Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Pakistanis

On this great & joyful occasion let's take a look at some fascinating facts about Pakistan which largely go unnoticed. So please read and share if you like

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The Indus Valley Civilization-which blossomed around the Indus river & delta regions of modern Pakistan-is one of the world’s oldest civilisations along with the ancient Egyptian & Mesopotamian civilizations from which the Indus Valley was the most widespread in area.

Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a barrister, politician & the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until Pakistan's creation on 14 August 1947, and then as Pakistan's first Governor General until his death.

Another founding father of Pakistan is Dr Allama Iqbal who is considered to be one of the greatest Sufi Poets of the 19th century. He was Attributed With Two Titles: “Mufakkir-e-Pakistan” Or “The Thinker Of Pakistan” And “Hakeem-ul-Ummat” Or The Sage Of The Ummah.

Pakistan is in the world's top ten most generous countries, & it contributes more than one per cent of its GDP to charity. A study conducted by Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy shows that Pakistanis give around Rs240 billion (more than $2 billion) annually to charity.

Pakistan is a beautiful country. Home to 108 peaks above 7,000 meters, including K2, the south Asian country’s mountain scenery is stunning. From the lively cities like Islamabad and Lahore to the beautiful valleys in the north, Pakistan is a perfect place for a unique getaway.

First elected in 1988, the two time Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (late) was the first woman to head a democratic government in a Muslim-majority country.

Pakistan is the first Muslim country to develop civil nuclear plants. It is also the only Muslim country to posses nuclear war heads since 1992. And is said to have 100 plus nuclear warheads. As a responsible state our nukes are for deterrence purposes only.

Pakistan’s killer K2 or Godwin Austin is the world’s second highest peak & is part of the Greater Himalaya Mountain range also called the Karakoram Range which extends to China and India as well. The world’s third & next highest Tirich Mir is also found in Pak Hindu Kush Range.

Pakistani armed forces are internationally ranked as the seventh largest in the world, with the man power of 642,000. Pakistan provides the largest number of troops to serve the UN peacekeeping missions

MM Alam, an Air Commodore from Pakistan, is known to have shot five planes in less than a minute during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

At 63 kilometers (39 miles) in length, Baltoro Glacier in Pakistan is one of the longest non-polar glaciers in the world.

Pakistan’s superior position in Asia makes it a center of trade in the region and that is to increase further as the country is working with China on CPEC plan to develop the infrastructure of the Gwader port at Balochistan which is the largest natural deep port of the world.

China-Pakistan friendship highway the Karakoram Highway is the highest road ever built. The road runs for 800 miles from Abbottabad in Pakistan to Kashgar in Xinjiang, West China. The highest point of the road lies at the Khunjerab Pass at 4800 meters.

Pakistan’s Edhi Foundation runs the world’s largest volunteer ambulance service. HQ in Karachi the foundation runs the 24 hour emergency ambulance service along with providing other services like shelter for the homeless, free health care, drug rehabilitation, and orphanage etc.

The fourth largest irrigation system in the world is in Pakistan. Most of the population depend on a livelihood in agriculture the country had to develop a complex and massive system of irrigation to cultivate 202,000 square kilometers of land. The system runs on the Indus Basin.

World’s 2nd largest salt mines Khewra of Pakistan produce 325,000 tons of salt per year & are fabled to be discovered by Alexander’s Army through chance when their horses began licking the salts. Mines have over 40 km of tunnels along with their own mosque inside.

Highest polo ground in the world
Located at Shandur Top is the highest polo ground at 3700 meters. Held annually since 1936, the Shandur Polo Festival is a tournament between local teams that invites visitors to view the game along with shows of folk music, dance & celebration.

If you play football, it's likely you've put a boot into a product made in Pakistan. Workers in the country hand-sew many of the soccer balls distributed around the world, and as The Atlantic reports, roughly 40% of all soccer balls in the world are made in Sialkot, Pakistan.

The Shah Faisal Mosque in Pakistan can accommodate 100,000 worshipers at a time. It was the largest mosque in the world from 1986 until 1993.

Pakistan is also home to the largest single dome mosque in the world – Masjid e Tooba. The mosque is located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, and is locally known as the Gol Masjid. The dome of the mosque is 212 ft in diameter and is 51.48 ft high.

Mohenjo-Daro is an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. It was one of the largest and most advanced cities in the world during its time (built around 2500 BCE). It was the capital of the Indus Valley Civilization.

The Tharparkar desert is the only fertile desert in the world. Deserts are known to be arid and non-fertile lands, but the Tharparkar desert is an exception. It’s the only fertile desert in the world and by size, it ranks as the 7th largest desert in the world.

The first PC Virus was created by two Pakistani brothers. Basit Farooq Alvi & Amjad Farooq Alvi from Lahore created the first virus for MS-DOS in January 1986. The computer virus has been given the name Brain.

Pakistan treasures one of the rare species of dolphin known as ‘Blind Dolphin’ in waters of Indus River, one of the longest rivers in the world.

Pakistan's first Noble Prize winner was the scientist Dr Abdus Salam, who won the physics prize in 1979. In 2014 Malala Khan Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of just 17 thus making her the youngest person to achieve a Nobel Prize.

Pakistan's sacrifices in the War on Terror. At least 91574 citizens including LEA personnel have been killed in Pakistan due to terror attacks, while the economic losses measured at $120 billion. Since 2001, the country has also hosted millions of Afghan refugees who fled war.

Pakistan proved to be a resilient nation by taking terrorism head on and defeating it. Forbes reports that there's an 81% reduction in lives lost plus 60% decline in terror incidents. Pakistan is confident that after fencing of Pak-Afghan border terrorism would cease permanently.

Thanks for reading everyone. I merely compiled these facts into a thread. All credit goes to the original writers who wrote these amazing facts in various internet articles.

Links used:

https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2019-07-31/10-interesting-facts-about-pakistan?context=amp

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/pakistan/articles/10-fascinating-facts-about-pakistan/?amp=1

https://thefactfile.org/pakistan-facts/3/