|
Pakistan Basic Information's
The State Emblem
consists of:
| 1 |
The crescent and star which is symbol of Islam |
| 2 |
The shield in the
centre shows four
major crops |
| 3 |
Wreath surrounding
the shield represents cultural heritage |
| 4 |
Scroll contains
Quaid's motto:
Unity Faith, Discipline |
|
The Official Name:
The Islamic Republic of Pakistan
(Islami Jamhuria-e-Pakistan)
- Pakistan was renamed in the Constitution of 1956 to The
Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
- Pakistan name was coined by Choudhary Rahmat Ali (1893-1951) in 1933 using the suffix istan from Baluchistan preceded by the initial letters of Punjab, Afghanistan, and Kashmir.
Word Pakistan also means holy, Sacred, Clean, Free and Independent in
Urdu, Punjabi and Persian languages.
The history of the flag:

|
The National anthem
Pak sar-Zamin shadbad
Blessed be the sacred Land
Kishwar-e-haseen shadbad
Happy be the bounteous realm
Too nishan-e-azm-e-aalishan
Symbol of high resolve
Arz-e-Pakistan
Land of Pakistan
Markaz-e-yaqeen shadbad
Blessed be thou citadel of faith
Pak sar-Zamin ka nizam
The order of this sacred land
Quwat-e-Ukhuwat-e-Awam
Is the might of the brotherhood of the People
Qoum, Mulk, Saltanat
May the nation, the country, and the state
Painda tabinda bad
Shine in glory everlasting
Shadbad manzal-e-murad
Blessed be the goal of our ambition
Parcham-e-Sitara-o-Hilal
This Flag of the Crescent and Star
Rehbar-e-taraqqi-o-kamaal
Leads the way to progress and perfection
Tarjaman-e-Mazi, Shan-e-hal
Interpreter of our past, glory of our present
Jan-e-istaqbal
Inspiration of our future
Saya-e-Khuda-e-zuljalal
Symbol of Almighty's protection
The brief story of the national anthem of Pakistan:
- Pakistans National Anthem was composed by musician Ahmad G. Chhagla (?-1953) in 1949. There were used 21 music instruments and 38 different tones, playing time is 1:20 minutes.
- The National Anthem was written by famous poet Hafeez Jalendhary (1900-82) in 1952, which was selected from 723
competing songs and the prize money was Rs. 10.000. Pakistan's national anthem
is written in the Persian language and it has only a single word "ka" in its "national language" Urdu!
- Singers were Ahmad Rushdi, Shamim Bano, Kokab Jehan, Rasheeda Begum, Najam Ara, Naseema Shaheen, Zwar Hussain, Akhtar Abbas, Ghulam Dastgir, Anwar Zaheer and Akhtar Wassi.
- The National Song was first time released on Radio Pakistan on August 13th, 1954.
- The first colour film with flag and anthem was produced on January 19th, 1955 in USA.
- Read detailed article by Aqeel Abbas Jafri Page 1 | Page 2
(thanks to Daily Express on August 15, 2010)

Population, Languages & Area:
| Population: |
2007 (Est.) (Growth
2,69) |
% |
(Cencus 1998) |
Area
Sq. Km. |
% |
| Pakistan |
168.662.885 |
100,00% |
135.788.491 |
877.365 |
100,00% |
| Islamabad |
1.000.182 |
0,59% |
805.235 |
906 |
0,10% |
| Punjab |
91.445.004 |
54,22% |
73.621.290 |
205.344 |
23,30% |
| Sindh |
37.809.391 |
22,42% |
30.439.893 |
140.914 |
15,99% |
| Khaibar Pakhtunkhwa |
22.039.506 |
13,07% |
17.743.745 |
74.521 |
8,45% |
| Balochistan |
8.155.486 |
4,84% |
6.565.885 |
347.190 |
39,39% |
| Fata |
3.945.321 |
2,34% |
3.176.331 |
27.220 |
3,09% |
| Gilgit & Baltistan |
1.205.268 |
0,71% |
970.347 |
68.879 |
7,85% |
| Azad Kashmir |
4.062.909 |
2,41% |
3.271.000 |
13.297 |
1,51% |
| Top 10 Cities: |
Est. 2007 |
Cencus 1998 |
Province |
| Karachi |
11.513.025 |
9.269.000 |
Sindh |
| Lahore |
6.388.120 |
5.143.000 |
Punjab |
| Faisalabad |
2.495.379 |
2.009.000 |
Punjab |
| Rawalpindi |
1.751.361 |
1.410.000 |
Punjab |
| Multan |
1.487.000 |
1.197.000 |
Punjab |
| Hyedrabad |
1.450.000 |
1.167.000 |
Sindh |
| Gujranwala |
1.407.000 |
1.133.000 |
Punjab |
| Peshawar |
1.227.000 |
988.000 |
Sarhad (NWFP) |
| Quetta |
703.000 |
566.000 |
Balochistan |
Pakistan
Statistics


