Pakistan: Background Information

Welcome to Pakistuff! Here, you will discover more about Pakistan and the problems that Pakistan is facing. So, let's get this Pakistarted!

Before going into the main problems of Pakistan, you should get to know more about the country. So, what do you know about Pakistan?

(Fig 1 Map of Pakistan)

• Pakistan is a country located in the Southern part of Asia, at the western part of Indian subcontinent.
• It has a border with Afghanistan, China, India and Iran and lies between India and Afghanistan.
• The capital of Pakistan is Islamabad.
• Pakistan has a population of 180.44 million (worldpopulationstatistics.com) as of 2013.
• It used to be part of the Indus Valley Civilisation! (That's right! Amazing, right?)

Pakistan has an arable land percentage of 26.02% and an irrigated land of 199,900 sq km (as of 2008). Earthquakes are frequent in the area (especially severe in north and west regions) and some of the environmental issues that Pakistan is facing are;

• water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and agricultural runoff
• limited natural freshwater resources (most of the population does not have access to potable water)
• deforestation, which leads to soil erosion
• desertification

(Fig 2. A Flooded River in Islamabad, Pakistan)

(Fig 3. Punjabi)

The ethnic groups in Pakistan consists of the following:

1. Punjabi
2. Sindhi
3. Pashtun (Pathan)
4. Balochi
5. Muhajir (immigrants from India at the time of partition and their descendants)

The most dominant ethnic group would be the Punjabi with a high percentage of 44.68%!

97% of Pakistan is Muslim (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%), with the remaining 3% being made up of small percentages of other religions (such as Christian, Hindu, and Sikh)

Urdu is the only official language of Pakistan. However, English is the language often used in business and government, with it being spoken predominantly by the Pakistani elite and most of the government ministries.

(Fig 4. Islamic education)

So what is the Pakistani society and culture all about?

• Majority of Pakistanis practise Islam and allows Islam to govern their personal, political, economic and legal lives.
• Muslims are to pray five times a day - at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and evening.
• Friday is the Muslim holy day. All businesses and schools are closed, with only key infrastructure such as hospitals allowed to remain open.
• During the holy month of Ramadan all Muslims must fast from dawn to dusk and are only permitted to work six hours per day. Fasting includes no eating, drinking, cigarette smoking, or gum chewing.

The Family

• The extended family is the basis of the social structure and individual identity.
• It includes the nuclear family, immediate relatives, distant relatives, tribe members, friends, and neighbours.
• Female relatives are protected from outside influences. It is considered inappropriate to ask questions about a Pakistani's wife or other female relatives.

In Pakistan, a hierarchy system exists:

• People are respected because of their age and position.
• Older people are viewed as wise and are granted respect. In a social situation, they are served first and their drinks may be poured for them. Elders are introduced first, are provided with the choicest cuts of meat, are treated much like royalty in the context of family.
• Pakistanis expect the most senior person, by age or position, to make decisions that are in the best interest of the group.
• Titles are very important and denote respect. It is expected that outsiders use a person's title and their surname until invited to use their first name.