|
|
|
Due to resource constraints, IRIN is not updating the country profile below.
Updated humanitarian country information can be found instead at the Pakistan country page on ReliefWeb [http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc104?OpenForm&rc=3&cc=pak].
|
|
|
 PAKISTAN, Islamic Republic of
Humanitarian Country Profile |
|
Background
|
Last update: February 2007 |
Pakistan has a long history of settlement. Greeks, Persians and Arabs invaded the region. The British conquered the Punjab and Sindh provinces of today's Pakistan in the 1840s and incorporated them into India, which then became a colony in 1858, leaving many Muslims feeling neglected in the Hindu-dominated dominion.
Muhammad Iqbal began calling for a Muslim state in India in 1930 and a Muslim student in Britain three years later suggested the name 'Pakstan' (later Pakistan), which means 'Land of the Pure'. He coined the name on behalf of Muslims living in Punjab, Afghan (North West Frontier Province), Kashmir, Sindh and Balochistan provinces. Under Ali Jinnah, the idea of a Muslim state was popularised by the Muslim League party. The league rejected British plans for an Indian federation and, in 1947, both Pakistan and India gained their independence.
Since partition in 1947, there have been disputes between India and Pakistan over the northern region of Kashmir, claimed by both nations. A Line of Control has divided the Indian- and Pakistani-administrated portions since 1972. Bangladesh was part of Pakistan but became independent in 1971.
Pakistan has a long history of military rule. In 1977, Pakistan's elected prime minister, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was overthrown by General Zia ul Haq, who enforced martial law and ruled until 1988. History was repeated when General Pervez Musharraf overthrew Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in a bloodless coup in 1999. General Musharraf dissolved parliament and declared himself president in June 2001.
Peace and security
Pakistan is a nuclear power and has the seventh-largest army in the world - a major drain on the national fiscus. The government justifies high spending on the military because of the need to counter India in disputed Kashmir.
Ethnic and sectarian tensions remain in major cities, often fuelled by religious-based political parties.
IDPs/Refugees
The country hosts more than 2.4 million Afghan refugees, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR. The refugee population has severely strained Pakistan's resources, including its healthcare system. Although political changes in neighbouring Afghanistan mean refugees are returning home in numbers, mass migration looks unlikely until security, food and jobs improve throughout Afghanistan.
The ongoing dispute with India over Kashmir has also created a sizeable refugee population.
The office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pakistan
Democracy and governance
On 12 May 2000, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ordered President Musharraf to hold general elections by October 2002. Musharraf exercised his presidential prerogative and held a referendum on 30 April 2002 to approve an extension of his presidential term to 2007. Despite a boycott by anti-Musharraf political parties, he won the referendum. Presidential elections are due in 2007, although no month or date has been set.
Musharraf had said he would step down as military head by January 2005 and give up some of the powers he assumed after the coup, but he did not fulfil that pledge and remains both president and head of the military.
Media
The media watchdog Freedom House describes the press in Pakistan as "not free". The constitution and other laws authorise the government to curb freedom of speech on subjects including the constitution, the armed forces, the judiciary and religion, according to Freedom House.
Harassment and intimidation of the media are widespread, according to local non-governmental organisations. The right to free expression and dissemination of information was persistently undermined with the arrest of editors and reporters from local and regional newspapers, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) World Report 2006.
Economy
Following Musharraf's decision to cooperate with the US-led coalition against the Taliban regime and supporters of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan in September 2001, the US lifted sanctions against Pakistan. Islamabad's withdrawal of support for the Taliban regime cleared the way for a favourable rescheduling of the country's external debt and provided aid packages to assist with poverty alleviation and refugees.
The government has achieved steady economic growth, but a third of its population still lives in poverty, according to the World Bank. www.worldbank.org/pk
The country ranked 134 (out of 177 countries) in the UN Development Programme (UNDP) 2006 Human Development Index.
Population
Pakistan's population of almost 158 million, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), is increasing by 3-4 million per year - one of the fastest growth rates in the world. Pakistan is the sixth most populous country in the world. The ethnic majority are Punjabi, making up 60 percent, while the second-largest ethnic group is Sindhi at 11 percent. Muslims make up 97 percent of the population, 77 percent are Sunni and 20 percent are Shia Muslims.
Development indicators
Various forms of poverty prevail in Pakistan and according to UNDP; more than 73 percent of the population live on less than US$2 per day.
According to the 2005 Pakistan Millennium Development Goals Report, there is inequality in employment because of social and economic structures in society, such as discrimination within sectors of education and health.
Education
According to UNDP's 2006 Human Development Report, more than 50 percent of the country's population is literate. The net primary school enrolment ratio is 76 percent for boys, but only 57 percent of girls attend school.
