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192-642: UPOV was established by the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 61). The convention was adopted in Paris in 1961 and revised in 1972, 1978 and 1991. The initiative for the foundation of UPOV came from European breeding companies, who 1956 called for a conference to define basic principles for plant variety protection. The first version of the UPOV convention

384-450: A Pew Research Center (PEW) poll, favor Sharia law as the official law, and 94 percent of them identify more with religion than nationality compared to Muslims in other nations. Pakistan, a federal parliamentary republic , consists of four provinces : Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan, along with three territories : Islamabad Capital Territory , Gilgit-Baltistan , and Azad Kashmir . The Government of Pakistan governs

576-548: A military coup in 1977 against the leftist PPP, which saw General Zia-ul-Haq become the president in 1978. From 1977 to 1988, President Zia's corporatisation and economic Islamisation initiatives led to Pakistan becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in South Asia. While building up the country's nuclear program , increasing Islamisation , and the rise of a homegrown conservative philosophy, Pakistan helped subsidise and distribute US resources to factions of

768-774: A supermajority in elections in 1997, Nawaz Sharif authorised nuclear testings , as a retaliation to the second nuclear tests conducted by India in May 1998. Military tension between the two countries in the Kargil district led to the Kargil War of 1999, and turmoil in civil-military relations allowed General Pervez Musharraf to take over through a bloodless coup d'état . Musharraf governed Pakistan as chief executive from 1999 to 2002 and as president from 2001 to 2008 —a period of enlightenment , social liberalism , extensive economic reforms , and direct involvement in

960-481: A 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.42/10, ranking 41st globally out of 172 countries. Pakistan operates as a democratic parliamentary federal republic , with Islam designated as the state religion . Initially adopting a constitution in 1956 , Pakistan saw it suspended by Ayub Khan in 1958, replaced by a second constitution in 1962. A comprehensive constitution emerged in 1973, suspended by Zia-ul-Haq in 1977 but reinstated in 1985, shaping

1152-408: A blend of socialism , conservatism , and the third way , with the three main political parties being the conservative PML (N), socialist PPP, and centrist PTI. Constitutional amendments in 2010 curtailed presidential powers, enhancing the role of the prime minister. Pakistan, the only country established in the name of Islam, had overwhelming support among Muslims, especially in provinces like

1344-516: A case in West Africa shows that the risk of biopiracy is real: A French seed company tempted to claim plant variety protection for the traditional onion variety “ Violette de Galmi ”. The claim was challenged by the Nigerien government, the seed company withdrew the application and submitted a new application for the same variety but under another name. The fact that challenging the application

1536-512: A consequence, states are obliged to revise regulations in national law that violate peasant's rights and adapt trade agreement or other intergovernmental obligations such as UPOV. In a report on seeds and farmers' rights to the Human Rights Council , Special Rapporteur for the right to food Michael Fakhri states that UPOV 91 violates farmers' rights. The report denounces pressures applied by industrialised countries on countries of

1728-574: A cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. Rainfall varies greatly from year to year, with patterns of alternate flooding and drought common. The diverse landscape and climate in Pakistan support a wide range of trees and plants. From coniferous alpine and subalpine trees like spruce , pine , and deodar cedar in

1920-632: A devastating cyclone in East Pakistan resulting in 500,000 deaths. In 1970, Pakistan conducted its first democratic elections since independence, intending to transition from military rule to democracy. However, after the East Pakistani Awami League emerged victorious over the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Yahya Khan and the military refused to transfer power. This led to Operation Searchlight ,

2112-481: A few favoured varieties and reductions in “genetic distance” between these varieties. The increasing dominance of few global seed producers and the implementation of increasingly strict plant variety regulation might have played a key role in this development. As the UN's Secretary General stated in a report from 2015, restrictions on seed management systems linked to UPOV 91 can lead to a loss of biodiversity and in turn harm

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2304-475: A framework, the nationalist government classified all peoples into three races ( Whites , Blacks , Indians and Coloured people (people of mixed race) ) and developed rights and limitations for each. The white minority (less than 20%) controlled the vastly larger black majority. The legally institutionalised segregation became known as apartheid . While whites enjoyed the highest standard of living in all of Africa, comparable to First World Western nations,

2496-461: A generally temperate climate because it is surrounded by the Atlantic and Indian Oceans on three sides, because it is located in the climatically milder Southern Hemisphere , and because its average elevation rises steadily toward the north (toward the equator) and further inland. This varied topography and oceanic influence result in a great variety of climatic zones. The climatic zones range from

2688-699: A half after the discovery of the cape sea route, Jan van Riebeeck established a victualling station at the Cape of Good Hope, at what would become Cape Town , on behalf of the Dutch East India Company. In time, the cape became home to a large population of vrijlieden , also known as vrijburgers ( lit.   ' free citizens ' ), former company employees who stayed in Dutch territories overseas after serving their contracts. Dutch traders also brought thousands of enslaved people to

2880-409: A high point of 62 years in 1992 to a low of 53 in 2005, and the failure of the government to take steps to address the pandemic in its early years. In May 2008, riots left over 60 people dead. The Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions estimated that over 100,000 people were driven from their homes. The targets were mainly legal and illegal migrants , and refugees seeking asylum, but a third of

3072-437: A large number of countries (eg Pakistan ), intergovernmental organisations (eg European Free Trade Association ) and international non-governmental organisations (eg International Community of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Ornamental and Fruit Varieties ) have observer status. The convention defines both how the organization must be governed and run, and the basic concepts of plant variety protection that must be included in

3264-729: A military crackdown, and eventually sparked the war of liberation by Bengali Mukti Bahini forces in East Pakistan, described in West Pakistan as a civil war rather than a liberation struggle. Independent researchers estimate that between 300,000 and 500,000 civilians died during this period while the Bangladesh government puts the number of dead at three million, a figure that is now nearly universally regarded as excessively inflated. Some academics such as Rudolph Rummel and Rounaq Jahan say both sides committed genocide; others such as Richard Sisson and Leo E. Rose believe there

3456-522: A period of intense political and economic crisis since 2020 with growing numbers of international institutions, businesses and political figures warning that the country risks collapsing into a failed state due to high unemployment, low economic growth, low business investment, rising levels of violent crime, disorder, political corruption, and state capture . The country has been undergoing an energy crisis since 2007, resulting in routine rolling electricity blackouts due to loadshedding . According to

3648-798: A period of protection that the variety is no longer uniform and stable, the breeder's rights are canceled. WIPO Lex provides support for related IP legal collections, including UPOV Lex. Several international standards enacted by the United Nations oblige their member states to protect the rights of farmers to seeds: Article 19 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) grants peasants "The right to save, use, exchange and sell their farm-saved seed or propagating material." The same right

3840-643: A report from 2022 and by the UN Secretary-General in a report from 2015. Diverse genetic resources are the basis of all plant breeding and crop production. Breeders rely on farmers’ varieties and wild relatives as a source for interesting traits, such as resistance against pathogens and pests. The number of varieties has decreased by 75% in the past century and there is far less area planted to landraces worldwide as these have been replaced by scientifically bread varieties. Furthermore, crop genetic diversity may decline with concentration of area planted in

4032-470: A requirement for applicants to disclose the origin of their material and prove that the plant genetic resources used in the breeding process were legally acquired. In its guidelines, UPOV even explicitly forbids its members to request a declaration of lawful acquirement or prior informed consent (as required by the Convention on Biological Diversity ) as precondition for granting PVP. The documentation of

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4224-594: A reservation), Uruguay , Uzbekistan , and Viet Nam . For a country or intergovernmental organisation to become member, it needs to implement the requirements of the actual convention in national law. UPOV's secretariat analyises the regulation of plant variety protection in national law and writes a recommendation to the council whether or not the applicant shall be granted membership. In the past several countries have been refused memberships because their national plant variety protection laws granted exceptions for subsistence farmers to reuse and exchange seeds. In addition,

4416-505: A result from previous applications. Protection only applies in the country in which it was granted, so there are no reciprocal protections unless otherwise agreed by the countries in question. There is a right of priority, and the application date of the first application filed in any country is the date used in determining priority. The rights conferred to the breeder are similar to other intellectual property rights , such as patents , even though there are important differences. Their purpose

4608-463: A result of a coalition between PML (N) and PPPP. Pakistan's diverse geography and climate host a wide array of wildlife . Covering 881,913 km (340,509 sq mi), Pakistan's size is comparable to France and the UK combined. It ranks as the 33rd-largest nation by total area , but this varies based on Kashmir's disputed status. Pakistan boasts a 1,046 km (650 mi) coastline along

4800-673: A second term in office by the National Assembly against the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters , Julius Malema . South Africa is in southernmost Africa, with a coastline that stretches more than 2,500 km (1,553 mi) and along two oceans (the South Atlantic and the Indian). At 1,219,912 km (471,011 sq mi), South Africa is the 24th-largest country in the world. Excluding

4992-627: A transition of policies and government. In 1990, the National Party government took the first step towards dismantling discrimination when it lifted the ban on the ANC and other political organisations. It released Nelson Mandela from prison after 27 years of serving a sentence for sabotage. A negotiation process followed. With approval from the white electorate in a 1992 referendum , the government continued negotiations to end apartheid. South Africa held its first universal elections in 1994 , which

