Pakistan is a land of many splendours. The scenery changes northward from coastal beaches, lagoons and mangrove swamps to sandy deserts, desolate plateaus, fertile plains, dissected uplands and high mountains with beautiful vales, snow-coveted peaks and eternal glaciers. This variety of landscape divides Pakistan into six major regions—the Northern High Mountainous Region, the Western Low Mountainous Region, the Potwar Uplands, the Baluchistan Plateau, the Punjab Plain and the Sind Plain.

The Himalayas

Stretching in the northern most territory of the country, from east to west, are a series of high mountain ranges which separate Pakistan from China, Russia and Afghanistan. They include the Himalayas, the Karakoram and the Hindukush mountains. With the assemblage of 33 giant peaks over 24,000 ft. (7,315 m), the region is the climbers’ paradise. Many summits are even higher than 26,000 ft. (7,925 m) and the highest K.2 (Mt. Godwin Austin) at 28,250 ft. (8,610 rn) is exceeded only by Everest. Inhospitable and technically more difficult to climb than even Everest, they have taken the biggest toll of human lives in the annals of mountaineering. The Karakoram Highway that passes through the mountains is the highest trade route in the world.

Besides, the region abounds in vast glaciers, large lakes and green valleys which have combined at places to produce holiday resorts such as Gilgit, Hunza and Yasin in the west, and the valleys of Chitral, Dir, Kaghan and Swat in the east.

Although the climate of the region is extremelY diverse according to aspect and elevation, yet as a whole it remains under the grip of severe cold from November to April. May, June and July are pleasant months. The southern slopes receive heavy rainfall and consequentlY are covered with forests of deodar, pine, poplar and willow trees. The permanent settlers grow corn, maize, barley, wheat and rice on the terraced fields and also raise orchards of apples, apricots, peaches and grapes. Western Mountainous Region
These mountains spread from the Swat and Chitral hills in a north-south direction, and cover a large portion of N.W.F.P. North of the river Kabul their altitude ranges from 5,000 ft. to 6,000 ft. in Mohmand and Malakand hills. South of the river Kabul spreads the Kob-e-Sofed Range with .a general height of 10,000 ft. South of the Gomal River, the Sulaiman Mountains run for a distance of about 300 miles in a north-south direction, Takht-e-Sulaiman (11,295 ft.) being its highest peak.

The western mountains have a number of passes which are of special geographical and historical interest. Khyber Pass, the largest and the most renowned of these, is 35 miles long and connects Kabul in Afghanistan with the fertile vale of Peshawar in N.W.F.P. The Tochi Pass connects Ghazni in Afghanistan with Bannu in Pakistan and the Gomal Pass provides a route from Afghanistan to Dera Ismail Khan. The Bolan Pass connects the Sind plain wjth Quetta in Baluchistan and onward through Chaman with Afghanistan.

Baluchistan Plateau

Kalat Plateau 7,000-8,000 ft. high, in the centre of Baluchistan, is the most important plateau.

Being outside the sphere of monsoon current, Baluchistan receives scanty and irregular rainfall (4 inches); the temperature is very high in summer and very low in winter. Owing to continuous draught there is very little vegetation. Most of the people, therefore, lead nomadic life, raising camels, sheep and goats. Baluchistan is, however, fortunate to have considerable mineral wealth of natural gas, coal, chromite, lead, sulphur and marble. The reserves of natural gas at Sui are amongst the largest in the world.

Potwar Upland

Potwar upland, commonly called the Potwar Plateau, lies to the south of northern mountains and is flanked in the west by River Indus and in the east by River Jhelum. This 1,000-2,000 ft. upland is a typical aridland with denuded and broken terrain characterised by undulations and irregularities. Agriculture is almost entirely dependent on rainfall of 15-20 inches, and on the small dams built in the catchment areas of the streams.

The region is particularly known for its oilfields in Khaur-Dhulian neighbourhood, the ancient civilization sites in Soan valley, the ruins and the Buddhist University at Taxila and the new capital, Islamabad, which stands north of the old city of Rawalpindi (8,06,000) on the sourthern slopes of Murree hills, the most popular holiday resort of the country.

