A Medley of Potpourri

The name Pakistan literally means "Land of the Pure" in Urdu and Persian. It was coined in 1933 as Pakstan by Choudhry Rahmat Ali, a Pakistan Movement activist, who published it in his pamphlet Now or Never,^[19] using it as an acronym ("thirty million Muslim brethren who live in PAKSTAN") referring to the names of the five northern regions of the British Raj: Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, Sindh, and Baluchistan".^[20]^[21]^[22] The letter i was incorporated to ease pronunciation and form the linguistically correct and meaningful name.^[23]

History

Early and medieval age

Standing Buddha from Gandhara

Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan.^[24] The earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic, of whom stone tools have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab.^[25] The Indus region, which covers most of Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic Mehrgarh^[26] and the Bronze Age Indus Valley Civilisation (2800–1800 BCE) at Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro.^[27]^[28]

The Vedic Civilization (1500–500 BCE), characterised by Indo-Aryan culture, laid the foundations of Hinduism, which would become well established in the region.^[29]^[30] Multan was an important Hindu pilgrimage centre.^[31] The Vedic civilisation flourished in the ancient Gandhāran city of Takṣaśilā, now Taxila in Punjab.^[26] Successive ancient empires and kingdoms ruled the region: the Persian Achaemenid Empire around 519 BCE, Alexander the Great's empire in 326 BCE^[32] and the Maurya Empire founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka the Great until 185 BCE.^[26] The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria (180–165 BCE) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165–150 BCE), prospering the Greco-Buddhist culture in the region.^[26]^[33] Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world.^[34]^[35]^[36]^[37]

The Medieval period (642–1219 CE) is defined by the spread of Islam in the region. During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional Buddhist and Hindu population to Islam.^[38] The Rai Dynasty (489–632 CE) of Sindh, at its zenith, ruled this region and the surrounding territories.^[39] The Pala Dynasty was the last Buddhist empire that under Dharampala and Devapala stretched across South Asia from what is now Bangladesh through Northern India to Pakistan and later to Kamboj region in Afghanistan.

The Arab conqueror Muhammad bin Qasim conquered Indus valley from Sindh to Multan in southern Punjab in 711 CE.^[40] The Pakistan government's official chronology identifies this as the point where the "foundation" of Pakistan was laid.^[40] This conquest set the stage for the rule of several successive Muslim empires in the region, including the Ghaznavid Empire (975–1187 CE), the Ghorid Kingdom and the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 CE). The Lodi dynasty, the last of the Delhi Sultanate, was replaced by the Mughal Empire (1526–1857 CE). The Mughals introduced Persian literature and high culture, establishing the roots of Indo-Persian culture in the region.^[41] In the early 16th century, the region remained under the Mughal Empire ruled by Muslim emperors.^[42] By the early 18th century, the increasing European influence caused to slowly disintegrate the empire with the lines between commercial and political dominance being increasingly blurred.^[42]

Edwin Lord Weeks illustration of an open-air restaurant near Wazir Khan Mosque, Lahore.

During this time, the English East India Company, had established coastal outposts.^[42] Control over the seas, greater resources, technology, and military force projection by East India Company of British Empire led it to increasingly flex its military muscle; a factor that was crucial in allowing the Company to gain control over subcontinent by 1765 and sidelining the European competitors.^[43] Expanding access beyond Bengal and the subsequent increased strength and size of its army enabled it to annex or subdue most of region by the 1820s.^[42] To many historians, this marked the starting of region's colonial period.^[42] By this time, with its economic power severely curtailed by the British parliament and itself effectively made an arm of British administration, the Company began to more consciously enter non-economic arenas such as education, social reform, and culture.^[42]
Such reforms included the enforcement of English Education Act in 1835 and the introduction of the Indian Civil Service (ICS).^[44] Tradition Madrasahs– a primary institutions of higher learning for Muslims in subcontinent– were no longer supported by the English Crown, and nearly all of the Madrasahs lost their financial endowment.^[45]

Colonial period

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan (1817-98) whose vision formed the basis of Pakistan

Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876–1948) served as Pakistan's first Governor-General and the leader of Pakistan Movement

The gradual decline of the Mughal Empire in the early 18th century enabled Sikh Empire's influence to control larger areas until the British East-India Company gained ascendancy over the Indian subcontinent.^[46] The rebellion in 1857 (or Sepoy mutiny) was the region's major armed and serious struggle against the British Empire and Queen Victoria.^[47] Divergence in the relationship between Hinduism and Islam created a major rift in British India; thus instigating racially-motivated religious violence in India.^[48] The language controversy further escalated the tensions between Hindus and Muslims.^[49] The Hindu renaissance witnessed the awakening of intellectualism in traditional Hinduism and saw the emergence of more assertive influence in social and political sphere in British India.^[50]^[51] Intellectual movement to counter the Hindu renaissance was led by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan who help founded the All-India Muslim League in 1901 and envisioned as well as advocated for the Two-nation theory.^[46] In contrast to Indian Congress's anti-British efforts, the Muslim League was a pro-British whose political program inherited the British values that would shape the Pakistan's future civil society.^[52]^[53] In the events during the World War I, the British Intelligence foiled an anti-English conspiracy involving the nexus of Congress and the German Empire.^[54] The largely non-violent independence struggle led by the Indian Congress engaged millions of protesters in mass campaigns of civil disobedience in the 1920s and 1930s against the British Empire.^[55]^[56]^[57]

Over 10 million people were uprooted from their homeland and travelled on foot, bullock carts and trains to their promised new home during the Partition of India. During the partition between 200,000 to 500,000 people were killed in the retributive genocide.^[58]

The Muslim League slowly rose to mass popularity in the 1930s amid fears of under-representation and neglect of Muslims in politics. In his presidential address of 29 December 1930, Allama Iqbal called for "the amalgamation of North-West Muslim-majority Indian states" consisting of Punjab, North-West Frontier Province, Sind and Baluchistan.^[59] Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, greatly espoused the two-nation theory and led the Muslim League to adopt the Lahore Resolution of 1940, popularly known as the Pakistan Resolution.^[46] Events leading to the World War II, Jinnah and British educated founding fathers in the Muslim League supported the United Kingdom's war efforts, countering opposition against it whilst worked towards Sir Syed's vision.^[60]

As cabinet mission failed in India, the Great Britain announced the intentions to end its raj in India in 1946–47.^[61] Nationalists in British India– including Jawaharlal Nehru and Abul Kalam Azad of Congress, Jinnah of Muslim League, and Master Tara Singh representing the Sikhs—agreed to the proposed terms of transfer of power and independence in June 1947.^[62] As the United Kingdom agreed upon partitioning of India in 1947, the modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 (27th of Ramadan in 1366 of the Islamic Calendar) in amalgamating the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern regions of British India.^[57] It comprised the provinces of Balochistan, East Bengal, the North-West Frontier Province, West Punjab and Sindh; thus forming Pakistan.^[46]^[62] The partitioning of Punjab and Bengal led to the series of violent communal riots across India and Pakistan; millions of Muslims moved to Pakistan and millions of Hindus and Sikhs moved to India.^[63] Dispute over Jammu and Kashmir led to the First Kashmir War in 1948.^[64]^[65]

Independence and modern Pakistan

The American CIA film on Pakistan made in 1950 examines the history and geography of Pakistan.

After independence from the partition of India in 1947, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the President of Muslim League, became nation's first Governor-General as well as first President-Speaker of the Parliament.^[66] Meanwhile, Pakistan's founding fathers agreed upon appointing Liaquat Ali Khan, the secretary-general of the party, nation's first Prime Minister. A dominion status in the Commonwealth of Nations, Pakistan was under two British monarch when George VI relinquished the title of Emperor of India to become King of Pakistan in 1947.^[66] After George VI's death on 6 February 1952, Elizabeth II became the Queen of Pakistan who retained the title until Pakistan becoming the Islamic republic in 1956,^[67] but democracy was stalled by the martial law enforced by President Iskander Mirza who was replaced by army chief, General Ayub Khan. Forming presidential system in 1962, the country experienced exceptional growth until a second war with India in 1965 which led to economic downfall and wide-scale public disapproval in 1967.^[68]^[69] Consolidating the control from Ayub Khan in 1969, President Yahya Khan had to deal with a devastating cyclone which caused 500,000 deaths in East Pakistan.^[70]

Signing of Tashkent Declaration to end hostilities with India in 1965 in Tashkent, USSR, by President Ayub alongside with Bhutto (center) and Aziz Ahmed (left).

In 1970, Pakistan held its first democratic elections since independence, that were meant to mark a transition from military rule to democracy, but after the East Pakistani Awami League won against Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP); Yahya Khan and military establishment refused to hand over power.^[71]^[72] Instigated civil unrest invited the military launched an operation on 25 March 1971, aiming to regain control of the province.^[71]^[72] The genocide carried out during this operation led to a declaration of independence and to the waging of a war of liberation by the Bengali Mukti Bahini forces in East Pakistan, with support from India.^[72]^[73] However, in West Pakistan the conflict was described as a civil war as opposed to War of Liberation.^[74]

Independent estimates of civilian deaths during this period range from 300,000 to 3 million.^[75] Preemptive strikes on India by the Pakistan's air force, navy, and marines sparked the conventional war in 1971, which witnessed the Indian victory and East Pakistan gaining independence as Bangladesh.^[72]

With Pakistan surrendering in the war, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as President; the country worked towards promulgating constitution and putting the country on roads of democracy. Democratic rule resumed from 1972 to 1977– an era of self-consciousness, intellectual leftism, nationalism, and nationwide reconstruction.^[76] During this period, Pakistan embarked on ambitiously developing the nuclear deterrence in 1972 in a view to prevent any foreign invasion; the country's first nuclear power plant was inaugurated, also the same year.^[77]^[78] Accelerated in response to first nuclear test by India in 1974, this crash program completed in 1979.^[78] Democracy ended with a military coup in 1977 against the leftist PPP, which saw General Zia-ul-Haq becoming the president in 1978. From 1977–88, President Zia's corporatisation and economic Islamisation initiatives led to Pakistan becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in South Asia.^[79] While consolidating the nuclear development, increasing Islamization,^[80] and the rise homegrown conservative philosophy, Pakistan helped subsidize and distribute U.S. resources to factions of the mujahideen against the USSR's intervention in communist Afghanistan.^[81]^[82]

President Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, and Benazir Bhutto, daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was elected as country's first female Prime Minister. The Pakistan Peoples Party followed by conservative Pakistan Muslim League (N), and over the next decade whose two leaders fought for power, alternating in office while the country's situation worsened; economic indicators fell sharply, in contrast to the 1980s. This period is marked by prolonged stagflation, instability, corruption, nationalism, geopolitical rivalry with India, and the clash of left wing-right wing ideologies.^[83]^[84] As PML(N) securing supermajority in elections in 1997, Sharif authorised the nuclear testings (See:Chagai-I and Chagai-II), as a retaliation to second nuclear tests ordered by India, led by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in May 1998.^[85]

President Bush meets with President Musharraf in Islamabad during his 2006 visit to Pakistan.

