistan sprinted to the finish line and tested its first weapon in 1998 underneath mountains in Baluchistan, later releasing photographic evidence in the hopes of shocking the world.<sup id="cite_ref-108" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-108">[108]</a></sup> The world was shocked, and the <a href="/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations</a> Security Council officially condemned the tests and later sanctioned both parties.<sup id="cite_ref-109" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-109">[109]</a></sup> Nonetheless, Pakistan did another round of tests, apparently just to flip India the middle finger.<sup id="cite_ref-eating-grass_95-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-eating-grass-95">[95]</a></sup> Surely nothing bad could come of all this brinksmanship, right? </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Kargil_War">Kargil War</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Kargil War">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Kargil_burial.jpeg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/c/c5/Kargil_burial.jpeg/300px-Kargil_burial.jpeg" decoding="async" width="300" height="198" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/c/c5/Kargil_burial.jpeg/450px-Kargil_burial.jpeg 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/c/c5/Kargil_burial.jpeg/600px-Kargil_burial.jpeg 2x" data-file-width="1141" data-file-height="752" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Kargil_burial.jpeg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Indian soldiers bury slain Pakistanis in the Kashmir mountains.</div></div></div> <p>Amid rising tensions, Pakistan tried launching a covert operation to infiltrate Indian-controlled Kashmir again, a bad idea that predictably resulted in open war. While Pakistan insisted that it was simply providing basic aid to help "freedom fighters" survive, India retaliated by bombing the shit out of all Pakistani personnel found past the Line of Control.<sup id="cite_ref-110" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-110">[110]</a></sup> </p><p>The Kargil War was unique mainly for its altitude. The war was fought in the Kashmiri portion of the Himalayas mountain range, a tactical situation that posed complex challenges.<sup id="cite_ref-111" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-111">[111]</a></sup> Many thousands of refugees on both sides of the line were driven out of their homes by the fighting, and many haven't been able to return. </p><p>After three months and hundreds of war deaths, both sides eventually agreed to a cease-fire as harsh winter set in, and people started freezing to death in the inhospitable Himalayas.<sup id="cite_ref-112" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-112">[112]</a></sup> Once again, both sides claimed victory. Both sides still glare at each other over the Line of Control, waiting for another conflict to break out. </p> <h4><span class="mw-headline" id="Dealing_with_the_Taliban">Dealing with the Taliban</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Dealing with the Taliban">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h4> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Taliban_Pakistan.jpeg" class="image"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/e/e8/Taliban_Pakistan.jpeg/275px-Taliban_Pakistan.jpeg" decoding="async" width="275" height="193" class="thumbimage" srcset="/w/images/thumb/e/e8/Taliban_Pakistan.jpeg/413px-Taliban_Pakistan.jpeg 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/e/e8/Taliban_Pakistan.jpeg/550px-Taliban_Pakistan.jpeg 2x" data-file-width="760" data-file-height="532" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Taliban_Pakistan.jpeg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Taliban militants in Pakistan.</div></div></div> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Taliban" title="Taliban">Taliban</a></div> <p>More than just about any power (the US is close), Pakistan is responsible for turning the Taliban into a <a href="/wiki/Terrorist" class="mw-redirect" title="Terrorist">terrorist</a> menace. Under the Zia dictatorship, Pakistan provided aid and radicalization to the <i>mujahideen</i> factions, many of which would become the Taliban. Even after the war, Pakistan strategically aided the Taliban faction in Afghanistan's inter-mujahideen <a href="/wiki/Civil_war" title="Civil war">civil war</a>. Why would they do this? Control. More than anything else, Pakistan wanted a nice, stable border with Afghanistan to focus their military might on defending their eastern frontier against India.<sup id="cite_ref-tal_113-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-tal-113">[113]</a></sup> The idea was that the Taliban would be dependent on aid from Pakistan and would therefore be a useful and docile proxy. </p> <div class="thumb tleft"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:252px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Osama_bin_Laden_compound1.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Osama_bin_Laden_compound1.jpg/250px-Osama_bin_Laden_compound1.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="161" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Osama_bin_Laden_compound1.jpg/375px-Osama_bin_Laden_compound1.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Osama_bin_Laden_compound1.jpg/500px-Osama_bin_Laden_compound1.jpg 2x" data-file-width="631" data-file-height="406" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Osama_bin_Laden_compound1.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan before the raid.</div></div></div> <p>However, there were a few factors that Pakistan didn't consider. First, the Taliban were mostly Pashtun, and Pashtun tribespeople tend to feel loyalty to their own over any foreign government.<sup id="cite_ref-114" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-114">[114]</a></sup> Secondly, the Taliban were considerably more radical and less pragmatic than the government in Islamabad.<sup>[<i>citation NOT needed</i>]</sup> Long story short, the Taliban took over Afghanistan, established a brutal <a href="/wiki/Theocracy" title="Theocracy">theocracy</a>, and then surprised the shit out of everyone by harboring <a href="/wiki/Osama_bin_Laden" title="Osama bin Laden">Osama bin Laden</a> and <a href="/wiki/Al-Qaeda" title="Al-Qaeda">Al-Qaeda</a> after the <a href="/wiki/9/11" title="9/11">9/11</a> attacks. </p><p>At the outbreak of the <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan_War" title="Afghanistan War">Afghanistan War</a>, the old Durand line problem came into play. With Pashtun populations on both sides of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, the Taliban were able to hop back and forth across the border to seek refuge from the Americans and launch attacks. As a result, the whole area has become a lawless hub of terrorism, criminality, and good ol' fashioned drug-smuggling.<sup id="cite_ref-115" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-115">[115]</a></sup> Pakistan actually tried to restore order across the border, but the Taliban managed to fight them off and force Pakistan to sign an agreement effectively conceding their autonomy.<sup id="cite_ref-116" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-116">[116]</a></sup> </p><p>Meanwhile, Pakistan has been softly trying to sabotage the American campaign in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the US tolerates it and allows the Taliban to operate from Pakistani soil because the alliance with Pakistan is apparently too valuable to risk.<sup id="cite_ref-117" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-117">[117]</a></sup> Even with continuing Pakistani support for the Taliban, a Taliban-aligned terrorist group has emerged in Pakistan to begin launching attacks due to anger at Pakistan's alliance with the US.<sup id="cite_ref-118" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-118">[118]</a></sup> </p><p>Also, Osama bin Laden somehow managed to find refuge on Pakistani soil, and Pakistan's government was furious when the US launched a raid to kill him without informing them.<sup id="cite_ref-119" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-119">[119]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Government">Government</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Government">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:277px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Supreme_Court_of_Pakistan,_Islamabad_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Supreme_Court_of_Pakistan%2C_Islamabad_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg/275px-Supreme_Court_of_Pakistan%2C_Islamabad_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg" decoding="async" width="275" height="184" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Supreme_Court_of_Pakistan%2C_Islamabad_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg/413px-Supreme_Court_of_Pakistan%2C_Islamabad_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/86/Supreme_Court_of_Pakistan%2C_Islamabad_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg/550px-Supreme_Court_of_Pakistan%2C_Islamabad_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1840" data-file-height="1232" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Supreme_Court_of_Pakistan,_Islamabad_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Pakistan Supreme Court building in Islamabad.</div></div></div> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Islamic_republic">Islamic republic</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Islamic republic">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Like <a href="/wiki/Iran" title="Iran">Iran</a>, Pakistan declares itself an "Islamic republic" with Islam as the official state religion. Although Pakistan is far more genuinely democratic than Iran, <a href="/wiki/Religion" title="Religion">religion</a> still influences public affairs. The president, for instance, is elected with universal suffrage, but the constitution stipulates that he must be a Muslim.