The Vedic period (1500–500BCE) was characterised by an Indo-Aryan culture; during this period the Vedas, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism, were composed, and this culture later became well established in the region. [46] Ancient city of Multan was a significant cultural centre of Indus valley civilization and an important Hindu pilgrimage centre, the city was founded before 3000 BC era. [47] The Vedic civilization also flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā( Taxila) along with Purasupura (Peshawer) which was founded around 600-1000 BCE. [48] [42] Classical Period

Provincial governments: Each of the four provinces has a similar system of government, with a directly elected Provincial Assembly in which the leader of the largest party or coalition is elected Chief Minister. Chief Ministers oversee the provincial governments and head the provincial cabinet. It is common in Pakistan to have different ruling parties or coalitions in each of the provinces. The provincial bureaucracy is headed by the Chief Secretary, who is appointed by the Prime Minister. The provincial assemblies have power to make laws and approve the provincial budget which is commonly presented by the provincial finance minister every fiscal year. Provincial governors who are the ceremonial heads of the provinces are appointed by the President. [154]

What is Pakistan Standard Time

Executive: The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the majority rule party or a coalition in the National Assembly— the lower house. The Prime Minister serves as the head of government and is designated to exercise as the country's chief executive. The Prime Minister is responsible for appointing a cabinet consisting of ministers and advisers as well as running the government operations, taking and authorising executive decisions, appointments and recommendations of senior civil servants that require executive confirmation of the Prime Minister. The Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee is the highest principle staff officer in the armed forces, and the chief military adviser to the civilian government though the chairman has no authority over the three branches of armed forces. [264] The Chairman joint chiefs controls the military from the JS HQ and maintains strategic communications between the military and the civilian government. [264] As of 2021 [update], the CJCSC is General Nadeem Raza [266] alongside chief of army staff General Asim Munir, [267] [268] chief of naval staff Admiral Muhammad Amjad Khan Niazi, [269] and chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmad Babar. [270] The main branches are the Army, the Air Force and the Navy, which are supported by a large number of paramilitaries in the country. [271] Control over the strategic arsenals, deployment, employment, development, military computers and command and control is a responsibility vested under the National Command Authority which oversaw the work on the nuclear policy as part of the credible minimum deterrence. [112]

Located in the strategic and geopolitical corridor of the world's major maritime oil supply lines and communication fibre optics, Pakistan has proximity to the natural resources of Central Asian countries. [191] Pakistan is an active member of the United Nations and has a Permanent Representative to represent Pakistan's positions in international politics. [192] Pakistan has lobbied for the concept of " enlightened moderation" in the Muslim world. [193] Pakistan is also a member of Commonwealth of Nations, [194] the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), [195] and the G20 developing nations. [196] President of Pakistan Ayub Khan with US President John F. Kennedy in 1961 Association football is the second-most played sports in Pakistan, and is organised and regulated by the Pakistan Football Federation. [567] Football in Pakistan is as old as the country itself. Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was created, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah became its first Patron-in-Chief. [568] The highest football division in Pakistan is the Pakistan Premier League. [569] Pakistan is known as one of the best manufactures of the official FIFA World Cup ball. [570] [571] The diversity of the landscape and climate in Pakistan allows a wide variety of trees and plants to flourish. The forests range from coniferous alpine and subalpine trees such as spruce, pine, and deodar cedar in the extreme northern mountains to deciduous trees in most of the country (for example, the mulberry-like shisham found in the Sulaiman Mountains), to palms such as coconut and date in the southern Punjab, southern Balochistan, and all of Sindh. The western hills are home to juniper, tamarisk, coarse grasses, and scrub plants. Mangrove forests form much of the coastal wetlands along the coast in the south. [164] Markhor is the national animal of Pakistan. [165]The strongest opposition to the Islamist ideological paradigm being imposed on the state came from the Bengali Muslims of East Pakistan [134] whose educated class, according to a survey by social scientist Nasim Ahmad Jawed, preferred secularism and focused on ethnic identity unlike educated West Pakistanis who tended to prefer an Islamic identity. [135] The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami considered Pakistan to be an Islamic state and believed Bengali nationalism to be unacceptable. In the 1971 conflict over East Pakistan, the Jamaat-e-Islami fought the Bengali nationalists on the Pakistan Army's side. [136] The conflict concluded with East Pakistan seceding and the creation of independent Bangladesh. Pakistan's "premier" intelligence agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), was formed just within a year after the Independence of Pakistan in 1947. [247] ABC News Point in 2014 reported that the ISI was ranked as the top intelligence agency in the world. [248] As of 2014–15, the services sector makes up 58.8% of GDP [329] and has emerged as the main driver of economic growth. [339] Pakistani society like other developing countries is a consumption oriented society, having a high marginal propensity to consume. The growth rate of services sector is higher than the growth rate of agriculture and industrial sector. Services sector accounts for 54 percent of GDP in 2014 and little over one-third of total employment. Services sector has strong linkages with other sectors of economy; it provides essential inputs to agriculture sector and manufacturing sector. [340] Pakistan's I.T sector is regarded as among the fastest growing sector's in Pakistan. The World Economic Forum, assessing the development of Information and Communication Technology in the country ranked Pakistan 110th among 139 countries on the 'Networked Readiness Index 2016'. [341]