Military tension between the two countries in the Kargil district led to the Kargil War of 1999, and a turbulence in civic-military relations allowed General Pervez Musharraf took over through a bloodless coup d'état.^[86]^[87] Musharraf governed Pakistan as chief executive from 1999 to 2001 and as President from 2001 to 2008— a period of enlightenment, social liberalism, extensive economic reforms,^[88] and direct involvement in the U.S.-led war on terrorism. When the National Assembly historically completed its first full five-year term on 15 November 2007, the new elections were called by Election Commission.^[89] After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the PPP secured largest votes in the elections of 2008, appointing party member Yousaf Raza Gillani as Prime Minister.^[90] Threatened to face impeachment, President Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008, and was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari.^[91]^[92]^[93] Clashes with the judicature prompted Gillani's disqualification from the Parliament and as the Prime Minister in June 2012.^[94] By its own financial calculations, Pakistan's involvement in the war on terrorism has cost up to ~$67.93 billion,^[95]^[96] thousands of casualties and nearly 3 million displaced civilians.^[97] The general election held in 2013 saw the PML(N) achieved almost supermajority, following which Nawaz Sharif became elected as the Prime Minister, returning to the post for the third time after fourteen years, in a democratic transition.^[98]

Government and politics

Pakistan is a democratic parliamentary federal republic with Islam as the state religion.^[99] The first set was adopted in 1956 but suspended by Ayub Khan in 1958 who replaced it with second set in 1962.^[57] Complete and comprehensive Constitution was adopted in 1973—suspended by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 but reinstated in 1985—is the country's most important document, laying the foundations of the current government.^[100] The Pakistani military establishment has played an influential role in mainstream politics throughout Pakistan's political history.^[57] Presidents are brought in by military coups who imposed in martial law in 1958–1971, 1977–1988, and 1999–2008.^[101] As of current, Pakistan has a multi-party parliamentary system with clear division of powers and responsibilities between branches of government. The first successful demonstrative transaction was held in May 2013. Politics in Pakistan is centered and dominated by the homegrown conceive social philosophy, consisting the ideas of socialism, conservatism, and the third way. As of general elections held in 2013, the three main dominated political parties in the country: the centre-right conservative Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N); the centre-left socialist Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP); and the centrist and third-way Pakistan Movement for Justice (PTI) led by cricketer Imran Khan.

Head of State: The President who is elected by an Electoral College is the ceremonial head of the state and is the civilian commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Armed Forces (with Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee as its principal military adviser), but military appointments and key confirmations in the armed forces are made by the Prime Minister after reviewing the reports on their merit and performances. Almost all appointed officers in the judicature, military, chairman joint chiefs and joint staff, and legislatures require the executive confirmation from the Prime Minister, whom the President must consult, by law. However, the powers to pardon and grant clemency vest with the President of Pakistan.
Legislative: The bicameral legislature comprises a 100-member Senate (upper house) and a 342-member National Assembly (lower house). Members of the National Assembly are elected through the first-past-the-post system under universal adult suffrage, representing electoral districts known as National Assembly constituencies. According to the constitution, the 70 seats reserved for women and religious minorities are allocated to the political parties according to their proportional representation. Senate members are elected by provincial legislators, with all of provinces have equal representation.
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 advisors as well as running the government operations, taking and authorizing executive decisions, appointments and recommendations that require executive confirmation of the Prime Minister.
Provincial governments: Each of the four province 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 oversees the provincial governments and head the provincial cabinet, it is common in Pakistan to have different ruling parties or coalitions in each provinces. The provincial assemblies have power to make laws and approve provincial budget which is commonly presented by the provincial finance minister every fiscal year. Provincial governors who play role as the ceremonial head of province are appointed by the President.^[100]
Judicature: The judiciary of Pakistan is a hierarchical system with two classes of courts: the superior (or higher) judiciary and the subordinate (or lower) judiciary. The Chief Justice of Pakistan is the chief judge who oversees the judicature's court system at all levels of command. The superior judiciary is composed of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Federal Shariat Court and five High Courts, with the Supreme Court at the apex. The Constitution of Pakistan entrusts the superior judiciary with the obligation to preserve, protect and defend the constitution. Neither the Supreme Court nor a High Court may exercise jurisdiction in relation to Tribal Areas, except otherwise provided for. The disputed regions of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan have separate court systems.

Parliament House

Prime Minister's Secretariat

Supreme Court of Pakistan

Foreign relations of Pakistan

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi hand shakes with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

A second most populous nation-state (after Indonesia) and being the singular nuclear power state in the Muslim world, enabled the country to play a important role in the international community.^[102]^[103] With semi-agriculture and semi-industrialized economy, it foreign policy interacts with foreign nations and to determine its standard of interactions for its organizations, corporations and individual citizens.^[104]^[105] Its clear geostrategic intentions were explained by Jinnah who described the principles and objectives of Pakistan's foreign policy in a broadcast message:^[106] The objectives of foreign policy of Pakistan:

“

The foundation of our foreign policy is friendship with all nations across the globe.

”

—Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Founder of Pakistan, 1947, source^[106]

Since then, Pakistan have tried maintaining balance relations with the foreign nations as part of its determined policy.^[107]^[108]^[109] A non-signatory party of the Treaty on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation, Pakistan is a good and influential member of the IAEA.^[110] In recent event, Pakistan has successfully blocked international initiatives to limit fissile material, as justifying that "treaty would target Pakistan specifically."^[111] In most of its 20th century history, Pakistan's nuclear deterrence program focused on countering India's nuclear ambitions in the region, and nuclear tests by India eventually led Pakistan to reciprocate the event to maintain geopolitical balance as becoming nuclear power.^[112] As of current, Pakistan now maintains a policy of credible minimum deterrence, terming its program as vital nuclear deterrence against any foreign aggression.^[113]^[114]

U.S President Barack Obama in conversation with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, 2014.

Located in strategic and geopolitical corridor of the world's major maritime oil supply lines, communication fiber optics, Pakistan has proximity to the natural resources of Central Asian countries.^[115] Pakistan is an influential and founding member of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and is a major non-NATO ally of the United States in the war against terrorism— a status achieved in 2004.^[116] Pakistan's foreign policy and geostrategy mainly focuses on economy and security against threats to its national identity and territorial integrity, and on the cultivation of close relations with Muslim countries.^[117] Briefing on country's foreign policy in 2004, the Pakistani senator reportedly explains: "Pakistan highlights sovereign equality of states, bilateralism, mutuality of interests, and non-interference in each other's domestic affairs as the cardinal features of its foreign policy."^[118] Pakistan is an active member of the United Nations and has a Permanent Representative to represent Pakistan's policy in international politics.^[119] Recently, Pakistan has previously lobbied for the concept of "Enlightened Moderation" in the Muslim world.^[120]^[121] Pakistan is also a member of Commonwealth of Nations,^[122] the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), the Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO)^[123]^[124] and the G20 developing nations.^[125] Pakistan does not have diplomatic relations with Israel;^[126] nonetheless some Israeli citizens visited the country on a tourist visas.^[127] Based on mutual cooperation, the security security exchange have taken place between two countries using Turkey as a communication conduit.^[128] Despite Pakistan being the only country in the world that has not established a diplomatic relations with Armenia, the Armenian community still resides in Pakistan.^[129]

Pak-China Friendship Centre was constructed by China as a gift for Pakistan. Pakistan also hosts China's largest overseas embassy.^[130]

Maintaining cultural, political, social, and economic relations with the Arab world and other countries in Muslim World is vital factor in Pakistan's foreign policy.^[131] Pakistan was the first country to have established diplomatic relations with China and relations continues to be warm since China's war with India in 1962.^[132] In the 1960s–1980s, Pakistan greatly helped China in reaching out to the world's major countries and helped facilitate U.S. President Nixon's state visit to China.^[132] Despite the change of governments in Pakistan, variations in the regional and global situation, China policy in Pakistan continues to be dominant factor at all time.^[132] In return, China is Pakistan's largest trading partner and economic cooperation have reached high points, with substantial Chinese investment in Pakistan's infrastructural expansion including the Pakistani deep-water port at Gwadar.^[133]^[134]^[135]
Both countries have signed the Free Trade Agreement in 2000s, and Pakistan continues to serve as China's communication bridge in the Muslim World.^[136]

Difficulties in relations and geopolitical rivalry with India, Pakistan maintains close cultural and political relations with Turkey and Iran.^[137] Pakistan has a second largest Shia Islam follower, after Iran, and has maintains close cultural, political, economic, and military relations with Iran.^[138] Iran was the first country to establish relations with Pakistan, and since then, Iran has occupied influential place in Pakistan's foreign policy.^[138] Turkey and Saudi Arabia also maintains respected position in Pakistan's foreign policy, and both countries has been a focal point in Pakistan's foreign policy.^[137] The Kashmir conflict remains the major point of rift; three of their four wars were over this territory.^[139] Due to ideological differences, Pakistan opposed the Soviet Union in 1950s and during Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s, Pakistan was one of the closest allies of the United States.^[118]^[140] Relations with Russia has greatly improved since 1999 and cooperation with various sectors have increased between Russia and Pakistan.^[141] Pakistan has had "on-and-off" relations with the United States. A close ally of the United States in the Cold war, Pakistan's relation with the United States relations soured in the 1990s when the U.S. imposed sanctions because of Pakistan's secretive nuclear development.^[142]

The United States-led war on terrorism led initially to an improvement in the relationship, but it was strained by a divergence of interests and resulting mistrust during the war in Afghanistan and by issues related to terrorism.^[143]^[144]^[145]^[146] Since 1948, there has been an ongoing, and at times fluctuating, violent conflict in the southwestern province of Balochistan between various Baloch separatist groups, who seek greater political autonomy, and the central government of Pakistan.^[147]

Administrative divisions

Administrative Division	Capital	Population
Balochistan	Quetta	7,914,000
Punjab	Lahore	101,000,000
Sindh	Karachi	42,400,000
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	Peshawar	28,000,000
Gilgit–Baltistan	Gilgit	1,800,000
FATA		3,176,331
Azad Kashmir	Muzaffarabad	4,567,982
Islamabad Capital Territory	Islamabad	1,151,868

A federal parliamentary republic state, Pakistan is a federation that comprises four provinces: Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan.^[148] and four territories: the Tribal belt, Gilgit–Baltistan, Islamabad Capital Territory, and Kashmir. The Government of Pakistan exercises the de facto jurisdiction over the Frontier Regions and the western parts of the Kashmir Regions, which are organised into the separate political entities Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan (formerly Northern Areas). In 2009, the constitutional assignment (the Gilgit–Baltistan Empowerment and Self-Governance Order) awarded the Gilgit–Baltistan a semi-provincial status, giving it self-government.^[149]

The local government system consists of a three-tier system of districts, tehsils and union councils, with an elected body at each tier.^[150] There are about 130 districts altogether, of which Azad Kashmir has ten^[151] and Gilgit–Baltistan seven.^[152] The Tribal Areas comprise seven tribal agencies and six small frontier regions detached from neighbouring districts.^[153]

The law enforcement is carried out by a joint network of intelligence community with jurisdiction limited to the relevant province or territory. The National Intelligence Directorate coordinates the information intelligence at both federal and provincial level; including the FIA, IB, Motorway Police, and paramilitary forces such as the Pakistan Rangers and the Frontier Corps.^[154]

The court system is organised as a hierarchy, with the Supreme Court at the apex, below which are High Courts, Federal Shariat Courts (one in each province and one in the federal capital), District Courts (one in each district), Judicial Magistrate Courts (in every town and city), Executive Magistrate Courts and civil courts. The Penal code has limited jurisdiction in the Tribal Areas, where law is largely derived from tribal customs.^[154]^[155]

Military

JF-17 Thunder (left) is Pakistan's first indigenous MCA; AH-1Cobra (centre) are imported from the United States

The armed forces of Pakistan are the eighth largest in the world in terms of numbers in full-time service, with about 617,000 personnel on active duty and 513,000 reservists, as of tentative estimates in 2010.^[156] They came into existence after independence in 1947, and the military establishment has frequently influenced in the national politics ever since.^[101] Chain of command of the military is kept under the control of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee; all of the branches joint works, coordination, military logistics, and joint missions are under the Joint Staff HQ.^[157] The Joint Staff HQ is composed of the Air HQ, Navy HQ, and Army GHQ in the vicinity of the Rawalpindi Military District.^[158]

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.^[157] The Chairman joint chiefs controls the military from the JS HQ and maintains strategic communications between the military and the civilian government.^[157] As of current, the Chairman joint chiefs is General Rashid Mahmood alongside with chief of army staff General Raheel Sharif,^[159] chief of naval staff Admiral Muhammad Zaka,^[160] and chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt.^[161] The main branches are the Army–Air Force–Navy–Marines, which are supported by the number of paramilitary forces in the country.^[162] 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.^[85]

