The modern state was born out of the partition of the Indian sub-continent in 1947 and has faced both domestic political upheavals and regional confrontations.
Created to meet the demands of Indian Muslims for their own homeland, Pakistan was originally in two parts.
The east wing - present-day Bangladesh - is on the Bay of Bengal bordering India and Burma and the west wing - present-day Pakistan - stretches from the Himalayas down to the Arabian Sea.
War with India over the disputed northern territory of Kashmir came shortly after independence - the two countries fought again in 1965.
The break-up of the two wings came in 1971 when the mainly bengali-sepaking east wing seceded with help from India.
Civilian politics in Pakistan in the last few decades has been tarnished by corruption, inefficiency and confrontations between various institutions. Alternating periods of civilian and military rule have not helped to establish stability.
Pakistan came under military rule again in October 1999 after the ousting of a civilian government which had lost a great deal of public support. The coup leader, General Musharraf, pledged to revive the country's fortunes, but faced economic challenges and law and order problems.
The latter are a major concern in Sindh, Balochistan and Punjab, where thousands have been killed since the early 1980 in violence between Sunni and Shia factions.
Pakistan's place on the world stage shifted after the 11 September 2001 attacks in the US. It dropped its upport for the Taleban regime in Afghanistan and was propelled into the frontline in the fight against terrorism, becoming a key ally of Washington.
Pakistani forces say they have arrested hundreds of suspected al Qaeda and Taleban-linked militants in the restive tribal regions along the Pakistani-Afghan border.
Tensions with India over Kashmir remain and have fuelled fears of a regional arms race.
However, an ongoing peace process has brought the two nuclear-armed powers back from the brink of renewed conflict.
-- Population: 161.1 million (UN, 2005)
-- Capital: Islamabad
-- Area: 796,095 sq km (307,374 sq miles), excluding Pakistani-held parts of Kashmir (83,716 sq km/32,323 sq miles)
-- Major languages: Urdu (official), Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi and English
-- Major religion: Islam
-- Life expectancy: 63 years (men), 63 years (women) (UN)
-- Monetary unit: 1 Pakistani Rupee = 100 paisa
-- Main exports: Textile products, rice, cotton, leather goods
-- GNI per capita: US $600 (World Bank, 2005)
-- Internet domain: Pk
-- International dialling code: +92
PRESIDENT: GENERAL PERVEZ MUSHARRAF
General Pervez Musharraf seized power in a bloodless coup in 1999 which widely condemned and which led to Pakistan's suspension from the Commonwealth until 2004.
But he shook off his pariah status and gained foreign acceptance after he backed the US-led campaign against terror following the attacks on America on 11 September 2001.
The president has waged a campaign against Islamic extremists, banning several groups. But his stance against militancy has not been well received in some quarters; the general has survived a number of assassination attempts.
In 2002 General Musharraf awarded himself another five years as president, together with the power to dismiss an elected parliament. The handover from military to civilian rule came with parliamentary elections in November 2002, and the appointment of a civilian prime minister.
General Musharraf has retained his military role, reneging on a promise to give up his army post and to become a civilian president.
Unlike many of the top military men in Pakistan, General Musharraf's origins are in India. Born in Delhi in 1943, his family emigrated to Pakistan after the partition of the Indian sub-continent.
His military career began in 1964 and included spells of training in the UK. He became head of military operations when Benazir Bhutto was prime minister, and then head of the army in 1998 after the resignation of General Karamat.
During the 1999 Kashmir crisis with India, he regularly briefed journalists and appeared on state television.
But tension developed with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif after he ordered a withdrawal of Pakistani-backed militants in Kashmir.
PRIME MINISTER: SHAUKAT AZIZ:
A close ally of President Musharraf, former banker Shaukat Aziz was sworn in as prime minister in August 2004 having won a parliamentary vote in which the opposition abstained.
Mr Aziz oversaw a period of economic recovery during his previous role as finance minister and has promised to push for the privatisation of Pakistan's state-owned companies.