5184-820: A united Islamic bloc, called Islamistan, wasn't supported by other Muslim governments, though figures like the Grand Mufti of Palestine, Al-Haj Amin al-Husseini , and leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood were drawn to the country. Pakistan's desire for an international organization of Muslim countries was fulfilled in the 1970s when the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) was formed. East Pakistan's Bengali Muslims, opposed to an Islamist state, clashed with West Pakistanis who leaned towards Islamic identity. The Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami backed an Islamic state and opposed Bengali nationalism . After

5376-662: Is also codified in Article 9 of the International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Agriculture (ITPGRFA) . Furthermore, peasants rights to seeds are also mentioned in the Convention for Biological Diversity and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples . UPOV standards violate this rights in the case of protected varieties, as farmers only are allowed to save seeds within very narrow limits and are not allowed to exchange or sell any seeds at all, according to UPOV 91. Furthermore, as implementation of UPOV

5568-720: Is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife . The country continues to face challenges, including poverty , illiteracy , corruption , and terrorism . Pakistan is a member of the United Nations, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation , the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation , the Commonwealth of Nations , the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation , and

5760-616: Is based on predefined standards, there is little room for member states to fulfill their obligation to take into account possible effects on the human right situation in their countries and to allow for participation of farmers. In many developing countries, small scale farmers have not been informed prior to adopting and implementation of new plant variety protection laws and had no possibility participate in these decisions. As UNDROP and UNDRIP are part of Human Rights standards, they are higher order norms and therefore they prevail over property rights on seeds, according to human rights experts. As

5952-557: Is both a Persian and Urdu word... It means the land of the Paks, the spiritually pure and clean." Etymologists note that پاک pāk , is 'pure' in Persian and Pashto and the Persian suffix ـستان -stan means 'land' or 'place of'. Rahmat Ali's concept of Pakistan only related to the northwestern area of the Indian subcontinent . He also proposed the name "Banglastan" for

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6144-438: Is considered a middle power nation, with the world's sixth-largest standing armed forces . It is a declared nuclear-weapons state , and is ranked amongst the emerging and growth-leading economies, with a large and rapidly growing middle class. Pakistan's political history since independence has been characterized by periods of significant economic and military growth as well as those of political and economic instability. It

6336-414: Is discovered after the application has been granted that the variety is not actually novel or distinct, or if it is discovered to not be uniform or stable, the breeder's rights are nullified. In addition, if it is discovered that the person who applied for protection of the variety is not the actual breeder, the rights are nullified unless they can be transferred to the proper person. If it is discovered after

6528-678: Is divided into three major geographic areas: the northern highlands, the Indus River plain, and the Balochistan Plateau. The northern highlands feature the Karakoram , Hindu Kush , and Pamir mountain ranges, hosting some of the world's highest peaks, including five of the fourteen eight-thousanders (mountain peaks over 8,000 metres or 26,250 feet), notably K2 (8,611 m or 28,251 ft) and Nanga Parbat (8,126 m or 26,660 ft). The Balochistan Plateau lies in

6720-533: Is increasing resistance to UPOV requirements in free trade agreements. In Switzerland, the responsible persons have received over 1,300 letters of complaint from various countries in the year 2020. In his 2021 report on seeds and farmers‘ rights to the Human Rights Council, the current UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food emphasises that UPOV 91 violates farmers’ rights and criticises the pressure exerted by industrialised countries on countries of

6912-666: Is known as Namaqualand , which becomes more arid near the Orange River. The little rain that falls tends to fall in winter, which results in one of the world's most spectacular displays of flowers carpeting huge stretches of veld in spring (August–September). South Africa also has one offshore possession, the small sub-Antarctic archipelago of the Prince Edward Islands, consisting of Marion Island (290 km or 110 sq mi) and Prince Edward Island (45 km or 17 sq mi) South Africa has

7104-481: Is rare. The coldest place on mainland South Africa is Buffelsfontein in the Eastern Cape , where a temperature of −20.1 °C (−4.2 °F) was recorded in 2013. The Prince Edward Islands have colder average annual temperatures, but Buffelsfontein has colder extremes. The deep interior of mainland South Africa has the hottest temperatures: a temperature of 51.7 °C (125.06 °F) was recorded in 1948 in

7296-722: Is surrounded by the Great Escarpment whose eastern, and highest, stretch is known as the Drakensberg . Mafadi in the Drakensberg at 3,450 m (11,320 ft) is the highest peak. The KwaZulu-Natal–Lesotho international border is formed by the highest portion of the Great Escarpment which reaches an altitude of over 3,000 m (9,800 ft). The south and south-western parts of the plateau (at approximately 1,100–1,800   m above sea level) and

7488-606: Is the fifth-most populous country , with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. Islamabad is the nation's capital, while Karachi is its largest city and financial centre . Pakistan is the 33rd-largest country by area . Bounded by the Arabian Sea on the south, the Gulf of Oman on the southwest, and the Sir Creek on the southeast, it shares land borders with India to

7680-511: Is the legislative capital. Bloemfontein has traditionally been regarded as the judicial capital. The largest and most populous city is Johannesburg , followed by Cape Town and the busiest port city in sub-Saharan Africa, Durban . Archaeological findings suggest that various hominid species existed in South Africa about 2.5 million years ago, and modern humans inhabited the region over 100,000 years ago. The first known people were

7872-868: Is the only animal found in significant numbers in Cholistan , with a few nilgai along the Pakistan–India border and in some parts of Cholistan. Rare animals include the snow leopard and the blind Indus river dolphin , of which there are believed to be about 1,816 remaining, protected at the Indus Dolphin Reserve in Sindh. In total, 174 species of mammals, 177 species of reptiles, 22 species of amphibians, 198 species of freshwater fish, 668 species of birds, over 5,000 species of insects, and over 5,700 species of plants have been recorded in Pakistan. Pakistan faces deforestation, hunting, and pollution, with

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8064-462: Is tied with Ethiopia for the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa, and is a biodiversity hotspot with unique biomes , plant, and animal life. Since the end of apartheid, government accountability and quality of life have substantially improved. However, crime , poverty , and inequality remain widespread. Having the highest Gini coefficient of 0.63, South Africa is considered one of

8256-419: Is to create a temporary monopoly on a plant variety, to allow its breeder to redeem the costs he invested to create this innovation - typically the creation of a new variety takes 10 to 15 years and implies a substantial investment. The breeder must authorize any actions taken in propagating the new variety, including selling and marketing, importing and exporting, keeping stock of, and reproducing. This means that

8448-786: The Anglo-Sikh Wars (1845–1849), and the Anglo-Afghan Wars (1839–1919). By 1893, all modern Pakistan was part of the British Indian Empire , and remained so until independence in 1947. Under British rule, modern Pakistan was primarily divided into the Sind Division , Punjab Province , and the Baluchistan Agency . The region also included various princely states , with the largest being Bahawalpur . The major armed struggle against

8640-1143: The Bronze Age , and the ancient Gandhara civilisation . The regions that compose the modern state of Pakistan were the realm of multiple empires and dynasties, including the Gandhāra , the Achaemenid , the Maurya , the Kushan , the Parthian , the Paratarajas , the Gupta ; the Umayyad Caliphate in its southern regions, the Hindu Shahis , the Ghaznavids , the Delhi Sultanate , the Samma ,

8832-572: The Durrani Empire of Afghanistan in 1759. The growing political power of the British in Bengal had not yet reached the territories of modern Pakistan. None of modern Pakistan was under British rule until 1839 when Karachi , a small fishing village governed by Talpurs of Sindh with a mud fort guarding the harbour, was taken , and used as an enclave with a port and military base for

9024-479: The Dutch East India Company were shipwrecked at the cape for several months. The sailors were able to survive by obtaining fresh water and meat from the natives. They also sowed vegetables in the fertile soil. Upon their return to Holland, they reported favourably on the cape's potential as a "warehouse and garden" for provisions to stock passing ships for long voyages. In 1652, a century and

9216-738: The First Afghan War that ensued. The remainder of Sindh was acquired in 1843, and subsequently, through a series of wars and treaties, the East India Company , and later, after the post- Sepoy Mutiny (1857–1858), direct rule by Queen Victoria of the British Empire , acquired most of the region. Key conflicts included those against the Baloch Talpur dynasty , resolved by the Battle of Miani (1843) in Sindh,

9408-605: The Greco-Buddhist culture in the region. Taxila had one of the earliest universities and centres of higher education in the world, which was established during the late Vedic period in the 6th century BCE. The ancient university was documented by the invading forces of Alexander the Great and was also recorded by Chinese pilgrims in the 4th or 5th century CE. At its zenith, the Rai dynasty (489–632 CE) ruled Sindh and

9600-613: The Highveld . This relatively well-watered area is home to a great proportion of the country's commercial farmlands and contains its largest conurbation (Gauteng). To the north of Highveld, from about the 25°   30'   S line of latitude, the plateau slopes downwards into the Bushveld , which ultimately gives way to the Limpopo River lowlands or Lowveld . The coastal belt, below the Great Escarpment, moving clockwise from