The United States, Turkey, and China maintains close military relations who imported the military equipment and technology transfer to Pakistan.^[163] Joint logistics and major war games are occasionally carry out by the militaries of China and Turkey.^[162]^[164]^[165] Philosophical basis for the military draft is introduced by the Constitution in times of emergency, but it has never been imposed.^[166] Since 1947, Pakistan has been involved in four conventional war, starting first war occurred in Kashmir with Pakistan gaining the control of Western Kashmir (Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan), and India capturing the Eastern Kashmir (Jammu and Kashmir). Territorial problems eventually led to another conventional war in 1965; and over the issue of Bengali refugees led to another war in 1971 which resulted in Pakistan's unconditional surrender of East Pakistan.^[167] Tensions in Kargil brought the two countries at the brink of war.^[86] Since 1947, the unresolved territorial problems with Afghanistan saw border skirmishes which was kept mostly at the mountainous border. In 1961, the military and intelligence community repelled the Afghan incursion in the Bajaur Agency near the Durand Line border.^[168]^[169] Rising tensions with neighboring USSR in their involvement in Afghanistan, Pakistani intelligence community, mostly the ISI, systematically coordinated the U.S. resources to the Afghan mujahideen and foreign fighters against the Soviet Union's presence in the region. Military reports indicated that the PAF was in engagement with the Soviet Air Force, supported by the Afghan Air Force during the course of the conflict;^[170] one of which belonged to Alexander Rutskoy.^[170]

Apart from its own conflicts, Pakistan has been an active participant in United Nations peacekeeping missions. It played a major role in rescuing trapped American soldiers from Mogadishu, Somalia, in 1993 in Operation Gothic Serpent.^[171]^[172]^[173] According to UN reports, the Pakistani military are the largest troop contributors to UN peacekeeping missions.^[174]

The Al-Zarrar (left) is a main battle tank produced by Pakistan. The M60 AVLB is an armored vehicle launched bridge (center).

Pakistan has deployed its military in some Arab countries, providing defence, training, and playing advisory roles.^[175]^[176] The PAF and Navy's fighter pilots have voluntarily served in Arab nations military against Israel in Six-Day War (1967) and the Yom Kippur War (1973), of which, the Pakistan's fighter pilots shot down ten Israeli planes in the Six-Day War.^[171] Requested by the Saudi monarchy in 1979, the special forces units, operatives, and commandos were rushed to assist Saudi forces in Mecca to lead the operation of the Grand Mosque.^[177] In 1991 Pakistan got involved with the Gulf War and sent 5,000 troops as part of a US-led coalition, specifically for the defence of Saudi Arabia.^[178]

Since 2004, the military has been engaged in a war in North-West Pakistan, mainly against the homegrown Taliban factions.^[179]^[180] Major operations undertaken by the Army include Operation Black Thunderstorm and Operation Rah-e-Nijat.^[181]^[182]

Kashmir conflict

The Pir Chinasi in Azad Kashmir, which is part of Pakistan's controlled Kashmir.

The Kashmir– the most northwesterly region of South Asia– is a primary territorial dispute that hindered the relations between India and Pakistan. Two nations have fought at least three large-scale conventional wars in successive years of 1947, 1965, and 1971. The conflict in 1971 witnessed Pakistan's unconditional surrender and a treaty that subsequently led to the independence of Bangladesh.^[183] Other serious military engagements and skirmishes included the armed contacts in Siachen Glacier (1984) and Kargil (1999).^[139] Approximately 45.1% of the Kashmir region is controlled by India while claiming the entire state of Jammu and Kashmir, including most of Jammu, the Kashmir Valley, Ladakh, and the Siachen.^[139] The claim is contested by Pakistan, which approximately controls the 38.2% of the Kashmir region, known as the Azad Kashmir and Gilgit–Baltistan.^[139]^[184]

The Kashmir conflict has its roots with the English Crown's decision of partitioning the British India in 1947. As part of the partition process, two nations had agreed that the rulers of princely states would be allowed to opt for either annexing with Pakistan or India, or in special cases to remain independent.^[185] India claims the Kashmir on the basis of the Instrument of Accession— a legal agreement with Kashmir's leaders executed by Maharaja Hari Sindh who agreed to accede the area to India.^[186]^[187] Pakistan claims Kashmir on the basis of a Muslim majority and of geography, the same principles that were applied for the creation of the two independent states.^[188]^[189] India referred the dispute to the United Nations on 1 January 1948.^[190] A resolution passed in 1948, the UN's General
Assembly asked Pakistan to remove most of its troops as a plebiscite would then be held. However, Pakistan failed to vacate the region and a ceasefire was reached in 1949 with the Line of Control (LoC) was established, dividing Kashmir between the two nations.^[185]

Pakistan claims that its position is for the right of the people of Jammu and Kashmir to determine their future through impartial elections as mandated by the United Nations,^[191] while India has stated that Kashmir is an integral part of India, referring to the Simla Agreement(1972) and to the fact that elections take place regularly.^[192] In recent developments, certain Kashmiri independence groups believe that Kashmir should be independent of both India and Pakistan.^[139]

Law enforcement

Women Commandos of counter-terrorism Special Combat Unit.

The law enforcement in Pakistan is carried out by joint network of several federal and provincial police agencies. The four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory each have a civilian police force with jurisdiction extending only to the relevant province or territory.^[100] At the federal level, there are a number of civilian intelligence agencies with nationwide jurisdictions including the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Intelligence Bureau (IB), and the Motoway Patrol, as well as several paramilitary forces such as the National Guards (Northern Areas), the Rangers (Punjab and Sindh), and the Frontier Corps (Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan).

The most senior officers of all the civilian police forces also form part of the Police Service, which is a component of the civil service of Pakistan. Namely, there are four provincial police service including the Punjab Police, Sindh Police, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police, and the Balochistan Police; all headed by the appointed senior Inspector-Generals. The Islamabad has its own police component, the Capital Police, to maintain law and order in the capital.
The CID bureaus are the crime investigation unit and forms a vital part in each provincial police service.

The law enforcement in Pakistan also has a Motorway Patrol which is responsible for enforcement of traffic and safety laws, security and recovery on Pakistan's inter-provincial motorway network. In each of provincial Police Service, it also maintains a respective Elite Police units led by the NACTA– a counter-terrorism police unit as well as providing VIP escorts. In Punjab and Sindh, the Pakistan Rangers are an internal security force with the prime objective to provide and maintain security in war zones and areas of conflict as well as maintaining law and order which includes providing assistance to the police.^[193] The Frontier Corps serves the similar purpose in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, and the Balochistan.^[193]

Geography, environment and climate

K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth.

The geography and climate of Pakistan are extremely diverse, and the country is home to a wide variety of wildlife.^[194] Pakistan covers an area of 796,095 km² (307,374 sq mi), approximately equal to the combined land areas of France and the United Kingdom. It is the 36th largest nation by total area, although this ranking varies depending on how the disputed territory of Kashmir is counted. Pakistan has a 1,046 km (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south^[195] and land borders of 6,774 km (4,209 mi) in total: 2,430 km (1,510 mi) with Afghanistan, 523 km (325 mi) with China, 2,912 km (1,809 mi) with India and 909 km (565 mi) with Iran.^[100] It shares a marine border with Oman,^[196] and is separated from Tajikistan by the cold, narrow Wakhan Corridor.^[197] Pakistan occupies a geopolitically important location at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East and Central Asia.^[198]

Geologically, Pakistan overlaps the Indian tectonic plate in its Sindh and Punjab provinces; Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are within the Eurasian plate, mainly on the Iranian plateau. Gilgit–Baltistan and Azad Kashmir lie along the edge of the Indian plate and hence are prone to violent earthquakes. Ranging from the coastal areas of the south to the glaciated mountains of the north, Pakistan's landscapes vary from plains to deserts, forests, hills and plateaus .^[199]

Pakistan is divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain and the Balochistan Plateau.^[200] The northern highlands contain the Karakoram, Hindu Kush and Pamir mountain ranges (see mountains of Pakistan), which contain some of the world's highest peaks, including five of the fourteen eight-thousanders (mountain peaks over 8,000 metres or 26,250 feet), which attract adventurers and mountaineers from all over the world, notably K2 (8,611 m or 28,251 ft) and Nanga Parbat (8,126 m or 26,660 ft).^[201] The Balochistan Plateau lies in the west and the Thar Desert in the east. The 1,609 km (1,000 mi) Indus River and its tributaries flow through the country from the Kashmir region to the Arabian Sea. There is an expanse of alluvial plains along it in Punjab and Sindh.^[202]

The climate varies from tropical to temperate, with arid conditions in the coastal south. There is a monsoon season with frequent flooding due to heavy rainfall, and a dry season with significantly less rainfall or none at all. There are four distinct seasons: a cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November.^[46] Rainfall varies greatly from year to year, and patterns of alternate flooding and drought are common.^[203]

Flora and fauna

Deodar,^[b] Pakistan's national tree.

The diversity of landscapes and climates 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, through 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 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.^[204]

Coniferous forests are found at altitudes ranging from 1,000 to 4,000 metres in most of the northern and northwestern highlands. In the xeric regions of Balochistan, date palm and Ephedra are common. In most of Punjab and Sindh, the Indus plains support tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forestry as well as tropical and xeric shrublands. These forests are mostly of mulberry, acacia, and eucalyptus.^[205] About 2.2% or 1,687,000 hectares (16,870 km²) of Pakistan was forested in 2010.^[206]

The fauna of Pakistan reflects its varied climates too. Around 668 bird species are found there:^[207]^[208] crows, sparrows, mynas, hawks, falcons and eagles commonly occur. Palas, Kohistan, has a significant population of Western Tragopan.^[209] Many birds sighted in Pakistan are migratory, coming from Europe, Central Asia and India.^[210]

The southern plains are home to mongooses, civets, hares, the Asiatic jackal, the Indian pangolin, the jungle cat and the desert cat. There are mugger crocodiles in the Indus, and wild boar, deer, porcupines and small rodents are common in the surrounding areas. The sandy scrublands of central Pakistan are home to Asiatic jackals, striped hyenas, wildcats and leopards.^[211]^[212] The lack of vegetative cover, the severe climate and the impact of grazing on the deserts have left wild animals in a precarious position. The chinkara is the only animal that can still be found in significant numbers in Cholistan. A small number of nilgai are found along the Pakistan-India border and in some parts of Cholistan.^[211]^[213] A wide variety of animals live in the mountainous north, including the Marco Polo sheep, the urial (a subspecies of wild sheep), Markhor and Ibex goats, the Asian black bear and the Himalayan brown bear.^[211]^[214]^[215] Among the rare animals found in the area are the snow leopard,^[214] the Asiatic cheetah^[216] and the blind Indus river dolphin, of which there are believed to be about 1,100 remaining, protected at the Indus River Dolphin Reserve in Sindh.^[214]^[217] In total, 174 mammals, 177 reptiles, 22 amphibians, 198 freshwater fish species and 5,000 species of invertebrates (including insects) have been recorded in Pakistan.^[207]^[208]

The flora and fauna of Pakistan suffer from a number of problems. Pakistan has the second-highest rate of deforestation in the world. This, along with hunting and pollution, is causing adverse effects on the ecosystem. The government has established a large number of protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and game reserves to deal with these issues.^[207]^[208]

National parks and Wildlife sanctuaries

Plain of Deosai National Park.

As of present, there are around 157 protected areas in Pakistan that are recognized by IUCN. According to the 'Modern Protected Areas' legislation, a national park is a protected area set aside by the government for the protection and conservation of its outstanding scenery and wildlife in a natural state. The oldest national park is Lal Suhanra in Bahawalpur District, established in 1972.^[218] It is also the only biosphere reserve of Pakistan. Lal Suhanra is the only national park established before the independence of the nation in August 1947. Central Karakoram in Gilgit Baltistan is currently the largest national park in the country, spanning over a total approximate area of 1,390,100 hectares (3,435,011.9 acres). The smallest national park is the Ayub, covering a total approximate area of 931 hectares (2,300.6 acres).

