August 2007 marks the 60th anniversary of the Partition of India. The most fascinating story to emerge from that defining moment in History, which affected the population of one-fifth of the globe, is the one that is little known and particularly badly understood: the creation of Pakistan.

Now this major documentary seeks to come to grips with this puzzling Muslim nation-state and dig beneath the media platitudes that inform our current thinking: a US-friendly military dictatorship, spawning ground for terrorists, nuclear proliferators. For Pakistan’s genesis and its struggle towards and away from democracy and nationhood, is one of the most enigmatic but significant stories for our times, one which impinges on us all as we discover to what extent Pakistan is a pivotal geo-political entity, whose fate renders more complex the debate around whether this century is witnessing a ‘clash of civilizations’.

The film uncovers five fundamental fault lines in this pivotal Islamic country with 150 million inhabitants, and through the prism of history, evaluates the real status of the military, of militant Islamist groups and of democratic forces within the country and the key relationships with the United States, India and with Pakistan’s Muslim neighbours.