Pakistan traces its history back to 2,500 years B.C., when a highly developed civilization in the Indus Valley, excavations at Harappa, Moenjodaro, Kot Diji and Mehr Garh have brought to light, the evidence of an advanced civilization existing even in more ancient times. Around 1,500 B.C., the Aryans overwhelmed this region, and influenced the Hindu civilization, whose center moved to Ganges Valley, further east. Later, the Persians occupied the northern region in the 5th century B.C. up to the 2nd century A.D. The Greeks came in 327 B.C., under Alexander of Macedonia, and passed away like a meteor. In 712 AD, the Arabs, led by Muhammad Bin Qasim, Landed somewhere near modern Karachi and ruled the lower half of Pakistan fortwo hundred years. During this time, Islam took roots in the soil and influenced the life, culture and traditions of the people.In the 10th century AD, began the systematic conquest of South Asia by the Muslims from Central Asia, who ruled here up to the 18th century.

Then the British became the masters of the land and ruled for nearly 200 years and for only 100 years over what is Pakistan now. The Muslim revival began towards the end of the last century when Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a renowned Muslim leader and educationist, launched a movement for intellectual renaissance of the Muslims of South Asia. In 1930, the well known poet - philosopher, Allama muhammad Iqbal, conceived the idea of a separate state for the Muslims of the South Asia. In 1940, a resolution was adopted by the all-India Muslim League demanding a separate dependent homeland for the Muslims of South Asia. After seven years of un-tiring struggle under the brilliant leadership of Quaid-e-Azam (The great leader) Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan emerged on the world map as a sovereign state, on 14th August, 1947.

Geography
Pakistan stretches from the Arabian Sea to the high mountains of Central Asia, and covers an area of 803,944 km2. It lies approximately between 24° and 37° north latitude, and between 61° and 78° east longitude. It neighbours Iran to the west, Afghanistan to the north, China to the northeast, and India to the east and southeast along a 2,000 km, partially contested border. There is a 1,000 km long coastline along the Arabian Sea.
The great mountain ranges of the Himalayas, the Karakorams and the Hindukush form Pakistan's northern highlands of North West Frontier Province and the Northern Area. Punjab province is a flat, alluvial plain with five major rivers dominating the upper region eventually joining the Indus River flowing south to the Arabian Sea. Sindh is bounded on the east by the Thar Desert and the Rann of Kutch and on the west by the Kirthar range and the Balochistan Plateau is an arid tableland, encircled by dry mountains.

The climate is continental and is characterized by extreme variations of temperature. Winter (January) temperatures range from 68°F along the coast to 4°F in the high mountains (above 460 m). Summer (July) temperatures range from 95°F in the southeastern deserts to 32°F in the high mountains. The southwest monsoon (July-October) provides rainfall of about 40 inches or more in the mountainous northern areas to about 6-8 inches on the coast. Rainfall varies from year to year, and successive periods of flooding and drought are not uncommon.

Pakistan can be divided physiographically into four regions: the great highlands, the Balochistan Plateau, the Indus Plain and the desert areas. The Himalayan and the trans-Himalayan mountain ranges, rising to an average elevation of more than 6,000 m and including some of the world's highest peaks, such as K2 (8,616m) and Nanga Parbat (8,125m), make up the great highlands which occupy the northern most portion of the country. The Balochistan Plateau, a broken highland region about 300 m in elevation with many ridges crossing it from northeast to southwest, occupies the western and southwestern sectors of the country. The Indus Plain, the most prosperous agricultural region of Pakistan, covers an area of 520,000 km2 in the east and extends to 1,100 km from northern Pakistan southward to the Arabian Sea. In the southeast are the desert areas.

Bio-diversity
The country lies at the western end of the South Asian subcontinent, and its flora and fauna are composed of a blend of Palaearctic and Indomalayan elements, with some groups also containing forms from the Ethiopian region. Indomalayan forms are found in the east of the country, in the Indus Basin, and Palaearctic forms in the mountains of the north and west. The Palaearctic species contain a mixture of those common to a large part of Eurasia, along with those with affinities to the Middle East, West Asia (Afghanistan and Iran), Central Asia, and Tibet. The rate of endemism is relatively low (5% for plants, 4% for mammals, 0% for birds, 10% for reptiles, and 11% for fish), but the blending of elements from different origins has ensured a diverse and unique mix of flora and fauna. Since a lot of primary field research still needs to be done, these statistics are likely to underrepresent the actual biodiversity of Pakistan.