Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a sovereign nation-state in South Asia and a federal parliamentary Islamic republic. The concept originated from the demand for a separate Muslim homeland in British India, a problem the All India Muslim League sought to solve to counter the perceived growing influence of the Hindu majority. The country was created through the Partition of British India, achieving independence on August 14–15, 1947. The partition was based on the principle that Muslim-dominant areas would form the new state.
The country operates under the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan (1973). Its Preamble begins with an invocation of “Almighty Allah” and mentions the “Founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah”. A key provision is Article 2(a), which declares that "Islam shall be the state religion in Pakistan". The country's history is closely connected to India through the Partition of 1947 and the ongoing Kashmir conflict, which has been the catalyst for every major war between the two states, except the 1971 war. The 1971 war resulted in the secession of East Pakistan, which became the independent nation of Bangladesh.
Recently, the country's political structure underwent a significant change with the passage of the 27th Constitutional Amendment on November 13, 2025. This amendment formalized a 'hybrid' civil-military governance structure. Key changes include granting the Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, the concurrent new constitutional post of Chief of Defence Forces (CDF). Furthermore, the amendment created a new Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) and granted five-star officers, a rank currently held only by Munir, lifelong immunity from prosecution.