<sup id="cite_ref-120" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-120">[120]</a></sup> Although religious minorities may gain office in the parliament, the president holds significant power over the legislature and may dismiss it and call for elections at will. The president is advised by the Council of Islamic Ideology, which makes recommendations on how to bring Pakistan's laws further into accordance with Islamic tenets.<sup id="cite_ref-121" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-121">[121]</a></sup> </p><p>The Federal Shariat Court ensures that Pakistan's laws are consistent with Islamic religious laws. At least three justices need to be top-level Islamic scholars, called <i>ulama</i>. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Foreign_relations">Foreign relations</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Foreign relations">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Pakistan has a rather unique place in the world. It's a close ally of the United States, theoretically cooperating with the US on counterterrorism operations.<sup id="cite_ref-122" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-122">[122]</a></sup> The alliance has more recently been strained over issues like the US killing bin Laden on Pakistani soil and Pakistan's continuing covert aid to factions in the Taliban. </p><p>Despite being strategically aligned with the US, Pakistan is an even closer ally with <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a>. China's support for Pakistan has been uncompromising for decades since the two countries stand together against India, and Pakistan benefits significantly from Chinese development aid and trade.<sup id="cite_ref-123" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-123">[123]</a></sup> Perhaps strangest of all, Pakistan maintains close relations with Iran, making it one of the only <a href="/wiki/Sunni" title="Sunni">Sunni</a>-majority nations to do so.<sup id="cite_ref-124" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-124">[124]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Human_rights">Human rights</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Human rights">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Benazir_bhutto_1989.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Benazir_bhutto_1989.jpg/300px-Benazir_bhutto_1989.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="201" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Benazir_bhutto_1989.jpg/450px-Benazir_bhutto_1989.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9b/Benazir_bhutto_1989.jpg/600px-Benazir_bhutto_1989.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2830" data-file-height="1900" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Benazir_bhutto_1989.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Benazir Bhutto was the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state. She was assassinated by religious extremists in 2007.<sup id="cite_ref-125" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-125">[125]</a></sup></div></div></div> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Violence_and_honor_killing">Violence and honor killing</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Violence and honor killing">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Early in 2020, the Independent Pakistan Human Rights Commission released a 264-page report condemning Pakistan's government for failing to protect its vulnerable people from widespread violence targeted against them. Examples of violence include "honor" killings, forced conversions of Hindus, abuse of women, and continued use of the <a href="/wiki/Death_penalty" class="mw-redirect" title="Death penalty">death penalty</a> for <a href="/wiki/Blasphemy" title="Blasphemy">blasphemy</a>. </p><p>"Honor" killings in Pakistan are horrible. That term refers to murders of family or community members (usually women) by people who think the victim has somehow dishonored them.<sup id="cite_ref-126" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-126">[126]</a></sup> Pakistan has a long cultural history of honor killings, and today Pakistan has by far the highest number of incidents per capita.<sup id="cite_ref-127" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-127">[127]</a></sup> Horrific stories from Pakistan include a woman named Saba Maqsood shot and dumped in a river for marrying a man of her choice, Farzana Iqbal being beaten to death by her father and cousins and even <a href="/wiki/Police" class="mw-redirect" title="Police">police</a> with bricks also for marrying for love, and Ayat Bibi being bludgeoned to death on the orders of a local cleric after being accused by a male family member of fornication.<sup id="cite_ref-128" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-128">[128]</a></sup> As you can see, religious fundamentalism in Pakistan has a disturbing ability to turn family members against each other to the point of brutal murder. </p> <h3><span id="Women's_rights"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Women.27s_rights">Women's rights</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: Women's rights">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Women face extreme persecution and inequality in Pakistan, mainly due to culture and religious law. Despite laws against it, forced child marriage of young girls is still widely practiced in Pakistan, and girls subjected to this effectively become <a href="/wiki/Slave" class="mw-redirect" title="Slave">enslaved</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-129" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-129">[129]</a></sup> It's often done to settle blood feuds, and refusal from the girls can be met, as you've seen above, with extreme violence. Local authorities also can force child marriage even without the family's consent, as demonstrated in 2012 when the Ashari village council forced the Roza family to marry off their 6-year-old daughter to settle a feud.<sup id="cite_ref-130" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-130">[130]</a></sup> </p><p>Dowry or bride price is common in Pakistan too, and this can result in murder or <a href="/wiki/Torture" title="Torture">torture</a> of the woman over dowry disputes by the husband's family.<sup id="cite_ref-131" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-131">[131]</a></sup> Pakistan has the worst dowry murder rates in the world. Some of the worst cases involve women being burned alive or stuffed in stoves by their in-laws in retaliation for their family refusing to pay additional dowry.<sup id="cite_ref-132" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-132">[132]</a></sup> Police tend to chalk these murders up as <a href="/wiki/Suicide" title="Suicide">suicides</a>, even in the face of obvious evidence. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Rape" title="Rape">Rape</a> is also a severe danger women face. Women who attempt to report rape face disbelief and scorn from Pakistani authorities, especially in cases where police officers are the perpetrators, which are common.<sup id="cite_ref-133" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-133">[133]</a></sup> Pakistani law also allows marital rape, does not define any statutory rape, and disallows women from testifying in rape cases for many reasons.<sup id="cite_ref-134" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-134">[134]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Freedom_of_speech">Freedom of speech</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: Freedom of speech">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:B_W10%3D.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/B_W10%3D.jpg/300px-B_W10%3D.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="169" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/B_W10%3D.jpg/450px-B_W10%3D.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/B_W10%3D.jpg/600px-B_W10%3D.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1280" data-file-height="720" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:B_W10%3D.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Death warrant for a Pakistani blasphemer.</div></div></div> <p>Pakistan's local and federal governments intentionally foster an atmosphere of fear to prevent journalists from reporting on their abuses. Journalists face threats from government-aligned militant groups, and media outlets are ordered to not report on government abuses.<sup id="cite_ref-hrw_135-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-hrw-135">[135]</a></sup> People who continue despite this are often abducted and then beaten up. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Blasphemy_law">Blasphemy law</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: Blasphemy law">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Pakistan is also notorious for its highly draconian blasphemy laws, which criminalize various "offenses" against Islam or clergy. Based initially on colonial-era restrictions, Pakistan has repeatedly expanded the scope of the laws to cover mouthing off to religious authorities and questioning the Islamic prophet <a href="/wiki/Muhammad" title="Muhammad">Muhammad</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-blasi_1-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-blasi-1">[1]</a></sup> Far from policing religious issues, the blasphemy laws are more often used as a bludgeon to settle personal grievances, as people like to falsely accuse their enemies.<sup id="cite_ref-blasi_1-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-blasi-1">[1]</a></sup> Just an accusation can get someone in trouble. </p><p>Even when people aren't sentenced to death, those accused face extreme risk of mob violence and even vigilante murder as religious fanatics want to ensure that they are properly "punished".<sup id="cite_ref-136" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-136">[136]</a></sup> In fact, the Pakistani state rarely has to get its hands dirty. This is because vigilantes who murder accused blasphemers or religious minorities are basically immune from prosecution and instead treated as heroes by the public and government officials.