9792-476: The Indian Ocean trade . The events around Mapungubwe's collapse circa 1300 are unknown, however trade routes shifted north from the Limpopo to the Zambezi , precipitating the rise of Great Zimbabwe . The hill was abandoned and Mapungubwe's population scattered. In 1487, the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias led the first European voyage to land in southern Africa. On 4 December, he landed at Walfisch Bay (now known as Walvis Bay in present-day Namibia). This

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9984-568: The Indian pangolin , the jungle cat , and the sand cat . Indus is home to mugger crocodiles , while surrounding areas host wild boars , deer, and porcupines . Central Pakistan's sandy scrublands shelter Asiatic jackals, striped hyenas , wildcats, and leopards . The mountainous north hosts a variety of animals like the Marco Polo sheep , urial , markhor goat, ibex goat, Asian black bear , and Himalayan brown bear . The lack of vegetative cover, severe climate, and grazing impact on deserts have endangered wild animals. The chinkara

10176-442: The International Court of Justice regarding Israel 's conduct in the Gaza Strip as part of the Israel–Hamas war , alleging that Israel had committed and was committing genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. South Africa has repeatedly hosted senior leaders of Hamas , the group responsible for the October 7th massacre in Israel. Following the 2024 general elections , the African National Congress saw its share of

10368-415: The International Monetary Fund , South Africa is suffering from "massive corruption" and state capture. The Zondo Commission , established in 2018 in order to investigate allegations of corruption and state capture released its findings in 2022. It found rampant corruption at every level of government, including Transnet , Eskom , and Denel , as well as law enforcement , intelligence agencies , and

10560-537: The Islamic Military Counter-Terrorism Coalition , and is designated as a major non-NATO ally by the United States. The name Pakistan was coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali , a Pakistan Movement activist, who in January 1933 first published it (originally as "Pakstan") in a pamphlet Now or Never , using it as an acronym . Rahmat Ali explained: "It is composed of letters taken from the names of all our homelands, Indian and Asian, P anjab , A fghania , K ashmir , S indh , and Baluchis tan ." He added, "Pakistan

10752-476: The Native Location Act of 1879 and the system of pass laws . Eight years after the end of the Second Boer War and after four years of negotiation, the South Africa Act 1909 granted nominal independence while creating the Union of South Africa on 31 May 1910. The union was a dominion that included the former territories of the Cape, Transvaal and Natal colonies, as well as the Orange Free State republic. The Natives' Land Act of 1913 severely restricted

10944-412: The Netherlands , New Zealand , Nicaragua , North Macedonia , Norway , Oman , Panama , Paraguay , Peru , Poland , Portugal , Republic of Korea , Romania , Russian Federation , Serbia , Singapore , Slovakia , Slovenia , South Africa , Spain , Sweden , Switzerland , Tanzania , Trinidad and Tobago , Tunisia , Turkey , Ukraine , the United Kingdom , the United States of America (with

11136-550: The North-West Frontier Province , West Punjab , and Sindh. In the riots that accompanied the partition in Punjab Province, between 200,000 and 2,000,000 people were killed in what some have described as a retributive genocide between the religions. Around 50,000 Muslim women were abducted and raped by Hindu and Sikh men, while 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women experienced the same fate at the hands of Muslims. Around 6.5 million Muslims moved from India to West Pakistan and 4.7 million Hindus and Sikhs moved from West Pakistan to India. It

11328-457: The Outeniqua and Langeberg ranges to the south and the Swartberg range to the north is known as the Little Karoo , which consists of semi-desert shrubland similar to that of the Great Karoo, except that its northern strip along the foothills of the Swartberg Mountains has a somewhat higher rainfall and is, therefore, more cultivated than the Great Karoo. The Little Karoo is famous for its ostrich farming around Oudtshoorn . The lowland area to

11520-596: The Pedi people . King Sekhukhune managed to defeat the army on 1 August 1876. Another attack by the Lydenburg Volunteer Corps was also repulsed. On 16 February 1877, the two parties signed a peace treaty at Botshabelo . The Boers' inability to subdue the Pedi led to the departure of Burgers in favour of Paul Kruger and the British annexation of the South African Republic. In 1878 and 1879 three British attacks were successfully repelled until Garnet Wolseley defeated Sekhukhune in November 1879 with an army of 2,000 British soldiers, Boers and 10,000 Swazis. The Anglo-Zulu War

11712-426: The Prince Edward Islands , the country lies between latitudes 22° and 35°S , and longitudes 16° and 33°E . The interior of South Africa consists of a large, in most places almost flat plateau with an altitude of between 1,000 m (3,300 ft) and 2,100 m (6,900 ft), highest in the east and sloping gently downwards towards the west and north, and slightly so to the south and south-west. This plateau

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11904-405: The Second Boer War (1899–1902) and, although suffering heavy casualties due to Boer attrition warfare , they were ultimately successful due in part to scorched earth tactics such as concentration camps , in which 27,000 Boer civilians died due to a combination of disease and neglect. South Africa's urban population grew rapidly from the end of the 19th century onward. After the devastation of

12096-437: The Shah Miris , the Mughals , the Durranis , the Sikhs and most recently, the British Raj from 1858 to 1947. Spurred by the Pakistan Movement , which sought a homeland for the Muslims of British India , and election victories in 1946 by the All-India Muslim League , Pakistan gained independence in 1947 after the Partition of the British Indian Empire , which awarded separate statehood to its Muslim-majority regions and

12288-474: The South African Party and National Party merged to form the United Party , seeking reconciliation between Afrikaners and English-speaking whites. In 1939, the party split over the entry of the union into World War II, as an ally of the United Kingdom, a move which National Party followers opposed. In 1948, the National Party was elected to power. It strengthened the racial segregation begun under Dutch and British colonial rule. Taking Canada's Indian Act as

12480-405: The South African Republic , the Natalia Republic , and the Orange Free State . In the interior, the Cape Colony expanded at the expense of the Batswana and Griqua , and Boer expansion caused great instability in the Middle Orange River region. The Matabele kingdom came to dominate the eastern interior, and raided the Venda kingdom. The discovery of diamonds in 1867 and gold in 1884 in

12672-419: The South Atlantic and Indian Ocean ; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia , Botswana , and Zimbabwe ; to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini ; and it encloses Lesotho . Covering an area of 1,221,037 square kilometres (471,445 square miles), the country has over 62 million people . Pretoria is the administrative capital, while Cape Town , as the seat of Parliament ,

12864-415: The United Provinces , where Muslims were a minority. This idea, articulated by the Muslim League, the Islamic clergy , and Jinnah, envisioned an Islamic state . Jinnah, closely associated with the ulama , was described upon his death by Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani as the greatest Muslim after Aurangzeb , aspiring to unite Muslims worldwide under Islam. The Objectives Resolution of March 1949 marked

13056-405: The Vaal River valley. Settlements of Bantu-speaking peoples , who were iron-using agriculturists and herdsmen , were present south of the Limpopo River (now the northern border with Botswana and Zimbabwe ) by the 4th or 5th century CE. The Bantu slowly moved south. The earliest ironworks in modern-day KwaZulu-Natal Province are believed to date from around 1050. The southernmost group

13248-426: The Vedic period (1500–500 BCE), bringing with them their distinctive religious traditions and practices which fused with local culture. The Indo-Aryans religious beliefs and practices from the Bactria–Margiana culture and the native Harappan Indus beliefs of the former Indus Valley civilization eventually gave rise to Vedic culture and tribes. Most notable among them was Gandhara civilization , which flourished at

13440-677: The Xhosa Wars , as both sides competed for the pastureland near the Great Fish River, which the colonists desired for grazing cattle. Vrijburgers who became independent farmers on the frontier were known as Boers , with some adopting semi-nomadic lifestyles being denoted as trekboers . The Boers formed loose militias , which they termed commandos , and forged alliances with Khoisan peoples to repel Xhosa raids. Both sides launched bloody but inconclusive offensives, and sporadic violence, often accompanied by livestock theft, remained common for several decades. Great Britain occupied Cape Town between 1795 and 1803 to prevent it from falling under

13632-472: The civil service . It documented evidence of systemic corruption , fraud , racketeering , bribery , money laundering , and state capture. It investigated the African National Congress party and Jacob Zuma, whom it concluded were complicit in state capture through their direct assistance to the Gupta family . "The Commission estimated the total amount of money spent by the state which was 'tainted' by state capture to be around R57 billion. More than 97% of

13824-678: The most votes in the elections of 2008, appointing party member Yusuf Raza Gilani as Prime Minister. Threatened with impeachment , President Musharraf resigned on 18 August 2008, and was succeeded by Asif Ali Zardari . Clashes with the judicature prompted Gilani's disqualification from the Parliament and as the Prime Minister in June 2012. The general election held in 2013 saw the PML (N) achieve victory, following which Nawaz Sharif

