Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is unique among Muslim countries as it is the only country to have been created in the name of Islam. It is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with a similar variation in its geography and wildlife. A regional and middle power, Pakistan has the seventh largest standing armed forces in the world and is also a nuclear power as well as a declared nuclear-weapons state, being the only nation in the Muslim world, and the second in South Asia, to have that status.

The history of Pakistan traces back to the beginnings of human life in South Asia. Pakistan is home to the Indus Valley civilization, which is amongst the oldest in the world. The earliest archaeological traces of ancient Pakistanis are from 7000 BC in Mehrgarh, which grew to be the "Indus Valley Civilization". By 3300 BC, this civilization had well-planned towns and well-laid roads, but gave no evidence of weapons or fortifications