<sup id="cite_ref-137" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-137">[137]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Genocide_denial">Genocide denial</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: Genocide denial">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Genocide_denial" class="mw-redirect" title="Genocide denial">Genocide denial</a></div> <p>Pakistan denies the aforementioned Bangladesh genocide and does not admit that its military committed war crimes during Bangladesh's war of independence.<sup id="cite_ref-138" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-138">[138]</a></sup> Only one army general has apologized about the genocide.<sup id="cite_ref-139" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-139">[139]</a></sup> Asma Jahangir, former <a href="/wiki/United_Nations" title="United Nations">United Nations</a> Secretary General, said that Pakistan refuses recognize the genocide due to the power of the military within the country, as the military doesn't want its image tarnished by acknowledgment of its past crimes.<sup id="cite_ref-140" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-140">[140]</a></sup> </p><p>Pakistan's government instead maintains that its military did not intend to mass murder the Bengalis and that the killings were limited in scale. The nation's defeat in the war left a lasting psychological impact on the public and government, spurring increased military spending and a rush to develop its nuclear program. Pakistani textbooks blame India entirely for the war, claiming that India influenced Bangladesh's Hindu minority population into pushing for independence and ignoring entirely how Pakistan's discriminatory policies alienated the people of Bangladesh.<sup id="cite_ref-141" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-141">[141]</a></sup> </p><p>According to <i>The Diplomat</i>, Pakistan believes that recognition of the atrocities committed will undermine the success of the two nation theory that defines India and Pakistan.<sup id="cite_ref-142" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-142">[142]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Gallery">Gallery</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: Gallery">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <center><ul class="gallery mw-gallery-traditional"> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 260px"><div style="width: 260px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 255px;"><div style="margin:67px auto;"><a href="/wiki/File:Islamabad_skyline.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Islamabad_skyline.jpg/250px-Islamabad_skyline.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="121" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/57/Islamabad_skyline.jpg/500px-Islamabad_skyline.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="1016" data-file-height="545" /></a></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <p>Skyline of Islamabad. </p> </div> </div></li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 260px"><div style="width: 260px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 255px;"><div style="margin:52.5px auto;"><a href="/wiki/File:Chicken_Tikka.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Chicken_Tikka.jpg/225px-Chicken_Tikka.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="150" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Chicken_Tikka.jpg/338px-Chicken_Tikka.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/73/Chicken_Tikka.jpg/450px-Chicken_Tikka.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1024" data-file-height="681" /></a></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <p>Tandoori chicken. </p> </div> </div></li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 260px"><div style="width: 260px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 255px;"><div style="margin:52.5px auto;"><a href="/wiki/File:Deosai_%22The_Land_of_Giants%22.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Deosai_%22The_Land_of_Giants%22.jpg/225px-Deosai_%22The_Land_of_Giants%22.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="150" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Deosai_%22The_Land_of_Giants%22.jpg/338px-Deosai_%22The_Land_of_Giants%22.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Deosai_%22The_Land_of_Giants%22.jpg/450px-Deosai_%22The_Land_of_Giants%22.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4752" data-file-height="3168" /></a></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <p>Mountains in northern Pakistan. </p> </div> </div></li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 260px"><div style="width: 260px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 255px;"><div style="margin:52.5px auto;"><a href="/wiki/File:Girls_in_school_in_Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa,_Pakistan_(7295675962).jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Girls_in_school_in_Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa%2C_Pakistan_%287295675962%29.jpg/225px-Girls_in_school_in_Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa%2C_Pakistan_%287295675962%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="150" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Girls_in_school_in_Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa%2C_Pakistan_%287295675962%29.jpg/338px-Girls_in_school_in_Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa%2C_Pakistan_%287295675962%29.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Girls_in_school_in_Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa%2C_Pakistan_%287295675962%29.jpg/450px-Girls_in_school_in_Khyber_Pakhtunkhwa%2C_Pakistan_%287295675962%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2500" data-file-height="1666" /></a></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <p>Pakistani schoolgirls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. </p> </div> </div></li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 260px"><div style="width: 260px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 255px;"><div style="margin:52px auto;"><a href="/wiki/File:Data_Durbar_as_more_then_one_decade_before_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Data_Durbar_as_more_then_one_decade_before_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg/225px-Data_Durbar_as_more_then_one_decade_before_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg" decoding="async" width="225" height="151" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Data_Durbar_as_more_then_one_decade_before_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg/338px-Data_Durbar_as_more_then_one_decade_before_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fa/Data_Durbar_as_more_then_one_decade_before_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg/450px-Data_Durbar_as_more_then_one_decade_before_by_Usman_Ghani.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1840" data-file-height="1232" /></a></div></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <p>Data Darbar, a Sufi shrine in Lahore. </p> </div> </div></li> </ul></center> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Imran_Khan" title="Imran Khan">Imran Khan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nawaz_Sharif" title="Nawaz Sharif">Nawaz Sharif</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Malala_Yousafzai" title="Malala Yousafzai">Malala Yousafzai</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kashmir" title="Kashmir">Kashmir</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Afghanistan_War" title="Afghanistan War">Afghanistan War</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> - Pakistan has very good relationship with country which is why they deny the <a href="/wiki/Armenian_genocide" class="mw-redirect" title="Armenian genocide">Armenian genocide</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=37" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li>See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Qadeer_Khan" class="extiw" title="wp:Abdul Qadeer Khan" rel="nofollow">Abdul Qadeer Khan</a>., a textbook version of an evil scientist</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Pakistan&action=edit&section=38" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:80%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-blasi-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-blasi_1-0">1.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-blasi_1-1">1.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-blasi_1-2">1.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/10/06/pakistan-end-ordeal-blasphemy-defendants">Pakistan: End Ordeal for ‘Blasphemy’ Defendants</a>. <i>Human Rights Watch.</i> 6 October 2019</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_and_dependencies_by_population" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries and dependencies by population" rel="nofollow">List of countries and dependencies by population</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/GpkIP">Pakistani Nuclear Forces</a> <i>Atomic Archive</i> </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.worldhistory.org/Indo-Greek/">Indo-Greek</a> ( <i>World History Encyclopedia</i> by Antoine Simonin published on 28 April 2011) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umayyad_campaigns_in_India" class="extiw" title="wp:Umayyad campaigns in India" rel="nofollow">Umayyad campaigns in India</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/mughalempire_1.shtml#:~:text=The%20Mughal%20(or%20Mogul)%20Empire,with%20a%20large%20Hindu%20majority.">Mughal Empire (1500s, 1600s)</a> <i>BBC religion</i> 7 September 2009 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/YbyyJ">A much-maligned Mughal</a> ( archived from Aeon 5 Apr 2017) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-48204815">What are Pakistan's blasphemy laws?</a> <i>BBC News.</i> on 8 May 2019 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/en/document/thematic-chronology-mass-violence-pakistan-1947-2007.html">THEMATIC CHRONOLOGY OF MASS VIOLENCE IN PAKISTAN, 1947-2007</a> <i>Science post</i> Baixas Lionel on 24 June, 2008</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/islamiclaw.blog/2020/08/13/islamic-constitutionalism-in-pakistan-is-it-theocratic/amp/">Islamic Constitutionalism in Pakistan: Is it Theocratic?