14016-450: The mujahideen against the USSR 's intervention in communist Afghanistan . Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province became a base for the anti-Soviet Afghan fighters, with the province's influential Deobandi ulama playing a significant role in encouraging and organising the 'jihad'. President Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, and Benazir Bhutto , daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,

14208-632: The secretary-general of the party , the nation's first Prime Minister . From 1947 to 1956, Pakistan was a monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations, and had two monarchs before it became a republic. The creation of Pakistan was never fully accepted by many British leaders including Lord Mountbatten . Mountbatten expressed his lack of support and faith in the Muslim League's idea of Pakistan. Jinnah refused Mountbatten's offer to serve as Governor-General of Pakistan. When Mountbatten

14400-602: The two-nation theory and led to the establishment of the All-India Muslim League in 1906. In March 1929, in response to the Nehru Report , Muhammad Ali Jinnah , the founder of Pakistan, issued his fourteen points , which included proposals to safeguard the interests of the Muslim minority in a united India. These proposals were rejected. In his December 29, 1930 address, Allama Iqbal advocated

14592-531: The "Republic of South Africa" and Republiek van Suid-Afrika in Afrikaans . The country has an official name in 12 official languages . Mzansi , derived from the Xhosa noun uMzantsi meaning "south", is a colloquial name for South Africa, while some Pan-Africanist political parties prefer the term " Azania ". South Africa contains some of the oldest archaeological and human-fossil sites in

14784-520: The 14th largest emitter of carbon dioxide, primarily from its heavy reliance on coal and oil for energy production . As part of its international commitments, South Africa has pledged to peak emissions between 2020 and 2025. South Africa signed the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity on 4 June 1994 and became a party to the convention on 2 November 1995. It has subsequently produced a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan , which

14976-712: The 1970 general elections, the Parliament crafted the 1973 Constitution . It declared Pakistan an Islamic Republic, with Islam as the state religion, and mandated laws to comply with Islamic teachings laid down in the Quran and Sunnah and that no law repugnant to such injunctions could be enacted. Additionally, it established institutions like the Shariat Court and the Council of Islamic Ideology to interpret and apply Islam. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto faced opposition under

15168-589: The 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants." Currently, however, the EFTA states, including Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland are negotiating free trade agreements with Thailand and Malaysia. In this context, both countries are demanding compliance with UPOV 91 as a prerequisite for these agreements. In a letter to the four countries in 2024, the UN Special Rapporteur pointed out that this approach jeopardises

15360-609: The ANC won by an overwhelming majority. It has been in power ever since. The country rejoined the Commonwealth of Nations and became a member of the Southern African Development Community . In post-apartheid South Africa, unemployment remained high. While many black people have risen to middle or upper classes, the overall unemployment rate of black people worsened between 1994 and 2003 by official metrics but declined significantly using expanded definitions. Poverty among white South Africans, which

15552-601: The Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman, and shares land borders totaling 6,774 km (4,209 mi), including 2,430 km (1,510 mi) with Afghanistan, 523 km (325 mi) with China, 2,912 km (1,809 mi) with India, and 909 km (565 mi) with Iran. It has a maritime border with Oman, and shares a border with Tajikistan via the Wakhan Corridor . Situated at the crossroads of South Asia,

15744-441: The British announced their intention to end rule by June 1948. Following rigorous discussions involving Viceroy of India , Lord Mountbatten of Burma , Muhammad Ali Jinnah of the All-India Muslim League , and Jawaharlal Nehru of Congress, the formal declaration to partition British India into two independent dominions—namely Pakistan and India—was issued by Mountbatten on the evening of 3 June 1947. In Mountbatten's oval office,

15936-600: The British in the region was the rebellion known as the Sepoy Mutiny in 1857. Divergence in the relationship between Hinduism and Islam resulted in significant tension in British India , leading to religious violence. The language controversy further exacerbated tensions between Hindus and Muslims. A Muslim intellectual movement , led by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan to counter the Hindu renaissance , advocated for

16128-794: The Bushveld exists in the north-east including Kruger National Park and the Sabi Sand Game Reserve , as well as in the far north in the Waterberg Biosphere . South Africa houses many endemic species , among them the critically endangered riverine rabbit ( Bunolagus monticullaris ) in the Karoo. Pakistan Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan , is a country in South Asia . It

16320-486: The Cape, it was gradually eroded, and the vast majority of Black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994. The National Party imposed apartheid in 1948, institutionalising previous racial segregation . After a largely non-violent struggle by the African National Congress and other anti-apartheid activists both inside and outside the country, the repeal of discriminatory laws began in

16512-603: The Congo , Rwanda , Eritrea , Ethiopia and Somalia . Competition over jobs, business opportunities, public services and housing has led to tension between refugees and host communities. While xenophobia in South Africa is still a problem, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2011 reported that recent violence had not been as widespread as initially feared. Nevertheless, as South Africa continues to grapple with racial issues, one of

16704-562: The EU, USA, Japan and EFTA. The TRIPS-Agreement doesn't require adherence to UPOV but gives the possibility to define a sui generis system for plant variety protection. In contrast, clauses in free trade agreement are more comprehensive and typically require adherence to UPOV. While the earlier versions of the convention have been replaced, UPOV 78 and UPOV 91 coexist. Existing members are free to decide whether they want to ratify UPOV 91 or stay with UPOV 78, whereas new members have to adhere to

16896-511: The Global South to join UPOV through free trade agreements. The report calls on UN member states to design and interpret seed policies and plant variety protection laws in a way that protects farmers' rights and promotes their seed systems rather than restricting them. Ethiopia, India, Malaysia and Thailand (all non-UPOV members) are cited as positive examples, as they "have adopted innovative national plant variety protection laws distinct from

17088-552: The Great conquered the region by defeating various local rulers, most notably, the King Porus , at Jhelum . It was followed by the Maurya Empire , founded by Chandragupta Maurya and extended by Ashoka the Great , until 185 BCE. The Indo-Greek Kingdom founded by Demetrius of Bactria (180–165 BCE) included Gandhara and Punjab and reached its greatest extent under Menander (165–150 BCE), prospering

17280-731: The Indian National Congress, initially skeptical of the League's representation of Indian Muslims, to acknowledge its significance. Jinnah's emergence as the voice of the Indian Muslims, compelled the British to consider their stance, despite their reluctance to partition India . In a final attempt to prevent partition, they proposed the Cabinet Mission Plan . As the Cabinet Mission failed,

17472-724: The Legislative Decree No. 21-2012 containing the Law for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants. The supreme court sacked the UPOV 91-based law because it judged it to be in contradiction with a range of human rights as well as with the obligation of the State of Honduras to protect the envrionment. A study published by UPOV in 2005 evaluated the impact of UPOV compliant regulations in Argentina , China , Kenya , Poland and South Korea . The study found that in these countries

17664-506: The Lowveld covering 19,633 square kilometres (7,580 sq mi) The coastal belt below the south and south-western stretches of the Great Escarpment contains several ranges of Cape Fold Mountains which run parallel to the coast, separating the Great Escarpment from the ocean. (These parallel ranges of fold mountains are shown on the map, above left. Note the course of the Great Escarpment to the north of these mountain ranges.) The land between

17856-856: The Middle East, and Central Asia, Pakistan's location is geopolitically significant. Geologically, Pakistan straddles the Indus–Tsangpo Suture Zone and the Indian tectonic plate in Sindh and Punjab, while Balochistan and most of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa sit on the Eurasian Plate , primarily on the Iranian plateau . Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, along the Indian plate's edge, are susceptible to powerful earthquakes . Pakistan's landscapes vary from coastal plains to glaciated mountains, offering deserts, forests, hills, and plateaus. Pakistan

18048-748: The Mughal period were Multan , Lahore , Peshawar and Thatta , which were chosen as the site of impressive Mughal buildings . In the early 16th century, the region remained under the Mughal Empire . In the 18th century, the slow disintegration of the Mughal Empire was hastened by the emergence of the rival powers of the Maratha Confederacy and later the Sikh Empire , as well as invasions by Nader Shah from Iran in 1739 and

18240-577: The Muslim areas of Bengal and "Osmanistan" for Hyderabad State , as well as a political federation between the three. Some of the earliest ancient human civilisations in South Asia originated from areas encompassing present-day Pakistan. The earliest known inhabitants in the region were Soanian during the Lower Paleolithic , of whom artefacts have been found in the Soan Valley of Punjab . The Indus region , which covers most of

18432-574: The Ndwandwe, however were repelled by Gaza. During the early 19th century, many Dutch settlers departed from the Cape Colony , where they had been subjected to British control, in a series of migrant groups who came to be known as Voortrekkers , meaning "pathfinders" or "pioneers". They migrated to the future Natal , Free State, and Transvaal regions. The Boers founded the Boer republics :

18624-584: The Northern Cape Kalahari near Upington , but this temperature is unofficial and was not recorded with standard equipment; the official highest temperature is 48.8 °C (119.84 °F) at Vioolsdrif in January 1993. Climate change in South Africa is leading to increased temperatures and rainfall variability. Extreme weather events are becoming more prominent. This is a critical concern for South Africans as climate change will affect