Infrastructure

Economy

View of Pakistan's capital Islamabad, the city is home to several of countries largest companies.

Habib Bank Plaza, located in Karachi was designed by Leo A Daly

Pakistan is a rapidly developing country^[219]^[220]^[221] and is one of the Next Eleven, the eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a high potential to become the world's largest economies in the 21st century.^[222] However, after decades of social instability, as of 2013, serious deficiencies in macromangament and unbalanced macroeconomics in basic services such as train transportation and electrical energy generation had developed.^[223] The economy is semi-industrialized, with centres of growth along the Indus River.^[224]^[225]^[226] The diversified economies of Karachi and Punjab's urban centres coexist with less developed areas in other parts of the country.^[225] Pakistan's estimated nominal GDP as of 2011 is US$202 billion. The GDP by PPP is US$838,164 million.^[227] The estimated nominal per capita GDP is US$1,197, GDP (PPP)/capita is US$4,602 (international dollars), and debt-to-GDP ratio is 55.5%.^[228]^[229] According to the World Bank, Pakistan has important strategic endowments and development potential. The increasing proportion of Pakistan’s youth provides the country with a potential demographic dividend and a challenge to provide adequate services and employment.^[230]

“

Pakistan would become the 18th largest economy in the world by 2050 with a GDP of US$ 3.33 trillion.

”

—Goldman Sachs, 2015, ^[231]

A 2013 report published by the World Bank positioned Pakistan's economy at 24th largest in the world by purchasing power and 45th largest in absolute dollars.^[226] It is South Asia's second largest economy, representing about 15.0% of regional GDP.^[232]^[233] Pakistan's economic growth since its inception has been varied. It has been slow during periods of democratic transition, but excellent during the three periods of martial law, although the foundation for sustainable and equitable growth was not formed.^[69] The early to middle 2000s was a period of rapid economic reforms; the government raised development spending, which reduced poverty levels by 10% and increased GDP by 3%.^[100]^[234] The economy cooled again from 2007.^[100] Inflation reached 25.0% in 2008^[235] and
Pakistan had to depend on a fiscal policy backed by the International Monetary Fund to avoid possible bankruptcy.^[236]^[237] A year later, the Asian Development Bank reported that Pakistan's economic crisis was easing.^[238] The inflation rate for the fiscal year 2010–11 was 14.1%.^[239] On January 2014, a survey conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization placed Pakistan just behind Taiwan in terms of business generated by Japanese companies. Pakistan's data was generated from 27 Japanese firms doing business here. The results found that 74.1% of the Japanese companies estimated operating profit in 2013.^[240]

Left is a Pakistani textile market, Pakistan has the third largest spinning capacity in Asia. Right is the Karachi stock exchange, which is the best performing market in the world as of 2014.^[241]^[242]

Pakistan is one of the largest producers of natural commodities, and its labour market is the 10th largest in the world. The 7 million strong Pakistani diaspora, contributed US$11.2 billion to the economy in 2011-12.^[243] The major source countries of remittances to Pakistan includes in the UAE, United States, Saudi Arabia, Gulf states (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman), Australia, Canada, Japan, Untied Kingdom, Norway, and Switzerland .^[244]^[245] According to the World Trade Organization, Pakistan's share of overall world exports is declining; it contributed only 0.128% in 2007.^[246] The trade deficit in the fiscal year 2010–11 was US$11.217 billion.^[247]

The structure of the Pakistani economy has changed from a mainly agricultural to a strong service base. Agriculture as of 2010 accounts for only 21.2% of the GDP. Even so, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Pakistan produced 21,591,400 metric tons of wheat in 2005, more than all of Africa (20,304,585 metric tons) and nearly as much as all of South America (24,557,784 metric tons).^[248] Between 2002 and 2007 there was substantial foreign investment in Pakistan's banking and energy sectors.^[249] Other important industries include clothing and textiles (accounting for nearly 60% of exports), food processing, chemicals manufacture, iron and steel.^[250] There is great potential for tourism in Pakistan, but it is severely affected by the country's instability.^[251] Pakistan's cement is also fast growing mainly because of demand from Afghanistan and countries boosting real estate sector, In 2013 Pakistan exported 7,708,557 metric tons of cement.^[252] Pakistan has an installed capacity of 44,768,250 metric tons of cement and 42,636,428 metric tons of clinker. In the 2012–2013 cement industry in Pakistan became the most profitable sector of economy.^[253]

GDP growth rate of Pakistan compared with global average since 2000.

The Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Pakistan soared by 180.6% year-on-year to US$2.22 billion and portfolio investment by 276.1% to US$407.4 million during the first nine months of fiscal year 2006, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) reported on 24 April. During July–March 2005–06, the FDI year-on-year increased to US$2.224 billion from only US$792.6 million and portfolio investment to US$407.4 million, whereas it was US$108.1 million in the corresponding period last year, according to the latest statistics released by the State Bank.^[254] Pakistan has achieved FDI of almost US$8.4 billion in the financial year 2006-07, surpassing the government target of $4 billion.^[255] Foreign investment had significantly declined by 2010, dropping by 54.6% due to Pakistan's political instability and weak law and order, according to the State Bank.^[256]

The textile industry enjoys a pivotal position in the exports of Pakistan. Pakistan is the 8th largest exporter of textile products in Asia. This sector contributes 9.5% to the GDP and provides employment to about 15 million people or roughly 30% of the 49 million workforce of the country. Pakistan is the 4th largest producer of cotton with the third largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India, and contributes 5% to the global spinning capacity. China is the second largest buyer of Pakistani textiles, importing US$1.527 billion of textiles last fiscal. Unlike U.S. where mostly value added textiles are imported, China buys only cotton yarn and cotton fabric from Pakistan. In 2012, Pakistani textile products accounted for 3.3% or US$1.07bn of total United Kingdom's textile imports, 12.4% or US$4.61bn of total Chinese textile imports, 2.98% or $2.98b of total United States' textile imports, 1.6% or US$0.88bn of total German textile imports and 0.7% or US$0.888bn of total Indian textile imports.^[257]

The Pakistan's competitive yet profitable banking industry is continuously improving with a diversified pattern of ownership due to an active participation of foreign and local stakeholders.^{[citation needed]} It has resulted into an increased competition among banks to attract a greater number of customers by the provision of quality services for long-term benefits. Now there are 6 full-fledged Islamic banks and 13 conventional banks offering products and services. Islamic banking and finance in Pakistan has experienced phenomenal growth. Islamic deposits – held by full-fledged Islamic banks and Islamic windows of conventional banks at present stand at 9.7% of total bank deposits in the country.^[258] The list includes the largest Pakistani companies by revenue in 2012:

Pakistan key economic statistics
Pakistan GDP composition by sector	^[259]
Agriculture	25.3%
Industry	21.6%
Services	53.1%
Labor force by occupation	^[260]
Agriculture	45.1%
Industry	20.7%
Services	34.2%
Employment	^[261]
Labour force	59.7 million
People employed	56.0 million
Natural Resources	^[262]^[263]
Copper	12.3 million tonnes
Gold	20.9 million ounces
Coal	175 billion tonnes
Shale Gas	105 trillion cubic feet
Shale Oil	9 billion barrels
Gas production	4.2 billion cubic feet/day
Oil production	70,000 barrels/day
Iron ore	500 million^[264]

Corporations	Headquarters	2012 revenue (Mil. $)^[265]	Services
Pakistan State Oil	Karachi	11,570	Petroleum and Gas
Pak-Arab Refinery	Qasba Gujrat	3,000	Oil and refineries
Sui Northern Gas Pipelines	Lahore	2,520	Natural gas
Shell Pakistan	Karachi	2,380	Petroleum
Oil and Gas Development Co.	Islamabad	2,230	Petroleum and Gas
National Refinery	Karachi	1,970	Oil refinery
Hub Power Co.	Hub, Balochistan	1,970	Energy
K-Electric	Karachi	1,840	Energy
Attock Refinery	Rawalpindi	1,740	Oil refinery
Attock Petroleum	Rawalpindi	1,740	Petroleum
Lahore Electric Supply Co.	Lahore	1,490	Energy
Pakistan Refinery	Karachi	1,440	Petroleum and Gas
Sui Southern Gas Pipelines	Karachi	1,380	Natural gas
Pakistan International Airlines	Karachi	1,360	Aviation
Engro Corporation	Karachi	1,290	Food and Wholesale

Nuclear power

Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission contributed in the development of Compact Muon Solenoid.

Energy from the nuclear power source is provided by three licensed-commercial nuclear power plants, as of 2012 data.^[266] Pakistan is the first Muslim country in the world to construct and operate civil nuclear power plants.^[267] The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), the scientific and nuclear governmental authority, is solely responsible for operating these power plants, while the Pakistan Nuclear Regulatory Authority regulates safe usage of the nuclear energy.^[268] The electricity generated by commercial nuclear power plants constitutes roughly ~5.8% of electricity generated in Pakistan, compared to ~62% from fossil fuel (petroleum), ~29.9% from hydroelectric power and ~0.3% from coal.^[269]^[270]^[271] Pakistan is one of the four nuclear armed states (along with India, Israel, and North Korea) that is not a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty but is a member in good standing of the International Atomic Energy Agency.^[272]^[273]^[274]

Commercial nuclear power plants in Pakistan.

For the commercial usage of the nuclear power, China has provided an avid support for commercializing the nuclear power sources in Pakistan from early on, first providing the Chashma-I reactor. The Karachi-I, a Candu-type, was provided by Canada in 1971– the country's first commercial nuclear power plant. In subsequent years, People's Republic of China sold the nuclear power plant for energy and industrial growth of the country. In 2005, both countries reached out towards working on joint energy security plan, calling for a huge increase in generating capacity to more than 160,000 MWe by 2030. Original admissions by Pakistan, the government plans for lifting nuclear capacity to 8800 MWe, 900 MWe of it by 2015 and a further 1500 MWe by 2020.^[275]

In June 2008, the nuclear commercial complex was expanded with the ground work of installing and operationalizing the Chashma-III and Chashma–IV nuclear power plants at Chashma, Punjab Province, each with 320–340 MWe and costing ₨. 129 billion,; from which the ₨. 80 billion of this from international sources, principally China.

A further agreement for China's help with the project was signed in October 2008, and given prominence as a counter to the U.S.–India agreement shortly preceding it. Cost quoted then was US$1.7 billion, with a foreign loan component of $1.07 billion. In 2013, the second nuclear commercial complex in Karachi was marginalized and expanded to additional reactors, based on the Chashma complex.^[276]

The electrical energy is generated by various energy corporations and evenly distributed by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) among the four provinces. However, the Karachi-based K-Electric and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) generates much of the electrical energy as well as gathering revenue nationwide.^[277] Capacity to generate ~22,797MWt electricity has been installed in 2014, with the initiation of several energy projects in 2014.^[269] Energy from the nuclear sources is provided by three licensed commercial nuclear power plants operated Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) under licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Authority.^[278] Pakistan is the first Muslim country in the world to embark on a nuclear power program.^[279] Commercial nuclear power plants generate roughly 5.8% of Pakistan's electricity, compared with about 64.0% from thermal, 29.9% from hydroelectric power, and ~0.3% from the Coal source.^[277]

Tourism

Wazir Khan Mosque was constructed in 1635 A.D. and contains some of the finest examples of Qashani tile work from the Mughal period.

Pakistan, with its diverse cultures, people and landscapes attracted 1 million tourists in 2012.^[280] Pakistan's tourism industry was in its heyday during the 1970s when the country received unprecedented amounts of foreign tourists. The main destinations of choice for these tourists were the Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Karachi, Lahore, Swat and Rawalpindi.^[281]

The country's attraction range from the ruin of civilisation such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill stations. Pakistan is home to several mountain peaks over 7000 m.^[282]^{[unreliable source?]} The north part of Pakistan has many old fortresses, ancient architecture and the Hunza and Chitral valley, home to small pre-Islamic Animist Kalasha community claiming descent from Alexander the Great. Other attractions include the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Punjab province. Pakistan's cultural capital, with many examples of Mughal architecture such as Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort. Before the Global economic crisis Pakistan received more than 500,000 tourists annually.^[283] However, this number has now come down to near zero figures since 2008 due to instability in the country and many countries declaring Pakistan as unsafe and dangerous to visit.

