Pakistan Government
What is the capital of Pakistan?
| Country Name | Pakistan |
| Full Country Name | Islamic Republic of Pakistan |
| Local - Long | Jamhuryat Islami Pakistan |
| Local - Short | Pakistan |
| Former Name | West Pakistan |
| Etymology- history of name | the word "pak" means "pure" in Persian or Pashto, while the Persian suffix "-stan" means "place of" or "country," so the word Pakistan literally means "Land of the pure" |
| Government Type | federal parliamentary republic |
| Capital Name | Islamabad |
| Capital - geographic coordinate | 33 41 N, 73 03 E |
| Capital Time Difference | UTC+5 (10 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) |
| Independence | 14 August 1947 (from British India) |
| National Holiday | Pakistan Day (also referred to as Pakistan Resolution Day or Republic Day), 23 March (1940); note - commemorates both the adoption of the Lahore Resolution by the All-India Muslim League during its 22-24 March 1940 session, which called for the creation of independent Muslim states, and the adoption of the first constitution of Pakistan on 23 March 1956 during the transition to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan |
| Constitution | several previous; latest endorsed 12 April 1973, passed 19 April 1973, entered into force 14 August 1973 (suspended and restored several times); amended many times, last in 2015 |
Pakistan Capital City Map
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Pakistan Government and Politics
Who is the president of Pakistan?
| Executive Branch: |
chief of state: President Arif ALVI (since 9 September 2018) head of government: Prime Minister Imran KHAN (since 18 August 2018) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president upon the advice of the prime minister elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by the Electoral College consisting of members of the Senate, National Assembly, and provincial assemblies for a 5-year term (limited to 2 consecutive terms); election last held on 4 September 2018 (next to be held in 2023); prime minister elected by the National Assembly on 17 August 2018 election results: Arif ALVI elected president; Electoral College vote - Arif ALVI (PTI) 352, Fazl-ur-REHMAN (MMA) 184, Aitzaz AHSAN (PPP) 124; Imran KHAN elected prime minister; National Assembly vote - Imran KHAN (PTI) 176, Shehbaz SHARIF (PML-N) 96 |
| Citizenship Criteria: |
citizenship by birth: yes citizenship by descent: at least one parent must be a citizen of Pakistan dual citizenship recognized: yes, but limited to select countries residency requirement for naturalization: 4 out of the previous 7 years and including the 12 months preceding application |
| Legal System: | common law system with Islamic law influence |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal; note - there are joint electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims |
| Legislative Branch: |
description: bicameral Parliament or Majlis-e-Shoora consists of: Senate (104 seats; members indirectly elected by the 4 provincial assemblies and the territories' representatives by proportional representation vote; members serve 6-year terms with one-half of the membership renewed every 3 years) National Assembly (342 seats; 272 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 70 members - 60 women and 10 non-Muslims - directly elected by proportional representation vote; all members serve 5-year terms) elections: Senate - last held on 3 March 2018 (next to be held in March 2021) National Assembly - last held on 25 July 2018 (next to be held on 25 July 2023) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party as of December 2019 - PPP 19, PML-N 16, PTI 14, MQM-P 5, JUI-F 4, BAP 2, JI 2, PkMAP 2, ANP 1, BNP 1, PML-F 1, other 7, independent 30 National Assembly - percent of votes by party NA; seats by party as of December 2019 - PTI 156, PML-N 84, PPP 55, MMA 16, MQM-P 7, BAP 5, PML-Q 5, BNP 4, GDA 3, AML 1, ANP 1, JWP 1, independent 4 |
| Judicial Branch: |
highest court(s): Supreme Court of Pakistan (consists of the chief justice and 16 judges) judge selection and term of office: justices nominated by an 8-member parliamentary committee upon the recommendation of the Judicial Commission (a 9-member body of judges and other judicial professionals), and appointed by the president of Pakistan; justices can serve until age 65 subordinate courts: High Courts; Federal Shariat Court; provincial and district civil and criminal courts; specialized courts for issues such as taxation, banking, customs, etc. |
| Regions or States: |
4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital territory**; Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly North-West Frontier Province), Punjab, Sindh note: the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region consists of 2 administrative entities: Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan |
| Political Parties and Leaders: |
Awami National Party or ANP [Mian Iftikhar HUSSAIN] Balochistan National Party-Awami or BNP-A [Mir Israr Ullah ZEHRI] Balochistan National Party-Mengal or BNP-M [Sardar Akhtar Jan MENGAL] Jamaat-i Islami or JI [Sirajul HAQ] Jamiat-i Ulema-i Islam Fazl-ur Rehman or JUI-F [Fazlur REHMAN] Muttahida Qaumi Movement or MQM [Farooq SATTAR] Pakhtun khwa Milli Awami Party or PkMAP [Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI] Pakistan Muslim League-Functional or PML-F [Pir PAGARO or Syed Shah Mardan SHAH-II] Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz or PML-N [Nawaz SHARIF] Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians or PPPP [Bilawal Bhutto ZARDARI and Asif Ali ZARDARI] Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaaf or PTI [Imran KHAN] Pak Sarzameen Party or PSP [Mustafa KAMAL] Quami Watan Party or QWP [Aftab Ahmed Khan SHERPAO] note: political alliances in Pakistan shift frequently |
| International Law Organization Participation: | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; non-party state to the ICCt |
| International Organization Participation: | ADB, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), C, CICA, CP, D-8, ECO, FAO, G-11, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic Representation in the US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Jalil Abbas JILANI (since 10 March 2014) chancery: 3517 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 243-6500 FAX: [1] (202) 686-1534 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York consulate(s): Louisville (KY), San Francisco |
| Diplomatic Representation from US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador David M. HALE (since 3 December 2015) embassy: Diplomatic Enclave, Ramna 5, Islamabad mailing address: 8100 Islamabad Place, Washington, DC 20521-8100 telephone: [92] (51) 208-0000/[92] (51) 201-4000 FAX: [92] (51) 233-8071 consulate(s) general: Karachi consulate(s): Lahore, Peshawar |
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