Pakistan

Where the name comes from

Pakistan means “land of the pure”; Choudhry Rahmat Ali coined it in 1933 from Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh and Balochistan, plus Persian pak, “pure”, and -stan, “land”.

First people

People lived at Mehrgarh about 9,000 years ago, and the Indus civilization thrived here in the third millennium BCE, at cities such as Mohenjo-daro.^1,2

Known for

Pakistan is known for K2, the world’s second-highest mountain, and for its passion for cricket.³

Outside contact

Britain annexed Sindh in 1843 and Punjab in 1849, and the British Crown took direct rule in 1858.²

The modern country

Partition in 1947 created Pakistan from Muslim-majority regions of British India, with two wings separated by India; after the 1971 war, East Pakistan became Bangladesh.⁴