| Government | Pakistan | | Country name: | conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
conventional short form: Pakistan
former: West Pakistan | | Government type: | federal republic | | Capital: | Islamabad | | 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 | | Independence: | 14 August 1947 (from UK) | | National holiday: | Republic Day, 23 March (1956) | | Constitution: | 12 April 1973; suspended 5 July 1977, restored with amendments 30 December 1985; suspended 15 October 1999, restored in stages in 2002; amended 31 December 2003 | | Legal system: | Based on English common law with provisions to accommodate Pakistan's status as a Muslim state; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | | Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal; joint electorates and reserved parliamentary seats for women and non-Muslims | | Executive branch: | note: following a military takeover on 12 October 1999, Chief of Army Staff and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee, General Pervez MUSHARRAF, suspended Pakistan's constitution and assumed the additional title of Chief Executive; on 12 May 2000, Pakistan's Supreme Court unanimously validated the October 1999 coup and granted MUSHARRAF executive and legislative authority for three years from the coup date; on 20 June 2001, MUSHARRAF named himself as president and was sworn in, replacing Mohammad Rafiq TARAR; in a referendum held on 30 April 2002, MUSHARRAF's presidency was extended by five more years; on 1 January 2004, MUSHARRAF won a vote of confidence in the Senate, National Assembly, and four provincial assemblies
chief of state: President General Pervez MUSHARRAF (since 20 June 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Shaukat AZIZ (since 28 August 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the prime minister
elections: the president is elected by Parliament for a five-year term; note - in a referendum held on 30 April 2002, MUSHARRAF's presidency was extended by five more years (next to be held in 2007); the prime minister is selected by the National Assembly (next to be held in 2007)
election results: AZIZ elected by the National Assembly on 27 August 2004 with 191 of the votes | | Legislative branch: | Bicameral Parliament or Majlis-e-Shoora consists of the Senate (100 seats - formerly 87; members indirectly elected by provincial assemblies to serve six-year terms and the National Assembly (342 seats - formerly 217; 60 seats represent women; 10 seats represent minorities; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held in March 2006 (next to be held in March 2009); National Assembly - last held 10 October 2002 (next to be held in 2007)
election results: Senate results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PML 47, PPPP 9, MMA 20, MQM/A 6, PML/N 4, PML/F 1, PkMAP 3, ANP 2, PPP 3, JWP 1, BNP-Awami 1, BNP-Mengal 1, BNP/H 1, independents 1; National Assembly results - percent of votes by party - NA; seats by party - PML/Q 126, PPPP 81, MMA 63, PML/N 19, MQM/A 17, NA 16, PML/F 5, PML/J 3, PPP/S 2, BNP 1, JWP 1, PAT 1, PML/Z 1, PTI 1, MQM/H 1, PkMAP 1, independents 3 | | Judicial branch: | Supreme Court (justices appointed by the president); Federal Islamic or Shari'ah Court | | Political parties and leaders: | Awami National Party or ANP [Asfandyar Wali KHAN];
Balochistan National Party/Hayee Group or BNP/H [Dr. Hayee BALUCH];
Baluch National Party/Awami or BNP/Awami [Moheem Khan BALOCH];
Baluch National Party-Mengal or BNP/M [Sardar Ataullah MENGAL];
Jamhoori Watan Party or JWP [Akbar Khan BUGTI];
Jamiat-al-Hadith or JAH [Sajid MIR];
Jamiat-i-Islami or JI [Qazi Hussain AHMED];
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Fazlur Rehman faction or JUI/F [Fazlur REHMAN];
Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, Sami ul-HAQ faction or JUI/S [Sami ul-HAQ];
Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan or JUP [Shah Faridul HAQ];
Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal Pakistan or MMA [Qazi Hussain AHMED];
Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Altaf faction or MQM/A [Altaf HUSSAIN];
Muttahida Quami Movement, Haqiqi faction or MQM/H [Afaq AHMAD];
National Alliance or NA [Ghulam Mustapha JATOI];
Pakhtun Khwa Milli Awami Party or PkMAP [Mahmood Khan ACHAKZAI];
Pakhtun Quami Party or PQP [Mohammed Afzal KHAN];
Pakistan Awami Tehrik or PAT [Tahir ul QADRI];
Pakistan Muslim League, Functional Group or PML/F [Pir PAGARO];
Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz Sharif faction or PML/N [Nawaz SHARIF];
Pakistan Muslim League or PML [Chaudhry Shujaat HUSSAIN]; note - as of May 2004, the PML/Q changed its name to PML and absorbed the PML/J, PML/Z, and NA;
Pakistan National Party or PNP [Hasil BIZENJO];
Pakistan People's Party or PPP [Aftab Ahmed Khan SHERPAO];
Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians or PPPP [Benazir BHUTTO];
Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaaf or PTI [Imran KHAN];
Tehrik-i-Islami [Allama Sajid NAQVI] | | Other political/religious parties and groups (some banned): | Harakat ul-Mujahidin;
Hizb ut-Tahrir;
Hizb ul-Mujahideen;
Jaishe Mohammed;
Lashkar-e-Jhangavi;
Lashkar-e-Taiba;
Sipah-e-Mohammad;
Sipah-e-Sahabah;
Tableegh Jamat;
Tehrik Nifaz Shariat-i-Mohammadi;
Tehrik-i-Jafria; | | Political pressure groups and leaders: | Military remains most important political force; ulema, landowners, industrialists, and small merchants also influential | | International organization participation: | ARF, AsDB, C (reinstated 2004), CP, ECO, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, ONUB, OPCW, PCA, SAARC, SACEP, SCO (observer), UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | | 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 |
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