Facebook

<p><b>Pakistan</b>, officially the <b>Islamic Republic of Pakistan</b>, is a country in <a href="/pages/w/103999329635111">South Asia</a>. It is the <a href="/pages/w/404452586396420">sixth-most populous</a> country with a population exceeding <a href="/pages/w/100127363470100">199 million people</a>. It is the 36th largest country in the world in terms of area with an area covering 881,913 km2. Pakistan has a 1046km <a href="/pages/w/115324391814969">coastline</a> along the <a href="/pages/w/108407955849878">Arabian Sea</a> and the <a href="/pages/w/115513288465551">Gulf of Oman</a> in the south and is bordered by <a href="/pages/w/109524955741121">India</a> to the east, <a href="/pages/w/109447849081319">Afghanistan</a> to the west, <a href="/pages/w/103115216394994">Iran</a> to the southwest and <a href="/pages/w/107769809246142">China</a> in the far northeast respectively. It is separated from <a href="/pages/w/112359618779875">Tajikistan</a> by Afghanistan's narrow <a href="/pages/w/112599278789294">Wakhan Corridor</a> in the north, and also shares a <a href="/pages/w/140383879356630">maritime border</a> with <a href="/pages/w/109324419086790">Oman</a>.</p><p>The territory that now constitutes Pakistan is considered a <a href="/pages/w/108625185834454">cradle of civilization</a> which was previously home to several <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prehistory_of_Pakistan" class="wikipedia">ancient cultures</a>, including the <a href="/pages/w/132217903480365">Mehrgarh</a> of the <a href="/pages/w/109431425741819">Neolithic</a> and the Bronze Age <a href="/pages/w/105857726113429">Indus Valley Civilisation</a>, and was later home to kingdoms ruled by people of different faiths and cultures, including <a href="/pages/w/113580328652331">Hindu</a>s, <a href="/pages/w/102283483158325">Indo-Greeks</a>, <a href="/pages/w/134805953220590">Muslims</a>, <a href="/pages/w/143826962294189">Turco-Mongols</a>, <a href="/pages/w/173249532738292">Afghans</a> and <a href="/pages/w/107426602614223">Sikh</a>s. The area has been ruled by numerous empires and dynasties, including the Indian <a href="/pages/w/107047302665392">Mauryan Empire</a>, the Persian <a href="/pages/w/108322519196415">Achaemenid Empire</a>, <a href="/pages/w/113084105371850">Alexander of Macedonia</a>, the Arab <a href="/pages/w/109260279106275">Umayyad Caliphate</a>, the <a href="/pages/w/143044645711397">Delhi Sultanate</a>, the <a href="/pages/w/113258508689076">Mongol Empire</a>, the <a href="/pages/w/107629845933637">Mughal Empire</a>, the <a href="/pages/w/119787978067820">Durrani Empire</a>, the <a href="/pages/w/142390609107043">Sikh Empire</a> and the <a href="/pages/w/112981825380869">British Empire</a>.</p>