viernes, 11 de noviembre de 2011
Education, Culture, Literature, Architecture, Cuisine and Sports
Main article: Education in Pakistan
Islamabad.
Education in Pakistan is divided into five levels: primary (grades one through five); middle (grades six through eight); high (grades nine and ten, leading to the Secondary School Certificate); intermediate (grades eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher Secondary School Certificate); and university programmes leading to graduate and advanced degrees.[178]
There are currently 730 technical & vocational institutions in Pakistan.[180] The minimum qualifications to enter male vocational institutions, is the completion of grade 8, and for female is grade 5.
English medium education is to be extended, on a phased basis, to all schools across the country.[181] Through various educational reforms, by the year 2015, the ministry of education expects to attain 100% enrolment levels amongst primary school aged children, and a literacy rate of 86% amongst people aged over 10.[182]
Pakistan also has madrassahs that provide free Islamic education and also offer free boarding and lodging to students who come mainly from the poorer strata of society.[183] After criticism over terrorists using them for recruiting purposes, efforts have been made to regulate them.[184]
In 2004 only 46.6 percent of adult Pakistanis were literate. Male literacy was 60.6 percent, while female literacy was 31.5 percent. Literacy rates also vary regionally, and particularly by sex; for instance, in tribal areas female literacy is 3%.[185] The government launched a nationwide initiative in 1998 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy and providing a basic education to all children.[186] By 2013 all educational institutions in Sindh province of Pakistan will have to provide Chinese language courses. This initiative reflects China's growing role as a Superpower and Pakistan's close ties with China.[187]
Main article: Culture of Pakistan
Pakistani society is largely hierarchical, with high regard for traditional Islamic values, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system because of the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family system.[188] Recent decades have seen the emergence of a middle class in cities like Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Multan and Peshawar (now numbering at 30 million, with an average annual income of US$10,000, with another 17 million belonging to the upper and upper-middle classes[189] that wish to move in a more centrist direction, as opposed to the northwestern regions bordering Afghanistan that remain highly conservative and dominated by centuries-old regional tribal customs. Increasing globalisation has resulted in ranking 46th on the A.T. Kearney/FP Globalization Index.[190]
The variety of Pakistani music ranges from diverse provincial folk music and traditional styles such as Qawwali and Ghazal Gayaki to modern forms fusing traditional and western music, such as the synchronisation of Qawwali and western music by the world renowned Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. In addition Pakistan is home to many famous folk singers such as the late Alam Lohar, who is also well known in Indian Punjab. However a majority of Pakistanis listen to Indian music produced by Bollywood and other Indian film industries.[citation needed] The arrival of Afghan refugees in the western provinces has rekindled Pashto and Persian music and established Peshawar as a hub for Afghan musicians and a distribution center for Afghan music abroad.[191]
State-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation were the dominant media outlets, but there are now numerous private television channels. Various American, European, and Asian television channels and films are available to the majority of the Pakistani population via private television networks, cable, and satellite television (43 million Pakistanis have satellite television).[192] There are also small indigenous film industries based in Lahore and Peshawar (often referred to as Lollywood). While Bollywood films were banned from being played in public cinemas from 1965 until 2008[193] they have remained in popular culture.[194]
Main article: Literature of Pakistan
The national poet of Pakistan, Allama Muhammad Iqbal, suggested the creation of a separate homeland for the Muslims of India. However, Iqbal had also wrote the Tarana-e-Hind which stated the belief of a strong united India. His book The Reconstruction of Religious Thought in Islam is a major work of modern Islamic philosophy. The most well-known representative of the contemporary Urdu literature of Pakistan is Faiz Ahmed Faiz. Sufi poets Shah Abdul Latif, Bulleh Shah, Mian Muhammad Bakhsh and Khawaja Farid are also very popular in Pakistan.[197] Mirza Kalich Beg has been termed the father of modern Sindhi prose.[198]