</a> ( By Zubair Abbasi Islamic Law Blog) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-11">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-12278919">Pakistan's evolving sectarian schism</a>. <i>BBC News.</i> on 4 October 2011</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-12">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/weekinreview/10rohde.html">Al Qaeda Finds Its Center of Gravity</a> <i>The New York Times</i>. Sep 10, 2006</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-13">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/19/world/us-will-celebrate-pakistan-as-a-major-non-nato-ally.html">U.S. Will Celebrate Pakistan As a 'Major Non-NATO Ally'</a> <i>The New York Times</i> By David Rohde March 19, 2004 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-14">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20210426-pakistan-backs-turkey-on-armenia-genocide-claims/amp/">Pakistan backs Turkey on Armenia genocide claims </a> ( Originally posted on April 26 2021 on The Middle East monitor).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-nnever-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-nnever_15-0">15.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-nnever_15-1">15.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00islamlinks/txt_rahmatali_1933.html">Full text of the pamphlet "Now or Never," published by Choudhary Rahmat Ali as "Founder of Pakistan National Movement," in which the word "Pakistan" appears to have been used for the first time in a document (1933)</a>. <i>Columbia University.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-16">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North-West_Frontier_Province" class="extiw" title="wp:North-West Frontier Province" rel="nofollow">North-West Frontier Province</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-pakronym-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pakronym_17-0">17.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pakronym_17-1">17.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/acronyms-words-radar-taser-snafu-2018-6#pakistan-is-an-acronym-for-the-five-regions-it-comprised-6">11 words you probably didn't know were acronyms</a>. <i>Business Insider.</i> by Mark Abadi and Samantha Lee </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-18">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-stan" class="extiw" title="wp:-stan" rel="nofollow">-stan</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-ivc-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-ivc_19-0">19.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-ivc_19-1">19.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.ancient.eu/Indus_Valley_Civilization/">Indus Valley Civilization</a>. <i>Ancient History Encyclopedia.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-20">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/why-we-still-cant-read-the-writing-of-the-ancient-indus-civilization">Why We Still Can't Read the Writing of the Ancient Indus Civilization</a>. <i>Discover Magazine.</i> By Bridget Alex Jan 4, 2019 10:11</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-21">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/39DVs">Pakistan early civilizations</a> <i>Country Studies</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-22">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/Rx7i0">The Blight Of Hindustan</a> ( POSTED ON MONDAY, MAR 1, 2010 12:35AM BY NAMIT Arora ( archived from 3 Quarks Daily 14 August 2023)) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-23">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/fOiad">Vedic Period, Political History</a> (Kanad Sinha First published: 09 June 2023 (archived from Wiley Online library 14 August 2023)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-24">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Sarina Singh; Lindsay Brow; Paul Clammer; Rodney Cocks; John Mock (2008). Pakistan & the Karakoram Highway. Lonely Planet. pp. 60, 128, 376. ISBN 978-1-74104-542-0.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-25">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/zYrPA">Greco-Buddhism</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-26">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://scroll.in/article/721012/the-curious-case-of-dressing-up-an-8th-century-arab-as-the-true-founder-of-pakistan">Why some in Pakistan want to replace Jinnah as the founder of the country with an 8th century Arab</a>. <i>Scroll.in</i> Nadeem F Paracha Jun 22, 2015 · 01:30 pm </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-27">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/09Xzs">Ghaznavid and Ghorid Rule</a> ( archived from Country Studies 14 August 2023))</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-28">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/faXQ">ISLAM IN INDIA</a> ( archived from Country Studies 8 Jul 2012) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-29">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Hermann Kulke and Dietmar Rothermund, <i>A History of India</i>, 3rd Edition, Routledge, 1998, ISBN 0-415-15482-0, pp 187-190</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-30">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Babur">Bābur</a>. <i>Britannica.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-31">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Bosworth, C. Edmund (2007). <i>Historic Cities of the Islamic World</i>. Brill. ISBN 978-9047423836.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-mug-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-mug_32-0">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/history/mughalempire_1.shtml">Mughal Empire (1500s, 1600s)</a>. <i>BBC Religion.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-33">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/kTm4s">Akbar the Great</a>( archived from Biography.com 15 August 2023))</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-34">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external autonumber" href="https://archive.is/WzFg3">[1]</a>. UNESCO World Heritage. 15 August 2023 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-35">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/bbMf">THE MUGHAL PERIOD</a> ( archived from <i>Country Studies </i> 23 May 2012) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-36">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/rKrJt">Aurangzeb's Religious Policies : A Religious Orthodox or a fanatic Bigot</a> ( archived from Academia.edu 15 August 2023)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-37">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Jacques, Tony. <i>Dictionary of Battles and Sieges</i>. Greenwood Press. p. 562. ISBN 978-0-313-33536-5.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-38">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/O08Yk">The Sikh Army 1799–1849 (Men-at-Arms, 421)</a> ( archived from Amazon 15 August 2023))</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-39">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/rSzZf">Battle of Plassey</a> ( by Mark Cartwright published on 18 November 2022 ( archived from World History 15 August 2023))</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-40">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/AwnA">COMPANY RULE</a> ( archived from Country Studies 23 May 2012)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-41">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/AwnA">COMPANY RULE</a> ( archived from Country Studies 23 May 2012)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-sepoy-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-sepoy_42-0">42.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-sepoy_42-1">42.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thoughtco.com/sepoy-mutiny-of-1857-1774014">The Sepoy Mutiny of 1857</a>. <i>ThoughtCo.</i> By Robert McNamara Updated on November 07, 2020 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-43">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/indianexpress.com/article/research/how-delhi-was-destroyed-and-rebuilt-after-the-revolt-of-1857-8143433/lite/">How Delhi was destroyed and rebuilt after the revolt of 1857</a> <i>The Indian express</i> Written by Adrija Roychowdhury Updated: September 12, 2022 14:54 IST </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-44">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Rebellion_of_1857" class="extiw" title="wp:Indian Rebellion of 1857" rel="nofollow">Indian Rebellion of 1857</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-45">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_India_Act_1858" class="extiw" title="wp:Government of India Act 1858" rel="nofollow">Government of India Act 1858</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-46">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/sections/britain/periodicals/labour_monthly/1947/05/1947-05-indianarmy.htm">Imperialism and the Indian Army</a>. Niel Stewart. Labour Monthly, <i>Marxists Internet Archive.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-47">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/Vegu">THE BRITISH RAJ</a> ( archived from Country Studies 1 August 2012))</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-48">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/08/partition-british-game-divide-rule-170808101655163.html">The Partition: The British game of 'divide and rule'</a>. <i>Al Jazeera.</i> by Shashi Tharoor on 10 Aug 2017 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-49">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20131110103720/https://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/columns/02-Mar-2013/the-truth-about-pakistan">The truth about Pakistan</a>. <i>The Nation.</i> March 02, 2013 JUSTICE MARKANDEY KATJU</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-50">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.nationalgeographic.org/news/durand-line/">The Durand Line</a> <i>National Geographic.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-51">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/durand-line-friction-point-between-afghanistan-pakistan-7485631/lite/">Explained: Why Durand Line is a friction point between Afghanistan and Pakistan</a> (<i>The Indian express</i> Written by Nirupama Subramanian Updated: September 9, 2021) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-52">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Chandra, Bipan; Amales Tripathi; Barun De (1972). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.446595">Freedom struggle</a>. New Delhi: National Book Trust, India.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-53">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/qBrFV">The Muslim League and Jinnah</a> ( archived from British library 15 August 2023 Article written by: Ian Talbot on 7 November 2022)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-two-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-two_54-0">54.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-two_54-1">54.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://countrystudies.us/pakistan/12.htm">Pakistan: The Two-Nations Theory</a>. <i>Country Studies.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-55">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/1645576/amp">Pakistan Resolution Day: The Lahore Resolution and the creation of Pakistan</a>( <i>Arab News</i> MIAN SAIFUR REHMAN 23 March 2020) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-56">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/gCrDV">Toward Partition</a> ( archived from Country Studies 27 August 2023)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-57">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sri_Aurobindo#India's_Rebirth">Sri Aurobindo</a>. <i>Wikiquote.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-parti-58"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-parti_58-0">58.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-parti_58-1">58.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-parti_58-2">58.2</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-parti_58-3">58.3</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-parti_58-4">58.4</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-parti_58-5">58.5</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/29/the-great-divide-books-dalrymple">The Great Divide: The violent legacy of Indian Partition.</a> <i>The New Yorker.</i> By William Dalrymple June 22, 2015</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-59"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-59">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Ziegler, Philip (1985). <i>Mountbatten: The Official Biography</i>. London: HarperCollins. p. 359. ISBN 978-0002165433..</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-60"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-60">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thediplomat.com/2017/08/70-years-of-the-radcliffe-line-understanding-the-story-of-indian-partition/">70 Years of the Radcliffe Line: Understanding the Story of Indian Partition</a> ( By Akhilesh Pillalamarri August 19, 2017 <i>The Diplomat</i>)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-61"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-61">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Talbot, Ian (2009). "Partition of India: The Human Dimension". <i>Cultural and Social History</i>. 6 (4): 403–410. doi:10.2752/147800409X466254. "The number of casualties remains a matter of dispute, with figures being claimed that range from 200,000 to 2 million victims."</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-indp-62"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-indp_62-0">62.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-indp_62-1">62.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/MjPIq">Pakistan: Independent Pakistan</a>. ( archived from <i>Country Studies.</i> 7 July 2013) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-63"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-63">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3035377">The problem of East pakistan </a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-64"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-64">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pashtunistan" class="extiw" title="wp:Pashtunistan" rel="nofollow">Pashtunistan</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-65"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-65">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jammu_and_Kashmir_(princely_state)" class="extiw" title="wp:Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)" rel="nofollow">Jammu and Kashmir (princely state)</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-66"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-66">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/s46WK">The 1947- 48 war</a> (Archived from BBC news 19 Apr 2013) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-67"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-67">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Women in Security, Conflict Management, a Peace (Program) (2008). Closer to ourselves: stories from the journ towards peace in South Asia. WISCOMP, Foundation for Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lam 2008. p. 75</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-68"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-68">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/YBS7z">Constitutional Beginnings</a> ( archived from Country Studies 15 August 2023))</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-69"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-69">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Oldenburg, Philip (August 1985). "'A Place Insufficiently Imagined': Language, Belief, and the Pakistan Crisis of 1971". The Journal of Asian Studies. Association for Asian Studies. 44 (4): 711–733. doi:10.2307/2056443. ISSN 0021-9118. JSTOR 2056443.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-70"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-70">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Al Helal, B (2003). <i>Bhasha Andoloner Itihas (History of the Language Movement)</i> (in Bengali). Agamee Prakashani, Dhaka. ISBN 984-401-523-5.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-71"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-71">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/Uy7t">Transition to Nationhood, 1947-58</a> ( archived from Country Studies 9 Dec 2012) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-72"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-72">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectives_Resolution" class="extiw" title="wp:Objectives Resolution" rel="nofollow">Objectives Resolution</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-73"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-73">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/Lc8Xo">Pakistan</a> ( Oxford Islamic Studies Online Role of Islam in Pakistan, 1947-1970 ( archived from Oxford Islamic Studies 11 Jun 2016))</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-74"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-74">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/fa3Sq">Collapse of the Parliamentary System</a> ( archived from Country Studies 15 August 2023)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-75"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-75">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Brecher, Michael; Wilkenfeld, Jonathan (November 1997). <i>A study of crisis</i>. University of Michigan Press. pp. 171–172. ISBN 978-0-472-10806-0.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-76"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-76">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Rann-of-Kachchh">Rann of Kachchh</a> <i>Britannica</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-77"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-77">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-34136689.amp">Operation Gibraltar: The Pakistani troops who infiltrated Kashmir to start a rebellion</a> ( By M Ilyas Khan on 5 September 2015 <i>BBC News</i> </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-78"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-78">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/india-pakistan-war">The India-Pakistan War of 1965</a>. US State Department.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-79"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-79">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Higgins, David R. (20 January 2016), <i>M48 Patton vs Centurion: Indo-Pakistan War 1965,</i> Osprey Publishing, p. 103, ISBN 978-1-4728-1094-6</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-80"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-80">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.dw.com/en/why-neither-india-nor-pakistan-won-the-1965-war/a-18677930">Why neither India nor Pakistan won the 1965 war</a>. <i>Deutsche Welle.</i> Shivam Vij on 27 August 2015</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-81"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-81">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/ddSd">AYUB KHAN</a> ( archived from Country Studies 26 May 2012) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-82"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-82">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Malik, Hafeez (18 June 1990). Domestic Determinants of Soviet Foreign Policy towards South Asia and the Middle East. Springer. ISBN 9781349113187. p.174</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-83"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-83">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">James Wynbrandt (2009).<i> A brief history of Pakistan</i>. Infobase Publishing. pp. 190–197. ISBN 978-0-8160-6184-6.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-84"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-84">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/B3XTP">Bangladesh: Emerging Discontent, 1966-70</a>. ( archived from <i>Country Studies.</i> 21 April 2013)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-pakgeno-85"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pakgeno_85-0">85.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-pakgeno_85-1">85.