Pakistan through the decades: List of Foreign Ministers of Pakistan

No country can live in isolation and it needs to be connected with other countries. The need to link with other countries is fulfilled by means of foreign ministry of a country. The foreign ministry is responsible for establishing amicable relationships with other countries in order to promote cooperation among them. The foreign affairs serve important purpose in the development of a country and therefore needs special attention. The foreign ministry of Pakistan is headed by the foreign ministers. The foreign ministry of Pakistan is currently under the office of Hina Rubbani Khar. Her tenure consists of a February 11, 2011 till July 20, 2011. The first foreign minister of Pakistan was M. Zafrulla Khan who took office at December, 1947 till Octobor, 1954. Here a list of all the foreign ministers of Pakistan has been presented in chronological order.

1. Sir Muhammad Zafrulla Khan
2. Muhammad Ali Bogra
3. Hamidul HuqChoudhury
4. Feroz Khan Noon
5. ManzurQadir
6. Muhammad Ali Bogra
7. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
8. Syed Sharifuddin Pirzada
9. Mian Arshad Hussain
10. Yahya Khan
11. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
12. Aziz Ahmed
13. Agha Shahi
14. Sahabzada Yaqub Khan
15. Abdul Sattar- caretaker
16. Farooq Leghari
17. Aseff Ahmad Ali
18. Sahabzada Yaqub Khan- caretaker
19. Gohar Ayub Khan
20. Sartaj Aziz
21. Abdul Sattar
22. Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri
23. Inam-ul-Haq- caretaker
24. Shah Mehmood Qureshi
25. Hina Rabbani Khar

Pakistan through decades: History of National Anthem of Pakistan

A national anthem is the symbolic of the people’s love for their country. In other words, the patriotism of countrymen is manifested in the form of their national anthem. The history of national anthem of Pakistan is as old as the country itself. The national anthem of Pakistan was written by Hafiz Jalandhary, a renowned poet in the year 1952. The music of the anthem was composed by Ahmed Chhagala before the composition of the lyrics of anthem in 1949. The national anthem takes one minutes and twenty seconds to play and twenty musical instruments are used together to play thirty-eight various tones. The language of the national anthem of Pakistan is Persian and eleven singers sung this song when it was aired on radio Pakistan for the first time in August, 1954.

It is interesting to note that the selection of a song to be made the national anthem of Pakistan was an uphill task for the government of Pakistan. The issue of the selection of a song to become a national anthem of Pakistan was resolved by starting a competition between the potential and existing poets with the prize money of considerable amount. The competition had been won over by Hafiz Jalandhary out of the around seven hundred competitors. A controversy began about the poet of the national anthem of Pakistan by the claim of Jagganath Azad to be the one who wrote national anthem for Pakistan for the first time. However, this claim has been rejected because of lack of empirical evidence.

Pakistan destination: Top ten National Parks of Pakistan

A park is a way of providing recreational facilities to a number of people. Not only it acts as a tourist point but also it helps the person to enjoy himself of the greenery prevalent in the surroundings of national parks. Pakistan is abundant in terms of possessing beautiful national parks that are a source of constant attraction for a large segment of people living inside and outside of Pakistan. The national parks in Pakistan are preserving natural beauty and also at the same time protecting the wild life living in these national parks of Pakistan. The significance of national parks increases in terms of securing the animals from becoming vanished entirely.  It is because of the fact that many animal species are endangered in Pakistan and national parks provide a home for these animals. There are many national parks in Pakistan but here only quite a few are mentioned. A list of the famous national parks of Pakistan with the top ten names is given below:

1)      Kirthar National Park

2)      Lal Suhanra National Park

3)      Khunjerab National Park

4)      Hazarganji Chilton National Park

5)      Deosai National Park

6)      Margalla Hill National Park

7)      Hingol National Park

8)      Chitral Gol National Park

9)      Ayubia National Park

10)   Machiara National Park

Pakistan Tourist Destinations: Top Ten Forts of Pakistan

Pakistan has a rich cultural heritage and it is depicted in the form of marvelous structure built for the defense of a state or a country. There are many forts located all around the world that are of historical significance. The main purpose behind the construction of forts was to protect a country from invaders and enemies. However, they serve another purpose also which involves making a display of one’s architecture as depicted by its significance in a culture. Pakistan is proud to have enormous forts with beautiful architecture and rich cultural significance.Ranikot, the largest fort of the world is also situated in Pakistan. The reason behind the accumulation of forts in Pakistan lies in its history. As Pakistan initially was a part of Indo-Pak sub-continent, it had been ruled over by various monarchs including Mughals who were fond of art and architecture. Here a list of the famous forts of Pakistan has been presented naming only the top ten forts of Pakistan with their respective locations. These forts are a place of frequent local visits along with being famous tourist attractions

1)      Ranikot Fort located in the province of Sindh.

