Portal:Pakistan

The Pakistan Portal

Introduction

"The National Anthem"
Qaumī Tarānah
قَومی ترانہ

Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre. Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area. Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to the east; Afghanistan to the west; Iran to the southwest; and China to the northeast. It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor.

Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures, including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan, the Indus Valley Civilisation of the Bronze Age, and the ancient Gandhara civilisation. The regions that compose the modern state of Pakistan were the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Achaemenid, the Maurya, the Kushan, the Gupta; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahis, the Ghaznavids, the Delhi Sultanate, the Samma, the Shah Miris, the Mughals, and finally, the British Raj from 1858 to 1947. (Full article...)

Selected article -

The national flag of Pakistan, also known as the Flag of the Star and Crescent (Parcham-e-Sitāra-o-Hilāl; پرچمِ ستارہ و ہلال), is made up of a green field with a stylized tilted white descending crescent moon and five-pointed star at its centre, and a vertical white stripe at its hoist-end. Though the specific shade of green on the flag is mandated only as 'dark green', its official and most consistent representation is in Pakistan green, which is shaded distinctively darker. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11 August 1947, and it became the official flag of the Dominion of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, following independence from the British Empire. The flag was subsequently retained as that of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1956 and remains in use as the national flag to this day.

Most notably, the flag is referred to in the third verse of Pakistan's national anthem, and is widely flown on several important days of the year, including Republic Day, Independence Day and Defence Day. It is also hoisted every morning at schools, offices and government buildings to the playing of the national anthem and lowered again before sunset. A very elaborate flag-raising and lowering ceremony is carried out every evening by the Pakistan Rangers and their Indian Border Security Force counterparts at the WagahAttari border crossing between India and Pakistan, which is regularly attended by hundreds of spectators. The Government of Pakistan has formalized rules and regulations related to the flying of the national flag; it is to be displayed all day at full-mast on 23 March annually to commemorate the adoption of the Lahore Resolution in 1940 and the declaration of Pakistan as an independent Islamic republic with a constitution in 1956, both of which occurred on the same day. The same regulations also apply on 14 August annually, in celebration of Pakistan's day of independence; when the country was carved out from erstwhile British India as the homeland and nation-state for the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. (Full article...)

Selected picture -

The National Museum of Pakistan in Karachi, Pakistan. At present there are a total of 11 Galleries in the Museum including an exquisite “Quran Gallery”, Indus Civilization artifacts, Gandhara Civilization Sculptures, Islamic Art, Miniature Paintings, Ancient Coins and Manuscripts documenting Pakistan's Political History.

Photo credit: Shahid1024

General images

The following are images from various Pakistan-related articles on Wikipedia.

This week in history

Provinces and Territories

Clickable map of the four provinces and three federal territories of Pakistan.

Provinces:

  1. Balochistan
  2. Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KPK)
  3. Punjab
  4. Sindh

Territories:

  1. Islamabad Capital Territory

Pakistani-administered portions of the Kashmir:

  1. Azad Kashmir
  2. Gilgit-Baltistan

Things you can do

  • Requests: Citizens Archive of Pakistan, Frequency Allocation Board More...
  • NPOV: 2013 siege of the Pakistani embassy in Dhaka Amanullah Abbasi, Pakistani meat dishes, Battle of Miani More...
  • Wikify: Pakistan Auto Show, Pakistanis in Kuwait, Silk in the Indian subcontinent, 2022 Pakistan Super League More...
  • Cleanup: Colonel Imam, Air Force Day (Pakistan), Nawabshah, Radcliffe Line, Science and technology in Pakistan, Sahiwal Tehsil, Sargodha More...
  • Merge: Miri Qalat, Sasan (Apraca), Hinglaj Mata Temple More...
  • Expand: Pashto cinema, Geology of Pakistan, 2022 Pakistan Super League, India–Pakistan sports rivalries More...
  • Stubs: Date and time notation in Pakistan, ECAT Pakistan, Animal husbandry in Pakistan, Parbrahm Ashram, Foreign Service Academy, Lashari, Habib Bank Plaza, Infrastructure of Pakistan, Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation More...
  • Collaborate: Collaborations, Pakistan Portal, Pakistan topics, Pakistani Wikipedians, More...
  • Requested images: Wikipedia requested photographs in Pakistan
  • Layout: Outline, Geography
  • Peer review: None
  • Other requests:
    • Collect links for all the maps on each and every article about Pakistan and list them on the Cartography page

  • Selected biography -

    Ahmed Hasan Dani (1920-2009)

    Ahmad Hassan Dani (Urdu: احمد حسن دانی) FRAS, SI, HI (20 June 1920 – 26 January 2009) was a Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology and history. He introduced archaeology as a discipline in higher education in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Throughout his career, Dani held various academic positions and international fellowships, apart from conducting archaeological excavations and research. He is particularly known for archaeological work on pre-Indus civilization and Gandhara sites in northern Pakistan. (Full article...)

