PAKISTAN
By Hummaa Ahmad
24 February 2003

There are over 1,500 newspapers and journals in the country, since the early 1990's including publications in Urdu, English and regional languages. The major national daily newspapers in Urdu are Jang, Nawa-j-Waqt, Jasarat, Mawasat, Mashriq and Hurriyat. The major national dailies in English are Dawn, The News, Pakistan Times, Muslim, Morning News, Nation, Frontier Post, with Herald and Newsline as alternative English-language magazines. There has recently been a new arrival in the print media, The Daily Times Newspapers and periodicals are owned by either private individuals, joint-stock companies, or trusts. The National Press Trust, a nonprofit organization that is a major newspaper publisher, was established by businessmen in 1964 and taken over by the government in 1972. There are several other large newspaper and journal publishers. The two major news agencies in Pakistan are the Associated Press of Pakistan and Pakistan Press International. The Associated Press of Pakistan was taken over by the government in 1960. Pakistan Press International is a private joint-stock company.

In the case of print media, the large private sector of print journalism allows for a much greater variety of opinion even though with past control measures by the government through different methods has resulted in a more cautious approach taken toward critique by editors and publishers, or, outright expression of protest or contempt.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Full country name:		Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Area:		803,940 sq km (310,300 sq mi)
Population:		144.6 Million
Capital City:		Islamabad (pop. Approx. 350,000)
People:		Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtu, Baloch, Muhajir
Language:		Urdu(official), Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtu, English
Religion:		97% Muslim, 3% Christian and Hindu
GDP:		US$282 billion
GDP per head:		US$2000
Annual Growth:		5%
Inflation:		5.2%
Government:		Federal Republic
President & Chief Executive:		Gen. Pervez Musharraf (since June 2001)
Major Industries:		Textiles, sugar, vegetable oils, agricultural products, cement, fertilisers, steel, chemicals, sporting goods, carpets
Major Trading Partners:		US, Japan, Germany, UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE

FOREIGN POLICY
Pakistan's foreign policy has been marked by a complex balancing process-the result of its history, religious heritage, and geographic position. The primary objective of that policy has been to preserve Pakistan's territorial integrity and security, which have been in jeopardy since the states inception. Pakistan sought security through outside alliances. The new nation painstakingly worked on building a relationship with the United States, in which the obligations of both sides were clearly defined. The Western-oriented, anticommunist treaties and alliances Pakistan joined became an important part of its foreign policy. Pakistan also saw itself as a vanguard of independent Muslim states.

With the partition of British India in 1947 and the formation of two independent, sovereign states-India and Pakistan-a new era began. Both nations searched for their place in the world order and aspired to leadership roles beyond the sub-continent. India and Pakistan became adversaries at independence and have so remained. The two countries fought each other shortly after partition, in 1965, and in 1971, causing the dismemberment of Pakistan and the creation of still another new sovereign entity-Bangladesh. India-Pakistan rivalry intensified rather than diminished after the Cold War, and the Kashmir territorial dispute remains dangerous and recurrent.

MEDIA IN PAKISTAN
In pre-partition India, Muslim journalism flourished. It was largely the legacy bequeathed by the far-sighted Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, who first proposed the Two-Nation Theory after the War of Independence. In pre-partition This significant event instigated on the basis of religion, highlighted the deep fissures developing amongst Indians, and was, what Sir Syed saw as British rulers joining hands together with their loyal Hindu servants to subjugate and destroy the Muslims of India. Realising that with British support going essentially to Hindus, the Muslims of India were being broadly marginalized n terms of access to education and definitive social progress. Sir Syed went on to found Algirah Muslim Unversity (1920), and also started writing and publishing magazines like 'Tehzeebul Akhlaq', 'Asbaab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind' and other literary and informative journals in which he cautioned Indian Muslims to beware of the Hindus and the All India Congress, as Islam and Hinduism were completely two different religions as well as two distinct codes of life, so the two 'communities' could never be united as 'one' at any point in history. He further perceived India as a composite of two completely dissimilar 'nations' so he suggested the Indian Muslims to educate, reorganize, and unite not just through religious knowledge but with modern scientific education as well - the armour of knowledge, education and scientific reasoning - keeping a balance with the main injuncitions of Islam as outlined in the Holy Quran. Between 1857 and the Governmant of India Act of 1935, which gave a large measure of self-government to Indians, none of the major newspapers were owned or edited by Muslims. However, when Indian Muslims began to organize and rally to the political platform of the All-India Muslim League, concerted efforts were made to develop a strong press to support the Muslim national cause. A number of Muslim-owned newspapers were established, including Azad, a Bengali-language daily founded in Calcutta in 1936. Two English-language newspapers.