Tourism and Transport

Main article: Tourism in Pakistan

The Deosai National Park is located in Skardu, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.

K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth after Mount Everest. With a peak elevation of 8,611 metres (28,251 ft), K2 is part of the Karakoram range, Pakistan.

Faisal Mosque located in Islamabad, was once Worlds largest Mosque.

Despite being once listed as one of the most dangerous countries in the world by The Economist,^[120] tourism is still a growing industry in Pakistan because of its diverse cultures, peoples and landscapes.^[121] The variety of attractions ranges from the ruins of ancient civilisations such as Mohenjo-daro, Harappa and Taxila, to the Himalayan hill-stations, that attract those interested in field and winter sports. Pakistan also has five out of fourteen mountain peaks of height over 8,000 metres (26,250 ft), that attract adventurers and mountaineers from around the world, especially to K2.^[122] From April to September, domestic and international visitors to these areas bring tourist income to the local people.

Noor Mahal, one of the many palaces of the Nawabs of Bahawalpur

Utror, Swat Valley

In Balochistan there are many caves for cavers and tourists to visit especially the Juniper Shaft Cave, the Murghagull Gharra cave, Mughall saa cave, and Pakistan's naturally decorated cave, the Mangocher Cave. Pakistan is a member country of the Union International de Spéléologie (UIS).^[123]
The northern parts of Pakistan are home to several historical fortresses, towers and other architecture including the Hunza and Chitral valleys, the latter being home to the Kalash, a small pre-Islamic Animist community.^[124] Punjab is also the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River. The historic city of Lahore is considered Pakistan's cultural centre and has many examples of Mughal architecture such as the Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort.^[125] The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) also helps promote tourism in the country.^[126] However, tourism is still limited because of the lack of proper infrastructure and the worsening security situation in the country. The recent militancy in Pakistan's scenic sites, including Swat in Khybar Pakhtoon Kawa province, have dealt a massive blow to the tourism industry. Many of the troubles in these tourist destinations are also blamed on the frail travel network, tourism regulatory framework, low prioritisation of the tourism industry by the government, low effectiveness of marketing and a constricted tourism perception.^[127][128] After these areas were being cleared off the militant groups in late 2009, the government, with financial support from the USAID, started a campaign to reintroduce tourism in Swat valley. Pakistan receives 500,000 tourists annually, with almost half of them heading to northern Pakistan.^[129]
  

Main article: Transport in Pakistan

Map of major Highways and Motorways in Pakistan

The Karachi Port is the largest port in the country and one of South Asia's busiest.

Rail services in Pakistan are provided by the state-run Pakistan Railways, under the supervision of the Ministry of Railways. Pakistan Railways provides an important mode of transportation in Pakistan, catering to the large-scale movement of people and freight. The railway network comprises 8,163 km^[130] of which 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) (broad gauge) forms 7,718 km including 293 km of electrified track. Pakistan Railways carry 65 million passengers annually and daily operates 228 mail, express and passenger trains. Pakistan Railways also operate special trains for various occasions. The Freight Business Unit with 12000 personnel operates over 200 freight stations on the railway network. Pakistan has also planned or had many Mass Transit Systems. The Karachi Circular Railway, which opened in the early 1940s, is the only functioning Mass Transit System in Pakistan as of March 2010. In 1976, Karachi was slated to begin work on an underground metro system, but plans have been put on hold since. The Lahore Metro is another proposal still in planning and is scheduled to be completed by 2020. Pakistan has been successful in foreign trade by rail. Pakistan has successfully traded with countries such as Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Turkmenistan and China.^[131]

The Makran Coastal Highway starts from Karachi and goes all the way to Gwadar.

During the 1990s, Pakistan began an ongoing project to rebuild all national highways throughout the country specifically to important financial, cargo and textile centres. The National Highway Authority or NHA is responsible for the maintenance of all national highways in Pakistan. The construction of motorways began in the early 1990s with the idea building a world class road network and to reduce the load off the heavily used national highways throughout the country. The first motorway to be completed was M2 in 1997 from Islamabad to Lahore. Later on, highways such as M1 from Peshawar to Islamabad, M3 from Pindi Bhattian to Faisalabad, M9 from Hyderabad to Karachi, Karachi Northern Bypass from Hyderabad to Karachi, and the Lahore Ring Road^[132] were completed.
The waterway network in Pakistan is in its infancy with Karachi being the only major city situated next to the Arabian Sea. Plans are being proposed for the development of the waterways in the country along the Indus River and through the Punjab as it would boost employment opportunities and the economic and social development in Pakistan.^[133] Pakistan has an estimated 139 airports, 10 of them international.^[134]

Science and Technology

Main articles: Science in Pakistan and List of Pakistani inventions and discoveries

Research and development forms an integral part in Pakistan's economy.^[135] For the most of the 20th century, Scientific efforts were at the rising level in Pakistan, that brought international recognition in its achievements, and became a major component of Pakistan's foreign policy.^[135] Pakistan is the home of Professor Abdus Salam— Pakistan's only Nobel laureate in Physics, and pioneer of the electroweak theory for which he received such honor.^[136] In modern time, the work of Pervez Hoodbhoy, Ishfaq Ahmad, and Riazudding played a crucial development in particle and theoretical physics. Pakistan also produced the world class mathematicians such as Asghar Qadir and Raziuddin Siddiqui where their research played a crucial advancement in mathematical physics. Munir Ahmad Rashid became the first Pakistani mathematician to provide the another theoretical proof of Fermat's Last Theorem in 2008.^[137] Dr. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the first Pakistani scientist that bring the anthelmintic, antifungal, anti-bacterial, and antiviral constituents of the Neem tree to the attention of natural products chemists. He was preceded by Atta ur Rahman, UNESCO laureate, and Naveed Zaidi, organic chemist being the first scientist to developed first workable plastic magnet at room temperature. Each and every year, scientists from all over the world are invited by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Government to participate in International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics, one of the largest seminar in Physics and Mathematics.^[138]
Medical scientists from Pakistan also pioneered in neuroscience. Dr. Ayub Ommaya, the inventor of the Ommaya reservoir, was one of the leading scientist in the field of Neurosciences.^[139] Another medical scientist, Naweed Syed became the first scientist who managed to "connect brain cells to a silicon chip".^[140] Pakistan has produced prolific technologist such as dr. Umar Saif, a pioneer in ICTD technology and Munir A. Khan, a leading figure in nuclear power technology.^[141] Aerospace engineer W. J. M. Turowicz developed and supervised the launch of the Rehbar-I rocket from Pakistan soil, making Pakistan first South Asian country to launch the rocket in space.^[142] In 1990, Pakistan launched its first and ingeniously satellite, Badr-I from PR China, becoming first Muslim country and second South Asian country to have put the satellite in space.^[143] In 1972, with the opening inauguration of country's commercial nuclear power plant in Karachi, Pakistan became first nuclear power in the Islamic world, and second emerging nuclear power in South Asia, while her neighbor India became the first.^[14] In 1998, due to amid domestic and international pressure, Pakistan became first Muslim majority and seventh country in the world to successfully develop and test nuclear weapons.^[144] Pakistan's scientists have played an influential role in advancing the economical sciences such as Akhtar Hameed Khan, pioneer of microcredit and microfinance initiatives in developing world; Mahbub-ul-Haq, creator of the Human development theory and the founder of the Human Development Report; and Agha Hasan Abedi, founder of the BCCI.^[145]