Pakistan
Country Facts
| Population |
180.8 million |
| Language |
Punjabi, Sindhi, Siraiki, Pashtu, Urdu (official), Balochi, Hindko, Brahui, English (official) |
| Nationality |
Pakistani |
| Major religions |
Muslim, Christian, Hindu |
| Size |
796,095 sq km |
| Bordering Countries |
Afghanistan, China, India, Iran |
| • |
2011 Global Peace Index ranking of 153 countries: 146 |
| • |
3.5 million people have been uprooted by the conflict between the Pakistan army and Taliban militants |
| • |
23 per cent of population undernourished (UN Human Development Report 2010) |
| • |
2.3 million refugees (UNHCR estimate, end 2007) |
Pakistan gained political independence from Britain and the Commonwealth in 1956 and almost immediately came under the control of a military dictator. This type of political unrest is common throughout Pakistan’s history. The country has experienced multiple wars with India over Kashmir, which is claimed as a territory by both countries as well as a civil war in which Bangladesh claimed its independence. Although there have been democratic elections in recent years, there is serious unrest in the country. The ongoing war between the Pakistani military and the Taliban along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border has uprooted an estimated 3 million citizens.
The Swat Valley — once a major tourist attraction — became the scene of some of the worst fighting in Pakistan when the army launched a large-scale offensive in April 2009. Nearly two million civilians were displaced, and hundreds of thousands more were trapped by the fighting and out of reach of external help. People began slowly returning home in July after the Pakistan army said it had cleared the Taliban out of Swat.
Many people were also displaced when a massive earthquake hit Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Kashmir in 2005, killing 75,000 people and leaving up to 3.5 million homeless.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has also been a refuge for millions fleeing fighting in other parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Baluchistan displacement dates back to 2005 when the government launched a military offensive against separatists. The number of displaced hovers at about 50-60,000 people. They are living without clean drinking water or health care, and dozens of children have died from malnutrition and disease. The government has prevented aid from reaching the displaced in Baluchistan.
In August 2010, devastating floods hit Pakistan, displacing nearly 20 million people, and killing nearly 2,000 people. The flood path covered over 100,000 square kilometres of land, which is around 20 per cent of Pakistan’s land mass, and affected 78 of Pakistan’s 102 districts. The floods damaged 2.9 million houses with over 913,217 houses completely destroyed.
