Pakistan, Geography

Located in the north-western part of the South Asian subcontinent, Pakistan became a state as a result of the partition of British Indiaon 14 Aug,1947.Pakistan annexed Azad (Free) Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947-48.Initially Pakistan also included the north eastern sector of the sub-continent, where Muslims are also majority. But the country's east wing , or east Pakistan , became the Independent state of Bangladesh in Dec 1971. Pakistan occupies a position of great importance , bordered by Iran on the West, China and Afghanistan on the north, Arabian sea on the south and India on the East.It has approximately 8 lacs square kilometers of land area.
Pakistan is the land of many splendours. The scenery changes northward from coastal beaches , lagoons, and mangrove swamps in the south to sandy deserts, desolate plateaus, fertile plains, and dissected upland in the middle and high mountains with beautiful vallleys, snow-covered peaks and eternal glaciers in the north.

Pakistan, Introduction

Pakistan is the western part of British India separated by partition on 1947. it declared itself a Islamic Republic in 1956, but was stalled by the 1956 military coup d'etat by Ayub Khan, who ruled during a period of internal instability and a second war with India in 1965. Its rank in the list of per capita income, Atlas method, 2003 estimate is 166, and its PCI is 460 $. In other methods and time measurement are given below:

IMF................WB.......................CIA

rank/PCI........Rank/PCI.......Rank/PCI

138/909.........131/884........141/849

I is slightly above poverty line.

Encyclopedia of countries from poorest, Synopsis of 1st Phase

Sudan,Culture (new country South Sudan was born)

A woman painting in Sudan a coffee can, ofen used in Sudan and Ethiopia. Sudanese culture melds the behaviors , practices,and beliefs of about 578 tribes, communicating about 400 languages and cultures. In the 1980s and 1990s some of Sudan's smaller ethnic and linguistic groups disappeared. Migration played a part, as migrants often forget their native tongue when theymove to an area dominated by another language. Some linguistic groups were absorbed by accomodation, others by conflict. Arabic was the lingua franca despite the use of English by many of the elite. many Sudanese are multi-lingual.
Sudan has a rich and unique musical culturethat has been through chronic instability and repression during the modern history of Sudan.Beginning with the imposition of strict Shria law in 1989, many of the country's most prominant poets, like mahjoub Sharif, were imprisoned while others , like Mohammad el Amin and Mohammed Wardi, fled to Cairo. Traditional music suffered too. The Nuba, on the front lines between the north and the south of Sudan, have retained a vibrant folk tradition.
Ancient art.

Sudan, Education

Education in Sudan is free and compulsory for children aged 6 to 13 years . Primary education consists of 8 years followed by 3 years secondary education.In 2001 World bank estimated that primary enrolment was 46 p.c. of eligible pupils and 21 p.c. of secondary students.
According to WB in 2002, literacy rate is 60 p.c, of aged 15 years. Sudan was a British Colony got its Independence in 1956. The official language is Arabic in the north and English in the South, both intermixing. We have sheeped containers of educational books, and are in the process of restoring or reconstructing schools, which were demolished by the Islamists from the north. In some cases we are building from the ground up.The five schools that we have funded to be built are nearing completion and some are nearly for use by thestudents eager to learn.

The full generation of youngsters have missed education altogether because of civil war, the violent attacks by air and on the ground , and the need for millioons of peopleto run for their lives.About 4,000,000 people are still still internally displacedbecause of northern aggression.

2,000,000have died either by attack or by starvation and mal-nutrition. A primary teacher. Swap, Bol and Gai; Kristy Swap,Manute Bol and Abraham Gai. The southern Sudan Education Project (SSEP)held a banquet and fund raiser at the Utah Multicultural Center in Salt lake City (Africa). the Key note speaker for the event was Manute Bol-best known as the tallest man in the world.

Sudan, Religion (contd-1)

Minaret in Port SudanAn estimated 70 %of the population adheres to Islam, The remainder of the population follows either Animist and Indegenous belief (25 %), or Christianity (5%). Sudan's largest Christian denominationzs are the following the Roman Catholic Church, Episcopal Church of Sudan.

