Lynn Gillette, age 16, of Columbus, Ohio, for her question:
WHEN DID PAKISTAN BECOME INDEPENDENT?
Pakistan is a Muslim nation in South Asia. When the British granted India independence in 1947, they divided the country according to the religion of its people. Pakistan was created out of northwestern and northeastern India.
The two sections of Pakistan were over 1,000 miles apart. The majority of the people in both regions were Muslims. Most of the people of the area in between the two sections were Hindus.
The two sections of Pakistan were called West Pakistan and East Pakistan. Although the people of both regions shared the same religion, many differences divided them. These differences led to civil war in 1971 and the the establishment of East Pakistan as an independent nation called Bangladesh.
The British ruled the Indian subcontinent for almost 200 years, from 1756 to 1947. Then the division of the area caused tremendous dislocations of population.
Some 3.5 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from Pakistan into India and about 5 million Muslims migrated from India to Pakistan. The demographic shift caused an initial bitterness between the two countries that was difficult to heal.
Pakistan adopted a constitutionin 1973 which was subsequently amended. Following a military coup d'etat in 1977, however, a system of martial law was put.into effect and most aspects of the 1973 constitution were suspended. Under an order that was promulgated in 1981, the power of the country's military president was increased considerably.
The Pakistani government is deeply involved in directing the country's economy and most major industries have been nationalized. However, a government economic plan for the 1980s recommends that private capital be given a greater role in the industrial sector. The plan also calls for a sharply increased output of basic foodstuffs to avoid having to import such goods.
The foreign trade of Pakistan consists largely of the exporting of raw materials and the import of manufacturing products. The chief exports are rice, raw cotton, cotton textiles, carpets and rugs, leather, fish, petroleum products and clothing. The main imports are crude petroleum, machinery, motor vehicles, metal and metal products, fertilizer and foodstuffs.
Pakistan's leading trade partners include the United States, Japan, Great Britain, West Germany and Saudi Arabia.
The lack of modern transportation facilities is a major hindrance to the development of Pakistan. It's terrain, laced with rivers and mountains, presents formidable obstacles to internal overland transportation.
Pakistan's largest city is Karachi, with a population over 5 million. Karachi is also the nation's leading port.