18816-523: The Pakistan Resolution. By 1942, Britain faced considerable strain during World War II , with India directly threatened by Japanese forces. Britain had pledged voluntary independence for India in exchange for support during the war. However, this pledge included a clause stating that no part of British India would be compelled to join the resulting dominion, which could be interpreted as support for an independent Muslim nation. Congress under

19008-565: The R57 billion came from Transnet and Eskom. Out of these funds, the Gupta enterprise received at least R15 billion. The total loss to the state is difficult to quantify, but would far exceed that R15 billion." South Africa has maintained a position of neutrality in regards to the Russia invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the ongoing war . On 29 December 2023, South Africa formally submitted its case to

19200-829: The South African National Biodiversity Institute, parts of southern Africa will see an increase in temperature by about 1 °C (1.8 °F) along the coast to more than 4 °C (7.2 °F) in the already hot hinterland such as the Northern Cape in late spring and summertime by 2050. The Cape Floral Region is predicted to be hit very hard by climate change. Drought, increased intensity and frequency of fire, and climbing temperatures are expected to push many rare species towards extinction. South Africa has published two national climate change reports in 2011 and 2016. South Africa contributes considerable carbon dioxide emissions , being

19392-616: The South African government because of its racial policies. The boycotts and restrictions were later extended to international sanctions and the divestment of holdings by foreign investors. The Mahlabatini Declaration of Faith , signed by Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Harry Schwarz in 1974, enshrined the principles of peaceful transition of power and equality for all, the first of such agreements by black and white political leaders in South Africa. Ultimately, F.W. de Klerk opened bilateral discussions with Nelson Mandela in 1993 for

19584-498: The State." — Muhammad Ali Jinnah 's first speech to the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan. Maulana Shabbir Ahmad Usmani , a respected Deobandi alim (scholar) who held the position of Shaykh al-Islam in Pakistan in 1949, and Maulana Mawdudi of Jamaat-i-Islami played key roles in advocating for an Islamic constitution. Mawdudi insisted that the Constituent Assembly declare the "supreme sovereignty of God" and

19776-513: The US-led war on terrorism . By its own financial calculations, Pakistan's involvement in the war on terrorism has cost up to $ 118 billion, over eighty one thousand casualties , and more than 1.8 million displaced civilians. The National Assembly historically completed its first full five-year term on 15 November 2007. After the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in 2007, the PPP secured

19968-607: The United Kingdom agreed to the partitioning of India , the modern state of Pakistan was established on 14 August 1947 (27th of Ramadan in 1366 of the Islamic Calendar , considered to be the most blessed date from an Islamic perspective) . This new nation amalgamated the Muslim-majority eastern and northwestern regions of British India , comprising the provinces of Balochistan , East Bengal ,

20160-431: The accessibility of seeds to farmers. In many developing countries the majority of seeds used by small scale farmers come from the farmers’ managed seed sector. Frequently, also seeds of protected varieties are saved, exchanged and sold. As these practices are prohibited in UPOV 91, farmers lose access to an inexpensive source of seeds while commercial seeds remain unaffordable for many. A study commissioned by UPOV examined

20352-502: The additional sweet potatoes. However, in the case of sweet potato that had the highest gain, no new variety had been protected and also for the other crops, productivity gains can be explained with other factors.  A Study published by an Asian NGO finds that implementation of UPOV 91 in Vietnam did not lead to an increase of investment in breeding or in gains of productivity. Instead, it strengthened international commercial breeders at

20544-589: The adjoining plain below (at approximately 700–800   m above sea level – see map on the right) is known as the Great Karoo , which consists of sparsely populated shrubland . To the north, the Great Karoo fades into the more arid Bushmanland, which eventually becomes the Kalahari Desert in the north-west of the country. The mid-eastern and highest part of the plateau is known as

20736-601: The amalgamation of Muslim-majority states in North-West India, including Punjab , North-West Frontier Province , Sind , and Baluchistan . The perception that Congress-led British provincial governments neglected the Muslim League from 1937 to 1939 motivated Jinnah and other Muslim League leaders to embrace the two-nation theory. This led to the adoption of the Lahore Resolution of 1940, presented by Sher-e-Bangla A.K. Fazlul Haque , also known as

20928-667: The arrival of the 1820 Settlers . The new colonists were induced to settle for a variety of reasons, namely to increase the size of the European workforce and to bolster frontier regions against Xhosa incursions. In the early 1800s, the Mfecane (lit. 'crushing') saw a heightened period of conflict, migration, and state formation among native groups, caused by the complex interplay of international trade, environmental instability, and European colonisation. Chiefdoms grew wealthier and competed over trade routes and grazing land, leading to

21120-563: The banner of Nizam-e-Mustafa ("Rule of the Prophet "), advocating an Islamic state. Bhutto conceded to some Islamist demands before being ousted in a coup. General Zia-ul-Haq, after seizing power, committed to establishing an Islamic state and enforcing sharia law. He instituted Shariat judicial courts, and court benches, to adjudicate using Islamic doctrine. Zia aligned with Deobandi institutions, exacerbating sectarian tensions with anti-Shia policies. Most Pakistanis, according to

21312-581: The black majority remained disadvantaged by almost every standard, including income, education, housing, and life expectancy. The Freedom Charter , adopted in 1955 by the Congress Alliance , demanded a non-racial society and an end to discrimination. On 31 May 1961, the country became a republic following a referendum (only open to white voters) which narrowly passed; the British-dominated Natal province largely voted against

21504-441: The breeder can, for example, require a licensing fee for any company interested in reproducing his variety for sale. The breeder also has the right to name the new variety, based on certain guidelines that prevent the name from being deliberately misleading or too similar to another variety's name. In the 1991 convention there are four exceptions to the rights of the breeder owning a plant variety: The 1991 Convention specifies that

21696-416: The breeder's right must be granted for at least 20 years from grant date for perennial crops and at least 25 years in the case of varieties of trees or vines. In the 1978 convention minimum duration of breeders rights are 15 years for perennials and 18 years for trees and vines. Finally, there are provisions for how to negate granted breeders' rights if the rights are determined to be unfounded. That is, if it

21888-538: The chains of UPOV. The week of action was repeated in 2022 with further protests in a range of countries. Many developing countries did not decide to join the UPOV agreement voluntarily, but were obliged to do so by free trade agreements. Examples of this are Peru, Morocco and Costa Rica, whose accession to UPOV was one of the conditions imposed by the European Free Trade Association for the free trade agreements subsequently concluded. There

22080-554: The coast, which is subtropical . The Free State is particularly flat because it lies centrally on the high plateau. North of the Vaal River , the Highveld becomes better watered and does not experience subtropical extremes of heat. Johannesburg, in the centre of the Highveld, is at 1,740 m (5,709 ft) above sea level and receives an annual rainfall of 760 mm (29.9 in). Winters in this region are cold, although snow

22272-697: The control of the French First Republic , which had invaded the Low Countries . After briefly returning to Dutch rule under the Batavian Republic in 1803, the cape was occupied again by the British in 1806. Following the end of the Napoleonic Wars , it was formally ceded to Great Britain and became an integral part of the British Empire . British emigration to South Africa began around 1818, subsequently culminating in

22464-476: The cost of weakening the public breeders and threatening the farmers' seed sector. Smallholder farmers in the global South are amongst the groups most prone to poverty and hunger. They predominantly rely on seeds that are produced by farmers themselves, often also including varieties originally bred by public and private breeders . These farmers’ seed systems are often highly resilient and more accessible to famers than seeds offered by breeding companies . Through

22656-476: The country worked towards promulgating its constitution and putting the country on the road to democracy. In 1972 Pakistan embarked on an ambitious plan to develop its nuclear deterrence capability with the goal of preventing any foreign invasion ; the country's first nuclear power plant was inaugurated in that same year. India's first nuclear test in 1974 gave Pakistan additional justification to accelerate its nuclear program . Democracy ended with

22848-523: The country's governance. The military's influence in mainstream politics has been significant throughout Pakistan's history. The eras of 1958–1971, 1977–1988 , and 1999–2008 witnessed military coups , leading to martial law and military leaders governing de facto as presidents. Presently, Pakistan operates a multi-party parliamentary system , with distinct checks and balances among government branches. The first successful democratic transition occurred in May 2013. Pakistani politics revolves around

23040-520: The country's multicultural diversity, especially in the wake of apartheid. Recognised as a middle power in international affairs, it maintains significant regional influence and is a member of BRICS , the African Union , SADC , SACU , the Commonwealth of Nations , and the G20 . A developing , newly industrialised country , South Africa has the largest economy in Africa by nominal GDP. It

23232-593: The crossroads of India, Central Asia, and the Middle East, connecting trade routes and absorbing cultural influences from diverse civilizations. The initial early Vedic culture was a tribal, pastoral society centered in the Indus Valley, of what is today Pakistan. During this period, the Vedas , the oldest scriptures of Hinduism , were composed. The western regions of Pakistan became part of Achaemenid Empire around 517 BCE. In 326 BCE, Alexander

