Pakistan

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The Swat River valley in the North-West Frontier Province
Courtesy Sheila Ross

Figure 5. Topography and Drainage

Located in the northwestern part of the South Asian subcontinent, Pakistan became a state as a result of the partition of British India on August 14, 1947. Pakistan annexed Azad (Free) Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-48. Initially, Pakistan also included the northeastern sector of the subcontinent, where Muslims are also in the majority. The East Wing and West Wing of Pakistan were, however, separated by 1,600 kilometers of hostile Indian territory. The country's East Wing, or East Pakistan, became the independent state of Bangladesh in December 1971 (see Yahya Khan and Bangladesh , ch. 1).

Data as of April 1994