2)      Baltit Fort situated in Hunza Valley

3)      Royal Fort located in Lahore

4)      Rohtas Fort situated in Dina

5)      Multan Fort located in Multan

6)      Rawat Fort in Rawalpindi

7)      Phrasal Fort in Rawalpindi

8)      Red Fort of Muzaffarabad

9)      Attock Fort of Rawalpindi

10)  Giri Fort in Taxila

Top Ten Different Languages Spoken in Pakistan

Pakistan has a rich culture and many languages are spoken here by a diversified group of people. Language is a mode of communication through which people living in this world communicate with each other. The ancient languages were consisted mostly of symbols and gestures. With the passage of time, letter and alphabets got developed which gave rise to a lot of languages. Now thousands of languages are being spoken in various parts of the world including Pakistan. There are two official languages in Pakistan namely Urdu and English with various four main regional languages. The four languages that are spoken in the four provinces of Pakistan are Punjabi, Pashtu, Sindhi and Balochi. However, there are other regional languages also that are spoken in various areas of Pakistan. These languages include Kashmiri, Saraiki, Hindko and some others. It is important to note that the majority of population in Pakistan speaks regional or provincial languages other than Urdu. A list of the top ten languages spoken in Pakistan is given below:

1)      Punjabi Language spoken mostly in the province of Punjab

2)      Pashto Language frequently spoken in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa

3)      Sindhi Language predominantly spoken in Sindh province

4)      Seraiki Language mostly spoken in Punjab province

5)      Urdu Language frequently spoken all over Pakistan. Urdu is Pakistan’s national language.

6)      Balochi Language predominantly spoken in Balochistan province

7)      Hindko language spoken in hilly areas of Pakistan

8)      Kashmiri language spoken in Azad Kashmir and adjacent areas

9)      Brahui spoken in Southern suburbs of Pakistan

10)  Shina mostly spoken in Giglit-Baltistan

 

Pakistan Tourism: Top Ten Glaciers of Pakistan

Glaciers are made up of mass snow accumulation on a land over a long period of time. Glaciers vary according to their sizes and play a major role in keeping the atmosphere cool. There are many glaciers in Pakistan that are famous as trekking sites and tourist attractions. Most of the glaciers are located in Northern areas of Pakistan, especially around Karakoram mountain range. These glaciers are a special focus of attention for travelers all around the world and are frequently visited by people coming from all parts of the world. Their undisturbed beauty and lack of pollution in the surrounding environment makes them great trekking locations. The glaciers are a valuable asset of Pakistan because of helping the region keep its temperature normal which would have been enormously hot. These glaciers also add to the scenic beauty of Pakistan making her a beautiful country with rich natural scenery. The glaciers are quite large in number and therefore all of them cannot be mentioned here. However, a list of top ten glaciers of Pakistan on the basis of being the largest ones with their locations has been jotted down below:

1)      Siachen Glacier at Karakoram range, Baltistan

2)      Batura Glacier at Karakoram range

3)      Hispar Glacier at Karakoram range

4)      Biafo Glacier at Karakoram range, Shigar

5)      Baltoro Glacier at Karakoram range

6)      Yengunta Glacier at Karakoram range, Baltistan

7)      Chianter Glacier at Hindukush, Chitral

8)      Tirich Mir Glacier at Hindukush, Chitral

9)      Chogo Lugma at Karakoram range-2

10)  Passu Glacier at Karakoram range, Hunza Valley

Pakistan: Top Ten Treks of Pakistan

Trekking is an activity that comprises of travelling along wide distances on foot. It is especially done on places where travelling by car or any other means is not possible or difficult to do. There are many geographical areas that are regarded as trekking sites or treks all around the world because of being of interest to travelers. Similarly, Pakistan is proud to offer travelling opportunities to people all over the world to walk on the famous trekking sites here. The particular areas reserved for trekking in Pakistan are located in Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindukush and are fascinating places to look at. Pakistanis and foreigners both can enjoy trekking in the Northern Areas of Pakistan to get in touch with natural beauty at its peak. Another feature of the trekking sites at these areas is the lack of pollution and virgin beauty of the enormous mountains and lakes flowing side-by. It is difficult to list down all the famous trekking sites of Pakistan due to the abundance to treks in Pakistan. However, an attempt has been done to selectively present a list containing top ten treks of Pakistan based on their popularity which is given below:

1)      Trek of K-2 Base Camp

2)      Trek of Biafo-Hisper Glaciers

3)      Treks of Nanga Parbat

4)      Trek of Batura Glacier

5)      Trek of Chillinji Pass

6)      Trek of Spantik Base Camp

7)      Trek of Charakusa Glacier

8)      Trek of Masherbrum Base Camp

9)      Trek of Shimshal Valley

10)  Trek of Thalle La

Tourists Destinations near Chitral Valley: Pakistan

Chitral Valley is famed due to its Shandur Festival. This festival is held every year; it is famous and unique because in this festival polo is played at the polo ground that is highest in the world (3,719m). Due to this reason a large number of local and foreign tourist visit chitral valley to enjoy this festival. Shandur top is equally distant from chitral as well as from gilgit. So if you are going to visit chitral valley then you can visit Gilgit valley as well

Garam Chashma is located at a distance of 45 Km in the North West of Chitral valley at an altitude of 1,859 metres. Here hot sulphur springs are present which this fame that they have healing effect for skin diseases, chronic headaches and gout. Recently, for the convenience of visitors Hamams have been developed here near the springs.

