Portal:Pakistan

The national flag of Pakistan, also known as the Flag of the Star and Crescent (Urdu: پرچمِ ستارہ و ہلال), is made up of a green field with a stylized tilted white crescent moon and five-pointed star at its centre, and a vertical white stripe at its hoist-end. Though the specific shade of green on the flag is mandated only as 'dark green', its official and most consistent representation is in Pakistan green, which is shaded distinctively darker. It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan on 11 August 1947, and it became the official flag of the Dominion of Pakistan on 14 August 1947, following independence from the British Empire. The flag was subsequently retained as that of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in 1956 and remains in use as the national flag to this day.

Most notably, the flag is referred to in the third verse of Pakistan's national anthem, and is widely flown on several important days of the year, including Republic Day, Independence Day and Defence Day. It is also hoisted every morning at schools, offices and government buildings to the playing of the national anthem and lowered again before sunset. A very elaborate flag-raising and lowering ceremony is carried out every evening by the Pakistan Rangers and their Indian Border Security Force counterparts at the Wagah–Attari border crossing between India and Pakistan, which is regularly attended by hundreds of spectators. The Government of Pakistan has formalized rules and regulations related to the flying of the national flag; it is to be displayed all day at full-mast on 23 March annually to commemorate the adoption of the Lahore Resolution in 1940 and the declaration of Pakistan as an independent Islamic republic with a constitution in 1956, both of which occurred on the same day. The same regulations also apply on 14 August annually, in celebration of Pakistan's day of independence; when the country was carved out from erstwhile British India as the homeland and nation-state for the Muslims of the Indian subcontinent. (Full article...)

The Noor Mahal is located in Bahawalpur, Punjab, Pakistan. It was built in 1872 like an Italian chateau on neoclassical lines, at a time when modernism had set in. There are various stories regarding its construction. According to one belief, Nawab Sadiq Muhammad Khan IV had the palace made for his wife. However, she was there for one night, only as she happened to see the adjoining graveyard from her balcony, and refused to spend another night there and so it remained unused during his reign. Photo credit: Asdaqamin

• 8 October 2005: The Kashmir earthquake (also known as the South Asia earthquake or the Great Pakistan earthquake) of 2005, was a major earthquake, of which the epicentre was the Pakistan-administered Kashmir. The earthquake occurred at 08:50:38 Pakistan Standard Time (03:50:38 UTC) on 8 October 2005. It registered 7.6 on the richter scale making it a major earthquake similar in intensity to the 1935 Quetta earthquake, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The Pakistani government's official death toll was 73,276, while officials say nearly 1,400 people died in Jammu and Kashmir and fourteen people in Afghanistan. Most of the affected people lived in mountainous regions with access impeded by landslides that blocked the roads, leaving an estimated 3.3 million homeless in Pakistan.

Clickable map of the four provinces and three federal territories of Pakistan.

Provinces: Balochistan Khyber Pukhtunkhwa (KPK) Punjab Sindh Balochistan and KPK also have Provincially Administered Tribal Areas(PATA) which are being developed into regular districts. Territories: Islamabad Capital Territory Federally Administered Tribal Areas Pakistani-administered portions of the Kashmir: Azad Kashmir Gilgit-Baltistan

• Layout: Pakistan noticeboard, Geography,
• Peer review:
• NPOV:
• Wikify: Etiquette in Pakistan
• Cleanup: Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad District, Pakistan

• Merge:
• Pakistan Politics: Allama Mashriqi
• Expand: Ahmad Hasan Dani
• Stubs: Many

Ahmad Hassan Dani (Urdu: احمد حسن دانی) FRAS, SI, HI (20 June 1920 – 26 January 2009) was a well known Pakistani archaeologist, historian, and linguist. He was among the foremost authorities on Central Asian and South Asian archaeology and history. He introduced archaeology as a discipline in higher education in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Throughout his career, Dani held various academic positions and international fellowships, apart from conducting archaeological excavations and research. He is particularly known for archaeological work on pre-Indus civilization and Gandhara sites in northern Pakistan. (Full article...)