Main article: Pakistani architecture
The Pakistani architecture of the areas now constituting Pakistan can be designated to four distinct periods—pre-Islamic, Islamic, colonial and post-colonial. With the beginning of the Indus civilisation around the middle of the 3rd millennium B.C.,[199] an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with large structural facilities, some of which survive to this day.[200] Mohenjo Daro, Harappa and Kot Diji belong to the pre-Islamic era settlements. The rise of Buddhism and the Persian and Greek influence led to the development of the Greco-Buddhist style, starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was reached with the culmination of the Gandhara style.An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the Buddhist monastery Takht-i-Bahi in the northwest province.[201]
The arrival of Islam in today's Pakistan meant a sudden end of Buddhist architecture.[202] However, a smooth transition to predominantly pictureless Islamic architecture occurred. The most important of the few completely discovered buildings of Persian style is the tomb of the Shah Rukn-i-Alam in Multan. During the Mughal era design elements of Islamic-Persian architecture were fused with and often produced playful forms of the Hindustani art. Lahore, occasional residence of Mughal rulers, exhibits a multiplicity of important buildings from the empire, among them the Badshahi mosque, the fortress of Lahore with the famous Alamgiri Gate, the colourful, still strongly Persian seeming Wazir Khan Mosque as well as numerous other mosques and mausoleums. Also the Shahjahan Mosque of Thatta in Sindh originates from the epoch of the Mughals. In the British colonial period, predominantly functional buildings of the Indo-European representative style developed from a mixture of European and Indian-Islamic components. Post-colonial national identity is expressed in modern structures like the Faisal Mosque, the Minar-e-Pakistan and the Mazar-e-Quaid.[203]
Cuisine
Main articles: Pakistani cuisine and Pakistani Chinese cuisine
Known for its richness and flavour, Pakistani cuisine is a blend of cooking traditions from regions of the subcontinent. Although there are great variations from one area to another, dishes from Sindh province, and the Punjab region are identical to north Indian cuisine due to the strong similarity of culture and ethnicity. These can be highly seasoned and very spicy. Chinese migrants living in Pakistan have adopted a distinct style of Pakistani taste blend of both Chinese and Pakistani cuisine. Some of the popular Pakistani-Chinese dishes include, chicken Manchurian, Chinese basmati rice, Chinese soup and chicken chowmein noodles. [204]
Sports
Main article: Sports in Pakistan
The national sport of Pakistan is field hockey, although cricket is the most popular game across the country.[205] The national cricket team has won the Cricket World Cup once (in 1992), were runners-up once (in 1999), and co-hosted the games twice (in 1987 and 1996). Pakistan were runners-up in the inaugural 2007 ICC World Twenty20 held in South Africa and were the champions at the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 held in England. Lately however, Pakistani cricket has suffered heavily due to teams refusing to tour Pakistan because of terrorism fears. No teams have toured Pakistan since March 2009, when militants attacked the touring Sri Lankan cricket players.[206]
Squash is another sport that Pakistanis have excelled in. Successful world-class squash players such as Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan have won the World Open several times during their careers. Other international players are Kiran Khan in Swimming and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi in Tennis.
At international level, Pakistan has competed many times at the Olympics in field hockey, boxing, athletics, swimming, and shooting. Pakistan's Olympic medal tally stands at 10 (3 gold, 3 silver and 4 bronze) while the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games medal tally stands at 61 and 182 respectively. Hockey is the sport in which Pakistan has been most successful at the Olympics, with three gold medals in (1960, 1968, and 1984). Pakistan has also won the Hockey World Cup a record four times (1971, 1978, 1982, 1994).
Among others, Association football and Polo are the more prominent sports with regular national events held in different parts of the country. Boxing, Billiards, Snooker, Rowing, Kayaking, Caving, Tennis, Contract Bridge, Golf and Volley Ball are also actively participated and Pakistan has produced notable champions in these sports at regional and international levels. In Tennis doubles, Pakistan's Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi and India's Rohan Bopanna play together in many International tournaments portraying Indo-Pak friendship.
