Pakistan


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    The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a nation in South Asia that was formed from the Muslim majority provinces of The Raj. At the time of its formation, it consisted of two halves separated by 2000 miles of India. The Eastern half eventually revolted and became Bangladesh, after which West Pakistan simply became Pakistan.

    Pakistan is nominally The Federation consisting of the four major provinces:

    • Punjab
    • Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa [KPK]
    • Balochistan
    • Sindh

    Two federally administered territories:

    • Federally Administered Tribal Area [FATA] (of War On Terror fame)
    • Islamabad Capital District

    And its two disputed holdings in the Kashmir Region (which are a cross between a protectorate, a puppet state, and a province):

    • Azad Kashmir
    • Gilgit-Baltistan

    The origin of Pakistanis With Panters

    Examples of the following

    • Arch Enemy: India, ever since its founding (but even more so since India helped Bangladesh gain independence from Pakistan in a war in 1971). The never-ending Kashmir conflict ensures this will continue for some time.
    • Boom Town: Karachi, Pakistan's Mega City / Merchant City and main port, is also one of the largest and fastest-growing in the world. Mind, prior to independence, the city was a relatively sleepy port town.
    • The City vs. the Country: A big component of Sindhi politics, rightly or wrongly, thanks to the ethnic makeup within Karachi being vastly different from Sindh Province where it resides and the power dynamics between the two. Plays out more generally with the rest of Pakistan in terms of politics since, in the countryside, only the medievalesque landlords have any power to get things done while in the city, its more (but not completely) egalitarian.
    • Cold War: It was one of the fronts of the conflict, on the side of the West, to prevent the Soviets from getting a warm water port and the ability to seal the Gulf. It also was instrumental in opening ties between the United States and China during the 1970s.
    • Deal with the Devil: Many Pakistanis are not overly fond of the country's alliance with the United States and angry protests about American involvement in Pakistan are routinely held in major cities.
      • Many Pakistani saw the supporting the Taliban in the 1990's as an example of this. Sure they were religious loons. But they were able to keep Afghanistan stable and more importantly, ensures that millions of refugees did escape to Pakistan as what had happened when the Soviets invaded.
    • The Deadliest Mushroom / Nuclear Option: Pakistan is quite proud of its nuclear arsenal, seeing it as the best guarantor of national security. Needless to say, Indian (and American) policymakers are not thrilled about this, especially the prospect of the stockpile being unsecured.
    • Fun with Acronyms: Pakistan's name (written using the letters P-A-K-S-T-A-N of Urdu) is actually an acronym of the nation's constituent territories: Punjab, Afghania[1], Kashmir, Sindh, BalochisTAN.
      • In Urdu, it means "land of the pure".
        • Actually, no it does not.It sounds similar to what would be Urdu for "Pure land" or "Pious Land" (that would be Pakstan). However actually most Pakistanis (and the Government) generally just say it is an acronoym. Certain Indians refer to Pakistan as Pure Land. And not as a compliment.
    • Not-So-Omniscient Council of Bickering: Pakistan's Parliament. Legally, the National Assembly and Senate have supreme authority to do essentially whatever they please. However, partisan politics, personal rivalries/vendettas, incompetence, corruption, and most importantly a fear of the all powerful Pakistan Army (whose first coup back in the 1950s was caused by the other aforementioned factors) prevents them from actually exercising it, to the detriment (and sometimes benefit) of the public.
    • Obstructive Bureaucracy / Beleaguered Bureaucracy: The civillian governments are infamous for either being carelessly incompetent or grossly self-serving. It is the largest reason as to why the Army has been able to successfully launch three coups, each lasting roughly a decade. Because of this history, the Pakistan media tend to (rightly or wrongly) disparrage ALL Pakistani politicians in the same brush.
    • The Omniscient Council of Vagueness: Generally known in Pakistan as The Establishment, it is said to consist of the military, its clandestine agencies, and (mentioned less often) certain influential politicians and businessmen. It is widely considered to be the true power behind the throne, be it military or civilian. Opinions vary greatly as to its effect, purpose, evil/goodness, and competence. The same trope is also applied to the top generals in the Pakistan Army, whenever they have a Corps Commanders meeting.
    • Our Founder: Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
    • Patchwork Map: Due to straddling the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent, Pakistan is a real life version of this with desolate wasteland to the west, lush farmland to the east, the Mega City of Karachi and the sea shore to the south, and snowcapped mountains to the north. Of course if you only follow the Western media its all desert.
    • Proud Warrior Race Guy: The Pashto inhabitants of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and other northern regions. Also to a lesser extent Punjabis.
    • Qurac: Though not actually a Middle Eastern nation, it is often portrayed that way by Western news and entertainment media, simply because it is a Muslim state. This trope gets most Pakistani really really really angry. Even worse is when some clueless individuals call Pakistanis Arabs, and their language Arabic. Fun Fact, Pakistan's official language is[2].
    • State Sec: the Directorate of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
    • Urban Segregation: Of the ethnic variety within Karachi, which sometimes leads to flareups.
    • The War on Terror: With Afghanistan to its north and terrorists attacking the border regions, Pakistan is one of the lynch-pin states in this conflict and features a lot in news relating to this.
      • Recently, it has been on the news for Osama Bin Laden's death in the city of Abbottabad, about two and a half hours drive northwest from the capital, Islamabad.
      • The fact that tens of thousands of Pakistanis have died in the war does not usually get much time in the Western media.. An example of unfortunate implications.
    • Wild Mass Guessing: Partly due to the lies the Pakistani people have had to deal with from their government over the years and partly due to the national narrative that everyone is out to get them, the Pakistanis are alleged to believe anything even mildly critical of Pakistan is, in fact, the result of a conspiracy hatched by a "foreign hand" or, more specifically, the "CIA-RAW-Mossad nexus".
    • Your Terrorists Are Our Freedom Fighters: Aside from al-Qaeda, the country is home to quite a few militant and/or Islamist groups (Lashkar-e-Taiba, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, Balochi separatists and others). Opinions vary widely on them.


    The Pakistani flag

    1. ↑ Afghania, was named NWFP(North West Frontier Province), and is now called the above mentioned KPK (Khyber-PakhtoonKhwa)
    2. ↑ English. It is the language of business, the Government and the Courts. It makes sense in context, in a Country with over 72 languages, keeping the old colonial masters language on can avoid the inevitable accusations of favouritism. Also the country was used to English
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