The Islamic republic of Pakistan emerged as an independent sovereign state on 14th August 1947, as a result of the division of former British India. It lies between 23-35 to 37- 05 north latitude and 60-50 to 77- 50 east longitude touching the Hindukush Mountains in the north and extending from the Pamirs to the Arabian Sea.

Pakistan covers 796,095 sq.km with a population of 132.35 million according to population census 1998. It is divided into four provinces namely Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Pakistan has historically and culturally been associated with its neighbours Iran, Afghanistan, and India.

Its capital is Islamabad, in the foothills of the Himalayas in the northern part of the country, and its largest city is Karachi, in the south on the coast of the Arabian Sea.

Pakistan encompasses a rich diversity of landscapes, starting in the northwest, from the soaring Pamirs and the Karakoram Range through a maze of mountain ranges, a complex of valleys, and inhospitable plateaus, down to the remarkably even surface of the fertile Indus River plain, which drains southward into the Arabian Sea.

It contains a section of the ancient Silk Road and the Khyber Pass, the famous passageway that has brought outside influences into the otherwise isolated subcontinent. Lofty peaks such as K2 and Nanga Parbat, in the Pakistani-administered region of Kashmir, present a challenging lure to mountain climbers. Along the Indus River, the artery of the country, the ancient site of Mohenjo-daro marks one of the cradles of civilization.