Sudanese Muslims are adherents of the Sunni branch of Islam, sometimes called orthodox , by far the larger of the two major branches, the other is Shia, which is not represented in Sudan.Sunni islam in Sudan has been characterised by the formation of religious orders or brotherhoods, each of which has speial affinity o its adhernts. Sunni Islam requires of the faithful five fundamental obligations that constitute the five fundamental pillars of Islam.
1. The shahada or profession of faithis the affirmation " there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet". I is the first step to become a Muslim and a significant part of prayer.

2. Prayer at five specified times of the day. 3 Enjoins almsgiving, 4. fasting during daylight hours in he month of Ramadan. 5. Pilgrimage to Mecca for those able to perform it which occurs tweifth month of the lunar calendar. The Roman Catholic Church in Sudan is part of the world wide Roman catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the pope and curia in Rome.

Overview over Roman Catholic Diocesses in Sudan

Sudan, Religion

Religion in Sudan: Religion..............Percentage
.....................................Sunni Islam................. 70 %

.....................................Animist........................25%

.....................................Christian.....................5 %

Religion plays an important role in Sudan, with most of the country's population adhering to Islam, Animist or Christianity.More than half Sudan's population was Moslim in the early 1990s. Most Muslims, perhaps 90 p.c., lived in the north, where they constituted 75 p.c. or more of the population. Data on Christians was less reliable; estimates ranged from 4 to 1o p.c. of the population. at least one-third of the Sudanese and adherents of local religious of their forebears. Most Christian sudanese and adherents of local religious systems lived in SPLM, which in 1991 controlled most of southern Sudan, opposed the imposition of the Sharia. Both Darfur and Northern Sudan are mostly Muslim , where as the South is Animist and Christian.

Performing Rituals

Sudan, Demographics

Population Graph

population In Sudan 1993, census the population recorded was to be 25 million .A 2006 United Nations estimate put the population at about 37 million.
Ethnic group

Sudan has 597 tribes that speak over 400 different languages.

Sudan, Foreign Policy (contd-4)

Abu Nidal

Osama bin Laden Bashir has made clear his intent to take a strongly pan-Arabist approach to foreign relations, voicing his desire to Sudan a model Islamic State in the region. Shortly after coming to power , Bashir approached many Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirirates, and Iraq, seeking assistance in the form of money, medical supplies,oil,and weapons. Capitalising on his self proclaimed solidarity with the Arab World, Bashir personally visited Iraq, announcing soon afterwards that President Saddam Hussein had promised to to meet Sudan'srequirements for aid and weapons.
During Bashir's period of power, Sudan has acquired anInternational reputation for political repression, human rights abuses,and support of terrorism. In the early and mid-1990s , notorious international figures --Carlos the Jackal, Osama bin Laden, Abu Nidal, and other terrorist leaders -resided in Khartoum.

the United States added Sudan in the list of countries spawning international terrorism in Aug 1993.

The United States , the Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Saudi Arabiam Kuwait, and other organisation of petroleum Exporting Counttries, (OPEC) have supplied most of Sudan's economic assistance.

Sudan, Foreign Policy (cont-3)

Sudan has had a troubled relationship with many of its neighbours and much of the international community due to its aggressively Islamic stance. For much of the 1990s , Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia formed an adhoc alliance called the "front line states"with support for the United States to Check the influence of the national islamic Front Govt. The sudanese govt. supported anti-Ugandarebel groups such as the Lord's resistance Army. Beginning from the mid-1990s Sudan gradually began to moderate its position as a result of increased US presure following 1998 US embassy bombings and the new development of oilfields previously in rebel hands . Sudan also had a territorial dispute with Egypt over the Hala'ib Triangle. Since 2003, the foreign relation of Sudan have centered on the support for ending the second Sudanese Civil Warand condemnation of Govt.support for militiasin the darfur conflict.The United States has listed Sudan as as a state sponsor terrorism snce 1993.US farms have been barred from doing business in Sudan since 1997. In 1998, the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Khartoum was destroyed by US cruise missile strike because of its alleged production of chemical weapons and links to al-Qaeda. Sudan has extensive economic relations with China. China gets 1/10 of its oil from Sudan, and according to formal Sudanese Govt. minister China is a Sudan's largest supplies of arms.

On Dec 27 , 2005, Chad, Sudan;sneighbour , was involved in war , beeing the "common enemy of the nation" . On may, 2008, Sudan announced that it was cutting diplomatic relation with Chad.