In October 2006, just one year after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake, The Guardian released what it described as "The top five tourist sites in Pakistan" in order to help the country's tourism industry.^[284] The five sites included Taxila, Lahore, The Karakoram Highway, Karimabad and Lake Saiful Muluk. To promote Pakistan's unique and various cultural heritage.^[285]^[286] In 2009, The World Economic Forum's Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan as one of the top 25% tourist destinations for its World Heritage sites. Ranging from mangroves in the South, to the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization which included Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.^[287]

Transport

The Meto Bus System in Lahore is country's first bus rapid transit, while Metrobus Rawalpindi-Islamabad is under construction.

Jinnah International Airport in Karachi handles 16 million passengers annually.

The transport industry accounts for ~10.5% of nation's GDP.^[288] Pakistan's motorway infrastructure is better than those of India, Bangladesh, and Indonesia, but the train system lags behind those of India and China, and aviation infrastructure also needs improvement.^[289] There is scarcely any inland water transportation system, and coastal shipping only meets minor local requirements.^[290]

Highways form the backbone of Pakistan's transport system; a total road length of 259,618 km accounts for 91% of passenger and 96% of freight traffic. Road transport services are largely in the hands of the private sector, which handles around 95% of freight traffic. The National Highway Authority is responsible for the maintenance of national highways and motorways. The highway and motorway system depends mainly on north–south links, connecting the southern ports to the populous provinces of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Although this network only accounts for 4.2% of total road length, it carries 85% of the country's traffic.^[291]^[292]

The Pakistan Railways, under the Ministry of Railways (MoR), operates the railroad system. From 1947 until 1970s, the train system was the primary means of transport until the nationwide constructions of the national highways and the economic boom of the automotive industry. Since 1990s, there was a marked shift in traffic from rail to highways; dependence grew on roads after the introduction of vehicles in the country. Now the railway's share of inland traffic is only 10% for passengers and 4% for freight traffic. Personal transportation dominated by the automobiles, the total rail track decreased from 8,775 km in 1990–91 to 7,791 km in 2011.^[291]^[293] Pakistan expects to use the rail service to boost foreign trade with China, Iran and Turkey.^[294]^[295]

Rough estimates accounts for 139 airports in Pakistan–both military and civilian airports which are mostly are publicly owned. Though the Jinnah International Airport is the principal international gateway to Pakistan, the international airports in Lahore, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Faisalabad, Sialkot and Multan also handle significant amounts of traffic. The civil aviation industry is mixed with public and private sectors, which has been deregulated in 1993. While the state-owned Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is the major and dominated air carrier that carries about 73% of domestic passengers and all domestic freight, the private airlines such as airBlue, Shaheen Air International, and Air Indus, also provide the similar services with low cost expenses. Major seaports are in Karachi, Sindh (the Karachi port and Port Qasim).^[291]^[293] Since 1990s, the seaport operations have been moved to Balochistan with the construction of Gwadar Port and Gadani Port.^[291]^[293]

Science and technology

Abdus Salam won the 1979 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contribution to electroweak interaction.

Development on science and technology plays an influential role in Pakistan's infrastructure and helped the country to reach out to the world.^[296] Every year, scientists from around the world are invited by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Government to participate in the International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics.^[297] Pakistan hosted an international seminar on Physics in Developing Countries for International Year of Physics 2005.^[298] Pakistani theoretical physicist Abdus Salam won a Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on the electroweak interaction.^[299] Influential publications and the critical scientific works in the advancement of mathematics, biology, economics, computer science, and genetics have been produced by the Pakistani scientists at the domestic and international standings.^[300]

In chemistry, Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the first Pakistani scientist to bring the therapeutic constituents of the Neem tree to the attention of natural products chemists.^[301]^[302]^[303] Pakistani neurosurgeon Ayub Ommaya invented the Ommaya reservoir, a system for treatment of brain tumours and other brain conditions.^[304] Scientific research and development plays a pivotal role in Pakistani universities, collaboration with the government sponsored national laboratories, science parks, and co-operation with the industry.^[305] In 2010, Pakistan was ranked 43rd in the world in terms of published scientific papers.^[306] The Pakistan Academy of Sciences, a strong scientific community, plays an influential and vital role in formulating the science policies recommendation to the government.^[307]

The 1960s era saw the emergence of the active space program led by the SUPARCO that produced advances in domestic rocketry, electronics, and aeronomy.^[308] The space program recorded few notable feats and achievements; the successful launch of the first rocket into the space that made Pakistan as first South Asian country to achieve such task.^[308] Successfully producing and launching nation's first space satellite in 1990, Pakistan became the first Muslim country and second South Asian country to put a satellite into space.^[309]

As an aftermath of the 1971 war with India, the clandestine crash program developed atomic weapons in a fear and to prevent any foreign intervention, while ushering in the atomic age in the post cold war era.^[113] Competition with India and tensions eventually led Pakistan's decision of conducting underground nuclear tests in 1998; thus becoming the seventh country in the world to successfully develop nuclear weapons.^[310]

After establishing an Antarctic program, Pakistan is one of the small number of countries that have an active research presence in Antarctica. The Antarctic program oversees two summer research stations on the continent and plans to open another base, which will operate all year round.^[311] Energy consumption by computers and usage has grown since 1990s when the PCs were introduced; Pakistan has over 20 million internet users and is ranked as one of the top countries that have registered a high growth rate in internet penetration, as of 2011.^[312] Key publications has been produced by Pakistan, and domestic software development has gained a lot international praise.^[313]

Overall, it has the 27th largest population of internet users in the world. Since 2000s, Pakistan has made significant amount of progress in supercomputing, and various institutions offers research in parallel computing. Pakistan government reportedly spends ₨. 4.6 billion on information technology projects, with emphasis on e-government, human resource and infrastructure development.^[314

Prominent Pakistani Inventions	Detail
Ommaya reservoir	System for the delivery of drugs into the cerebrospinal fluid for treatment of patients with brain tumours.
(c)Brain	One of the first computer viruses in history
Electroweak interaction	Discovery led Muslim world's first Nobel Prize in Physics.
Plastic magnet	World's first workable plastic magnet at room temperature.
Non-lethal fertilizer	A formula to make fertilizers that cannot be converted into bomb-making materials.
Non-Kink Catheter Mount	A crucial instrument used in anesthesiology.
Human Development Index	Devised by Pakistan's former finance minister, Mahbub ul Haq.^[315]
Standard Model	Particle physics theory devised part by Pakistan scientist Abdus Salam

Education

National University of Sciences and Technology in Islamabad is ranked by Times Higher Education among the top 100 universities.^[316]

The Constitution of Pakistan requires the state to provide free primary and secondary education.^[317]^[318] At the time of establishment of Pakistan as state, the country had only one university, the Punjab University in Lahore.^[319] On immediate basis, the Pakistan government established public universities in each four provinices including the Sindh University (1949), Peshawar University (1950), Karachi University (1953), and Balochistan University (1970). As of September 2011, Pakistan has a large network of both public and private universities; a collaboration of public-private universities to provide research and higher education in the country.^[320] It is estimated that there are 3193 technical and vocational institutions in Pakistan,^[321] and there are also madrassahs that provide free Islamic education and offer free board and lodging to students, who come mainly from the poorer strata of society.^[322] Strongly instigated public pressure and popular criticism over the extremists usage of madrassahs for recruitment, the Pakistan government has made repeated efforts to regulate and monitor the quality of education in the madrassahs.^[323]^[324]

Education in Pakistan is divided into six main levels: nursery (preparatory classes); primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); matriculation (grades nine and ten, leading to the secondary certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a higher secondary certificate); and university programmes leading to graduate and postgraduate programs.^[321] Network of Pakistani private schools also operate a parallel secondary education system based on the curriculum set and administered by the Cambridge International Examinations of the United Kingdom. Some students choose to take the O-level and A level exams conducted by the British Council.^[325]

Islamia College University in Peshawar was founded in October 1913.

Initiatives taken in 2007, the English medium education has been made compulsory to all schools across the country.^[326]^[327] Additional reforms taken in 2013, all educational institutions in Sindh began instructions in Chinese language courses, reflecting China's growing role as a superpower and increasing influence in Pakistan.^[328] The literacy rate of the population above ten years of age in the country is ~58.5%. Male literacy is ~70.2% while female literacy rate is 46.3%.^[239] Literacy rates vary by region and particularly by sex; for instance, female literacy in tribal areas is 3.0%.^[329] With the launch of the computer literacy in 1995, the government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children.^[330] Through various educational reforms, by 2015 the MoEd expects to attain 100.00% enrollment levels among children of primary school age and a literacy rate of ~86% among people aged over 10.^[331]

After earning their HSC, students may study in a professional college or the university for bachelorate program courses such as science and engineering (BEng, BS/BSc, BTech) surgery and medicine (MBBS, MD), dentistry (BDS), veterinary medicine (DVM), criminal justice and law (LLB, LLM, JD), architecture (BArch), pharmacy (Pharm D.) and nursing (BNurs). Students can also attend a university for a bachelorate degree for business administration, literature, and management including the BA, BCom, BBA, and MBA programs. The higher education mainly supervises by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) that sets out the policies and issues rankings of the nationwide universities. In October 2014, education activist Malala Yousafzai became by far the youngest ever person in the world to receive the Nobel peace prize.^[332]

Demographics

Population density

Unofficial Pakistan Census estimates the country's population at ~188,144,040 (188.1 million) as of 2015, which is equivalent to 2.57% of the world population.^[333] Noted as the sixth most populated country in the world, its growth rate is reported at ~2.03%, which is the highest of the SAARC nations and gives an annual increase of 3.6 million.
The population is projected to reach 210.13 million by 2020 and to double by 2045.

At the time of the partition in 1947, Pakistan had a population of 32.5 million,^[245]^[334] but the population increased by ~57.2% between the years 1990 and 2009.^[335] By 2030, it is expected to surpass Indonesia as the largest Muslim-majority country in the world.^[336]^[337] Pakistan is classified as a "young nation" with a median age of about 22, and 104 million people under the age of 30 in 2010. Pakistan's fertility rate stands at 3.07, higher than its neighbors India (2.57) and Iran (1.73). Around 35% of the people are under 15.^[245]

Vast majority residing in southern skirts lives along the Indus River, with Karachi being its most populous commercial city.^[338] In the eastern, western, and northern skirts, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan and Peshawar.^[100] During 1990–2008, the city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia.^[100]^[245] Furthermore, 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more.^[339]

Expenditure spend on healthcare was ~2.6% of GDP in 2009.^[340] Life expectancy at birth was 65.4 years for females and 63.6 years for males in 2010. The private sector accounts for about 80% of outpatient visits. Approximately 19% of the population and 30% of children under five are malnourished.^[226] Mortality of the under-fives was 87 per 1,000 live births in 2009.^[340] About 20% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.^[341]

Race/Ethnicity Composition[show]

Race/Ethnicity Composition (2009 statistics)
Social groups	Populations in millions (Numerics and % Change)
Punjabis	76.3(+44.15%)
Pashtuns	29.3(+15.42%)
Sindhis	24.8(+14.10%)
Balochs	6.9(+3.57%)
Seraikis	14.8(+10.53%)
Muhajirs	13.3(+7.57 %)
Others	11.1(-4.66%)