Urdu language
Indo-Aryan language
(10.058.752 speakers in Pakistan, 7,6% - 1998 Census)
Urdu is Pakistan's national language and has been promoted as a token of national
unity, though less than 8% of Pakistanis speak it as their first language
but it is spoken fluently as a second language by all literate Pakistanis.
Urdu by origin is an "Islamic version" of Hindi language which was spoken for
centuries in the neighborhood of Delhi and it was known as Western Hindi, Hindvi,
Dehlvi, Reekhta and Hindustani. It is written in a modified form of the Arabic
alphabet and its basically Indic vocabulary has been enriched by borrowings
from Arabic, Persian, English and other Indian languages.
Urdu has drawn inspiration from Persian literature and has now an enormous
stock of words. The first poetry in Urdu was by the Persian poet Ameer Khusru
(1253-1325) and the first Urdu book "Woh Majlis" was written in 1728 and the
first time the word "Urdu" was used by Saraj-ud-din Aarzoo in 1751.
Urdu was an official language in British India since 1835 and in India, where
it is spoken by Muslim population, is one of the 15 national languages recognized
by the constitution.
Punjabi language
Indo-Aryan language
(72.264.192 speakers in Pakistan, 54,6% - 1998 Census)
Punjabi is spoken by almost 60% of the population in Pakistan. The standard
Punjabi dialects is from Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala and Sheikupura districts
which was used by Waris
Shah (1722-98) in his famous book "Heer" and is also now days langueage
of Punjabi literature, film and music. Other dialects are Multani
or Siraiki in West and South, Puthwari in North, Dogri in the mountain
areas and Shahpuri in Sargodha area.
Punjabi is very old language and it was known as Sanskrit in Vaid-period (ca
4000 B.C.), Pali, Prakart and Upbharnash in Ashok-period (273-32 B.C.) and
Hindvi, Lahori and Multani under Muslim period (711-1857).
Punjabi literature was principally spiritual in nature and has had a very rich
oral tradition. The Great Sufi/Saint poetry has been the folklore of Punjab
and still sung with great love in any part of Punjab.
In India it is the official language of Punjab state and one of the 15 official
languages recognized by the Indian constitution. It is also spoken in the neighboring
states of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. In addition about 25 percent of the
people living in the New Delhi metropolitan area speak punjabi in everyday
life. All told, there are about 25 million speakers in India.
Punjabi dialects:
- Majhi
This dialect is "the standard Punjabi language" and spoken in the heart
of Punjab where most of the Punjabi population lives. The main districts
are Lahore, Sheikhupura, Gujaranwala and Sialkot in Pakistani Punjab and
Gurdaspur and Amritsar in Indian Punjab.
- Jhangvi or Jangli
This dialects is spoken in the central Pakistani Punjab, stretches from
districts Khanewal to Jhang and includes Faisalabad and Chiniot.
- Shahpuri
This dialect is spoken in Sargodha, Khushab and Mandi Bahawaldin districts.
- Pothohari
The area where Pothohari is spoken extends in the north from Azad Kashmir
(Mirpur) to as far south as Jhelum, Gujar Khan, Chakwal and Rawalpindi.
- Hindko
This dialect is spoken in districs of Peshawar, Attoc, Nowshehra, Mansehra,
Abbotabad and Murree.
- Malwi
Spoken in the eastern part of Indian Punjab. Main districts are Ludhiana,
Ambala, Bathinda, Ganganagar, Maleerkotla Fazilka, Ferozepur. Malwa is
the southern and central part of present day Indian Punjab. Also includes
the Punjabi speaking northern areas of Haryana, viz. Ambala, Hissar,
Sirsa, Kurukhetra etc.
- Doabi
The word "Do Aabi" means "the land between to rivers" and this dialects
is spoken between the rivers of Beas and Satluj. It includes Jalandhar
and Hoshiarpur districts.
- Siraiki/Multani (13.896.960 - 10,5% - 1998 Census)
Siraiki or Multani (also Lehndi by some) and perhaps differs from Punjabi
more than any other dialect. Multani becomes more and more different
as you move down south, as the influence of Sindhi increases, it is also
known as Siraiki there. Siraiki itself is Sindhi word and means northern.
See the map of Siraiki language:
Sindhi language
Indo-Aryan language
(18.661.632 speakers in Pakistan, 14,1% - 1998 Census)
Sindhi is spoken in Pakistan and is also one of the constitutional languages
of India. It is spoken by about 20 million people in the province of Sind,
southern Pakistan, and by about 2 million more across the border in India.
In Pakistan it is written in the Arabic script with several additional letters
to accommodate special sounds. The largest Sindhi-speaking city is Hyderabad,
Pakistan.
Sindhi literature is also spiritual in nature and Shah Abdul Latif Bhattai
(1689-1752) was one of its legendry poet who wrote Sassi Punnu, Umar Marwi
in his famous book "Shah jo Rasalo".
Pashto language
Indo-Iranian languages
(20.382.208 speakers in Pakistan, 15,4% - 1998 Census)
Pashto speakers are almost 8% of Pakistani population and more than 50% in
Afghanistan. Pashto has no written literary traditions although it has a
rich oral tradition. There are two major dialect patterns within which the
various individual dialects may be classified; these are Pakhto, which is
the northern (Peshawar) variety, and the softer Pashto spoken in southern
areas.
Khushal Khan Khatak (1613-89) and Rehman Baba (1633-1708) were some big poets
in Pashto language.
Balochi
Indo-Iranian languages
(4.764.672 speakers in Pakistan, 3,6% - 1998 Census)
Balochi language is spoken by almost 3% Pakistani population and is very close
to Persian language.
The name BALUCHI or BALOCHI is not found before the 10th Century. It is believed
that the language was brought to its present location in a series of migrations
from Northern Iran, near the Caspian Shores.
Rakshani is the major dialect group in terms of numbers. Sarhaddi, is a sub
dialect of Rakshani. Other sub - dialects are qalati, Chagai-kharani, Panjguri.
Eastern Hill Baluchi or Northern Baluchi is very different from the rest.
Brohi
Dravidian
(incl. 4,7% of other languages in Pakistan - 1998 Census)
Brahui is a major language of western Pakistan. Brahui is heavily influenced
by Baluchi and Sindhi, languages in which many Brahui speakers are necessarily
bilingual. Although its Dravidian descent is still obvious, Brahui now has
rahter few inherited Dravidian words in its lexicon.