23424-603: The domestic laws of the members of the union. These concepts include: In order to be granted breeder's rights, the variety in question must be shown to be new . This means that the plant variety cannot have previously been available for more than one year in the applicant's country, or for more than four years in any other country or territory. The variety must also be distinct (D), that is, easily distinguishable through certain characteristics from any other known variety (protected or otherwise). The other two criteria, uniformity (U) and stability (S), mean that individual plants of

23616-421: The east ; Afghanistan to the west ; Iran to the southwest ; and China to the northeast . It shares a maritime border with Oman in the Gulf of Oman, and is separated from Tajikistan in the northwest by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor . Pakistan is the site of several ancient cultures , including the 8,500-year-old Neolithic site of Mehrgarh in Balochistan , the Indus Valley Civilisation of

23808-425: The effects of the implementation of UPOV 1991 in francophone Africa in the 11 years after the accession of OAPI to UPOV. It found that in the 17 member countries only 117 plant varieties have been newly protected during this period, half of them had already lapsed because of nonpayment of fees. At least half of them were varieties that had been available before. The study finds no increase in plant breeding activities in

24000-427: The extreme desert of the southern Namib in the farthest northwest to the lush subtropical climate in the east along the border with Mozambique and the Indian Ocean. Winters in South Africa occur between June and August. The extreme southwest has a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean with wet winters and hot, dry summers, hosting the famous fynbos biome of shrubland and thicket . This area produces much of

24192-873: The first hominin fossil discovered in Africa, the Taung Child (found near Taung ) in 1924. Other hominin remains have come from the sites of Makapansgat in Limpopo Province; Cornelia and Florisbad in Free State Province ; Border Cave in KwaZulu-Natal Province; Klasies River Caves in Eastern Cape Province; and Pinnacle Point , Elandsfontein and Die Kelders Cave in Western Cape Province. These finds suggest that various hominid species existed in South Africa from about three million years ago, starting with Australopithecus africanus , followed by Australopithecus sediba , Homo ergaster , Homo erectus , Homo rhodesiensis , Homo helmei , Homo naledi and modern humans ( Homo sapiens ). Modern humans have inhabited Southern Africa for at least 170,000 years. Various researchers have located pebble tools within

24384-416: The fledgling colony from Indonesia , Madagascar , and parts of eastern Africa. Some of the earliest mixed race communities in the country were formed between vrijburgers , enslaved people, and indigenous peoples. This led to the development of a new ethnic group, the Cape Coloureds , most of whom adopted the Dutch language and Christian faith. The Khoisan people, comprising the Khoikhoi and San, were

24576-420: The formation of the Ndwandwe and Mthethwa Paramountcies in the east. Ndwandwe defeated Mthethwa which split into different groups, one of which was led by Shaka of the amaZulu . The 1810s saw the fourth and fifth Xhosa Wars as British colonisation expanded. Ndwandwe splintered amid costly raids and Shaka's Zulu Kingdom rose to fill the power vacuum. The Gaza kingdom formed. The Zulu totally defeated

24768-425: The formation of various African kingdoms, including the Zulu Kingdom . The region was further colonised, and diamonds and gold were discovered , bringing a shift towards industrialisation and urbanisation. The Union of South Africa was created in 1910 out of the former Cape , Natal , Transvaal , and Orange River colonies, becoming a republic in 1961 . Though a system of non-racial franchise had existed in

24960-407: The global South to join UPOV. It calls on UN member states to design and interpret seed policies and plant variety protection laws in a way that protects farmers rights and promotes farmers' seed systems rather than restricting them. Ethiopia, India, Malaysia and Thailand (all non-UPOV members) are mentioned as positive examples. In 2021 the Supreme Court of Justice of Honduras deemed unconstitutional

25152-444: The impact of intellectual property rights regimes on the plant breeding industry in 5 developing countries. It concludes that intellectual property regimes have relatively little effect on the emergence of the private seed sector. India, the country with the most dynamic seed sector analysed in the report, is not a member of UPOV and has no strict plant variety protection regime. Contrarily, the report states that farmer's seed systems are

25344-476: The implementation of strict plant variety protection in line with UPOV 91, and the restrictions on the use, exchange and sale of farm-saved seeds, farmers become more dependent on the seeds offered directely by breeding companies which often are unaffordable for the most vulnerable groups. As a consequence, adherence to UPOV would most likely have negative effects for poverty reduction and food security in developing countries. The risk for food security that come with

25536-410: The implementation of strict regulations for plant variety protection might be an important reason why many countries of the global South hesitate to join UPOV or to update from UPOV 78 to UPOV 91 as the latter puts narrow limits to the farmer's privilege to reuse farm saved seeds. In a report from 2009 the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food , Olivier De Schutter , analysed the impact of UPOV on

25728-408: The indigenous Khoisan , and Bantu-speaking peoples who expanded from West and Central Africa later settled in the region 2,000 to 1,000 years ago. In the north, the Kingdom of Mapungubwe formed in the 13th century. In 1652, the Dutch established the first European settlement at Table Bay , and in 1795 and 1806 , the British occupied it. The Mfecane , a period of significant upheaval, led to

25920-445: The indigenous inhabitants of South Africa. Conflicts with Dutch settlers began in the 17th century and continued for centuries. Initial encounters between Dutch coloniers and Khoikhoi were peaceful, but tensions arose over land and resources. The Khoikhoi resisted Dutch expansion, leading to skirmishes and battles. The eastward expansion of Dutch colonists ushered in a series of wars with the southwesterly migrating Xhosa tribe, known as

26112-469: The initial step towards this goal, affirming God as the sole sovereign. Muslim League leader Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman asserted that Pakistan could only truly become an Islamic state after bringing all believers of Islam into a single political unit. Keith Callard observed that Pakistanis believed in the essential unity of purpose and outlook in the Muslim world, expecting similar views on religion and nationality from Muslims worldwide. Pakistan's desire for

26304-438: The interior started the Mineral Revolution and increased economic growth and immigration. This intensified British subjugation of the indigenous people. The struggle to control these important economic resources was a factor in relations between Europeans and the indigenous population and also between the Boers and the British. On 16 May 1876, President Thomas François Burgers of the South African Republic declared war against

26496-400: The leadership of Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India Movement , demanding an immediate end to British rule. In contrast, the Muslim League chose to support the UK's war efforts , thereby nurturing the possibility of establishing a Muslim nation. The 1946 elections saw the Muslim League secure 90 percent of the Muslim seats, supported by the landowners of Sindh and Punjab. This forced

26688-537: The limits prescribed by Him is a sacred trust". It was later included as a preamble to the constitutions of 1956, 1962, and 1973. Democracy faced setbacks due to the martial law imposed by President Iskander Mirza , who was succeeded by General Ayub Khan . After adopting a presidential system in 1962, Pakistan witnessed significant growth until the second war with India in 1965, resulting in an economic downturn and widespread public discontent in 1967. In 1969, President Yahya Khan consolidated control, but faced

26880-411: The livelihoods of small-scale farmers as well as weaken the genetic base on which we all depend for our future supply of food. The design of plant variety protection facilitates appropriation of genetic resources and biopiracy . Due to the criteria defined by UPOV, most landraces and farmer varieties cannot be protected and are therefore open for appropriation. UPOV 91-based PVP law also does not include

27072-481: The main source of seeds and new varieties in the countries studied and that strict intellectual property rights on seeds may reduce the effectiveness of these systems. An analysis of the data from the Access to Seed Index from 2019, came to a similar finding: Many of the developing having the most vibrant private seed sector are not member of UPOV but have their own system of plant variety protection or no plant variety protection at all. A study published by NGOs looked at

27264-407: The mid-1980s. Universal elections took place in 1994 , following which all racial groups have held political representation in the country's liberal democracy , which comprises a parliamentary republic and nine provinces. South Africa is a multi-ethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures , languages , and religions ; it is often referred to as the " rainbow nation " to describe

27456-726: The more restrictive version from 1991. As of December 3, 2021 two intergovernmental organisations and 76 countries and were members of UPOV: African Intellectual Property Organisation , Albania , Argentina , Australia , Austria , Azerbaijan , Belarus , Belgium , Bolivia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Brazil , Bulgaria , Canada , Chile , China , Colombia , Costa Rica , Croatia , Czech Republic , Denmark , Dominican Republic , Ecuador , Egypt , Estonia , European Union , Finland , France , Georgia , Germany , Ghana , Guatemala , Hungary , Iceland , Ireland , Israel , Italy , Japan , Jordan , Kenya , Kyrgyzstan , Latvia , Lithuania , Mexico , Moldova , Montenegro , Morocco ,

27648-415: The most unequal countries in the world, if not the most unequal. The name "South Africa" is derived from the country's geographic location at the southern tip of Africa. Upon formation, the country was named the Union of South Africa in English and Unie van Zuid-Afrika in Dutch , reflecting its origin from the unification of four British colonies. Since 1961, the long formal name in English has been

27840-409: The national vote fall below 50% for the first time since the end of Apartheid, though it remained the single largest party in the South African Parliament. President Ramaphosa announced a national unity government , the first since the Cabinet of Nelson Mandela , and entered a deal with the Democratic Alliance , the previous main opposition party, and other minor parties. Ramaphosa was reelected for

