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Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country placed in South Asia, Southwest Asia, and Middle East and unites with Central Asia and the Middle East. It has a 1,046 kilometer (650 mile) coastline along the Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the south, and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. The capital of the country is Islamabad; the location of the country is 33°40′N 73°10′E. The largest city of the country is Karachi, the official language is Urdu, and the recognized regional languages are Balochi, Pashto, Punjabi, Sindhi, Siraiki, Dari Persian and English. The independent was declared from the British Empire on 14 August 1947. The country became an Islamic republic on 23 March 1956. The total area is 803,940 km²; the estimated population of 2008 is 172,800,000. The GDP (PPP) per capita of 2008 estimate is US$2,592. The currency of the country is Rupee (Rs.) (PKR).

The Indus region, which covers much of Pakistan, was the site of several ancient cultures including the Neolithic era Mehrgarh and the Bronze era Indus Valley Civilization (2500 BCE – 1500 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. The Indus Valley Civilization collapsed in the middle of the second millennium BCE and was followed by the Vedic Civilization, which also extended over much of the Indo-Gangetic plains. Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Achaemenid Persian Empire around 543 BCE, Greek empire founded by Alexander the Great in 326 BCE and the Mauryan Empire there after.

Pakistan is an alliance of four provinces, a capital territory and federally administered tribal areas. The government of Pakistan exercises jurisdiction over the western parts of the disputed Kashmir region, organized as two separate political entities (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas). The armed forces of Pakistan are a completely volunteer force and are the seventh largest in the world. The three main constituents are the Army, Navy and Air Force, maintained by a number of paramilitary forces which carry out in-house security roles and border patrols. The National Command Authority is responsible for exercising employment and development control of all strategic nuclear forces and organizations.