Demographics and Religion
| Population in Pakistan [146] | |
|---|---|
| Year | Million |
| 1971 | 62.5 |
| 1980 | 82.7 |
| 1990 | 108.0 |
| 2000 | 138.1 |
| 2004 | 152.1 |
| 2008 | 166.0 |
| Source: OECD/World Bank | |
The majority of southern Pakistan's population live along the Indus River. By population size, Karachi is the largest city of Pakistan.[152] In the northern half, most of the population live in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan and Peshawar. About 20% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day .[153]
Life expectancy at birth is 63 years for females and 62 years for males as of 2006[154] compared to the healthy life expectancy at birth which was 54 years for males and 52 years for females in 2003.[154] Expenditure on health was at 2% of the GDP in 2006.[154] The mortality below 5 was at 97 per 1,000 live births in 2006.[154] During 1990–2003, Pakistan sustained its historical lead as the most urbanised nation in South Asia, with city dwellers making up 36% of its population.[53] Furthermore, 50% of Pakistanis now reside in towns of 5,000 people or more.[155]
Pakistan is a multilingual country with more than sixty languages being spoken. English is the official language of Pakistan and used in official business, government, and legal contracts,[53] and Punjabi has a plurality of native speakers. Urdu is the lingua franca and national language in Pakistan. Punjabi is the provincial language of Punjab. Saraiki is also spoken in the larger area of Punjab province. Pashto is the provincial language of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sindhi is the provincial language of Sindh and Balochi is the provincial language of Balochistan.[156]
The population comprises several main ethnic groups (2009):[157]
- Punjabis (44.15%) 78.7 million
- Pashtuns (15.42%) 27.2 million
- Sindhis (14.1%) 24.8 million
- Seraikis (10.53%) 14.8 million
- Muhajirs (7.57%) 13.3 million
- Balochs is (3.57%) 6.3 million
- Others (4.66%) 11.1 million
Pakistan's census does not include the registered 1.7 million Afghan refugees from neighbouring Afghanistan, who are mainly found in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) areas, with small numbers in the cities of Karachi and Quetta.[158] Around 2 million refugees from Bangladesh, Iran, Africa, and other places are also found in Pakistan.
| Largest cities of Pakistan 2010 estimate[159] | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City Name | Province | Pop. | Rank | City Name | Province | Pop. | ||
 Karachi  Lahore | 1 | Karachi | Sindh | 13,205,339 | 11 | Sargodha | Punjab | 600,501 |  Faisalabad  Rawalpindi |
| 2 | Lahore | Punjab | 7,129,609 | 12 | Bahawalpur | Punjab | 543,929 | ||
| 3 | Faisalabad | Punjab | 2,880,675 | 13 | Sialkot | Punjab | 510,863 | ||
| 4 | Rawalpindi | Punjab | 1,991,656 | 14 | Sukkur | Sindh | 493,438 | ||
| 5 | Multan | Punjab | 1,606,481 | 15 | Larkana | Sindh | 456,544 | ||
| 6 | Hyderabad | Sindh | 1,578,367 | 16 | Sheikhupura | Punjab | 426,980 | ||
| 7 | Gujranwala | Punjab | 1,569,090 | 17 | Jhang | Punjab | 372,645 | ||
| 8 | Peshawar | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 1,439,205 | 18 | Rahim Yar Khan | Punjab | 353,112 | ||
| 9 | Quetta | Balochistan | 896,090 | 19 | Mardan | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 352,135 | ||
| 10 | Islamabad | Capital Territory | 689,249 | 20 | Gujrat | Punjab | 336,727 | ||
Main article: Religion in Pakistan
Pakistan is the second-most populous Muslim-majority country[12][160] and also has the second-largest Shi'a population in the world.[161] About 97% of the Pakistanis are Muslim. The majority are Sunni, with an estimated 5–20% Shi'a.[162][163][164][165][166] 2.3% are Ahmadis,[167] who are officially considered non-Muslims since a 1974 "anti-Ahmadi" constitutional amendment.[168] There are also several Sufi and Quraniyoon communities.[169][170][171][172] Although the groups of Muslims usually coexist peacefully, sectarian violence occurs sporadically.[173] The religious breakdown of the country is as follows:[162][163][164][165][166]Tourism and Transport
Main article: Tourism in Pakistan
In Balochistan there are many caves for cavers and tourists to visit especially the Juniper Shaft Cave, the Murghagull Gharra cave, Mughall saa cave, and Pakistan's naturally decorated cave, the Mangocher Cave. Pakistan is a member country of the Union International de Spéléologie (UIS).[123]
The northern parts of Pakistan are home to several historical fortresses, towers and other architecture including the Hunza and Chitral valleys, the latter being home to the Kalash, a small pre-Islamic Animist community.[124] Punjab is also the site of Alexander's battle on the Jhelum River. The historic city of Lahore is considered Pakistan's cultural centre and has many examples of Mughal architecture such as the Badshahi Masjid, Shalimar Gardens, Tomb of Jahangir and the Lahore Fort.[125] The Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) also helps promote tourism in the country.[126] However, tourism is still limited because of the lack of proper infrastructure and the worsening security situation in the country. The recent militancy in Pakistan's scenic sites, including Swat in Khybar Pakhtoon Kawa province, have dealt a massive blow to the tourism industry. Many of the troubles in these tourist destinations are also blamed on the frail travel network, tourism regulatory framework, low prioritisation of the tourism industry by the government, low effectiveness of marketing and a constricted tourism perception.[127][128] After these areas were being cleared off the militant groups in late 2009, the government, with financial support from the USAID, started a campaign to reintroduce tourism in Swat valley. Pakistan receives 500,000 tourists annually, with almost half of them heading to northern Pakistan.[129]
Main article: Transport in Pakistan
During the 1990s, Pakistan began an ongoing project to rebuild all national highways throughout the country specifically to important financial, cargo and textile centres. The National Highway Authority or NHA is responsible for the maintenance of all national highways in Pakistan. The construction of motorways began in the early 1990s with the idea building a world class road network and to reduce the load off the heavily used national highways throughout the country. The first motorway to be completed was M2 in 1997 from Islamabad to Lahore. Later on, highways such as M1 from Peshawar to Islamabad, M3 from Pindi Bhattian to Faisalabad, M9 from Hyderabad to Karachi, Karachi Northern Bypass from Hyderabad to Karachi, and the Lahore Ring Road[132] were completed.