Sudan, Foreign Relations (contd-2)

Persian Gulf Crisis

In 1989 coup accelerated the trend in Sudan's in Sudan foreign policy of turning away from traditional allies, such as Egypt and United Stattes . This trend had begun following the overthrow of Nimeiri's govt, in 1985. As prime minister, one of sadiq al-Mahdi's foreign policy objectives was to ease the strain that had characterised relations with Ethiopia, Libya, and the Soviet Union during the later years of Nimeiri's rule. Neverthless the country's need to for foreign economic assistance to deal with the consequences of drought and civil war generally curtailed the extent to which foreign relations realigned .

The Persian Gulf crisis and subsequent war in 1991caught Sudan in an awkward position. Although Khartoum officially stated position was of neutrality, the unofficial govt. position was of sympathy for Iraq, stemming largely from a sense of appreciation for the military assistance Baghdad had provided since 1989. Sudan's failure to join anti-Iraq coalition infuriated Saudi Arabia, which retaliated by suspending much-needed-economic assistance, and Egypt ,which responded by providing aid to opponent of the Bashir regime.After the RCC-NS sent the deputy leader of the NIF to the Islamic conference in Baghdad that iraqi president Saddam Hussayn organised in Jan 1991,Egypt withdraw its ambassador from Khatoum. The RCC-NS efforts to maintain close relations with Iraq resulted in Sudan's regional isolation.

Sudan, Foreign Relation (contd-1)

Internal Circular with guide-lines to military dictatorship by the Communist party of Sudan ,30 June, 1989.Sudan underwent three coups after the second world war . The military coup of June led by Umar al-Bashir, takes an Islamic turn. The Communist party of Sudan (Al-Hizb Shuyuci al-Sudani), The CPS loses its three MPs , immediately after the , which was founded in 1946, is banned , together with the other Parties.
Hizb al-shuyi al-Sudani Collection
Founded in 1946 as the Sudanese Movement for National Liberation (SMNL); supported the struggle for national Independence , gained by the Sudan in 1956, after which thhe SHNL, changed its name into al-Hizbal-Hizb al-al-Shuyu'i Al-Sudani (Communist Party of Sudan, CPS); founder of the Sudan;s workers trade union federation (SMTUF) in 1950; had strong ties with the organisation of Railway workers and cotton growers;. recruiting its members among workers, students and new professionals the party remained a rather weak political factor ; joined the front of opposition prties (FOP) against the military regime of 1958, which was brought down by October revolution of 1964; in 1967 the Muslim brotherhood succeeded in having the CPS outlawed as an atheist organisation ; re-established itself as Socialist Party of Sudan ; divided on its position towards the "Free Officers" of ja' far al-Nimeiri, who took power in 1969; After the failure of a counter coup d'etat by Communist Officers in 1971 the party was outlawed again and its leader Abd al-khaliq Mahjub executed ; continuing its activities underground the CPS did not regain its legal status until 1985; after the Military take over of 1989 the CPS, being banned once again, joined the National Democratic Alliance, which aims at democracy and autonomy of the south of the Sudan.

Sudan, Foreign Relations

On Monday, March 27, the Henry L.Stimson, center, hosted a gathering of experts to discuss the release of new report by the Future of Peace operations program, on trail: The US Military and the International Criminal Court . The report is the culmination of a year-long investigation into the views of US military personnel towards the ICC. Authors Victoria K. Holt, co-ordinator of the Future of Peace Operations program, and Ellizabeth Dalles prescribed their findings in a diverse audience , including representatives from the NGO, military, academic and policy making communities. Discussants included major Gen. William l nash, USA (red), Director of the Center for Preventive Action at the Council on Foreign relations and Stephen Richard , director of the open Society Institute Washington Office.The discussion among participants was moderated by Kenneth Becon, President of refugees International.

Council of Foreign Relation: A seminar on Surviving Sudan. Speakers are Christiane Amanpour, CNN interanational correspondent, Dele Olojede, Foreign Editor, Newsday, and John Pender gast , Director, Africa Ploicy Studies , Council of Foreign Relations.

Hu Jintao meets with Sudanese Vice-president Taha
Chinese president Hu Jintao met with visiting Sudanese Vice-president Mohmmad Taha at the Great hall of the people of China, on Darfur issue.

