Pa·kis·tan
a Muslim country in Asia, west of India and east of Afghanistan and Iran. Population: 144,617,000 (2001). Capital: Islamabad. Pakistan was formed as a new, independent country in 1947, when the British left India and India was divided into separate parts in a process known as 'Partition.' The mainly Hindu part of India became the country now called India, and the mainly Muslim part became Pakistan. Pakistan was also divided into East Pakistan and West Pakistan, but they separated in 1971. East Pakistan became the new country of Bangladesh, and West Pakistan became Pakistan.