Punjab Plains

Punjab plain is the gift of River Indus and its five eastern tributaries—Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Sutlej and Beas. The plain spreads from the south of Potwar Plateau upto Mithankot, where Sulaiman Range approaches the River Indus. The Punjab plain is almost a featureless plain with a gentle slope southward, averaging one foot to the mile. The only break in the alluvial monotony is the little group of broken hills (1,000 ft.-1,600 ft.) near Sangla and Kirana on either side of the Chenab. The entire plain is extensivelY irrigated by a network of canals. This system has been greatly expanded and improved in recent years by the construction of link-canals, dams and barrages as a result of Indus Waters Treaty with India, which awarded the three western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab) to Pakistan and the three eastern rivers (Ravi, Sutlej and Beas) to India. Tarbela Dam on River Indus and Mangla Dam on River Jhelum, which have water storage capacities of 11.1 million acre ft. and 5.55 million acre ft. respectively, need a special mention. Irrigation water is supplemented by summer and winter rains 15-20 inches so that a variety of crops is raised, the major ones being wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane, and the region has earned the name of granary of Pakistan. The blessings of canal irrigation, however, have not been withOut a curse, which render about 100,000 acres of land unproductive every year through water-logging and salinity. The menace has been greatly controlled through Salinity Control and Reclamation Projects. Special emphasis i~ also being laid on the reclamation projects under the 5-point Programme of the present political government. The region has emerged as the most important economically developed area of Pakistan, containing over 56 per cent population and most of the commercial and industrial centres of the country.

Sind Plain

Sind plain comprises mainly Sind province and stretches between the Punjab plain and the Arabian Sea. River Indus flows here as a single river and the plain comprises a vast fertile tract stretching westward from the narrow strip of flood plain on the right bank of River Indus and a vast expanse of desert stretching eastward from the left bank. The desert area is dry and desolate like Cholistan in the Punjab plain. But the plain area right of River Indus is green with vast stretches of vegetation lined everywhere with avenues of trees. It is the heart of Indus valley civilization and thousands of tourists from all over the world are attracted every year to visit the ruins of Moenjodaro near Larkana. An elaborate canal system taken from Sukkur Barrage at Sukkur, Upper Sind Barrage north of Sukkur at Guddu and Lower Sind Barrage (Ghulam Mohammad Barrage) at Hyderabad, irrigate together in this area over 10,000,000 acres and accounts for about 40 per cent of Pakistan’s irrigated land.

There are many lakes, which attract thousands of migratory birds during the winter season from Central Asia. Manchhar Lake with its highly pulsating expanse of about 200 sq. miles of area is the largest lake. Further south, stretches the Indus Delta, which is a savage waste. An important feature is the Kinjhar Lake near Thatta which acts as a great reservoir for feeding canals in the adjacent areas. During winter, it is an ideal spot for fishing and duck shooting. At the extreme north-western end of the delta stands Karachi, the largest city and the industrial and commercial hub of Pakistan. It is also the main port of Pakistan, the terminus of Pakistan’s railway system and the country’s principal international airport.

THE PEOPLE

The mid-1986 Pakistan population was estimated at around 98 million, of whom 70 million (71.7 per cent) were in the rural areas. Between the population censuses of 1972 and 1981, population (including emigrants) grew by 3.2 per cent per year on the average, while the resident population grew at a lesser rate, i.e., 3.06 per cent per year. This rapid population growth has reduced the cultivable land per capita from 0.96 acres in 1972 to 0.74 acres in 1986. With heavy migration to the cities, urban population has grown at a much faster rate (4.4 per cent per year between 1972 and 1981) than rural population (2.6 per cent over the same period). With over 97 per cent of the people being Muslims, the population is culturally very homogenous and are united more by the bond of common spoken language of .Urdu and the strong nationalistic feeling which served as the core for the creation of Pakistan in 1947. Going back, the recorded history of the people of Pakistan is more than 5000 years old.

The following table shows the distribution of the population among the provinces and Islainabad Federal Area as well as the density per square kilometre and the ratio of urban population as a percentage of total population, all based on the latest decennial census in 1981.

Population Sex Ratio Propor- Density Urban
(in (Male per tion (Per Sq. Population
Area thousand) 100 km.) as per cent
females) of total
population
PakIstan 83,782 111 100 105 28.28
N.W.F.P. 10.885 108 12.99 146 15.23
Punjab 47,116 111 56.24 229 27.58
SInd 18,966 110 22.53 134 43.37
BaluChistan 4,305 112 5.14 12 15.16
Islamabad 335 119 0.40 369 60.20
FATA 2,175 108 2.80 80 —

Literacy

Only 26 per cent of the population in Pakistan are literate in the sense that they include those who only know bow to read and write. Only 49 per cent of primary and 16 per cent of secondary school-age population is enrolled in schools. The literacy rate varies between male and female populations (male 35 per cent; female 16 per cent) and between urban and rural population. The ratio swings from 7.3 percent for rural females to 55.3 percent for urban males. At present, the Government bears a subsidy of Rs. 373 per primary student, compared to Rs. 10,820 per University student. In other words, 29 children are provided primary education at the expense’ of one University student. In its efforts to achieve mass literacy, the Government is laying greater emphasis on primary education, while the present political government’s target is to double the literacy rate to 50 percent by 1990.

The major languages spoken in Pakistan are Punjabi, Saraiki, Sindhi, Pashto, Baluchi, Brahvi and Hindko.

Urdu which is the national language of Pakistan, is spoken and understood in all parts of Pakistan. Urdu is also gradually being adopted as the official language of the country.