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-war-bangladesh-can-never-forget-8501636.html">The war Bangladesh can never forget</a>. <i>The Independent.</i> Philip Hensher Tuesday 19 February 2013 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-86"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-86">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Omar, Imtiaz (2002). Emergency powers and the courts in India and Pakistan. England: Kluwer Law International. ISBN 978-9041117755.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-87"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-87">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/Ryqb">The War for Bangladeshi Independence, 1971</a> ( archived from CountryStudies 5 December 2012)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-88"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-88">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Obermeyer, Ziad; et al. (June 2008). "Fifty years of violent war deaths from Vietnam to Bosnia: analysis of data from the world health survey programme". British Medical Journal. 336 (7659): 1482–1486.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-89"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-89">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-16207201">Bangladesh war: The article that changed history</a>. <i>BBC News.</i>By Mark Dummett on 16 December 2011 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-90"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-90">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.webcitation.org/5kwrHv6ph?url=http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761588350_3/Indo-Pakistani_Wars.html">The Third Indo-Pakistani War</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-91"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-91">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.historynet.com/lessons-learned-from-operation-chenghiz-khan/">LESSONS LEARNED FROM OPERATION CHENGHIZ KHAN</a> <i>History.net</i> By JON GUTTMAN 10/9/2021</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-92"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-92">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><i>Indian Army after Independence,</i> by Maj KC Praval 1993 Lancer, p. 317 ISBN 1-897829-45-0</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-93"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-93">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/vijay-diwas-how-india-ended-pak-s-atrocities-and-ensured-freed-bangladesh-118121600120_1.html">1971 war: The story of India's victory, Pak's surrender, Bangladesh freedom</a>. <i>Business Standard.</i> Dec 16 2018 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-bhut-94"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-bhut_94-0">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/1S4T">Pakistan: Zulfikar Ali Bhutto</a>. ( archived from <i>Country Studies.</i> 22 May 2012)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-eating-grass-95"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-eating-grass_95-0">95.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-eating-grass_95-1">95.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text">Khan, Feroz Hassan (2012). <i>Eating grass : the making of the Pakistani bomb</i>. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780804776004" title="Special:BookSources/9780804776004">9780804776004</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-96"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-96">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/05/15/how-islamic-is-pakistans-constitution/#:~:text=Pakistan's%20first%20Constituent%20Assembly%20adopted,Saudi%20kings%20and%20mujtahids%20drafted">How Islamic Is Pakistan’s Constitution?</a> <i>Foreign Policy.</i> By Corri Zoli and Emily Schneider on MAY 15, 2014 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-97"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-97">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Fair_Play" class="extiw" title="wp:Operation Fair Play" rel="nofollow">Operation Fair Play</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-zia-98"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-zia_98-0">98.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-zia_98-1">98.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-zia_98-2">98.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/Legb">Zia Ul-Haq.</a> <i>Country Studies.</i> 26 May 2012 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-99"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-99">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Coll, Steve (2004). <i>Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001</i>. Penguin Press. pp. 695. ISBN 978-1-59420-007-6.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-100"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-100">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2014/08/the-soviet-war-in-afghanistan-1979-1989/100786/">The Soviet War in Afghanistan, 1979 - 1989</a>. <i>The Atlantic.</i> by ALAN Taylor on AUGUST 4, 2014</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-101"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-101">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/VtlKB">History of the Taliban</a> ( <i>ThoughtCo. </i> by Pierre Tristam Updated May 25, 2019 ( archived from ThoughtCo. 26 July 2019)) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-102"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-102">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/WjM61">THE ZIA REGIME</a> ( archived from CountryStudies 16 August 2023) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-103"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-103">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Haroon, Sana (2008). "The Rise of Deobandi Islam in the North-West Frontier Province and Its Implications in Colonial India and Pakistan 1914–1996". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 18 (1): 66–67. doi:10.1017/S1356186307007778. JSTOR 27755911.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-104"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-104">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/kq8CK">Benazir Bhutto</a>( archived from scu.edu 16 August 2023)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-105"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-105">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">ISHRAT HUSAIN /MAR 25, 2010 "<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://jia.sipa.columbia.edu/role-politics-pakistans-economy-0">Pakistan & Afghanistan: Domestic Pressures and Regional Threats: The Role of Politics in Pakistan's Economy</a>". Journal of International Affairs. 63 (1): 1–18.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-106"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-106">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-history/operation-smiling-buddha-nuclear-first-test-pokhran-history-8616714/lite/">Operation Smiling Buddha: The story of India’s first nuclear test at Pokhran in 1974</a> ( <i>The Indian express</i> By: Explained Desk Updated: May 19, 2023 10:22 IST) </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-107"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-107">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/pokhran-ii-a-moment-of-profound-epiphany/article66834378.ece/amp/">Pokhran-II: A moment of profound epiphany</a> <i>The Hindu</i> on May 11, 2023 12:15 am | Updated 11:42 am IST on AMITABH MATTOO,CHETAN RANA </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-108"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-108">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2008-06/looking-back-1998-indian-pakistani-nuclear-tests">LOOKING BACK: The 1998 Indian and Pakistani Nuclear Tests</a> ( <i>Arms Control accociation </i> by Michael Krepon </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-109"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-109">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/XQR7R">Security Council resolution 1172 (1998) on international peace and security, U.N. Doc. S/RES/1172 (1998).</a> ( archived from Human rights library 16 August 2023)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-110"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-110">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/KYDw">Kargil War</a>. ( archived from <i>BBC</i> 13 July 2012).</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-111"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-111">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-49101016">Kargil: The forgotten victims of the world's highest war</a>. <i>BBC News.</i> 26 July 2019 By M Ilyas Khan</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-112"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-112">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/20-years-kargil-war-india-pakistan-remain-tense-kashmir-190725205420082.html">20 years of Kargil war: India, Pakistan remain tense over Kashmir</a>. <i>Al Jazeera.</i> By Rifat Fareed Published On 26 Jul 2019</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-tal-113"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-tal_113-0">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/afghan2/Afghan0701-02.htm">Pakistan's Support of the Taliban</a>. <i>Human Rights Watch.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-114"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-114">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://larc.sdsu.edu/alcp/resources/afghanistan/culture-2/pashtunwali/">Pashtunwali</a> Afghanistan Language and Culture Program.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-115"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-115">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thehill.com/opinion/international/373150-pashtun-spring-time-to-redraw-the-boundary-between-pakistan-and">Pashtun Spring: Time to redraw the boundary between Pakistan and Afghanistan</a> <i>The Hill</i> BY AHMAD SHAH KATAWAZAI, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR - 02/13/18 10:00 AM ET.