28032-456: The new variety must show no more variation in the relevant characteristics than one would naturally expect to see, and that future generations of the variety through various propagation means must continue to show the relevant distinguishing characteristics. The UPOV offers general guidelines for DUS testing. A breeder can apply for rights for a new variety in any union member country, and can file in as many countries as desired without waiting for

28224-480: The north of the Cape Peninsula is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean and the first row of north–south running Cape Fold Mountains to the east. The Cape Fold Mountains peter out at about the 32°   S line of latitude, after which the Great Escarpment bounds the coastal plain. The most southerly portion of this coastal belt is known as the Swartland and Malmesbury Plain, which is an important wheat growing region, relying on winter rains. The region further north

28416-477: The north of the Swartberg range up to the Great Escarpment is the lowland part of the Great Karoo, which is climatically and botanically almost indistinguishable from the Karoo above the Great Escarpment. The narrow coastal strip between the Outeniqua and Langeberg ranges and the ocean has a moderately high year-round rainfall, which is known as the Garden Route . It is famous for the most extensive areas of forests in South Africa (a generally forest-poor country). In

28608-401: The northeast, consists of the Limpopo Lowveld, which merges into the Mpumalanga Lowveld, below the Mpumalanga Drakensberg (the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment). This is hotter, drier and less intensely cultivated than the Highveld above the escarpment. The Kruger National Park , located in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in north-eastern South Africa, occupies a large portion of

28800-730: The northern mountains to deciduous trees like shisham in the Sulaiman Mountains , and palms such as coconut and date in the southern regions. The western hills boast juniper , tamarisk , coarse grasses, and scrub plants. Mangrove forests dominate the coastal wetlands in the south. Coniferous forests span altitudes from 1,000 to 4,000 metres (3,300 to 13,100 feet) in most northern and northwestern highlands. In Balochistan's xeric regions, date palms and Ephedra are prevalent. In Punjab and Sindh's Indus plains, tropical and subtropical dry and moist broadleaf forests as well as tropical and xeric shrublands thrive. Approximately 4.8% or 36,845.6 square kilometres (3,684,560 ha) of Pakistan

28992-399: The number of protected varieties of some crops has increased after these countries have joined UPOV. The report takes this as an indicator that farmers and the agricultural sector as whole has profited. However, the by far does not live up to the scientific standards for impact assessments and has been criticized being heavily biased. A report from 2005 commissioned by the World Bank looked at

29184-525: The obstacles were the presence of the independent states of the Boers, and the Zululand army. The Zulu nation defeated the British at the Battle of Isandlwana . Eventually Zululand lost the war, resulting in the termination of the Zulu nation's independence. The Boer republics successfully resisted British encroachments during the First Boer War (1880–1881) using guerrilla warfare tactics, which were well-suited to local conditions. The British returned with greater numbers, more experience, and new strategy in

29376-700: The organisation in 1961 and rejoined it in 1994. Despite opposition to apartheid both within and outside the country, the government legislated for a continuation of apartheid. The security forces cracked down on internal dissent, and violence became widespread, with anti-apartheid organisations such as the African National Congress (ANC), the Azanian People's Organisation , and the Pan-Africanist Congress carrying out guerrilla warfare and urban sabotage. The three rival resistance movements also engaged in occasional inter-factional clashes as they jockeyed for domestic influence. Apartheid became increasingly controversial, and several countries began to boycott business with

29568-404: The overall status and wellbeing of the country, for example with regards to water resources . Speedy environmental changes are resulting in clear effects on the community and environmental level in different ways and aspects, starting with air quality, to temperature and weather patterns, reaching out to food security and disease burden. According to computer-generated climate modelling produced by

29760-506: The ownership of land by blacks; at that stage they controlled only 7% of the country. The amount of land reserved for indigenous peoples was later marginally increased. In 1931, the union became fully sovereign from the United Kingdom with the passage of the Statute of Westminster , which abolished the last powers of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to legislate in the country. Only three other African countries—Liberia, Ethiopia, and Egypt—had been independent prior to that point. In 1934,

29952-415: The present-day Groot River , in May 1488. On his return he saw the cape, which he named Cabo das Tormentas ('Cape of Storms'). King John II renamed the point Cabo da Boa Esperança , or Cape of Good Hope , as it led to the riches of the East Indies . Dias' feat of navigation was immortalised in Luís de Camões ' 1572 epic poem Os Lusíadas . By the early 17th century, Portugal's maritime power

30144-455: The present-day Pakistan, was the site of several successive ancient cultures including the Neolithic (7000–4300 BCE ) site of Mehrgarh , and the 5,000-year history of urban life in South Asia to the various sites of the Indus Valley Civilisation , including Mohenjo-daro and Harappa . Following the decline of the Indus valley civilization, Indo-Aryan tribes moved into the Punjab from Central Asia in several waves of migration in

30336-635: The presidency, National Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams announced that Zuma would again face prosecution on 16 criminal charges – 12 charges of fraud, two of corruption, and one each of racketeering and money laundering, just as in the 2006 indictment. A warrant was issued for his arrest in February 2020 after he failed to appear in court. In 2021 he was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment. In response, supporters of Zuma engaged in protests which led to riots, looting, vandalism and widespread violence, leaving 354 people dead. South Africa has been undergoing

30528-430: The prime ministers of around a dozen major princely states gathered to receive their copies of the plan before its worldwide broadcast. At 7:00 P.M., All India Radio transmitted the public announcement, starting with the viceroy's address, followed by individual speeches from Nehru, and Jinnah. The founder of Pakistan Muhammad Ali Jinnah concluded his address with the slogan Pakistan Zindabad (Long Live Pakistan). As

30720-534: The proposal. Elizabeth II lost the title Queen of South Africa , and the last Governor-General , Charles Robberts Swart , became state president . As a concession to the Westminster system , the appointment of the president remained by parliament and was virtually powerless until P. W. Botha 's Constitution Act of 1983 , which eliminated the office of prime minister and instated a unique "strong presidency" responsible to parliament . Pressured by other Commonwealth of Nations countries, South Africa withdrew from

30912-404: The proposed solutions has been to pass legislation, such as the pending Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill , to uphold South Africa's ban on racism and commitment to equality. On 14 February 2018, Jacob Zuma resigned the presidency. Since 15 February, ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has been President of South Africa. On 16 March 2018, just over a month after President Jacob Zuma resigned from

31104-426: The region, including the Ghaznavid Empire (975–1187 CE), the Ghorid Kingdom, and the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1526 CE). The Lodi dynasty , the last of the Delhi Sultanate, was replaced by the Mughal Empire (1526–1857 CE). The Mughals introduced Persian literature and high culture, establishing the roots of Indo-Persian culture in the region. In the region of modern-day Pakistan, key cities during

31296-404: The region; while breeding by the public sector continued independent of plant variety protection, breeding by private companies remained largely non-existent. In the case of Iceland, no new variety has been protected since its accession to UPOV 91 in 2006, while 49 varieties had been newly protected in the 10 years before. An increased number of protected varieties does not automatically increase

31488-399: The right to food. Despite these concerns, the joint response of the EFTA states indicates that they will likely maintain their current practice. South Africa South Africa , officially the Republic of South Africa ( RSA ), is the southernmost country in Africa . Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles) of coastline that stretches along

31680-476: The right to food. He found that IP -related monopoly rights could cause poor farmers to become "increasingly dependent on expensive inputs" and at risk of indebtedness. Further, the system risks neglecting poor farmers’ needs in favour of agribusiness needs, jeopardising traditional systems of seed saving and exchange, and losing biodiversity to "the uniformization encouraged by the spread of commercial varieties".These findings were by his successor Michael Fakhri in

31872-434: The ruins are thought to be created by the Bakone , a Northern Sotho people. Around 1220, in the Limpopo - Shashe Basin, the elite of K2 moved to settle the flat-topped summit of Mapungubwe Hill, with the population settling below. Rainmaking was crucial to the development of sacral kingship . By 1250, the capital had a population of 5000 and the state covered 30,000 km² (11,500 square miles), growing wealthy through

32064-456: The socioeconomic benefits of plant variety protection, 10 years after the accession of Viet Nam to UPOV 91. The study found that the productivity of 3 major staple crops increased during this period: Yield gains were 18% for rice, 30% for corn and 43% for sweet potato. The study argues that improved varieties which had been introduced due to stricter plant variety protection contributed to this development, and that 74 million people could be fed with

32256-423: The south-west corner of the country, the Cape Peninsula forms the southernmost tip of the coastal strip which borders the Atlantic Ocean and ultimately terminates at the country's border with Namibia at the Orange River . The Cape Peninsula has a Mediterranean climate , making it and its immediate surrounds the only portion of Sub-Saharan Africa which receives most of its rainfall in winter. The coastal belt to

32448-444: The southern hemisphere. GRAIN even blames UPOV of neo-colonialistic behaviour. At the occasion of UPOV's 60st anniversary on 2 December 2021, a coalition led by GRAIN organised the “Week of Action: Stop UPOV”, with a call for action with over 230 signatories across 47 countries. In front of UPOV's headquarter group of activists from the Swiss Coalition for the Right to Seeds conducted a protest action, symbolicly freeing plants from

