Nature of Pakistan

History of Pakistan

The history of Pakistan (Urdu: تاريخ پاكِستان ‎) encompasses the history of the region constituting modernPakistan. Prior to independence in 1947, the land that is now Pakistan was ruled in different periods by local kings and numerous imperial powers. The ancient history of the region comprising present-day Pakistan also includes some of the oldest empires of South Asia^[1] and some of its major civilizations.^[2][3][4][5] By the 18th century the land was incorporated into British India. Pakistan's political history began with the birth of the All India Muslim League in 1906 to protect "Muslim interests, amid neglect and under-representation" and to oppose Congress and growing Indian nationalism in return the British Raj would decide to grant local self-rule. On 29 December 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal called for an autonomous new state in "northwestern India for Indian Muslims".^[6] The League rose to popularity in the late 1930s. Muhammad Ali Jinnah espoused the Two Nation Theory and led the League to adopt theLahore Resolution^[7] of 1940, demanding the formation of independent states in the East and the West ofBritish India. Eventually, a united Pakistan with its wings – West Pakistan and East Pakistan – gained independence from the British, on 14 August 1947.