Another beautiful place liked by the tourists is Chitral Gol National Park located in the North West of the Chitral valley. It covers an area of 7,750 hectares and was established in 1984.in this park you can found Himalayan monal, Demosille Crane, Peregrine Falcon, Golden Eagle, Snow Partridge, Snow Cock etc. many other rare animals like Snow leopard, Siberian ibex, Red Fox, Tibetan Wolf, Black Bear, Himalayan Otter also present here.

Shandur Lake, Chiyan Lake, Karbaza Lake and chatti Bai Lake are also beautiful point to be visited by tourists visiting Chitral valley.

Chitral fort is an mportant historical point and is very famous among tourists due to its unique architecture. This fort has built for administration as well as for defence purpose. It is situated along the bank of river Chitral. Prince of Katoor dynasty famously known as Mehtars have built this fort.

 

Tourists Destinations near Skardu Valley: Pakistan

Skardu Valley of Pakistan is also famous due to its beautiful lakes. Satpara is one of those lakes, present at a distance of 8 Km from Vale of Skardu. Now days a multipurpose dam is under construction on this lake that will generate 13 MW hydroelectricity and will provide irrigation water to an area of 61 sq Km and 13 cusecs water for drinking as well. Water coming down from Deosai Plain as a result of melting of snow in summer is the main source of water for lake. Lower Kachura is another lake located at a distance of 35 Km from Skardu Valley and upper Kachura lake is located at a distance of 40 Km. On the bank of Lower Kachura, world’s famous resort Shangrilla is located that is the main attraction for many tourists.

Deosai Plateau (3,500 meters) is the highest plateau in Pakistan and world’s second highest plateau. It is at the distance of 70 Km from Skardu Valley. It is covering an area of 3,000 sq Km and is extending till Laddakh. Deosai plain is famous as it provide habitat to bears, snow leopards and ibex.

Shigar Valley is an awe-inspiring valley present at the distance of 32 Km from Vale of skardu. This valley is drained by River Shigar. This  Shigar valley is a gateway to famous peaks like K2. Local inhabitants have very simple lifestyle and they grow walnuts, peaches, apricots and grapes. This small valley has picturesque landscape and attracts many tourists every year.

Khaplu Valley is 134 Km away from Skardu valley and is known as valley of River Shyok. It’s a small village that is a gateway to many peaks such as K7, K6, Sia Kangri, Saltoro Kangri Masherbrum etc.

Skardu Fort named as Kharfocho Fort (King of forts) is also a main attraction in Skardu Valley. This fort dates from 8^th century CE. From this fort we can have a panoramic view of Skardu and River Indus. This fort was built by the rulers of Baltistan and is a seven storey building.

 

Tourists Destinations: Skardu Valley of Pakistan

Skardu Valley

Skardu (star stone) valley of Pakistan is an important town of Baltistan at the altitude of 2’500 meters. It is covering an area of 26,000 sq Km. It is approximately 10 Km wide and 40 Km long. This Skardu valley is present at the confluence of River Shigar and River Indus. It surrounded by immense Karakoram Range.

Skardu valley attracts the trekkers, mountaineers and tourists from the whole world. Every year large number of local and foreign expeditions used to visit Skardu. Askole and Hushe are two small valleys present near Vale of Skardu and these two valleys are the gateways to the most important peaks in the Northern areas of Pakistan i.e. K2, Gashebrums, Trango Towers and Broad Peak as well as of great glaciers i.e. Baltoro, Biafo. So due to this  Skardu valley is extremely important from tourism point of view and for this reason infrastructural facilities have greatly developed here to provide required facilities to local and foreign expeditions reached here. From tourism point of view April to October time period is best as for rest of the months this Skardu valley remain inaccessible due to snowy and freezing winter season.

Skardu Valley can be visited by the air as well by road transportation. An airport is present in Skardu and there are usually one or two daily flights between Islamabad and Vale of Skardu. While road route is through Karakoram Highway which then through a link road goes to the Skardu.

Inhabitants of SkarduValley belong to different ethnic groups i.e. Shins, Punjabis, Hunzakuts, Pashtuns and Uyghur. Shia Muslims are present in majority here.

During summers the climate of Skardu Valley remained moderate. With reference to Monsoon rainfall it is a rainshadow area as huge mountains of Karakoram block the monsoon winds from reaching here. Winter season is extremely cold here. In winter’s temperature of -25C can be observed.

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