Asia > Pakistan > Government

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Administrative divisions 4 provinces, 1 territory*, and 1 capital territory**; Balochistan, Federally Administered Tribal Areas*, Islamabad Capital Territory**, North-West Frontier Province, Punjab, Sindh note: the Pakistani-administered portion of the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region consists of two administrative entities: Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas
Capital city > Geographic coordinates	33 42 N, 73 10 E
Definition: Government > Capital city > Geographic coordinates
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Constitution 12 April 1973; suspended 5 July 1977, restored 30 December 1985; suspended 15 October 1999, restored in stages in 2002; amended 31 December 2003; suspended 3 November 2007; restored on 15 December 2007
Definition: Government > Constitution
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Corruption	2.1		[148th of 160]
Definition: Government > Corruption
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address P. O. Box 1048, Unit 62200, APO AE 09812-2200
Definition: Government > Diplomatic representation from the US > Mailing address
Source: Transparency International
Executive branch > Cabinet Cabinet appointed by the president upon the advice of the prime minister
Definition: Government > Executive branch > Cabinet
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Executive branch > Chief of state President Asif Ali ZARDARI (since 6 September 2008)
Definition: Government > Executive branch > Chief of state
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Flag description 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
Definition: Government > Flag description
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Government type	federal republic
Definition: Government > Government type
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Independence 14 August 1947 (from British India)
Definition: Government > Independence
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Judicial branch Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president); Federal Islamic or Sharia Court
Definition: Government > Judicial branch
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Legal system based on English common law with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's status as an Islamic state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations
Definition: Government > Legal system
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Legislative branch bicameral parliament or Majlis-e-Shoora consists of the Senate (100 seats; members indirectly elected by provincial assemblies and the territories' representatives in the National Assembly to serve six-year terms; one half are elected every three years) and the National Assembly (342 seats; 272 members elected by popular vote; 60 seats reserved for women; 10 seats reserved for non-Muslims; to serve five-year terms)
Definition: Government > Legislative branch
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Parliamentary seats > Female	2%		[129th of 143]
Definition: Government > Parliamentary seats > Female
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Political parties and leaders Awami National Party or ANP [Asfandyar Wali KHAN]; Balochistan National Party-Hayee Group or BNP-H [Dr. Hayee BALOCH]; Balochistan National Party-Awami or BNP-A [Moheem Khan BALOCH]; Balochistan National Party-Mengal or BNP-M [Sardar Ataullah MENGAL]; Jamhoori Watan Party or JWP; Jamiat Ahle Hadith or JAH [Sajid MIR]; Jamaat-i Islami or JI [Qazi Hussain AHMED]; Jamiat Ulema-i Islam Fazlur Rehman or JUI-F [Fazlur REHMAN]; Jamiat Ulema-i Islam Sami-ul HAQ or JUI-S [Sami ul-HAQ]; Jamiat Ulema-i Pakistan or JUP [Shah Faridul HAQ]; Muttahida Majlis-e Amal or MMA [Qazi Hussain AHMED]; Muttahida Qaumi Movement or MQM [Altaf HUSSAIN]; National Alliance or NA [Ghulam Mustapha JATOI] (merged with PML); National Peoples Party or NPP; Pakhtun Khwa Milli Awami Party or PKMAP [Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI]; Pakistan Awami Tehrik or PAT [Tahir ul QADRI]; Pakistan Muslim League-Functional or PML-F [Pir PAGARO]; Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz Sharif or PML-N [Nawaz SHARIF]; Pakistan Muslim League or PML [Chaudhry Shujaat HUSSAIN]; Pakistan Peoples Party-SHERPAO or PPP-S [Aftab Ahmed Khan SHERPAO]; Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarians or PPPP [Bilawal Bhutto ZARDARI, chairman; Asif Ali ZARDARI, co-chairman]; Pakistan Tehrik-e Insaaf or PTI [Imran KHAN]; Tehrik-i Islami [Allama Sajid NAQVI]; note: political alliances in Pakistan can shift frequently
Definition: Government > Political parties and leaders
Source: United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook
Status	pseudo-democracy
Definition: Government > Status
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal; joint electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims
Definition: Government > Suffrage
Source: electionworld.org
Time required to start a business > days	24 days		[120th of 171]
Definition: Government > Time required to start a business > days
Source: All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008
Trademarks, residents	8,319		[17th of 98]
Definition: Government > Trademarks, residents
Source: World Development Indicators database
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International various talks and confidence-building measures cautiously have begun to defuse tensions over Kashmir, particularly since the October 2005 earthquake in the region; Kashmir nevertheless remains the site of the world's largest and most militarized territorial dispute with portions under the de facto administration of China (Aksai Chin), India (Jammu and Kashmir), and Pakistan (Azad Kashmir and Northern Areas); UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) has maintained a small group of peacekeepers since 1949; India does not recognize Pakistan's ceding historic Kashmir lands to China in 1964; India and Pakistan have maintained their 2004 cease fire in Kashmir and initiated discussions on defusing the armed stand-off in the Siachen glacier region; Pakistan protests India's fencing the highly militarized Line of Control and construction of the Baglihar Dam on the Chenab River in Jammu and Kashmir, which is part of the larger dispute on water sharing of the Indus River and its tributaries; to defuse tensions and prepare for discussions on a maritime boundary, India and Pakistan seek technical resolution of the disputed boundary in Sir Creek estuary at the mouth of the Rann of Kutch in the Arabian Sea; Pakistani maps continue to show the Junagadh claim in India's Gujarat State; by 2005, Pakistan, with UN assistance, repatriated 2.3 million Afghan refugees leaving slightly more than a million, many of whom remain at their own choosing; Pakistan has proposed and Afghanistan protests construction of a fence and laying of mines along portions of their porous border; Pakistan has sent troops into remote tribal areas to monitor and control the border with Afghanistan and to stem terrorist or other illegal activities
Definition: Government > Transnational Issues > Disputes > International
Source: World Development Indicators database

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