Children
Child labour is common throughout Pakistan, particularly in the growing informal sector. Many children do not attend school because they have to work to help support their families. Girls are frequently the victims of discrimination and cultural traditions limit their access to learning, according to Save the Children.
Some children continued to be prosecuted as adults, according to Amnesty International's 2005 annual report.
Health
The maternal mortality ratio is estimated to be 500 deaths per 100,000 births, according to the UN Children's Fund, UNICEF. More than 75 percent of deliveries take place at home and skilled personnel attend only about 20 percent of them, according to UNFPA. The infant mortality rate is 79 deaths per 1,000 live births according to UNICEF's population division, compared with 113.5 per 1,000 live births in 1990.
Although Pakistan has made progress in improving health conditions, a large part of the population, especially in rural areas, does not receive modern medical care. Pakistan was among the first developing countries to establish a state-funded family planning programme.
The under-five mortality rate is 99 deaths per 1,000 births, according to UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO). Life expectancy at birth is 64 (2005), according to WHO.
Polio has not yet been eradicated and more than a third of children under five are underweight.
HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS infection rates remain low in Pakistan (0.1 percent) particularly compared with India, Bangladesh and Nepal, but WHO and UNAIDS estimate the number of actual number of HIV/AIDS cases may be as high as 85,000.
Numbers are increasing, especially among migrants who go elsewhere in search of work and infect their partners with the virus when they return home. During the 1990s, cases of HIV and AIDS began to appear among commercial sex workers, drug users and jail inmates, according to UNDP.
Food security
Largely dependent on agricultural output, Pakistan has suffered the twin effects of a prolonged drought and the lack of an effective national water management strategy.
Gender issues
Violence against women and girls, including domestic violence, rape, 'honour killings', acid attacks and trafficking are rampant in Pakistan. The legal code discriminates against women and girls and creates major obstacles in seeking redress for acts of violence, according to HRW. Proof of rape generally requires the confession of the accused or the testimony of four adult Muslim men who witnessed the assault. If a woman cannot prove her rape allegation she runs a very high risk of being charged with fornication or adultery, the criminal penalty for which is either a long prison sentence and public whipping, or, though rare, death by stoning.
According to rights groups, honour killings largely go unreported and victims include very young girls. Government initiatives to improve the rights of women have only had a limited impact, according to Amnesty International's 2006 annual report.
Human rights
Arbitrary arrests and detentions in the context of the 'war on terror' continue, according to Amnesty International. Several people reportedly 'disappeared'. In the tribal areas, arbitrary arrests and possible extrajudicial executions were reported during security operations. The government failed to control sectarian violence, which cost hundreds of lives.
According to HRW, in 2006 ongoing concerns included arbitrary detention, lack of due process, and the mistreatment, torture, and 'disappearance' of terrorism suspects and political opponents; harassment and intimidation of the media; and legal discrimination against and mistreatment of women and religious minorities.
Humanitarian needs
The earthquake on 8 October 2005 ripped through parts of Pakistani-administered Kashmir and northern Pakistan, killing more than 80,000 and injuring another 100,000. The devastating tremor, one of the worst in Pakistan's history, left more than three million homeless and disrupted water sources in affected areas, particularly in mountain villages.
According to Pakistan's Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA), as of February 2007, 35,000 quake-displaced survivors were still living in camps.
Oxfam reports on the situation on the ground one year on. |
|
|
| Pakistan in figures | · Population: 158 million
· Population growth rate: 2.3%
· GDP per capita: US$2,600
· Pop below poverty line: 17%
· Life expectancy: 64 years
· Infant mortality: 79 per 1,000
· Access to medical services: 28%
· HIV prevalence: 0.1%
· Access to clean water: 88%
· Access to electricity: N/A
· Literacy rate: 50%
· Doctors/people: N/A
· Displaced people: N/A
· Refugees: 2.4 million
· Human Development Index: 0.539 (HDI 2006 Rank 134)
Sources: UNDP, World Bank, UNFPA |
| Basic facts | Capital: Islamabad
Language: Urdu: National Language, English: Widely spoken Punjabi 65%, Sindhi 11% and the remaining 24% Pushtu, Saraiki, Balochi, Brahui
Ethnic groups: Punjab/Seraikii 58%, Sindhi 20%, Pashtun (Pathan)10%, Muhajir 7%, Baloch 5%,
Religions: Sunni Muslim 77%, Shia Muslim 20%, Christian, Hindu and other 3%
Geography: Arid to semi-arid plains, rugged mountains
Border countries: India, Afghanistan, Iran and China
Natural resources: Arable land, natural gas, limited petroleum, substantial hydro-electric potential, coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone
Agriculture products: Wheat, cotton, rice, sugarcane, tobacco
|
|