Latitude & Longitude:
• Pakistan is located between 24⁰ 35 north and 37⁰ 05 north latitude.
• Its longitude extends from 61⁰ to 78⁰ east.
Area of Pakistan:
• Its total area is 796,096 sq kilometers.
• It is 1600 kilometers from north to south.
• 885 km from east to west.
Location of Pakistan:
Location Neighboring Country
North-East China (585 km long border)
West Afghanistan (2252 km long border) known as Durand Line.
North-West Wakhan (narrow strip of Afghanistan),it separates Pakistan from Tajikistan.
South-West Iran
South Arabian Sea
East India
Strategic Importance of Pakistan:
• The Khyber Pass provides a route to Afghanistan.
• The Karakoram Highway helps in trade & communication with China.
• The Gwadar and Karachi seaports provide crucial travel as well as trade facilities to north and north-west.
• Its coastline at the Arabian Sea facilitates trade with West, Middle East, Far East, and Southeast Asia.
• Pakistan has a central location that provides air routes from west to east and the Jinnah International Airport facilitates it.
• It offers easy access to Central Asia (CAS) and its 6 republics through Afghanistan.
• Feasibility of Natural Gas Pipeline Projects from CAS, India, Iran and South East Asia.
Pakistan-Iran Gas Pipeline:
• If this project is completed, then Pakistan will get 21.5 cubic meters of natural gas from Iran.
• This can be used as a fuel (CNG) for vehicles.
• It can also be used to generate electricity from thermal power stations.
Location of Provinces & Cities
Provinces of Pakistan:
• It has Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan and KPK provinces.
• It also includes FATA, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Kashmir.
• In 2009, the Federal Cabinet approved an ordinance that gave political autonomy to northern areas.
• A new name was also given to the Northern areas as Gilgit, Baltistan.
• In 2010, NWFP renamed as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
FATA:
• It stands for Federal Administrated Tribal Areas.
• It is located between Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwan. Now FATA is merged with KPK.
The Natural Topography
Including Drainage
Topography:
• It is the study of surface features of the land.
• Pakistan can be categorized into six topographical areas:
1. Northern & North-Western Mountains:
- Karakorams
- Himalayas
- Hindu Kush
2. Western Mountains:
- Waziristan Hills
- Sulaiman Range
- Kirthar Range
- Safed Koh Ranges
3. Balochistan Plateau
4. Potwar Plateau and Salt Ranges
5. Indus Plain
6. Desert Areas
- Kharan Desert
- Thal Desert
- Thar Desert
Northern & North-Western Mountains:
• It includes Karakoram, Himalaya, and the Hindu Kush.
• These ranges run from west to east.
• Its height changes from 6000 m to 8475 m; south to the north respectively.
• It has deep narrow valleys namely Kaghan, Baltistan and Chitral.
• It also has snow caped, sharp and steep-sided peaks like Nanga Parbat, Tirich Mir, and K-2.
• It has Siachen, Baltoro, and Batura that are huge glaciers (snowfields).
• It has high passes including Khunjerab, Shandur, and Lawarai.
Drainage:
• Eastern tributaries include Jhelum, Chenab, River Indus, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej.
• Western tributaries include Kabul and Swat.
Economy and People:
• In summers when the snow peaks melt, the water drain into River Indus and its tributaries.
• This drainage helps in the irrigation of Indus plain.
• These mountains are a source of valuable minerals, fruits, and timber.
• There are historic passes that connect Pakistan to Afghanistan and China.
• There is also a natural border between CAS republics and China.
• The mountains protect against the cold winds from CAS making the climate bearable.
• The beautiful scenery attracts tourists and promoting the resort business in Gilgit, Hunza, Murree, Naran, etc.
• These mountains also provide the raw material for chemicals, furniture, paper, etc.
Western Mountains:
• Kirthar, Safed Koh, Waziristan, and Sulaiman are the parallel ranges that run from south to north.
• The height expands from 2000 m to 4712 m; south to the north respectively.
• There are several valleys and low-lying basins including Bannu valley, Kohat valley, and the valley of Peshawar.
• The peaks there are not very big in height.
