f Pakistan (with two sections West and East) and largely
Hindu India was never satisfactorily resolved. A third war between
these countries in 1971 resulted in East Pakistan seceding and
becoming the separate nation of Bangladesh. A dispute over the state
of Kashmir is ongoing. In response to Indian nuclear weapons
testing, Pakistan conducted its own tests in 1998.

Pakistan Geography

Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea, between India on
the east and Iran and Afghanistan on the west and China in the north

Geographic coordinates: 30 00 N, 70 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area: total: 803,940 sq km

land: 778,720 sq km

water: 25,220 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly less than twice the size of California

Land boundaries: total: 6,774 km

border countries: Afghanistan 2,430 km, China 523 km, India 2,912
km, Iran 909 km

Coastline: 1,046 km

Maritime claims: contiguous zone: 24 NM

continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin

exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: mostly hot, dry desert; temperate in northwest; arctic in
north

Terrain: flat Indus plain in east; mountains in north and northwest;
Balochistan plateau in west

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m

highest point: K2 (Mt. Godwin-Austen) 8,611 m

Natural resources: land, extensive natural gas reserves, limited
petroleum, poor quality coal, iron ore, copper, salt, limestone

Land use: arable land: 27%

permanent crops: 1%

permanent pastures: 6%

forests and woodland: 5%

other: 61% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 171,100 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: frequent earthquakes, occasionally severe
especially in north and west; flooding along the Indus after heavy
rains (July and August)

Environment - current issues: water pollution from raw sewage,
industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh
water resources; a majority of the population does not have access
to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental
Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping,
Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban

Geography - note: controls Khyber Pass and Bolan Pass, traditional