Long-form name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan

Type: parliamentary with strong executive, federal republic

Capital: Islamabad

Administrative divisions: 4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital territory**; Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, North-West Frontier, Punjab, Sindh; note--the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region includes Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas

Independence: 15 August 1947 (from UK; formerly West Pakistan)

Constitution: 10 April 1973, suspended 5 July 1977, restored with amendments, 30 December 1985

Legal system: based on English common law with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's stature as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Pakistan Day (proclamation of the republic), 23 March (1956)

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament (Mijlis-e-Shoora) consists of an upper house or Senate and a lower house or National Assembly

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Federal Islamic (Shariat) Court

Leaders: Chief of State--President GHULAM ISHAQ Khan (since 13 December 1988); Head of Government--Prime Minister Mian Nawaz SHARIF (since 6 November 1990);

Political parties and leaders: Islamic Democratic Alliance (Islami Jamuri Ittehad or IJI)--the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) led by Mohammed Khan JUNEJO is the main party in the IJI; Pakistan People's Party (PPP), Benazir BHUTTO; note--in September 1990 the PPP announced the formation of the People's Democratic Alliance (PDA), an electoral alliance including the following four parties--PPP, Solidarity Movement (Tehrik Istiqlal), Movement for the Implementation of Shia Jurisprudence (Tehrik-i-Nifaz Fiqh Jafariya or TNFJ), and the PML (Malik faction); Muhajir Qaumi Movement (MQM), Altaf HUSSAIN; Awami National Party (ANP), Khan Abdul Wali KHAN; Jamiat-ul-Ulema-i-Islam (JUI), Fazlur RAHMAN; Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), Mohammad Akbar Khan BUGTI; Pakistan National Party (PNP), Mir Ghaus Bakhsh BIZENJO; Pakistan Khawa Milli Party (PKMP), leader NA; Assembly of Pakistani Clergy (Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Pakistan or JUP), Maulana Shah Ahmed NOORANI; Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Qazi Hussain AHMED

Suffrage: universal at age 21

Elections: President--last held on 12 December 1988 (next to be held December 1993); results--Ghulam Ishaq KHAN was elected by Parliament and the four provincial assemblies; Senate--last held March 1991 (next to be held March 1994); results--elected by provincial assemblies; seats--(87 total) IJI 57, Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8, PPP 5, ANP 5, JWP 4, MQM 3, PNP 2, PKMP 1, JUI 1, independent 1; National Assembly--last held on 24 October 1990 (next to be held by October 1995); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(217 total) IJI 107, PDA 45, MQM 15, ANP 6, JUI 6, JWP 2, PNP 2, PKMP 1, independent 14, religious minorities 10, Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8, vacant 1

Communists: the Communist party is officially banned but is allowed to operate openly

Other political or pressure groups: military remains dominant political force; ulema (clergy), industrialists, and small merchants also influential

Member of: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Najmuddin SHAIKH; Chancery at 2315 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-6200; there is a Pakistani Consulate General in New York; US--Ambassador Robert B. OAKLEY; Embassy at Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad (mailing address is P. O. Box 1048, Islamabad or APO New York 09614); telephone [92] (51) 826161 through 79; there are US Consulates General in Karachi and Lahore, and a Consulate in Peshawar

Flag: green with a vertical white band on the hoist side; a large white crescent and star are centered in the green field; the crescent, star, and color green are traditional symbols of Islam

NOTE: The information regarding Pakistan on this page is re-published from the 1991 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Pakistan Government 1991 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Pakistan Government 1991 should be addressed to the CIA.