Pakistan

The land of K2 and the Indus

Pakistan has the world's 2nd highest mountain — K2 (8,611 m), which climbers say is harder than Everest. 5,000 years ago the city of Mohenjo-daro stood on the Indus — it had the world's first sewer system! Pakistan is the 5th most populous country in the world. Children love playing cricket. Pakistan is Uzbekistan's nearest route to the sea, through the port of Karachi.

Capital: Islamabad. Language: Urdu, English, Punjabi.

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan covers 881,913 km² with 241 million people (5th; the world's 2nd largest Muslim population), created in 1947 at the partition of British India (Muhammad Ali Jinnah). Nature: the Karakoram (K2 8,611 m, five peaks over 8,000 m), the meeting of the Himalayas and Hindu Kush; the Indus (3,180 km) with the world's largest irrigation system; the Thar Desert. History: the Indus Valley civilisation (Mohenjo-daro, Harappa — 2600 BC, planned cities), Gandhara (Buddhist art — Taxila), Alexander, the Mughals (Lahore), Britain. Economy: textiles, basmati rice, sports goods (Sialkot makes 70% of the world's footballs), IT. Cricket is the national sport (world champions in 1992). Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize at 17. With Uzbekistan: the Trans-Afghan railway (Termez–Peshawar), the Mughal heritage, the Karakoram Highway.

Fun facts

• 70% of the world's footballs are sewn in Sialkot, Pakistan.
• Mohenjo-daro had baths and sewers 5,000 years ago.
• Pakistan has five peaks above 8,000 m.