Geography
Pakistan is surrounded by Iran from West, Afghanistan from North, China from East and India and Arabian Sea from South.

Weather
Pakistan has three seasons: cool, hot and wet. In South, cool season brings dry days and cool nights while the northern mountains get drizzle and plummeting night – time temperatures. Hot season is hot and humid in South, but pleasant temperature in North regions. During the wet season, South regions have steady rain, mostly in the narrow belt of the Punjab from Lahore to Islamabad. But further north, high mountains block all but the most determined clouds, which means relatively little rain falls there.

Background Information
Full country name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Area: 887,700 sq/km
Population: 124,8 million
Capital city: Islamabad
People: 56% Punjabi, (also Punjabi, English, Mohajir, Sindhis)
Religion: 97% Muslim, 3% Christian and Hindu
Government: Republic
Language: Urdu, Punjabi and English

Economic Profile
GDP: US $ 282 billion
World GDP ranking: 41st
GDP per head: US $ 434
Annual growth: 4.7%
Inflation: 12.2%
Major industries: agriculture, textiles, cement, fertilizers and steel

Entry Formalities
Visas: Visas are required by nationals most European and English - speaking countries. A Pakistan Visa allows you to enter the country up to six months from the date you get it, and stay up to three months from the date you enter. However, if you stay longer than 30 days, you are required to register at a foreigners registration office.

How to get there
You could get there by air, sea or earth.

Getting Around
As there is no safety roads, most tourists use train and airplane to get around Pakistan.

Transportation
Between cities: train, airplane and bus
Inside cities: bus, minibus, taxis and motorcycle taxi

Costs and money
Currency: Pakistan rupee
Relative costs:
Cheap meal: US $ 2-3
Restaurant meal: US $ 7-10
Cheap room: US $ 4-5
Hotel room: US $ 10-15

Electricity
220 V, 50 HZ

Media
Publications, radio and TV are in Urdu; only some limited Publications are in English.

Communication
Telephone, Telegraph, Post, Telex, Fax, Mobile, E-mail, Internet

Weights and measures
Metric system

Business hours
Government: 8-16
Shopping: 9-13 and 16-21
Weekend: Friday and Saturday

Culture and Art
The pleasures of Pakistan are old: Buddhist monuments, Hindu temples, Islamic Palaces, tombs and pleasure grounds, and widely spaced Anglo mogul Gothic mansions - some in a state of dereliction which makes their grandeur even more emphatic.

Sculpture is dominated by Greco - Buddhist friezes, and crafts by ceramics, jewelry, silk goods, engraved wood work and metal work. Even Pakistan's flotillas of vintage Bedford buses and trucks, mirror-Buffed and chrome - sequined, are dazzling work of art. Traditional dances are lusty and vigorous; music is either classical, folk or devotional; and the most patronized literature is a mix of the scholastic and poetic.

Embassies
Embassies are placed in Islamabad.