Sudaan, Govt. and Politics

Govt. and Politics of Sudan: Since independence in 1956, the Sudan has witnessed several constitutions and regime changes, incuding military coups in 1985 and 1989. On seizing power in 1989, the Rvolutionary Command Council (RCC) for national salvation abolished the transitional constitution of 1985, the National Assembly,and all political parties and trade unions and ruled by decree.

The Govt. of National Unity (GNU) -the National Congress Party (NCP) and Sudan People's Liberation Movement formed a power sharing Govt. under 2005 Comprehnsive Peace Agreement (CPA); the NCP which came to power by miltary coup in 1989, is thee majority partner , the agreement stipulates national elections in 2009.

Refugees are leaving Darfur to Israeldue to genocide.

All executive and legislative powers vested in RCC For National Salvation (RCC_NS), fifteen member body of military officers.RCC-NS Chairman Bashir designated president of the republic and Prime Minister, RCC-NS, appointed members of council of Ministers,or cabinet, governors of States and judges of courts.Govt.'s authority of one-third southern of sudan limited to several towns in which miitary garrisons were based , rest of south controled by SPLA.

Politics;Multiparty politics , banned after the 1989 coup, were re-introduced in 1999. The national Congress Party (formerly the Islamic national Front(NIF),was the only legal party, continued the dominate the political scene in the years immediately following . Other political associations active in the Sudan include the Umma Party (UP), the Alliance of the people's Working Forces (APWF), the Sudan People's liberation Movement (SPLM), and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) , an association of several opposition movements. Although the RCC-NS banned all the political parties in 1989, it tolerated political activity of national Islamic Front. All other parties persecuted and their leaders had reorganised abroad.

Umar al-bashir tookpower in the june 1989, Principal Govt. Official:

President, Prime Minister, and Commander in Chief of the Armed forces- Lt.Gen.Omar al-Bashir.
First Vice-president-Salva Kiir,
Vice-President-Ali Osman Mohamad taha

Foreign Minister- Lam Akol.
Atlas,Manute Bol, ex-slave

Sudan,Economy (contd-1)

Sudan, Economy, Other Sectors

Accountability Act (DPAA) of Oct 2006. Here legislators attempted to carve out exclusion zones known as the "specified areas of Sudan " which would be exempt from US sanctions . These exempted areas include South Sudan, South Korfan/Nuba mountain state, Blue nile state, Abeyi, Darfur, and IDP camps in and around khartoum which are to engage in commerce and trde by US entities " provided that the activities or trnasactions do not involve any property or interests in property of the Govt. of Sudan. Sudan, one of Africa's poorest countries, predominately agriculturaleconomy although the development of the oil-export industryhas led to substantial shift in the economic structure. Estimates for 2003, indicate that the services sector is the leading contributing sector to Sudan's GDP . Services contribute 41 % to the GDP, agriculture 38.7 %, and industry 20.3 %.

Sudan, Industrial Sector

Sudanese industry accounted for an estimated 17 p.c.of GDP in 1998.The small size of the country's industrial sector is a result of chronic problems, including lack of skilled labour force, raw materials, and investments. These problems are most apparent in the textile and foodstaff industries, as well as in the production of sugar. aif these problems were resolved, Sudan could dramatically reduce its reliance on imports.
About 80 p.c. of the industries are privately owned , The main industries are , tannery and leather production, weaving mills, spinning mills, gum arabic production, paper mills, minerals, ores and raw materials extractions.The tannery industry creates 6 p.c. of the country's exports.It contains production of of raw furs for exports and local market, furs for the footwear industry, belts, and artificial leathers.There are 7 big tannerys and 290 traditional manufacturers in Sudan. The furs and leathers are manufactured in 72 factories and the yearly production of shoes amounts to 12 million pairs.
Thetextile industry is the oldest one in the country. Weaving and spinning mills are supported by the Govt. that has spread the motto , "Let's wear what we produce ourselves."
In 1999,an agreement with a Chinese consortium was signed that could lead to a new cooperation in textile factories reconstruction.
Sudan is the biggest producer of arabic gum that is extracted from the resin of sengalese acacia trees. Its production covers 80 p.c. of the world consumption. the gum is used in foodstuffs, the chemical industry, cosmetics, pharmaceauticals , and lithography.Oil deposits were found in 196os and 1970s. and Sudan started its extraction in 1980s.Most of the oil depoits ae located in the southern part of Sudan. The different foreign companies are operating for its etraction.