32640-460: The supremacy of the shariah in Pakistan. The efforts of Jamaat-i-Islami and the ulama led to the passage of the Objectives Resolution in March 1949. This resolution, described by Liaquat Ali Khan as the second most significant step in Pakistan's history, affirmed that "sovereignty over the entire universe belongs to God Almighty alone and the authority which He has delegated to the State of Pakistan through its people for being exercised within

32832-417: The surrounding territories. The Arab conqueror Muhammad ibn Qasim conquered Sindh and some regions of Punjab in 711 CE. The Pakistan government's official chronology claims this as the time when the foundation of Pakistan was laid. The Early Medieval period (642–1219 CE) witnessed the spread of Islam in the region. Before the arrival of Islam beginning in the 8th century, the region of Pakistan

33024-460: The victims were South African citizens. In a 2006 survey, the South African Migration Project concluded that South Africans are more opposed to immigration than any other national group. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees in 2008 reported that over 200,000 refugees applied for asylum in South Africa, almost four times as many as the year before. These people were mainly from Zimbabwe , though many also come from Burundi , Democratic Republic of

33216-438: The wars, Dutch-descendant Boer farmers fled into cities from the devastated Transvaal and Orange Free State territories to become the class of the white urban poor. Anti-British policies among white South Africans focused on independence. During the Dutch and British colonial years, racial segregation was mostly informal, though some legislation was enacted to control the settlement and movement of indigenous people, including

33408-504: The west and the Thar Desert in the east. The 1,609 km (1,000 mi) Indus River and its tributaries traverse the nation from Kashmir to the Arabian Sea, sustaining alluvial plains along the Punjab and Sindh regions. The climate varies from tropical to temperate, with arid conditions in the coastal south. There is a monsoon season with frequent flooding due to heavy rainfall, and a dry season with significantly less rainfall or none at all. Pakistan experiences four distinct seasons:

33600-413: The wine in South Africa and is known for its wind, which blows intermittently almost all year. The severity of this wind made passing around the Cape of Good Hope particularly treacherous for sailors, causing many shipwrecks. Further east on the south coast, rainfall is distributed more evenly throughout the year, producing a green landscape. The annual rainfall increases south of the Lowveld, especially near

33792-410: The world. Archaeologists have recovered extensive fossil remains from a series of caves in Gauteng Province. The area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site , has been branded "the Cradle of Humankind ". The sites include Sterkfontein , one of the richest sites for hominin fossils in the world, as well as Swartkrans , Gondolin Cave , Kromdraai , Cooper's Cave and Malapa . Raymond Dart identified

33984-581: Was accompanied by an unparalleled mass migration and loss of life. Initially a Dominion of the British Commonwealth , Pakistan officially drafted its constitution in 1956, and emerged as a declared Islamic republic . In 1971, the exclave of East Pakistan seceded as the new country of Bangladesh after a nine-month-long civil war . In the following four decades, Pakistan has been ruled by governments whose descriptions, although complex, commonly alternated between civilian and military, democratic and authoritarian, relatively secular and Islamist. Pakistan

34176-550: Was agreed on in 1961 by 12 European countries. By 1990 still only 19 countries were part of the convention, with South Africa being the only country from the Southern Hemisphere. From the mid-1990s more and more countries from Latin America, Asia and Africa joined the convention. A reason for this development might be the TRIPS-Agreement that obliged WTO members to introduce plant variety protection in national law. Later, many countries have been obliged to join UPOV through specific clauses in bilateral trade agreements, in particular with

34368-402: Was asked by Collins and Lapierre if he would have sabotaged Pakistan had he known that Jinnah was dying of tuberculosis, he replied 'most probably'. "You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your mosques or to any other place of worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed – that has nothing to do with the business of

34560-400: Was elected as Prime Minister for the third time. In 2018, PTI won the general election and Imran Khan became the 22nd Prime Minister. In April 2022, Shehbaz Sharif was elected as prime minister, after Imran Khan lost a no-confidence vote. During 2024 general election , PTI-backed independents became the largest bloc, but Shehbaz Sharif was elected prime minister for a second term, as

34752-446: Was elected as the country's first female Prime Minister. The PPP was followed by conservative Pakistan Muslim League (N) (PML (N)), and over the next decade the leaders of the two parties fought for power, alternating in office. This period is marked by prolonged stagflation , political instability, corruption , misgovernment, geopolitical rivalry with India, and the clash of left wing - right wing ideologies. As PML (N) secured

34944-412: Was forested in 2021. Pakistan's fauna mirrors its diverse climate. The country boasts around 668 bird species, including crows , sparrows , mynas , hawks , falcons , and eagles . Palas, Kohistan , is home to the western tragopan , with many migratory birds visiting from Europe, Central Asia, and India. The southern plains harbor mongooses , small Indian civet , hares, the Asiatic jackal ,

35136-439: Was fought in 1879 between the British and the Zulu Kingdom . Following Lord Carnarvon 's successful introduction of federation in Canada , it was thought that similar political effort, coupled with military campaigns, might succeed with the African kingdoms, tribal areas and Boer republics in South Africa. In 1874, Henry Bartle Frere was sent to South Africa as the British High Commissioner to bring such plans into being. Among

35328-473: Was home to a diverse plethora of faiths, including Hinduism , Buddhism , Jainism and Zoroastrianism . During this period, Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting a majority of the regional population to Islam. Upon the defeat of the Turk and Hindu Shahi dynasties which governed the Kabul Valley , Gandhara (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), and western Punjab in the 7th to 11th centuries CE, several successive Muslim empires ruled over

35520-402: Was no genocide. In response to India's support for the insurgency in East Pakistan, preemptive strikes on India by Pakistan's air force , navy , and marines sparked a conventional war in 1971 that resulted in an Indian victory and East Pakistan gaining independence as Bangladesh . With Pakistan surrendering in the war, Yahya Khan was replaced by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as president;

35712-1158: Was only possible because the seed company used the original name of the traditional variety shows how easily varieties can be appropriated. Several social movements and civil society organisations such as South Center , GRAIN , AFSA , SEARICE , Third World Network , and La Via Campesina have criticised UPOV Secretariatpointed. Some of them have pointed out the resistance of the UPOV Secretariat and Member States to dialogue with all interested parties, in particular: A study by Professor Graham Dutfield concluded that UPOV's governance falls short in many different ways, UPOV officials know very little about actual farming, and how small-scale farmers actually develop new varieties and produce them, and that they knew much more about breeding, which favours commercial breeders. The UPOV system thus favours commercial breeders over farmers and producers, and private interests over public interests. The intergovernmental organisation South Center criticizes that, while conventions of UPOV 78 and UPOV 91 have been negotiated almost exclusively by industrialised countries, they are imposed to all countries including in

35904-444: Was previously rare, increased. The government struggled to achieve the monetary and fiscal discipline to ensure both redistribution of wealth and economic growth. The United Nations Human Development Index rose steadily until the mid-1990s then fell from 1995 to 2005 before recovering its 1995 peak in 2013. The fall is in large part attributable to the South African HIV/AIDS pandemic which saw South African life expectancy fall from

36096-519: Was received by the convention on 7 June 2006. The country is ranked sixth out of the world's seventeen megadiverse countries . Ecotourism in South Africa has become more prevalent in recent years, as a possible method of maintaining and improving biodiversity. Numerous mammals are found in the Bushveld including lions, African leopards , South African cheetahs , southern white rhinos , blue wildebeest , kudus , impalas , hyenas , hippopotamuses and South African giraffes . A significant extent of

36288-464: Was south of the furthest point reached in 1485 by his predecessor, the Portuguese navigator Diogo Cão ( Cape Cross , north of the bay). Dias continued down the western coast of southern Africa. After 8 January 1488, prevented by storms from proceeding along the coast, he sailed out of sight of land and passed the southernmost point of Africa without seeing it. He reached as far up the eastern coast of Africa as, what he called, Rio do Infante , probably

36480-415: Was starting to decline, and English and Dutch merchants competed to oust Portugal from its lucrative monopoly on the spice trade . Representatives of the British East India Company sporadically called at the cape in search of provisions as early as 1601 but later came to favour Ascension Island and Saint Helena as alternative ports of refuge. Dutch interest was aroused after 1647, when two employees of

36672-420: Was the Xhosa people , whose language incorporates certain linguistic traits from the earlier Khoisan people. The Xhosa reached the Great Fish River , in today's Eastern Cape Province. As they migrated, these larger Iron Age populations displaced or assimilated earlier peoples. In Mpumalanga Province, several stone circles have been found along with a stone arrangement that has been named Adam's Calendar , and

36864-488: Was the largest mass migration in human history. A subsequent dispute over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir eventually sparked the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 . After independence in 1947, Jinnah, the President of the Muslim League, became Pakistan's first Governor-General and the first President-Speaker of the Parliament , but he succumbed to tuberculosis on 11 September 1948. Meanwhile, Pakistan's founding fathers agreed to appoint Liaquat Ali Khan ,

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