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-116"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-116">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.peaceagreements.org/view/1530">Peace Agreement in North Waziristan (Miranshah Peace Accord)</a> <i>Peace agreements database</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-117"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-117">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/03/the-pakistan-trap/550895/">The Devastating Paradox of Pakistan</a>. <i>The Atlantic.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-118"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-118">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2014/12/17/world/asia/pakistan-taliban-explainer/index.html">Who are the Pakistani Taliban?</a>. <i>CNN.</i> Ben Brumfield, CNN and Naomi Ng, for CNN Updated 9:23 AM EST, Wed December 17, 2014</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-119"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-119">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://apnews.com/e3e7f19ca5e4302b4c6af5ad3ff25a86">Pakistan’s prime minister says US ‘martyred’ bin Laden</a>. <i>Associated Press.</i> BY KATHY GANNON Published 10:33 AM GMT+3, June 26, 2020</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-120"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-120">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.is/QkbJN">Government structure</a>. archived from <i>Country Studies.</i> 11 Apr 2016</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-121"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-121">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://cii.gov.pk/">Council of Islamic Ideology</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-122"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-122">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Shahi, Abdul Sattar; foreword by Agha (2013). Pakistan's Foreign Policy, 1947–2012: A Concise History (Third ed.). Karachi: Oxford University Press, Shahi. ISBN 978-0-19-906910-1.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-123"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-123">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-south-asia-13418957">Pakistani PM hails China as his country's 'best friend'</a>. <i>BBC News.</i> 7 May 2011</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-124"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-124">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Anwar, Muhammad (2006). <i>Friends Near Home: Pakistan's Strategic Security Options</i>. Islamabad, Pakistan: AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-4670-1541-7.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-125"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-125">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See the <a href="/wiki/Wikipedia" title="Wikipedia">Wikipedia</a> article on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Benazir_Bhutto" class="extiw" title="wp:Assassination of Benazir Bhutto" rel="nofollow">Assassination of Benazir Bhutto</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-126"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-126">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Jafri, Amir H. (2008). <i>Honour killing: dilemma, ritual, understanding.</i> Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195476316. OCLC 180753749.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-127"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-127">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thediplomat.com/2022/07/honor-killings-continue-unabated-in-pakistan/">‘Honor Killings’ Continue Unabated in Pakistan</a> <i>The Diplomat</i> By Mariyam Suleman Anees July 28, 2022 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-128"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-128">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amnestyusa.org/shocking-surge-of-honor-killings-in-pakistan/">Surge of Honor Killings in Pakistan</a>. <i>Amnesty International.</i> By Mustafa Qadri, </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-129"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-129">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4499028.stm">Forced child marriage tests Pakistan law</a>. <i>BBC News.</i> By Barbara Plett Monday, 5 December 2005, 18:29 GMT </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-130"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-130">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.rferl.org/a/pakistan-swat-jirga-marry-off-6-year-old-girl-feud/24764045.html">Swat Jirga Forces Family To Marry Off 6-Year-Old Girl To Settle Feud</a>. <i>Radio Free Europe.</i> November 07, 2012 15:17 GMT By RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-131"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-131">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Hussain, R. (1999). "Community perceptions of reasons for preference for consanguineous marriages in Pakistan". <i>Journal of Biosocial Science</i>. 31 (4): 449–461. doi:10.1017/s0021932099004496. PMID 10581876.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-132"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-132">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://womensenews.org/2002/10/pakistans-fiery-shame-women-die-stove-deaths/">Pakistan’s Fiery Shame: Women Die in Stove Deaths</a>. <i>We News.</i> Juliette Terzieff October 27, 2002</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-133"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-133">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Brightman, Sara (2015). "Rights, women, and the state of Pakistan". <i>Contemporary Justice Review.</i> 18 (3): 334–351. doi:10.1080/10282580.2015.1057706.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-134"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-134">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">"Lives together, worlds apart : men and women in a time of change". <i>United Nations Population Fund</i>. [New York]: United Nations Population Fund. 2000. pp. 26–27. ISBN 978-0897145824. OCLC 44883096.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-hrw-135"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-hrw_135-0">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/pakistan">Pakistan 2019 Report</a>. <i>Human Rights Watch.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-136"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-136">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thediplomat.com/2020/07/pakistans-bloodthirsty-blasphemy-law-needs-to-be-repealed/">Pakistan’s Bloodthirsty Blasphemy Law Needs to Be Repealed</a>. <i>The Diplomat.</i> By Kunwar Khuldune Shahid July 31, 2020 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-137"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-137">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thediplomat.com/2019/03/how-pakistans-constitution-facilitates-blasphemy-lynching-and-forced-conversions/">How Pakistan’s Constitution Facilitates Blasphemy Lynching and Forced Conversions</a>. <i>The Diplomat.</i> By Kunwar Khuldune Shahid March 27, 2019</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-138"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-138">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.arabnews.com/world/news/843926">Pakistan denies war crimes in Bangladesh</a> <i>Arab News</i> AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE (December 02, 2015 03:00)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-139"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-139">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/bangladesh/1403185/Musharraf-apology-to-Bangladesh.html">Musharraf apology to Bangladesh</a> <i>The Telegraph</i> By David Blair in Islamabad (31 July 2002 12:01am)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-140"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-140">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20160302143504/http://archive.thedailystar.net/beta2/news/apology-not-made-due-to-army-factor/">Apology not made due to army factor</a> <i>The Daily Star</i> by Hasan Jahid Tusher (Saturday, March 30, 2013)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-141"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-141">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.globalstratview.com/half-a-century-of-genocide-denial-by-pakistan-and-china/">Half a Century of Genocide Denial by Pakistan and China</a>. <i>Global Strat View.</i></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-142"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-142">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/why-wont-pakistan-fully-recognize-the-1971-war/">Why Won’t Pakistan Fully Recognize the 1971 War?