Religion:
| Total population (Census 1998) |
132.352.279 |
100% |
| Muslims |
127.433.409 |
96,28% |
| Qadiani |
286.212 |
0,22% |
| Christians |
2.092.902 |
1,58% |
| Hindus (Jati) |
2.111.271 |
1,60% |
| Sheduled casts |
332.343 |
0,25% |
| Others |
96.142 |
0,07% |
Currency
The monetary unit of Pakistan consists of 100 paisa. From 1947 to 1972,
Pakistan was a member of the sterling area, but in 1971, when the United
States dollar was devalued, the rupee was unpegged from sterling and pegged
to the dollar at the rate of Rs4.76 per US$1. On May 12, 1972, the
rupee was devalued from Rs4.76 to Rs11 per US$1. In February 1973, when the
dollar was again devalued, the rupee maintained its value in terms
of gold, and its value in relation to the dollar rose to Rs9.90 per US$1,
where it remained until January 1982. After January 1982, the rupee
was pegged to a market basket of currencies important to Pakistan's
trade. The rupee subsequently depreciated steadily against the dollar,
reaching Rs30.30 to US$1 at the end of February 1994.
The word Rupee derives from the Sanskrit word for Silver -
'Rupya'.
Notes issued pre-1971 were in both Urdu and Bengali. With the separation
of Bangladesh, the Pakistani Rupee has only Urdu text.
The only exception from the above mentioned are the words 'State Bank of
Pakistan' and value of the note, which are in English.
(Ref. from http://www.humsafar.info/curr.htm)
 |
|

Government websites:
Gov. of Pakistan
Gov. of Punjab
Gov. of Sindh
Gov. of Pakhtonkhwa
Gov. of Balochistan
Gov. of Azad Kashmir
Senate
National Assembly
Election Commission
City Gov. of Karachi
FIA, Pakistan
Supreme Court
Gallup Pakistan
Budget 2010-11
Pakistan Basic facts
Law & Order:

[7,84 MB PDF-file]

The Constitution (eng.)

Newspapers/Epapers
in Englsish
Supreme Court
Punjab High Court
Pakistan Military:
Pakistan Army
Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Navy
Inter Services (ISPR)
Pakdef
Pakistan Defence
Armed Forces
Important links:
NADRA
State Bank
FBR (Tax)
Pakistan Statistics
Pakistan Post
Stamps
National Highway
The PIA history
PIA
Aero Asia
PTCL
Pakistan Railways
History links:
Nazaria Pakistan
Story of Pak.
Pakistan Chronicle
Pakistan Chronology
Pakistan History
History of Pakistan
Pakistan Directory
Pakistan Rullers
Jinnah
of Pakistan
Quaid-e-Azam
Mujeeb-ur-Rehman
Women of Pakistan
Harappa
Culture
Heritage
Universities:
Qaid-e-Azam
Punjab University
University links
Personalities
Zia-ul-Haq
Nazir Naji
Marvi Memon
External links on Pakistan
The Story of Pakistan
The Chronicle of Pakistan
The Constitution of Pakistan
The Government of Pakistan
Pakistan Statistics
Pakistani Leaders
Yahya Khan
Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto
Pakistani
Languages
Ethnologue
National
Language Authority
Statistics Division
of Pakistan
Flag info
Flags
Flags

Pakistan on Wikipedia
| |
|