General Information

GEOGRAPHY: Pakistan has borders to the north with Afghanistan, to the east with India and to the west with Iran; the Arabian Sea lies to the south. In the far north is the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, bounded by Afghanistan, China and India. Pakistan comprises distinct regions. The northern highlands - the Hindu Kush - are rugged and mountainous; the Indus Valley is a flat, alluvial plain with five major rivers dominating the upper region, eventually joining the Indus River flowing south to the Makran coast; Sindh is bounded east by the Thar Desert and the Rann of Kutch, and on the west by the Kirthar Range; the Baluchistan Plateau is an arid tableland encircled by mountains.

LANGUAGE: Urdu and English with regional languages of Sindhi, Baluchi, Punjabi and Pashtu. There are numerous local dialects.

Religion: 97% Muslim, 2% Hindu, 1% Christian.

TIME: GMT + 5.

ELECTRICITY: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round 2- or 3-pin plugs are in use.

COMMUNICATIONS:

Telephone:

IDD is available. Country code: 92. Outgoing international code: 00.

Fax:

A service was introduced in 1986 by the Pakistan telephone and telegraph department

Telex/telegram:

There are services at post offices, telegraph offices and main hotels. The Central Telegraph Offices provide a 24-hour service.

Post:

Airmail takes four to five days to reach Western Europe. There are Poste Restante facilities in Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi. General Post Offices in major cities offer 24-hour services. Important letters should be registered or insured.

Press:

The English-language press enjoys a great deal of influence in business circles. Dailies include Baluchistan Times, The Financial Post, The Leader, The Pakistan Times, The Star, The Nation, The News, The Frontier Post, The Muslim, The Business Recorder and Dawn

BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies:
From time to time these change. See the contents for more information. BBC:
MHz 17.79   15.31   9.605    7.205
A service is also available on 1413kHz. Voice of America:
MHz 21.55   15.43   9.760    6.070