</a> <i>The Diplomat</i> By Asif Muztaba Hassan (March 26, 2021)</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div role="navigation" aria-labelledby="Nations_of_the_world-navigationbox" class="toccolours" style="clear:both; margin:0.5em 3.5%; text-align:center;"> <div style="margin:0.15em; padding:0.1em; background:#ccccff; font-weight:bold;"><span id="Nations_of_the_world-navigationbox"><a href="/wiki/Nation" title="Nation">Nations</a> of the world</span> </div> <div class="hlist" style="font-size: 90%; margin: 0.15em 1.425em;"><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Africa" title="Africa"><b>Africa</b></a>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Algeria" title="Algeria">Algeria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Eritrea" title="Eritrea">Eritrea</a> — <a href="/wiki/ESwatini" title="ESwatini">eSwatini</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ethiopia" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Guinea" title="Guinea">Guinea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kenya" title="Kenya">Kenya</a> — <a href="/wiki/Liberia" title="Liberia">Liberia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Libya" title="Libya">Libya</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mali" title="Mali">Mali</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nigeria" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Somalia" title="Somalia">Somalia</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Africa" title="South Africa">South Africa</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sudan" title="Sudan">Sudan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Togo" title="Togo">Togo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uganda" title="Uganda">Uganda</a> — <a href="/wiki/Zimbabwe" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a> <p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Asia" title="Asia"><b>Asia</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Armenia" title="Armenia">Armenia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Azerbaijan" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bahrain" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bangladesh" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a> — <a href="/wiki/Brunei" title="Brunei">Brunei</a> — <a href="/wiki/Burma" title="Burma">Burma</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cambodia" title="Cambodia">Cambodia</a> — <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cyprus" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Georgia_(country)" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> — <a href="/wiki/India" title="India">India</a> — <a href="/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Iran" title="Iran">Iran</a> — <a href="/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> — <a href="/wiki/Israel" title="Israel">Israel</a> — <a href="/wiki/Japan" title="Japan">Japan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Jordan" title="Jordan">Jordan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kazakhstan" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kuwait" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kyrgyzstan" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Laos" title="Laos">Laos</a> — <a href="/wiki/Lebanon" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a> — <a href="/wiki/Malaysia" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Maldives" title="Maldives">Maldives</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mongolia" title="Mongolia">Mongolia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nepal" title="Nepal">Nepal</a> — <a href="/wiki/North_Korea" title="North Korea">North Korea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Oman" title="Oman">Oman</a> — <a class="mw-selflink selflink">Pakistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Palestine" title="Palestine">Palestine</a> — <a href="/wiki/Philippines" title="Philippines">Philippines</a> — <a href="/wiki/Qatar" title="Qatar">Qatar</a> — <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Singapore" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Korea" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Syria" title="Syria">Syria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Tajikistan" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Thailand" title="Thailand">Thailand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Timor-Leste" title="Timor-Leste">Timor-Leste</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkmenistan" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uzbekistan" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Vietnam" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a> — <a href="/wiki/Yemen" title="Yemen">Yemen</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe"><b>Europe</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Albania" title="Albania">Albania</a> — <a href="/wiki/Austria" title="Austria">Austria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belgium" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina" title="Bosnia and Herzegovina">Bosnia and Herzegovina</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bulgaria" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Channel_Islands" title="Channel Islands">Channel Islands</a> — <a href="/wiki/Croatia" title="Croatia">Croatia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cyprus" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Czechia" title="Czechia">Czechia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Denmark" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> — <a href="/wiki/Estonia" title="Estonia">Estonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Finland" title="Finland">Finland</a> — <a href="/wiki/France" title="France">France</a> — <a href="/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a> — <a href="/wiki/Greece" title="Greece">Greece</a> — <a href="/wiki/Hungary" title="Hungary">Hungary</a> — <a href="/wiki/Iceland" title="Iceland">Iceland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ireland" title="Ireland">Ireland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Isle_of_Man" title="Isle of Man">Isle of Man</a> — <a href="/wiki/Italy" title="Italy">Italy</a> — <a href="/wiki/Latvia" title="Latvia">Latvia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Lithuania" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a> — <a href="/wiki/Moldova" title="Moldova">Moldova</a> — <a href="/wiki/Netherlands" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> — <a href="/wiki/North_Macedonia" title="North Macedonia">North Macedonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Norway" title="Norway">Norway</a> — <a href="/wiki/Poland" title="Poland">Poland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Portugal" title="Portugal">Portugal</a> — <a href="/wiki/Romania" title="Romania">Romania</a> — <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Serbia" title="Serbia">Serbia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Slovenia" title="Slovenia">Slovenia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sweden" title="Sweden">Sweden</a> — <a href="/wiki/Switzerland" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> (<a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a>, <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a>) — <a href="/wiki/Vatican_City" title="Vatican City">Vatican City</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/North_America" title="North America"><b>North America</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">Canada</a> — <a href="/wiki/Costa_Rica" title="Costa Rica">Costa Rica</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cuba" title="Cuba">Cuba</a> — <a href="/wiki/El_Salvador" title="El Salvador">El Salvador</a> — <a href="/wiki/Grenada" title="Grenada">Grenada</a> — <a href="/wiki/Haiti" title="Haiti">Haiti</a> — <a href="/wiki/Jamaica" title="Jamaica">Jamaica</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mexico" title="Mexico">Mexico</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nicaragua" title="Nicaragua">Nicaragua</a> — <a href="/wiki/Panama" title="Panama">Panama</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> (<a href="/wiki/Puerto_Rico" class="mw-redirect" title="Puerto Rico">Puerto Rico</a>) <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Oceania" title="Oceania"><b>Oceania</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kiribati" title="Kiribati">Kiribati</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nauru" title="Nauru">Nauru</a> — <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea" title="Papua New Guinea">Papua New Guinea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Pitcairn_Islands" title="Pitcairn Islands">Pitcairn Islands</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/South_America" title="South America"><b>South America</b></a>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Argentina" title="Argentina">Argentina</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bolivia" title="Bolivia">Bolivia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Brazil" title="Brazil">Brazil</a> — <a href="/wiki/Chile" title="Chile">Chile</a> (<a href="/wiki/Rapa_Nui" title="Rapa Nui">Rapa Nui</a>) — <a href="/wiki/Colombia" title="Colombia">Colombia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ecuador" title="Ecuador">Ecuador</a> — <a href="/wiki/Falkland_Islands" title="Falkland Islands">Falkland Islands</a> (<a href="/wiki/Falkland_Islands" title="Falkland Islands"><small>Malvinas</small></a>)— <a href="/wiki/Paraguay" title="Paraguay">Paraguay</a> — <a href="/wiki/Peru" title="Peru">Peru</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uruguay" title="Uruguay">Uruguay</a> — <a href="/wiki/Venezuela" title="Venezuela">Venezuela</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><b>Separatist or disputed</b>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Abkhazia" title="Abkhazia">Abkhazia</a> —<a href="/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Greenland" title="Greenland">Greenland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kashmir" title="Kashmir">Kashmir</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kosovo" title="Kosovo">Kosovo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kurdistan" title="Kurdistan">Kurdistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Micronation" title="Micronation">Micronation</a> — <a href="/wiki/Northern_Cyprus" title="Northern Cyprus">Northern Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sealand" class="mw-redirect" title="Sealand">Sealand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Somaliland" title="Somaliland">Somaliland</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Ossetia" title="South Ossetia">South Ossetia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Taiwan" title="Taiwan">Taiwan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Tibet" title="Tibet">Tibet</a> — <a href="/wiki/Transnistria" title="Transnistria">Transnistria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Western_Sahara" title="Western Sahara">Western Sahara</a> </p> <span style="float:left;"><big><b>Historical</b>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Egypt" title="Ancient Egypt">Ancient Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belgian_Congo" title="Belgian Congo">Belgian Congo</a> — <a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a> — <a href="/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America" title="Confederate States of America">Confederate States of America</a> — <a 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