Pakistan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Pakistan - Research Paper Example Historically, Pakistan came under the rule of different rulers like the Mauryan Empire, which ruled for two hundred years before Christ (B.C). After this, Pakistan was conquered by the Kushan Empire. The area that is now Pakistan and India was always merged into one polity under all this different rulers who saw it as the best way to govern the Indian subcontinent (Kaplan 2). The area was characterized by two rivers; the Ganges River and the Indus River and their tributaries. The Indus River and its tributaries fall on the Pakistan side and the Indus with its tributaries fall on the Indian side, with the watershed running almost perfectly matching the border demarcation that separates the two countries. Earlier rulers, like the Kushans, never tried to demarcate the region into two separate entities unlike the British, Mughals and the Mauryans, who saw the need to group them under such entities (Kaplan 3). The source of Pakistan’s troubles could be attributed to the Muslim expe rience that Pakistan got under different Islamic warriors. Every successive conquest saw the area named as Pakistan today; being at the center of these conquered territories (Kaplan 1). One of the major capitals of the Mauryan Empire was Peshawar, which is a major city in today’s Pakistan. This further indicates that this region and Pakistan, as a whole, have had a long running history with Muslim influence (Kaplan 2). This does not imply that religion is the problem, in Pakistan, but an avenue used, by wrong elements, to act as a vessel for their objectives. Hurdles facing Pakistan can be linked to its history of being a frontier territory because it acted as a transition point for many cultures, religions and governments even in the medieval ages. There was the influence of religion and cultural diversity, from the Arab world and central Asia, on one side, and change of governments from the eastern frontier. It was made up of different socio-cultural elements, and with the dawn of the 20Th century, Pakistan did not inherit any form stable institutions that citizens believed in as was the case with neighboring India after Colonial rule (Kaplan 2). When Pakistan came into being, the majority of the country’s wealth existed in the Indus valley, which encompasses the Punjab state. It has the best irrigation fields and the river basin provided numerous resources business opportunities. The area was also on the trade routes used to trade with other neighboring regions like Afghanistan, China and Russia (New York Times 34). It has the best schools and the majority of females are educated unlike other parts of Pakistan like the Sindhi, Baluchistan and Pashtun states. This caused discontent to develop between the privileged state of Punjab and the rest of the country (Kaplan 3). This led to the development of strong ethnic authorities at the expense of government institutions that were lacking or were inefficient. Their different linguistic varieties st rengthened the animosity between different warring factions. This has left the country with Islamic idealism as the only attempt at unification which has fuelled Islamic extremism (Kaplan 4). The inhabitants of the Indus River valley complain that they are discriminated against as the only working portion of the population (Kaplan 4). Failed or failing state institutions are the

Critically Analyse the Evolving Role of Ports as Logistics Hubs in Essay

Critically Analyse the Evolving Role of Ports as Logistics Hubs in International Supply Chains - Essay Example Case Example - Role of Rotterdam Port as a Logistic Hub in International Supply Chain 10 Conclusion 13 References 14 Introduction Ports are often viewed as the geographical mediums which contribute to the business in any country. Ports facilitate to entice numerous trading activities within different nations. Ports not only act as a transport system, but also act as a medium of financial activity. Ports are logistic hubs which play a vital part in international business network (Lugt & Nijdam, 2005). Due to the continuous changes in global market context, the international business has changed significantly. Globalisation has eliminated numerous trade restrictions formerly imposed by the government of different countries which in turn has amplified the seaborne trade. The unprecedented growth of seaborne trade has generated huge impact on the logistics and global supply chain. The international supply chain has become quite multifaceted and this trend is stimulated by the demand of people all over the world. In line with the increasing change of demand, the logistics chains are changing continually with the imp rovement of ports. The paper is concerned with analysing the importance of port in global supply chain. The objective of the paper is to assess the various activities of port and how it has evolved to become one of the significant parts of logistics. Literature Research ... America, Africa and Middle East have demonstrated significant growths in import. The trade growth is higher than the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate. The progresses in global GDP and merchandise business have essentially impacted on the seaborne business and the demand for transportation services. In the year 2007, the cargos transported through ports were forecasted to be around 8.02 billion tonnes which is similar to the yearly growth rate of 4.8%. In transportation, tanker represented almost one third of international cargo transportation. In seaborne trade, Asia was in the leading position with 40% share subsequently America which accounted for 23% share in seaborne trade in 2007. The shares of Europe, Africa and Oceania were 18%, 10% and 9% respectively. These three regions represented almost 80% of total freights (Buck Consultants International, 2009). According to an estimation of UNCTAD, the global seaborne trade will grow by 44% by 2020 and 88% by 2030 encomp assing almost 11.5 billion tonnes and 16.04 billion tonnes correspondingly (Buck Consultants International, 2009). Dynamics of International Logistics Logistics is an activity which is liable for flow of materials. Usually, international logistics has been viewed as an integral part of commercial strategic planning. Logistics is considered as an unavoidable expense and appears within the boundaries of business. Organisations search for raw materials internationally in order to maintain low expenses. The expenses of logistics represent higher portion of sales. In present days, for several large multinational organisations, logistics expenses encompass more than 10% of sales revenue. These expenses are determined by internal as well as external aspects. Internally,