• Safed Koh is the only peak that is covered in snow.
• There are many historic passes including Bolan, Gomal, Khyber, Tochi, and Khurram.
• There are not many glaciers.
Drainage:
• The drainages include Khurram, Hab, Lyari, Tochi, Zhob, and Gomal.
Economy and People:
• The water drains in the western rivers and helps in the cultivation of sugarcane, rice, and wheat.
• The passes connect Pakistan to Afghanistan.
• The passes also connect Karachi to Sibbi.
• These mountains create a defensive wall between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
• These mountains are rich in boulders, clay, limestone ridges and sandstones.
• These mountains prevent Pakistan from western depressions.
• There are important military centers namely Kohat and Bannu.
Potwar Plateau:
• It is an open plateau with undulating land and an extensive flat area.
• Its height varies from 300 m to 600 m.
• It has residual hills namely Khairi Murat and Kala Chitta ranging up to 1000 m.
• It has a badland topography i. e. troughs, ravines and landscapes of ridges.
• It has parallel salt ranges from 750 m to 900 m.
Drainage:
• The drainage includes River Soan, Uchali, Khabeki, and KallarKahar.
Economy and People:
• It is rich in soapstones, marble, non-metallic minerals, limestone, gypsum, dolomite, and clay.
• It has oil and gas fields namely, Attock Oil Refinery.
• On Potwar Plateau, through rainwater gram, wheat, barley, and maize are cultivated.
Balochistan Plateau:
• It has ridges and eroded landscape.
• It has barren mountain ranges including Toba Kakar, Hala, RasKoh and Makran Coast from 600 m to 3010 m.
• There several irregular depressions including Loralai and Zhob basins.
• On the western side, there are inland drainage basins.
• There is a Lasbela plain that is marked by sand dunes and gravel.
• It has Makran Coast which a narrow coastal plain.
Drainage:
• The drainages include Hingol, Dasht, Hab, and Paroli.
• There are also temporary salt lakes namely Hamun-i-Lora and Hamun-i- Mashkal.
Economy and People:
• In Kharan and Punjgore, there are gold and antimony deposits.
• There are also gas, crude oil, and coal deposits.
• The economy is through livestock and its products and fishing at Ormara, Gwadar, and Pasni.
• There is also a vegetable seed industry.
Balochistan’s Economic Potential:
• There are gold and antimony reserves.
• By using the untapped resources of Balochistan, Pakistan’s economy can see an uplift.
• Using the crude oil, coal and natural gas present in Balochistan electricity can be generated.
• Many fruits grow in Balochistan including melons, peaches, grapes, apples, dates, pomegranates, peaches and plums.
• The economy can be boosted by exporting these fruits to Gulf countries.
• Since Balochistan’s climate is favorable more vegetable seeds should be grown there.
• By increasing the livestock and its products using scientific means because wool and goat skins have high demand in the global market.
• Moreover, the export of fish can also be increased by using modern technology at Gwadar, Ormara, and Pasni for fishing.
• The Gawadar Sea Port development can also help in the development of the economy.
Shortcoming:
• The weather in Balochistan is extreme and dry making the working condition unfavorable.
• Balochistan has the lowest population density.
• There are not enough skilled individuals and the workforce.
• The province has a shortage of water making it difficult to provide proper irrigation.
• The infrastructure is bad and there are fewer link roads; limiting the travel and trade.
• The people there are not very educated.
• The landscape is eroded with rugged terrain and ridges making it impossible to complete projects on time.
Doabs
• A doab can be found at the confluence of the two rivers i.e. a land.
- Between the river Jhelum and river Sindh, there is Sindh Sagar Doab.
- Between river Chenab and Jhelum, there is Chaj Doab.
- Between river Ravi and Chenab, there is Rachna Doab.
- Between river Sutlej and Ravi, there is Bari Doab.
Importance of Doabs:
• The terrain is flat there.
• The canal water promotes and supports agriculture.
• Urban settlement can be done without hassle.
• There are links to air, rail and road developed.
• Factories and industrial estates are established.
• Moreover, businesses, markets, and storage of raw materials of agriculture are provided.
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