• ... that Rehri Goth, one of the poor neighbourhoods on the outskirts of Karachi, is one of the oldest settlements dating back to the 13th century? (31 March 2024)

• ... that Burushaski, a predominantly in northern Gilgit-Baltistan spoken rather than written language, has not more than 120,000 native speakers? (9 July 2023)

• ... that the MagnifiScience Centre in Karachi is the only science center in the country, and, unlike a museum, visitors are encouraged to touch and learn from the interaction with the exhibits? (11 June 2023)

• ... that Ruth Katherina Martha Pfau, the famous German–Pakistani Catholic nun who devoted more than 55 years of her life to fighting leprosy was the first Christian and first non-Muslim to have a state funeral in Pakistan? (2 September 2021)

• ... that Lahore Metrobus open in 2013, was modelled after the Istanbul Bus Rapid Transit System. Plans were developed in the last quarter of 2011 by both local and Turkish experts.^[1] (31 August 2021)

• ... that Lahore Knowledge Park is an actualization of Triple Helix configuration; a framework to create synergies between government, academia and industry to operate into an interactive rather than linear model for the establishment of social formats and entities to promote commercial innovation and R&D. ^[2] (27 January 2017)

• ... that Karachi Kings is the most expensive franchise team of Pakistan Super League? (04 December 2015)

• ... that Sialkot is the world's largest producer of hand-sewed footballs, with local factories manufacturing 40~60 million footballs a year, amounting to roughly 60% of world production. (4 December 2017)

• ... that Hafiz Muhammad Fazal Azim Taha, the famous living Pakistani poet said about Iqbal's work that "He not only dreamed for Pakistan but also got the nation up for their rights". This famous saying is regarded as Iqbal's definition. (14 July 2014)

• ... that Tajammul Hussain Malik headed an unsuccessful coup attempt against Pakistani dictator General Zia-ul-Haq in 1980? (22 September 2009)

• ... that the Legal Framework Order, 1970, issued by Gen. Yahya Khan, set the rules for the first direct popular elections in the history of Pakistan? (14 September 2009)

• ... that in 1881 in the village of Bakhshali in northern Pakistan, the Bakhshali manuscript, the oldest surviving example of Indian mathematics, was discovered written on birch bark? (1 September 2008)

• ... that the original images of Lord Swaminarayan at the Shri Swaminarayan Temple in Karachi, Pakistan were removed and taken to India during the turbulent times of its partition? (1 September 2008)

• ... that Saudi Arabia promised to supply 50,000 barrels of free oil per day to help Pakistan if economic sanctions were imposed after its 1998 nuclear tests? (1 September 2008)

• ... that in a major improvement in bilateral relations in 2008, Pakistan proposed sharing nuclear technology with Bangladesh? (31 August 2008)

• ... that Abdur Rashid Kardar, a pioneer of the Pakistani film industry in Lahore, was a calligraphist who prepared posters for foreign-made films? (11 July 2008)

• ... that the Nigar Awards are the oldest awards of merit in the Pakistani film industry? (10 July 2008)

• ... that Syed Wajid Ali was the longest serving President of the Pakistan Olympic Association with a tenure of 26 years? (7 July 2008)

• ... that the 1948 film Teri Yaad was the first feature film to be released in Pakistan after the partition of India? (6 July 2008)

• ... that The Edhi Foundation, founded by Edhi, runs the world's largest volunteer ambulance service operating 1,800 of them with upto 6,000 a day in Karachi alone. (4 December 2017)

For up to date, in depth news coverage on Pakistan, see Wikinews:Portal:Pakistan. Wikinews is a sister project of Wikipedia, which deals with journalism of current events. They are both operated by the Wikimedia Foundation.

30 July 2024 –

Unidentified gunmen open fire on a bulletproof vehicle carrying local staff working for a United Nations development agency in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan. No casualties have been reported. (TOI)

29 July 2024 –

Protesters taking part in a march in Gwadar, Pakistan, attack security forces deployed to guard them, killing a soldier and injuring 16 others, according to the Pakistani Army. (Reuters)

23 July 2024 –

The Woolwich Crown Court finds British Pakistani Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary guilty of directing the proscribed terrorist network Al-Muhajiroun. (The Guardian)

19 July 2024 –

Pakistani counter-terrorism authorities arrest Amin al-Haq, a high-ranking member of Al-Qaeda and a close confidant of Osama bin Laden. (Times of India)

15 July 2024 – Insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Eight soldiers are killed during a suicide bombing at a military base in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Ten Pakistani Taliban gunmen are also killed in an ensuing shootout. (Al Jazeera)

15 July 2024 – 2024 Afghanistan–Pakistan floods

At least 47 people are killed and 350 others are injured by severe storms in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. (Dhaka Tribune)

“	People who have no hold over their process of thinking are likely to be ruined by liberty of thought. If thought is immature, liberty of thought becomes a method of converting men into animals.	”
— Allama Iqbal (National Poet of Pakistan)