-- Foreign minister: Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
-- Defence minister: Rao Sikandar Iqbal
-- Finance minister: Shaukat Aziz
President Pervez Musharraf's rule has been marked by increased freedom for the print media and a liberalisation of broadcasting policies.
The expansion of private radio and television stations brought to an end more than five decades of the state's virtual monopoly of broadcasting.
Licences of more than 20 private satellite TV stations have been awarded, signalling increased competition for the state-run Pakistan Television Corporation. But there are no private, terrestrial TV stations.
By 2005 around 100 licences had been issued for private FM radio stations. Pakistan's media regulator has estimated that the country can support more than 800 private radio stations. Private stations are not allowed to broadcast news.
Many viewers in Pakistan watch a range of international satellite TV channels, via a dish or an often-unlicensed cable TV operator.
Indian channels such as Zee TV and STAR TV are popular with those who can receive them. The channels circumvent censorship in Pakistan that is far more restrictive than in India.
Pakistan and India regularly engage in a war of words via their respective media, occasionally banning broadcasts from the other country.
The government uses a range of legal and constitutional powers to curb press freedom. The country's law on blasphemy has been used against journalists. Nevertheless, Pakistan's print media are among the most outspoken in South Asia.
THE PRESS:
-- Daily Jang - Karachi-based, Urdu-language
-- The Dawn - Karachi-based, English Language
-- The Nation - Lahore-based, English Language
-- Business Recorder, Premier business daily
TELEVISION:
-- Pakistan Television Corporation Ltd - state TV, operates PTV 1, PTV 2, Channel 3, PTV World
-- Geo TV - satellite channel
-- Indus TV - satellite TV operator, runs Indus Vision and Indus News channels
-- ARY Digital - satellite channel
-- Shalimar Television Network (STN) - state and privately-run network
-- AAJ TV
-- TV 1
RADIO
-- Radio Pakistan - state-run, operates more than 20 stations nation-wide, an external service and the FM 101 network, aimed at younger listeners
-- Azad Kashmir Radio - state-run
-- FM 100 - commercial, music-based FM network
NEWS AGENCIES
-- Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) - state-funded
-- Pakistan Press International - (PPI)
ONLINE COMMUNICATION:
A Transportation and Communications network is among the most important of basic infrastructures. The development of the country's economy is largely dependent on its efficiency. At the time of independence Pakistan had inherited a limited network. There were only 50, 367 km of roads, 8553 km of rail track, 7 shipping vessels having 59,414 ton capacity, only 21,209 registered vehicles on the roads, 3,036 post offices, telegraph offices (all located in the urban areas). There were only 12,436 telephones and 45,426 radio sets and no air transport facilities were available for common use. The network has since been vastly expanded and improved but still remains deficient in fully meeting the present requirements.
COMMUNICATION NETWORK:
Pakistan has embarked on a very ambitious telecommunications development program. By June 1993, the total telephone lines in the country increased to 1.67 million, and the applicants for telephone shall be provided with the telephone connection within 24 hours.
Optical Fibre system has been introduced in the telephone exchanges. The old telex system is also being speedily replaced with digital electronic exchanges and 5,430 telex lines have been put in place. Cellular Mobile Telephone (CMT) system has also been introduced and 2,500 mobile subscribers have access to PTC network of CMT.
Pakistan is providing international services for telex, facsimile, date and packet switching. As many as 37 direct destinations are accessible through INTELSAT, Satellite network as well as on submarine cable system to the Gulf, terrestrial microwave and coaxial cable link including multi-channel UHF link with neighbouring countries. Both automatic and semiautomatic telephone services are available.
Three International INTELSAT Standard "A" Earth Stations along with three international gateway switching centers are operating in Pakistan, to handle international traffic. The existing "A" Earth Stations at Karachi and Islamabad are being upgraded to provide digital transmission to various routes to meet the future growth requirements of the international service. Additional 1,500 circuits capacity would be added to he existing 2,300 by the end of 1993. It is also planned to introduce INTELSAT IBS service for which additional standard FI/EI Earth stations will be installed during the next five years.