    Did you know?

    • ... that Burushaski, a predominantly in northern Gilgit-Baltistan spoken rather than written language, has not more than 120,000 native speakers? (9 July 2023)
    • ... that Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, the famous German–Pakistani Catholic nun who devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy was the first Christian and first non-Muslim to have a state funeral in Pakistan? (2 September 2021)
    • ... that Lahore Knowledge Park is an actualization of Triple Helix configuration; a framework to create synergies between government, academia and industry to operate into an interactive rather than linear model for the establishment of social formats and entities to promote commercial innovation and R&D. (27 January 2017)
    • ... that Sialkot is the world's largest producer of hand-sewed footballs, with local factories manufacturing 40~60 million footballs a year, amounting to roughly 60% of world production. (4 December 2017)
    • ... that Hafiz Muhammad Fazal Azim Taha, the famous living Pakistani poet said about Iqbal's work that "He not only dreamed for Pakistan but also got the nation up for their rights". This famous saying is regarded as Iqbal's definition. (14 July 2014)
    • ... that The Edhi Foundation, founded by Edhi, runs the world's largest volunteer ambulance service operating 1,800 of them with upto 6,000 a day in Karachi alone. (4 December 2017)


    Pakistan news

    Today is March 14, 2026
    For up to date, in depth news coverage on Pakistan, see Wikinews:Portal:Pakistan. Wikinews is a sister project of Wikipedia, which deals with journalism of current events. They are both operated by the Wikimedia Foundation.
    14 March 2026 – 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict
    According to Taliban officials, fourteen Pakistani soldiers are killed and eleven others are injured by Afghan fighters during the capture of a Pakistani guard post along the Durand Line in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.(Kabul Now)
    13 March 2026 – 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan conflict
    Six people are killed and several others injured in a Pakistani airstrike on a residential area in Kabul, Afghanistan. A fuel depot in Kandahar is also bombed. (Reuters)
    7 March 2026 – Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
    At least four people are killed, including two policemen, and more than 35 others are injured, including three seriously, in two separate bombings targeting a police patrol van and a market in Wana and Lakki Marwat District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. (Arab News)
    6 March 2026 – 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war
    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees reports at least 100,000 civilians have now been displaced from their homes due to the fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan, while Afghan forces say they have destroyed 14 more Pakistani military outposts along the border and downed a drone. (Sky News)
    3 March 2026 – 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war
    The Taliban confirms 28 Afghan troops have been killed in recent clashes with Pakistani forces along their border. The UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan reports at least 42 civilians have been killed. (Hasht-e-Subh Daily)
    2 March 2026 – 2026 Afghanistan–Pakistan war
    The Taliban says the Afghan military has successfully repelled Pakistani warplanes with surface-to-air missiles that were attacking Bagram Airfield as explosions are reported in several cities, including Kabul. (The Guardian)

    Quote of the Day -

    Subcategories

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    Pakistan
    Pakistan-related lists
    Buildings and structures in Pakistan
    Culture of Pakistan
    Economy of Pakistan
    Education in Pakistan
    Geography of Pakistan
    Government of Pakistan
    Health in Pakistan
    History of Pakistan
    Organisations based in Pakistan
    Outline of Pakistan
    Pakistani people
    Politics of Pakistan
    Society of Pakistan
    Images of Pakistan
    Pakistan stubs

    Pakistan topics

    Recognized content


    Religions in Pakistan


    Indian Subcontinent


    Other countries

    WikiProjects

    You are cordially invited to join and contribute to WikiProject Pakistan, a WikiProject dedicated to the development and improvement of articles relating to Pakistan.

    WikiProject Pakistan Membership Discussion

    Notice board

    Associated Wikimedia

    The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

    Wikipedias in Pakistani languages

    كشميري (Kashmiri) • پښتو (Pashto) • فارسی (Persian) • پنجابی (Punjabi) • سنڌي (Sindhi) • اردو (Urdu)

    Sources

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