ABSTRACT
As a nation-state Pakistan did not expect to come into being at all. However, when its birth did occur, it led to unprecedented upheavals. Some of these have had a lasting impression on the country’s development. This chapter introduces the reader to some of the main landmarks of the country’s turbulent history. It discusses the circumstances of the country’s birth; the many crises the country faced from 1951 to 2008; the country’s current situation that has several positives but also many negatives; and, finally, the direction in which Pakistan seems to be headed in the eighth decade of its life as an independent state. A section also discusses some of the ‘what ifs?’ concerning Pakistan to illuminate some salient points in the country’s troubled history.