More than sixty languages are spoken in Pakistan, including a number of provincial languages. Urdu— the lingua franca, a symbol of Muslim identity, and national unity— is the national language which is understood by over 75% of Pakistanis and the main source of nationwide communication.^[198]^[342] English is the official language of Pakistan which is primarily used in official business, government, and legal contracts;^[100] the local dialect is known as Pakistani English. The Punjabi language is the most common Punjab and has many native speakers while the Saraiki is mainly spoken in South Punjab. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Pashto language is the provincial language and is well understood in Sindh and Balochistan.^[5] The Sindhi language is the common language spoken in Sindh while the Balochi language is dominant in Balochistan.^[5]^[46]^[343]

The Pakistan Census excludes the immigrants such as the 1.7 million registered Afghans from Afghanistan, who are found mainly in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and tribal belt with small numbers residing in Karachi and Quetta.^[344]^[345] As of 1995, there were more than 1.6 million Bengalis, 650,000 Afghans, 200,000 Burmese, 2,320 Iranians, and Filipinos, and hundreds of Nepalese, Sri Lankans, and Indians living in Karachi.^[346]^[347] Pakistan hosts more refugees than any other country in the world.^[348]

The population is dominated by four main social groups: Punjabis, Pathans, Sindhis, and Balochs.^[349] Rough accounts from 2009 indicates that the Punjabis dominates with 76.3 million (~44.15%) while the Pashtuns are the second dominated group with ~29.3 million (15.42%).^[349] The Sindhis are estimated at 24.8 million (14.1%) with Seraikis approximated at 14.8 million (10.53%).^[349] The Urdu-speaking Muhajirs (the Indian emigrants) stands at ~13.3 million (7.57%) while and Balochs are accounted at 6.3 million (3.57%)– the smallest group in population terms.^[349]^[350] The remaining 11.1 million (4.66%) belong to various ethnic minorities such as Hazaras and Kalashs.^[349] There is also a large worldwide Pakistani diaspora, numbering over seven million residing worldwide.^[350]

v t e Largest cities or towns in Pakistan augast 14, 2014 estimate^[351]
	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.
Karachi Lahore	1	Karachi	Sindh	33,500,625	11	Sargodha	Punjab	4,557,514	Faisalabad Hyderabad
	2	Lahore	Punjab	15,218,745	12	Sialkot	Punjab	1,733,252
	3	Faisalabad	Punjab	7,847,446	13	Bahawalpur	Punjab	528,678
	4	Hyderabad	Sindh	5,829,471	14	Sukkur	Sindh	400,148
	5	Peshawar	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa	5,339,550	15	Jhang	Punjab	379,770
	6	Rawalpindi	Punjab	4,899,766	16	Sheikhupura	Punjab	362,808
	7	Islamabad	Capital Territory	5,607,798	17	Abbottabad	khyber pakhtunkhwa	705,999
	8	Multan	Punjab	4,133,252	18	Gujrat	Punjab	325,952
	9	Gujranwala	Punjab	1,082,262	19	Larkana	Sindh	322,315
	10	Quetta	Balochistan	842,410	20	Kasur	Punjab	317,575

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_populous_cities_in_Pakistan#cite_note-1></ref>

Religion

Religions in Pakistan^[352]^[353]^[354]^[355]

Religions			Percent
Islam			96.4%
Others			3.6%

Faisal Mosque, was built in 1986 by Turkish architect Vedat Dalokay on behalf of King Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz.

P
akistan is the second most populous Muslim-majority country^[356] and has the second largest Shia population in the world after Iran.^[357]^[358]^[359] About 97.0% of Pakistanis are Muslims. The majority are Sunni, with an estimated 5–20% Shia.^[46]^[358]^[360] A further 2.3% are Ahmadis,^[361] who are officially considered non-Muslims by virtue of the constitutional amendment.^[362] There are also several Quraniyoon communities.^[363]^[364] After the 9/11 attacks in the United States, the sectarian violence among Muslim denominations has increased with systematic targeted killings of both sects, Sunnis and Shias.^[365]^[366] In 2013, there were country-wide protests by both Shias and Sunnis calling an end to sectarian violence in the country, toughen up the law and order, and urging for Shia-Sunni unity in the country.^[367] The Ahmadis are particularly persecuted, especially since 1974 when they were banned from calling themselves Muslims. In 1984, Ahmadiyya places of worship were banned from being called "mosques".^[368] As of 2012, 12% of Pakistani Muslims self-identify as non-denominational Muslims.^[369]

Islam to some extent syncretized with pre-Islamic influences, resulting in a religion with some traditions distinct from those of the Arab world.^[370] Two Sufis whose shrines receive much national attention are Ali Hajweri in Lahore (ca. 12th century)^[371] and Shahbaz Qalander in Sehwan, Sindh (ca. 12th century).^{[citation needed]} Sufism, a mystical Islamic tradition, has a long history and a large popular following in Pakistan. Popular Sufi culture is centered on Thursday night gatherings at shrines and annual festivals which feature Sufi music and dance. Contemporary Islamic fundamentalists criticize its popular character, which in their view, does not accurately reflect the teachings and practice of the Prophet and his companions.^[372]^[373]

After Islam, Hinduism and Christianity are the largest religions in Pakistan, with 2,800,000 (1.6%) adherents each in 2005.^[46] They are followed by the Bahá'í Faith, which has a following of 30,000, then Sikhism, Buddhism and Zoroastrianism, each claiming 20,000 adherents,^[360] and a very small community of Jains. There is a Roman Catholic community in Karachi which was established by Goan and Tamil migrants when Karachi's infrastructure was being developed by the British during colonial administration between World War I and World War II. Influence of atheism is very little with 1.0% of the population aligned as atheist in 2005.^[374] However, the figure rose to 2.0% in 2012 according to Gallup.^[374]

Culture and society

Truck art in Pakistan is a unique feature of Pakistani culture.

The civil society in Pakistan is largely hierarchical, emphasising local cultural etiquettes and traditional Islamic values that govern personal and political life. The basic family unit is the extended family,

Louis de Broglie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Louis de Broglie

Born	(1892-08-15)15 August 1892 Dieppe, France
Died	19 March 1987(1987-03-19) (aged 94) Louveciennes, France
Nationality	French
Fields	Physics
Institutions	Sorbonne University of Paris
Alma mater	Sorbonne
Doctoral advisor	Paul Langevin
Doctoral students	Cécile DeWitt-Morette Bernard d'Espagnat Jean-Pierre Vigier Alexandru Proca
Known for	Wave nature of electrons De Broglie–Bohm theory de Broglie wavelength
Notable awards	Nobel Prize in Physics (1929) Kalinga Prize (1952)

Louis-Victor-Pierre-Raymond, 7th duc de Broglie (/dəˈbrɔɪ/; French: [dəbʁɔj]^[1]^[2] or [dəbʁœj] (

listen); 15 August 1892 – 19 March 1987) was a French physicist who made groundbreaking contributions to quantum theory. In his 1924 PhD thesis he postulated the wave nature of electrons and suggested that all matter has wave properties. This concept is known as the de Broglie hypothesis, an example of wave-particle duality, and forms a central part of the theory of quantum mechanics.

De Broglie won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1929, after the wave-like behaviour of matter was first experimentally demonstrated in 1927.

The 1925's pilot-wave picture,^[3] and the wave-like behaviour of particles discovered by de Broglie was used by Erwin Schrödinger in his formulation of wave mechanics.^[4] The pilot-wave model and interpretation was then abandoned, in favor of the quantum formalism, until 1952 when it was rediscovered and enhanced by David Bohm.

Louis de Broglie was the sixteenth member elected to occupy seat 1 of the Académie française in 1944, and served as Perpetual Secretary of the French Academy of Sciences.^[5]^[6]

Biography

Louis de Broglie was born to a noble family in Dieppe, Seine-Maritime, younger son of Victor, 5th duc de Broglie. He became the 7th duc de Broglie in 1960 upon the death without heir of his older brother, Maurice, 6th duc de Broglie, also a physicist. He never married. When he died in Louveciennes, he was succeeded as duke by a distant cousin, Victor-François, 8th duc de Broglie.

De Broglie had intended a career in humanities, and received his first degree in history. Afterwards, though, he turned his attention toward mathematics and physics and received a degree in physics. With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, he offered his services to the army in the development of radio communications.

His 1924 thesis Recherches sur la théorie des quanta (Research on the Theory of the Quanta) introduced his theory of electron waves. This included the wave–particle duality theory of matter, based on the work of Max Planck and Albert Einstein on light. The thesis examiners, unsure of the material, passed his thesis to Einstein for evaluation. Einstein endorsed his wave–particle duality proposal wholeheartedly; de Broglie was awarded his doctorate. This research culminated in the de Broglie hypothesis stating that any moving particle or object had an associated wave. De Broglie thus created a new field in physics, the mécanique ondulatoire, or wave mechanics, uniting the physics of energy (wave) and matter (particle). For this he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1929.

In his later career, de Broglie worked to develop a causal explanation of wave mechanics, in opposition to the wholly probabilistic models which dominate quantum mechanical theory; it was refined by David Bohm in the 1950s. The theory has since been known as the De Broglie–Bohm theory.

In addition to strictly scientific work, de Broglie thought and wrote about the philosophy of science, including the value of modern scientific discoveries.

De Broglie became a member of the Académie des sciences in 1933, and was the academy's perpetual secretary from 1942. He was asked to join Le Conseil de l'Union Catholique des Scientifiques Francais, but declined due to the fact that he was non-religious.^[7]

On 12 October 1944, he was elected to the Académie française, replacing mathematician Émile Picard. Because of the deaths and imprisonments of Académie members during the occupation and other effects of the war, the Académie was unable to meet the quorum of twenty members for his election; due to the exceptional circumstances, however, his unanimous election by the seventeen members present was accepted. In an event unique in the history of the Académie, he was received as a member by his own brother Maurice, who had been elected in 1934. UNESCO awarded him the first Kalinga Prize in 1952 for his work in popularizing scientific knowledge, and he was elected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society on 23 April 1953.^[8]

In 1961 he received the title of Knight of the Grand Cross in the Légion d'honneur. De Broglie was awarded a post as counselor to the French High Commission of Atomic Energy in 1945 for his efforts to bring industry and science closer together. He established a center for applied mechanics at the Henri Poincaré Institute, where research into optics, cybernetics, and atomic energy were carried out. He inspired the formation of the International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science and was an early member.

Important theories

Matter and wave–particle duality

"The fundamental idea of [my 1924 thesis] was the following: The fact that, following Einstein's introduction of photons in light waves, one knew that light contains particles which are concentrations of energy incorporated into the wave, suggests that all particles, like the electron, must be transported by a wave into which it is incorporated...
My essential idea was to extend to all particles the coexistence of waves and particles discovered by Einstein in 1905 in the case of light and photons." "With every particle of matter with mass m and velocity v a real wave must be 'associated'", related to the momentum by the equation:

\lambda = \frac{h}{p} = \frac {h}{{m}{v}} \sqrt{1 - \frac{v^2}{c^2}}

where

\lambda

is the wavelength,

h

is the Planck constant,

p

is the momentum,

m

is the rest mass,

v

is the velocity and

c

is the speed of light in a vacuum."

This theory set the basis of wave mechanics. It was supported by Einstein, confirmed by the electron diffraction experiments of Davisson and Germer, and generalized by the work of Schrödinger.

However, this generalization was statistical and was not approved of by de Broglie, who said "that the particle must be the seat of an internal periodic movement and that it must move in a wave in order to remain in phase with it was ignored by the actual physicists [who are] wrong to consider a wave propagation without localization of the particle, which was quite contrary to my original ideas."

From a philosophical viewpoint, this theory of matter-waves has contributed greatly to the ruin of the atomism of the past. Originally, de Broglie thought that real wave (i.e., having a direct physical interpretation) was associated with particles. In fact, the wave aspect of matter was formalized by a wavefunction defined by the Schrödinger equation, which is a pure mathematical entity having a probabilistic interpretation, without the support of real physical elements. This wavefunction gives an appearance of wave behavior to matter, without making real physical waves appear. However, until the end of his life de Broglie returned to a direct and real physical interpretation of matter-waves, following the work of David Bohm. The de Broglie–Bohm theory is today the only interpretation giving real status to matter-waves and representing the predictions of quantum theory.

