Languages
Languages
First languages of Pakistan | |
Punjabi | 48% |
Sindhi | 12% |
Punjabi (Saraiki) | 10% |
Pashto | 8% |
Urdu | 8% |
Balochi | 3% |
Others | 11% |
Main article: Languages of Pakistan
More than sixty languages are spoken in Pakistan, including a number of provincial languages. Urdu— the lingua franca, a symbol of Muslim identity, and national unity— is the national language which is understood by over 75% of Pakistanis and the main source of nationwide communication but is only the primary language of 8% of Pakistan’s population. Urdu and English are the official languages of Pakistan, however English is primarily used in official business, government, and legal contracts; the local dialect is known as Pakistani English. The Punjabi language is the most common in Pakistan and is mother-tongue of 66% of Pakistan’s population mostly of people in Punjab. This includes 48% of Standard Punjabi speakers as well as regional Punjabi dialects such as Saraiki and Hindko. Saraiki dialect is mainly spoken in South Punjab and counts up to 10% of Pakistan’s population, while the Hindko dialect is spoken in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the Pashto language is the provincial language and is well understood in Sindh and Balochistan. The Sindhi language is the common language spoken in Sindh while the Balochi language is dominant in Balochistan. Brahui, a Dravidian language, is spoken by the Brahui people who live in Balochistan. Gujarati community leaders in Pakistan also claim that there are 3 million Gujarati speakers in Karachi. Marwari, a Rajasthani language, is also spoken in parts of Sindh.
Immigration
Pakistan hosts second largest refugee population globally after Turkey. Seen here, an Afghan refugee girl near Tarbela Dam.
The Pakistan Census excludes the immigrants such as the 1.7 million registered Afghans from Afghanistan, who are found mainly in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and tribal belt with small numbers residing in Karachi and Quetta. Pakistan hosts more refugees than any other country in the world.
As of 2012 there are 5 million illegal immigrants in Pakistan. Around 2 million are Bangladeshis, 2.5 million are Afghans and the other 0.5 million are from various other areas such as Myanmar, Iraq and Africa.
Shaikh Muhammad Feroze, the chairman of the Pakistani Bengali Action Committee, claimed that there were 200 settlements of Bengali-speaking people in Pakistan, of which 132 are in Karachi. They are found in various areas of Pakistan such as Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam and Lahore.
Experts say that the migration of both Bengalis and Burmese (Rohingya) to Pakistan started in the 1980s and continued till 1998. Large scale Rohingya migration to Karachi made Karachi one of the largest population centres of Rohingyas in the world after Myanmar. The Burmese community of Karachi is spread out over 60 slums in Karachi such as the Burmi Colony in Korangi, Arakanabad, Machchar colony, Bilal colony, Ziaul Haq Colony and Godhra Camp.
Thousands of Uyghur Muslims have also migrated to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, fleeing religious and cultural persecution in Xinjiang, China. Since 1989, thousands of Kashmiri Muslim refugees have sought refuge in Pakistan, complaining that many of the refugee women had been raped by Indian soldiers and that they were forced out of their homes by the soldiers.
Categories: About Pakistan