The waterway network in Pakistan is in its infancy with Karachi being the only major city situated next to the Arabian Sea. Plans are being proposed for the development of the waterways in the country along the Indus River and through the Punjab as it would boost employment opportunities and the economic and social development in Pakistan.[133] Pakistan has an estimated 139 airports, 10 of them international.[134]
Science and Technology
Main articles: Science in Pakistan and List of Pakistani inventions and discoveries
Research and development forms an integral part in Pakistan's economy.[135] For the most of the 20th century, Scientific efforts were at the rising level in Pakistan, that brought international recognition in its achievements, and became a major component of Pakistan's foreign policy.[135] Pakistan is the home of Professor Abdus Salam— Pakistan's only Nobel laureate in Physics, and pioneer of the electroweak theory for which he received such honor.[136] In modern time, the work of Pervez Hoodbhoy, Ishfaq Ahmad, and Riazudding played a crucial development in particle and theoretical physics. Pakistan also produced the world class mathematicians such as Asghar Qadir and Raziuddin Siddiqui where their research played a crucial advancement in mathematical physics. Munir Ahmad Rashid became the first Pakistani mathematician to provide the another theoretical proof of Fermat's Last Theorem in 2008.[137] Dr. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui was the first Pakistani scientist that bring the anthelmintic, antifungal, anti-bacterial, and antiviral constituents of the Neem tree to the attention of natural products chemists. He was preceded by Atta ur Rahman, UNESCO laureate, and Naveed Zaidi, organic chemist being the first scientist to developed first workable plastic magnet at room temperature. Each and every year, scientists from all over the world are invited by the Pakistan Academy of Sciences and the Pakistan Government to participate in International Nathiagali Summer College on Physics, one of the largest seminar in Physics and Mathematics.[138]Medical scientists from Pakistan also pioneered in neuroscience. Dr. Ayub Ommaya, the inventor of the Ommaya reservoir, was one of the leading scientist in the field of Neurosciences.[139] Another medical scientist, Naweed Syed became the first scientist who managed to "connect brain cells to a silicon chip".[140] Pakistan has produced prolific technologist such as dr. Umar Saif, a pioneer in ICTD technology and Munir A. Khan, a leading figure in nuclear power technology.[141] Aerospace engineer W. J. M. Turowicz developed and supervised the launch of the Rehbar-I rocket from Pakistan soil, making Pakistan first South Asian country to launch the rocket in space.[142] In 1990, Pakistan launched its first and ingeniously satellite, Badr-I from PR China, becoming first Muslim country and second South Asian country to have put the satellite in space.[143] In 1972, with the opening inauguration of country's commercial nuclear power plant in Karachi, Pakistan became first nuclear power in the Islamic world, and second emerging nuclear power in South Asia, while her neighbor India became the first.[14] In 1998, due to amid domestic and international pressure, Pakistan became first Muslim majority and seventh country in the world to successfully develop and test nuclear weapons.[144] Pakistan's scientists have played an influential role in advancing the economical sciences such as Akhtar Hameed Khan, pioneer of microcredit and microfinance initiatives in developing world; Mahbub-ul-Haq, creator of the Human development theory and the founder of the Human Development Report; and Agha Hasan Abedi, founder of the BCCI.[145]
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