Conjecture of an internal clock of the electron

In his 1924 thesis, de Broglie conjectured that the electron has an internal clock that constitutes part of the mechanism by which a pilot wave guides a particle.^[9] Subsequently David Hestenes has proposed a link to the Zitterbewegung that was suggested by Erwin Schrödinger.^[10]

Attempts at verifying the internal clock hypothesis and measuring clock frequency are so far not conclusive;^[11] recent experimental data is at least compatible with de Broglie's conjecture.^[12]

Non-nullity and variability of mass

According to de Broglie, the neutrino and the photon have rest masses that are non-zero, though very low. That a photon is not quite massless is imposed by the coherence of his theory. Incidentally, this rejection of the hypothesis of a massless photon enabled him to doubt the hypothesis of the expansion of the universe.

In addition, he believed that the true mass of particles is not constant, but variable, and that each particle can be represented as a thermodynamic machine equivalent to a cyclic integral of action.

Generalization of the principle of least action

In the second part of his 1924 thesis, de Broglie used the equivalence of the mechanical principle of least action with Fermat's optical principle: "Fermat's principle applied to phase waves is identical to Maupertuis' principle applied to the moving body; the possible dynamic trajectories of the moving body are identical to the possible rays of the wave." This equivalence had been pointed out by Hamilton a century earlier, and published by him around 1830, in an era where no experience gave proof of the fundamental principles of physics being involved in the description of atomic phenomena.

Up to his final work, he appeared to be the physicist who most sought that dimension of action which Max Planck, at the beginning of the 20th century, had shown to be the only universal unity (with his dimension of entropy).

Duality of the laws of nature

Far from claiming to make "the contradiction disappear" which Max Born thought could be achieved with a statistical approach, de Broglie extended wave–particle duality to all particles (and to crystals which revealed the effects of diffraction) and extended the principle of duality to the laws of nature.

His last work made a single system of laws from the two large systems of thermodynamics and of mechanics:

When Boltzmann and his continuators developed their statistical interpretation of Thermodynamics, one could have considered Thermodynamics to be a complicated branch of Dynamics. But, with my actual ideas, it's Dynamics that appear to be a simplified branch of Thermodynamics. I think that, of all the ideas that I've introduced in quantum theory in these past years, it's that idea that is, by far, the most important and the most profound.

That idea seems to match the continuous–discontinuous duality, since its dynamics could be the limit of its thermodynamics when transitions to continuous limits are postulated. It is also close to that of Leibniz, who posited the necessity of "architectonic principles" to complete the system of mechanical laws.

However, according to him, there is less duality, in the sense of opposition, than synthesis (one is the limit of the other) and the effort of synthesis is constant according to him, like in his first formula, in which the first member pertains to mechanics and the second to optics:

m c^2 = h \nu

Neutrino theory of light

This theory, which dates from 1934, introduces the idea that the photon is equivalent to the fusion of two Dirac neutrinos.

It shows that the movement of the center of gravity of these two particles obeys the Maxwell equations—that implies that the neutrino and the photon both have rest masses that are non-zero, though very low.

Hidden thermodynamics

De Broglie's final idea was the hidden thermodynamics of isolated particles. It is an attempt to bring together the three furthest principles of physics: the principles of Fermat, Maupertuis, and Carnot.

In this work, action becomes a sort of opposite to entropy, through an equation that relates the only two universal dimensions of the form:

{\text{action}\over h} = -{\text{entropy}\over k}

As a consequence of its great impact, this theory brings back the uncertainty principle to distances around extrema of action, distances corresponding to reductions in entropy.

Honors and awards

Louis de Broglie by Gheorghe Manu

1929 Nobel Prize in Physics
1929 Henri Poincaré Medal
1932 Albert I of Monaco Prize
1938 Max Planck Medal
1938 Fellow, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
1944 Fellow, Académie française
1952 Kalinga Prize
1953 Fellow, Royal Society^[8]

Publications

Recherches sur la théorie des quanta (Researches on the quantum theory), Thesis, Paris, 1924, Ann. de Physique (10) 3, 22 (1925)
Ondes et mouvements (Waves and Motions). Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1926.
Rapport au 5e Conseil de Physique Solvay. Brussels, 1927.
La mécanique ondulatoire (Wave Mechanics). Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1928.
Matière et lumière (Matter and Light). Paris: Albin Michel, 1937.
Une tentative d'interprétation causale et non linéaire de la mécanique ondulatoire: la théorie de la double solution. Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1956.
- English translation: Non-linear Wave Mechanics: A Causal Interpretation. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1960.
Sur les sentiers de la science (On the Paths of Science).
Introduction à la nouvelle théorie des particules de M. Jean-Pierre Vigier et de ses collaborateurs. Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1961. Paris: Albin Michel, 1960.
- English translation: Introduction to the Vigier Theory of elementary particles. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1963.
Étude critique des bases de l'interprétation actuelle de la mécanique ondulatoire. Paris: Gauthier-Villars, 1963.
- English translation: The Current Interpretation of Wave Mechanics: A Critical Study. Amsterdam, Elsevier, 1964.
Certitudes et incertitudes de la science (Certitudes and Incertitudes of Science). Paris: Albin Michel, 1966.

Air pollution can mess with our DNA

New evidence shows breathing diesel fumes inappropriately switches genes on and off

Air pollution is dirty and known to affect the lungs and heart. Research
now shows it also can affect our DNA.

Air pollution can make it hard to breathe. It also can increase someone’s blood pressure and heart rate. Those problems are well known. Now research suggests breathing diesel fumes can trigger another toxic change. It can inappropriately turn some genes on, while turning others off.

A gene is a segment of DNA that tells cells of the body what to do — and when. Genes can be controlled by a type of chemical switch, known as a methyl group (a carbon atom attached to three hydrogen atoms). Methyl groups cause a chemical reaction — called methylation — affecting a component of DNA. This tends to happen near a gene. Added methyl groups usually turn some gene off. The opposite tends to occur when you take a methyl group away, or demethylate a gene. Either change can alter health.

And that can be a good thing. The body naturally produces methyl groups. This allows it to turn off genes when their action is no longer needed.

But factors outside the body — such as air pollutants — may inappropriately step in and add methyl groups to DNA. Or they might remove methyl groups. These environmental changes can, in a sense, hijack genes, changing when or what they instruct cells to do.

Chris Carlsten stands in the booth that his team used to exposepeople to diesel fumes. Their new data showed that breathingthese fumes inappropriately turns genes on and off.

Don Erhardt/UBC Faculty of Medicine

The study of methylation’s role in gene action is called epigenetics (EH-pee-jen-EH-tiks). It describes changes that happen outside of your DNA. Indeed, these changes do not harm DNA. Instead, epigenetics may silence a gene (by inappropriately turning it off) or switch some gene on at the wrong time.And breathing diesel fumes for just two hours can have such an epigenetic effect, a new study finds. It was conducted by researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. They put 16 volunteers — one at a time — in an enclosed booth. It was about the size of a small bathroom. Each person remained there for two hours. Half breathed in clean air. The other half breathed air polluted with diesel fumes. Levels of that pollution were equal to what might occur in air along a highway in Beijing, China. Such levels also might occur at busy ports, rail yards, mines and industrial sites elsewhere in the world.

To probe the effects of the pollution, the researchers looked at a volunteers' blood. They compared samples collected before the experiment to those taken 6 and 30 hours after someone had sat in the exposure booth. Methyl groups changed at about 2,800 different points on the DNA of people who breathed in diesel fumes. Those changes affected about 400 genes. No similar changes were seen among people breathing the clean air.

At some DNA locations, exposure to diesel fumes added methyl groups. More often it reduced how many were present. That means a switch that normally would turn off a gene was more often flipped the other way. That could lead to unusually high gene activity.

How these diesel-related changes might affect health is not yet clear, notes Ruiwei Jiang, an author of the new study. But the tests show that air pollution can alter DNA. The new data also suggest that diseases such as asthma might stem from prolonged episodes of methylation, Jiang says.

"Even short-term exposure can cause these changes," she says. "So the question is: What are the cumulative effects for someone who breathes in diesel fumes regularly?" Jiang hopes other researchers will now try to answer this.

Her team’s findings were published December 9 in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology.

Andrea Baccarelli studies environmental health and epigenetics at Harvard University in Boston, Mass. The new study is important because it shows that human DNA can be affected by short-term exposure to air pollution, he says. Until now, he says, scientists had largely thought that DNA "would respond primarily to long-term exposures."

Power Words

asthma A disease affecting the body’s airways,which are the tubes through which animals breathe. Asthma obstructs these airways through swelling, the production of too much mucus or a tightening of the tubes. As a result, the body can expand to breathe in air, but loses the ability to exhale appropriately. The most common cause of asthma is an allergy. It is a leading cause of hospitalization and the top chronic disease responsible for kids missing school.

atom   The basic unit of a chemical element. Atoms are made up of a dense nucleus that contains positively charged protons and neutrally charged neutrons. The nucleus is orbited by a cloud of negatively charged electrons.

carbon The chemical element having the atomic number 6. It is the physical basis of all life on Earth. Carbon exists freely as graphite and diamond. It is an important part of coal, limestone and petroleum, and is capable of self-bonding, chemically, to form an enormous number of chemically, biologically and commercially important molecules.

chemical      A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (become bonded together) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made of two hydrogen atoms bonded to one oxygen atom. Its chemical symbol is H₂O.

DNA (short for deoxyribonucleic acid) A long, spiral-shaped molecule inside most living cells that carries genetic instructions. In all living things, from plants and animals to microbes, these instructions tell cells which molecules to make.

diesel Heavier and oilier than gasoline, diesel is another type of fuel made from crude oil. It’s used to power many engines — not only in cars and trucks but also to power some industrial motors — that don’t rely on spark plugs to ignite the fuel.

epigenetic changes Molecular switches that can turn a gene on or off. Methyl groups — chemical clusters each made of one carbon and three hydrogen atoms — latch onto DNA near a gene. It’s these methyl groups that can alter the programmed activity of a gene. Individuals can acquire an epigenetic change at any time during their lives.

exhaust   (in engineering) The gases and fine particles emitted — often at high speed and/or pressure — by combustion (burning) or by the heating of air. Exhaust gases are usually a form of waste.

gene A segment of DNA that codes, or holds instructions, for producing a protein. Offspring inherit genes from their parents. Genes influence how an organism looks and behaves.

hydrogen The lightest element in the universe. As a gas, it is colorless, odorless and highly flammable. It’s an integral part of many fuels, fats and chemicals that make up living tissues.

methylation (in chemistry) The attachment to some molecule of a methyl group — a carbon atom holding onto three hydrogen atoms. Removal of this methyl group is known as demethylation.

methyl group (in chemistry) Three hydrogen atoms bonded, chemically, to a carbon atom. This amazingly common quartet of atoms is then attached — through the carbon — to some other molecule. (in genetics) When attached to a gene, the methyl group can act like a new switch to turn the gene’s activity on or off, up or down.

molecule An electrically neutral group of atoms that represents the smallest possible amount of a chemical compound. Molecules can be made of single types of atoms or of different types. For example, the oxygen in the air is made of two oxygen atoms (O₂), but water is made of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom (H₂O).

toxic Poisonous or able to harm or kill cells, tissues or whole organisms. The measure of risk posed by such a poison is its toxicity.

The Sofalarity is Near

By Rick Searle

Original link: http://ieet.org/index.php/IEET/more/searle20150330

The problem any society has with individuals screwing with their neurochemistry is two-fold. The first is to make sure that enough sober people are available for the necessary work of keeping their society operating at a functional level, and the second is to prevent any ill effects from the mind altered from spilling over into the society at large.

Many readers here have no doubt spent at least some time thinking about the Singularity, whether in a spirit of hope or fear, or perhaps more reasonably some admixture of both. For my part, though, I am much less worried about a coming Singularity than I am about a Sofalarity in which our ability to create realistic illusions of achievement and adventure convinces the majority of humans that reality isn’t really worth all the trouble after all. Let me run through the evidence of an approaching Sofalarity. I hope you’re sitting down… well… actually I hope you’re not.

