Digraph: PK

Type: 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: 14 August 1947 (from UK)

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, 23 March (1956) (proclamation of the republic)

Political parties and leaders:

government: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), Mian Nawaz SHARIF; Jamhoori Watan Party (JWP), Mohammad Akbar Khan BUGTI; Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI), Fazl-ur-REHMAN and Sami-ul-HAQ; Awami National Party (ANP), Khan Abdul WALI KHAN; Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan-Niazi, Maulana Abdul Sattar Khan NIAZI; Pakhtun Khwa Milli Awami Party (PKMAP), Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI

opposition: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Benazir BHUTTO and Nusrat BHUTTO; Pakistan Muslim League-Chattha (PML-C), Hamid Nasir CHATTHA; Jamaat-i-Islami (JI), Qazi Hussain AHMED; National People's Party (NPP), Ghulam Mustapha JATOI (formerly the PNP); Tehrik-i-Istiqlal (TI), Air Marshal (Ret.) Mohammad ASGHAR KHAN; Tehrik-i-Nifaz-i-Fiqah-i-Jafaria (TNFJ), Agha Hamid Ali MUSAVI; Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan-Noorani (JUP-Noorani), Maulana Shah Ahmed NOORANI; Mohajir Quami Mahaz-Haqiqi (MQM-H), Afaq AHMED

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

Suffrage: 21 years of age; universal

Elections:

President: last held on 12 December 1988 (next to be held by NA November 1993); results - Ghulam ISHAQ KHAN was elected by Parliament and the four provincial assemblies

Senate: last held March 1991 (next to be held NA March 1994); seats - (87 total) PML 52, Tribal Area Representatives (nonparty) 8, PPP 5, ANP 5, JWP 4, MQM 3, PNP 2 (name later chaged to NPP), JI 2, JUP 2, JUI 2, PKMAP 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) number of seats by party NA; note - President GHULAM ISHAQ Khan dismissed the National Assembly on 18 April 1993; it was reestablished, however, on 26 May 1993 by the Supreme Court, which ruled the dismissal order unconstitutional

Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet

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

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Federal Islamic (Shari'at) 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); note - President GHULAM ISHAQ Khan dismissed Prime Minister SHARIF on 18 April 1993, but he was reinstated by the Supreme Court on 26 May 1993

Member of: AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ECO, 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, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOSOM, UNTAC, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

Flag: green with a vertical white band (symbolizing the role of religious minorities) 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