Country Brief: Pakistan

Enjoy, little brief of Pakistan.





Pakistan

Important Dates:

August 14, 1947 - Indian Independence Act was passed by The British Parliament. As a result, Pakistan and India were born.

October 1947 - First Pakistan - India War. (Reason for War: Pakistan invaded Kashmir). The territorial dispute over Kashmir, has not been resolved yet. (conflict started 62 years ago, and still they're unable to solve it.) It's time to move on.!
learn more about the conflit @:
Kashmir


1971 - East Pakistan broke from Pakistan, to became Bangladesh (independent state).


Government

Pakistan is on the edge of becoming a failed state. However, according to Richard Holbrooke (U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan)
Pakistan Not A Failed State


He argues that the weak gov't of Pakistan, needs US help ($$$) to fight Talibans. Therefore with US dollars Pakistan would not become a failed state.
But wait, as far as I remember, US gave Pakistan $10 billion !!! since 2001. Where did it go? Well, when you give $$$ to the corrupt gov't, it can't be good. One, can't blame Pakistan's officials for taking this aid. US (under Bush), could at least track such large amount of cash, and see if it was used properly. Not this time !.

$6 billion in aid to Pakistan poorly tracked



Geography

Population: ~ 172 mln.

Divided into four provinces: Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and North West Frontier Province.
- they fight constantly over ownership and distribution of revenues from oil and gas resources.

Punjab province is the largest, (55% of the population lives there)

largest ethnic group: Punjabi (44.7)

Muslim Population: Sunni (85%), Shia (12%)



Military

Army size: over 500000 soldiers

Military of Pakistan supports extremist organizations.

Nuclear arsenal: 80 - 100 weapons.

Pakistan conflict map

According to BBC, 38% of the North Western Pakistan remains under full government control, the rest 62% is controlled by guess who the TALIBANS!.

The UN estimates that about 1.4 million people have been displaced since fighting in Pakistan's Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP) started at the end of April.

Politcs / Economy

Current President: Ali Zardari

GDP per capita: ~ $2000

GDP $454.2 billion

Sources:

CFR
BBC
NPR
CNN

Brookings Institute: Climate Crisis, Credit Crisis: The Quest for Green Growth

As the global economy struggles to sustain its recovery from the deepest recession in sixty years, another challenge looms large: preventing the Earth from warming more than 3.6 °F, widely considered by climate experts as the acceptable level to reduce the risk of irreversible global damage resulting from climate change. To meet these challenges, we must look beyond our national borders, recognize that we face an uncertain future, and collaborate to ensure our collective well-being. Our success or failure will depend both on our timeliness and resolve—and will shape the fate of our planet for years to come.


Although tentative signs of recovery from the global financial and economic crisis are gaining strength, policymakers around the world are still grappling with the effects of the crisis on the real economy. In the United States, unemployment is still historically high and credit is still constrained. The International Labor Organization predicts that employment levels in those countries with a high gross domestic product (GDP) per capita will not return to pre-crisis levels before 2013. And social protection programs are suffering as nations must find ways to cover budget shortfalls.


Download The Report



Source: Brooking Institute