Pakistan

Society and culture

Main article: Culture of Pakistan

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Because of Pakistan's geography, it inherits a rich and unique culture, and has actively preserved its established traditions throughout history. Prior to the Islamic invasion many Punjabis and Sindhis were Hindu and Buddhist, but all that changed during the Islamic conquest of what is today Pakistan by the Syrian general Muhammad bin Qasim and later Mahmud of Ghazni. Many cultural practices and monuments, shrines, have been inherited from the rule of Muslim Mughal and Afghan emperors. The Pakistani national dress, Shalwar Kameez.

Related Topics:
Muhammad bin Qasim - Ghazni - Mughal - Afghan

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Pakistani society is largely multilingual and multicultural. Religious practices of various faiths are an integral part of everyday life in society. Education is highly regarded by members of every socio-economic stratum. Traditional family values are highly respected and considered sacred, although urban families have grown into a nuclear family system, owing to the socio-economic constraints imposed by the traditional joint family system. The past few decades have seen emergence of a middle class in cities such as Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Faisalabad, Sukkur, Peshawar, Gujrat, Abbottabad, Multan, etc. The Northwestern part of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan, is highly conservative and dominated by centuries-old regional tribal customs.

Related Topics:
Nuclear family - Joint family - Karachi - Lahore - Rawalpindi - Hyderabad - Faisalabad - Sukkur - Peshawar - Gujrat - Abbottabad - Multan - Tribal

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Roots

The modern nation of Pakistan has inherited a very rich cultural and traditional background going back to the Indus Valley Civilization, 2800 BC–1800 BC. The region that is now Pakistan has in the past been invaded and occupied by many different peoples, including Elamo-Dravidians, Aryans, Greeks, White Huns, Persians, Arabs, Turks, Afghans, Mongols and various Eurasian groups. There are differences in culture among the different ethnic groups in matters such as dress, food, and religion, especially where pre-Islamic customs differ from Islamic practices. pre-Islamic practices are being eroded as time goes by.

Related Topics:
Indus Valley Civilization - Elamo-Dravidian - Aryans - Greeks - White Huns - Persians - Arabs - Turks - Afghans - Mongols

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Film and television

Traditionally, the government-owned Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) has been the dominant media player in Pakistan. However the past decade has seen the emergence of several private TV channels (news , entertainment) such as the GEO TV, ARY channels..etc. Traditionally the bulk of TV shows have been plays or soap operas---some of them critically acclaimed. Various American, European, Asian TV channels and movies are available to a majority of the population via Cable TV.

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Pakistani music is represented by a wide variety of forms. It ranges from traditional styles (such as Qawwali) to more modern forms that try to fuse traditional Pakistani music with western music. The Qawwali maestro, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, whos family hailed from Afghanistan, is internationally renowned for creating a form of music which synchronized Qawwali with western music. Popular forms of music also prevail, the most notable being Film music. In addition to this are the diverse traditions of folk music. The emergence of Afghan refugees in the frontier provinces has also rekindled Pashto & Persian music in Pakistan. Peshawar has become a hub of Afghan musicians, and a distribution center for Afghan Music abroad. Afghan singers have become famous throughout the Frontier and some have even married within the local population strengthening the ethnic kinship of the Afghans on both sides of the Durand line.

Related Topics:
Qawwali - Pakistani music - Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Afghanistan - Afghan - Pashto - Durand line

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An indigenous movie industry exists in Pakistan, and is known as Lollywood as it is based in Lahore, currently producing over 40 feature-length films a year. There was a time when Lollywood was churning out as many as 120 films a year. The Pashto film industry based in Peshawar still produces over 50 films a year.

Related Topics:
Lollywood - Lahore - Pashto

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Globalization

Increasing globalization has increased the influence of "Western culture" in Pakistan. Pakistan ranks 46th in the world on the Kearney/FP Globalization index. Many Western restaurant chains have established themselves in Pakistan, and are found in the major cities.

Related Topics:
Globalization - Restaurant chains

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A large Pakistani diaspora exists in the West. Whereas Pakistanis in the United States, Canada and Australia tend to be professionals, the majority of them in the United Kingdom, Germany and the Scandinavian nations comes from a rural background and belongs to the working class. Pakistan has more expatriates than any other Muslim country, with a large number of expatriates living in the Middle East. Pakistani emigrants and their children influence Pakistan culturally and economically, keeping close ties with their roots by travelling to Pakistan and especially by returning or investing there.

Related Topics:
Diaspora - Canada - Australia - United Kingdom - Germany - Scandinavia - Middle East

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Sports

The most popular sport in Pakistan is cricket. Pakistan has produced several of the best batsmen and bowlers in the world, including Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Shoaib Akhtar. Almost every district and neighborhood in Pakistan has its cricket team and most people start playing from a young age. Pakistan has won several international cricket events, including the World Cup in 1992.

Related Topics:
Cricket - Imran Khan - Wasim Akram - Waqar Younis - Javed Miandad - Inzamam-ul-Haq - Shoaib Akhtar - World Cup - 1992

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Other popular participatory and spectator sports in Pakistan include:

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• Field Hockey. Pakistan has won three gold medals at the Olympics and the Hockey World Cup four times. It has also won the the most number number of Asian gold medals and has been consistently ranked as the top 5 teams in the world.
• Polo, which is believed to have originated in Central Asia, and continues to be an important sport there with several large annual competitions. The Shandur Polo Tournament, played at the world's highest pologround, is one of the biggest tourist draws to Chitral and Gilgit in Northern Pakistan.
• Squash. Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan are considered to be two of the greatest squash players of all time.
• Football (Soccer) is played mostly on a local level, primarily in Baluchistan and Afghan Frontier Provinces. Those areas provide most of the players on the national team.
• Tennis. Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi recently defeated Paradorn Srichapan of Thailand to win the Asia-Oceana Zone 1 section of the Davis Cup.
• Formula One motor racing, NBA basketball, rugby, table tennis, chess, Kabaddi and badminton.

Mercantile culture

Pakistan's service sector accounts for 53% of the country's GDP. Wholesale and retail trade is 30% of this sector. Shopping is a popular pastime for many Pakistanis, especially among the well-to-do and the thirty-million strong middle class. Karachi city is especially known for the great contrast in shopping experiences - from burgeoning bazaars to modern multi-story shopping malls.

Related Topics:
Service - GDP - Wholesale - Retail - Karachi - Bazaar - Shopping mall

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