Pakistan encapsulates such variety that it is regretful that it is not top of every traveller's must-see list. Pakistan is enriched by friendly people and magnificent landscapes. Opportunity for adventure is as high as its mighty mountain ranges, with watersports, mountaineering and trekking all popular and rewarding activities. Coupled with this is a profound sense of cultural concoction, Pakistan once being home to several ancient civilizations, and witness to the rise and fall of dynasties.

In ancient times, the area that now comprises Pakistan marked the farthest reaches of the conquests of Alexander the Great. It was also the home of Buddhist Ghandaran culture. It was the independence of India in 1947 that catalysed Pakistan's nationhood. Under pressure from Indian Muslims, the British created a separate Muslim state. Originally, it consisted of two parts, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) and West Pakistan (now a single unitary state). Mohammed Ali Jinnah, who led the independence struggle, became the new country’s first president.

Democracy failed to take root and Pakistan suffered military rule and civil war, eventually securing an independent Bangladesh and truncating Pakistan. Democratic civilian government followed this defeat and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto became president. In 1977, the military took power in a coup under General Mohammed Zia ul-Haq. A democratic constitution and civilian government were re-instituted following his death in 1988.

A decade of revolving-door civilian politics ensued between Ali Bhutto’s daughter, Benazir, and Mohammed Nawaz Sharif, leader of the Islamic Democratic Alliance, essentially a military creation. Sharif and Bhutto contested four violent elections during the next 10 years, winning two each. Both Bhutto governments and Sharif's first were dismissed by presidential decree because of incompetence, nepotism and corruption. The military interceded with Sharif's second because of Pakistan’s controversial nuclear weapons program, designed to ensure parity with India.

At the heart of the long-running Indo-Pakistan conflict is the status of Kashmir which, although it has a majority Muslim population, became part of India in 1947. The two sides have nearly come to war on several occasions. However, in early 2004, a 'road map' was agreed and tentative commitment to peace established.

Equally troubling is the issue of Pakistan's position in regards to international terrorism. General Musharraf helped the USA against Afghanistan after the '9/11' 2001 attacks, making him extremely unpopular among parts of Pakistani society. Historically, Pakistan had been intimately involved with the creation of the Taleban and the Pathans of Pakistan, well-represented in the military, are closely linked to the Pashtun, Afghanstan’s largest ethnic group, who made up most of the Taleban. The US-Pakistani relationship is also controversial since General Musharraf is himself marred by corruption, recently 'awarding' himself further years as president.

Pakistan's topography is therefore as fractured and unsettled as its history. Yet its swerving shifts of mountainous land possess great beauty. Visit Pakistan for yourself and begin untangling this complex enigma.

Geography
Pakistan has borders to the north with Afghanistan, to the east with India and to the west with Iran; the Arabian Sea lies to the south. In the northeast is the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, bounded by Afghanistan, China and India. Pakistan comprises distinct regions. The northern highlands – the Hindu Kush – are rugged and mountainous; the Indus Valley is a flat, alluvial plain with five major rivers dominating the upper region, eventually joining the Indus River and flowing south to the Makran coast; Sindh is bounded on the east by the Thar Desert and the Rann of Kutch, and on the west by the Kirthar Range; the Baluchistan Plateau is an arid tableland encircled by mountains.