GEOGRAPHY: Pakistan has borders to the north with Afghanistan, to the east with India and to the west with Iran; the Arabian Sea lies to the south. In the far north is the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, bounded by Afghanistan, China and India. Pakistan comprises distinct regions. The northern highlands - the Hindu Kush - are rugged and mountainous; the Indus Valley is a flat, alluvial plain with five major rivers dominating the upper region, eventually joining the Indus River flowing south to the Makran coast; Sindh is bounded east by the Thar Desert and the Rann of Kutch, and on the west by the Kirthar Range; the Baluchistan Plateau is an arid tableland encircled by mountains.
LANGUAGE: Urdu and English with regional languages of Sindhi, Baluchi, Punjabi and Pashtu. There are numerous local dialects.
Religion: 97% Muslim, 2% Hindu, 1% Christian.
TIME: GMT + 5.
ELECTRICITY: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round 2- or 3-pin plugs are in use.
COMMUNICATIONS:
BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies:
From time to time these change. See the contents for more information.
BBC:
MHz 17.79 15.31 9.605 7.205
A service is also available on 1413kHz.
Voice of America:
MHz 21.55 15.43 9.760 6.070