I would define a Sofalarity as a hypothetical point in human history would when the majority of human beings spend most of their time engaged in activities that have little or no connection to actual life in the physical world. It’s not hard to see the outline of this today: on average, Americans already spend an enormous amount of time with their attention focused on worlds either wholly or partly imagined. The numbers aren’t very precise, and differ among age groups and sectors of the population, but they come out to be somewhere around five hours watching television per day, three hours online, and another three hours playing video games. That means, collectively at least, we spend almost half of our day in dream worlds, not counting the old fashioned kind such as those found in books or the ones we encounter when we’re actually sleeping.

There’s perhaps no better example of how the virtual is able to hijack our very real biology than pornography . Worldwide the amount of total internet traffic that is categorized as erotica ranges from a low of four to as high as thirty percent. When one combines that with recent figures claiming that up to 36 percent of internet traffic aren’t even human beings but bots, then it’s hard not to experience future shock.

Amidst all the complaining that the future hasn’t arrived yet and “where’s my jetpack?” a 21st century showed up where upwards of 66 percent of internet traffic could be people looking for pornography, bots pretending to be human, or, weirdest of all, bots pretending to be human looking for humans to have sex with. Take that Alvin Toffler.

Still all of this remains simply our version of painting on the walls of a prehistoric cave. Any true Sofalarity would likely require more than just television shows and Youtube clips. It would need to have gained the keys to our emotional motivation and senses.

As a species we’ve been trying to open the doors of perception with drugs long before almost anything else. What makes our current situation more likely to be leading toward a Sofalarity is that now this quest is a global business and that we’ve become increasingly sophisticated when it comes to playing tricks on our neurochemistry.

The contemporary world has seemingly found a brilliant solution to this problem- to contain the mind altered in space and time, and making sure only the sober are running the show. The reason bars or dance clubs work is that only the customers are drunk or stoned and such places exist in a state of controlled chaos with the management carefully orchestrating the whole affair and making sure things remain lively enough that customers will return while ensuring that things also don’t get so dangerous patrons will stay away for the opposite reason.

The whole affair is contained in time because drunken binges last only through the weekend with individuals returning to their straight-laced bourgeois jobs on Monday, propped up, perhaps by a bit of stimulants to promote productivity.

Sometimes this controlled chaos is meant to last for longer stretches than the weekends, yet here again, it is contained in space and time. If you want to see controlled chaos perfected with technology thrown into the mix you can’t get any better than Las Vegas where seemingly endless opportunities for pleasure and losing one’s wits abound all the while one is being constantly monitored both in the name of safety, and in order that one not develop any existential doubts about the meaning of life under all that neon.

If you ever find yourself in Vegas losing your dopamine fix after one too many blows from lady luck behind a one-armed bandit, and suddenly find some friendly casino staff next to you offering you free drinks or tickets to a local show, bless not the goddess of Fortune, but the surveillance cameras that have informed the house they are about to lose an unlucky, and therefore lucrative, customer. La Vegas is the surveillance capital of the United States, and it’s not just inside the casinos.

Ubiquitous monitoring seems to be the price of Las Vegas’ adoption of vice as a form of economy. Or as Megan McArdle put it in a recent article:

Is the friendly police state the price of the freedom to drink and gamble with abandon?Whatever your position on vice industries, they are heavily associated with crime, even where they are legal. Drinking makes people both violent and vulnerable; gambling presents an almost irresistible temptation to cheating and theft. Las Vegas has Disneyfied libertinism. But to do so, it employs armies of security guards and acres of surveillance cameras that are always and everywhere recording your every move.

Even the youngest of our young children now have a version of this: we call it Disney World. The home of Mickey Mouse has used current surveillance technology to its fullest, allowing it to give visitors to the “magic kingdom” both the experience of being free and one of reality seemingly bending itself in the shape of innocent fantasy and expectations. It’s a technology they work very hard to keep invisible. Disney’s magic band, which not only allows visitors to navigate seamlessly through its theme parks, but allows your dinner to be brought to you before you ordered it, or the guy or gal in the Mickey suit to greet your children by name before they have introduced themselves was described recently in a glowing article in Wired that quoted the company’s COO Tom Staggs this way:

Staggs couches Disney’s goals for the MagicBand system in an old saw from Arthur C. Clarke. “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” he says. “That’s how we think of it. If we can get out of the way, our guests can create more memories.”

Nothing against the “magic of Disney” for children, but I do shudder a little thinking that so many parents don’t think twice about creating memories in a “world” that is not so much artificial as completely staged. And it’s not just for kids. They have actually built an entire industry around our ridiculousness here, especially in places in like China, where people pay to have their photos taken in front of fake pyramids or the Eiffel tower, or to vacation in places pretending to be someplace else.

Yet neither Las Vegas nor a Disney theme park resemble what a Sofalarity would look like in full flower. After all, the show girls at Bally’s or the poor soul under the mouse suit in Orlando are real people. What a true Sofalarity would entail is nobody being there at all, for the very people behind the pretend to no longer be there.

We’re probably some way off from a point where the majority of human labor is superfluous, but if things keep going at the rate they are, we’re not talking centuries. The rejoinder to claims that human labor will be replaced to the extent that most of us no longer have anything to do is often that we’ll become the creators and behind the scenes, the same way Apple’s American workers do the high end work of designing its products while the work of actually putting them together is done by numb fingers over in China. In the utopian version of our automated future we’ll all be designers on the equivalent of Infinite Loop Street while the robots provide the fingers.

Yet, over the long run, I am not sure this humans as mental creators/machines as physical producers distinction will hold. Our (quite dumb) computers already create visually stunning and unanticipated works or art, compose music that is indistinguishable from that created in human minds, and write things none of us realize are the product of clever programs. Who’s to say that decades hence, or over a longer stretch, they won’t be able to create richer fantasy worlds of every type that blow our minds and grip our attention far more than any crafted by our flesh and blood brethren?

And still, even should every human endeavor be taken over by machines, including our politics, we would still be short of a true Sofalarity because we would be left with the things that make us most human- the relationship we have with our loved ones. No, to see the Sofalarity in full force we’d need to have become little more than a pile of undulating mush like the creatures in the original conception of the movie Wall-E from which I ripped the term.

The only way we’d get to that point is if our created fantasies could reach deep under our skin and skulls and give us worlds and emotional experiences that atrophied to the point of irrecoverability what we now consider most essential to being a person. The signs are clear that we’re headed there. In Japan, for instance, there perhaps 700,000 Hikikomori, modern day hermits that consist of adults who have withdrawn from 3 dimensional social relationships and live out their lives primarily online.

Don’t get me wrong, there is a lot of very cool stuff either here or shortly coming down the pike, there’s Oculus Rift should it ever find developers and conquer the nausea problem, and there’s such a Magic Leap, a virtual reality platform that allows you to see 3D images by beaming them directly into your eyes. Add to these things like David Eagleman’s crazy haptic vest, or brain readers that sit it your ear, not to mention things a little further off in terms of public debut that seem to have jumped right off the pages of Nexus, like brain-to-brain communication, or magnetic nanoparticles that allow brain stimulation without wires and it’s plain to see we’re on the cusp of revolution in creating and experiencing purely imagined worlds, but all this makes it even more difficult to bust a poor hikikomori out of his 4’ x 4’ apartment.

It seems we might be on the verge of losing the distinction between the Enchantment of Fantasy and Magic that J.R.R Tolkien brought us in his brilliant lecture On Fairy Stories:

Enchantment produces a Secondary World into which both designer and spectator can enter, to the satisfaction of their senses while they are inside; but in its purity it is artistic in desire and purpose. Magic produces, or pretends to produce, an alteration in the Primary World. It does not matter by whom it is said to be practiced, fay or mortal, it remains distinct from the other two; it is not an art but a technique; its desire is power in this world, domination of things and wills.
Fantasy is a natural human activity. It certainly does not destroy or even insult Reason; and it does not either blunt the appetite for, nor obscure the perception of, scientific verity. On the contrary. The keener and the clearer is the reason, the better fantasy will it make. If men were ever in a state in which they did not want to know or could not perceive truth (facts or evidence), then Fantasy would languish until they were cured. If they ever get into that state (it would not seem at all impossible), Fantasy will perish, and become Morbid Delusion.
For creative Fantasy is founded upon the hard recognition that things are so in the world as it appears under the sun; on a recognition of fact, but not a slavery to it. So upon logic was founded the nonsense that displays itself in the tales and rhymes of Lewis Carroll. If men really could not distinguish between frogs and men, fairy-stories about frog-kings would not have arisen.

For Tolkien, the primary point of fantasy was to enrich our engagement with the real world to allow us to see the ordinary anew. Though it might also be a place to hide and escape should the real world for whether for the individual or society as a whole , become hellish, as Tolkien, having fought in the World War I, lived through the Great Depression, and was on the eve of a second world war when he gave his lecture well knew.

To those who believe we might already be living in a simulation perhaps all this is merely like having traveled around the world only to end up exactly where you started as in the Borges’ story The Circular Ruins, or in the idea of many of the world’s great religions that we are already living in a state of maya or illusion. And we now make the case using much more scientific language. There’s a very serious argument out there, such as that of Nick Bostrom, that we are already living in a simulation. The way one comes to this conclusion is merely by looking at the virtual world we’ve already created and extrapolating the trend outward for hundreds or thousands of years. In such a world the majority of sentient creatures would be “living” in virtual environments, and these end up comprising the overwhelming number of sentient creatures that will ever exist. Statistical reasoning would seem to lead to the conclusion that you are more likely than not, right now, a merely virtual entity. There are even supposedly scientific experiments to test for evidence of this. Thankfully, in my view at least, the Higgs particle might prevent me from being a Boltzmann brain.

For my part, I have trouble believing I am living in a simulation. Running “ancestor simulations” seems like something a being with human intelligence might do, but it would probably bore the hell out of any superintelligence capable of actually creating the things, they would not provide any essential information for their survival, and given the historical and present suffering of our world would have to be run by a very amoral, indeed immoral being.

That was part of the fear Descartes was tapping into when he proposed that the world, and himself in it, might be nothing more than the dream of an “evil demon”. Yet what he was really getting at, as same as was the case with other great skeptics of history such as Hume, wasn’t so much the plausibility of the Matrix, but the limits surrounding what we can ever be said to truly know.

Some might welcome the prospect of a coming Sofalarity for the same reasons they embrace the Singularity, and indeed, when it comes to many features such as exponential technological advancement or automation, the two are hardly distinguishable. Yet the biggest hope that sofaltarians and singularitarians would probably share is that technological trends point towards the possibility of uploading minds into computers.

Sadly, or thankfully, uploading is some ways off. The EU seems to have finally brought the complaints of neuroscientists that Henry Markum’s Human Brain Project, that aimed to simulate an entire human being was scientifically premature enough to be laughable, were it not for the billion Euro’s invested in it that might have been spent on much more pressing areas like mental illness or Alzheimer’s research. The project has not been halted but a recent scathing official report is certainly a big blow.

Nick Bostrom has pondered that if we are not now living in a simulation then there is something that prevents civilizations such as our from reaching the technological maturity to create such simulations. As I see it, perhaps the movement towards a Sofalarity ultimately contains the seeds of its own destruction. Just as I am convinced that hell, which exists in the circumscribed borders of torture chambers, death camps, or the human heart, can never be the basis for an entire society let alone a world, it is quite possible that a heaven that we could only reach by escaping the world as it exists, is like that as well, and that any society that would be built around the fantasy of permanent escape would not last long in its confrontation with reality. Fermi paradox, anyone?

Rick Searle, an Affiliate Scholar of the IEET, is a writer and educator living the very non-technological Amish country of central Pennsylvania along with his two young daughters. He is an adjunct professor of political science and history for Delaware Valley College and works for the PA Distance Learning Project.

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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

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Etymology