33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

LITERACY RATE: 57% 6 . ETHNIC GROUPS: Pakistan has 6 major ethnic groups and many minor ethnic groups 7 . The main ones are: Punjabi: Accounts for 44.7% of people in Pakistan. Punjabi identity is traditionally cultural, linguistic and geographical and is independent of historical religion and origin. Muslims and Hindus form the religious majority among the Punjabi. Pashtun: Pashtun is an ethnic group predominant in Afghanistan and Pakistan characterized as warriors. This ethnic group forms 15.4% of the Pakistani population. Sindhi: This ethnic group forms 14.1% of Pakistan’s population. Sindhis’ culture is heavily influenced by Islam especially the traditional first names. Saraiki: Saraiki is a subgroup of Punjabi people in Pakistan and speaks Saraiki dialect spoken by the Punjabi. This ethnic group forms 8.4% of the Pakistani population. Muhajir: Account for 7.6% of the population. Muslims who fled to Pakistan after the partition in 1947. Balochi: Make up 3.6% of the population. A group of tribes speaking the Balochi language. BELIEF: Almost all of the people of Pakistan are Muslims (96%) or at least follow Islamic traditions, and Islamic ideals and practices suffuse virtually all parts of Pakistani life. Most Pakistanis belong to th e Sunni sect, the major branch of Islam. There are also significant numbers of Shīʿite Muslims. Among Sunnis , Sufism is extremely popular and influential. In addition to the two main groups there is a very small sect called the A ḥ madiyyah, which is also sometimes called the Qadiani 8 . Christians and Hindus constitute a very small percentage (3.6%). POLITICAL SITUATION: Pakistan’s disputes with neighbo uring India and Afghanistan periodically erupt in violence. Domestic attacks involving disparate terrorist and insurgent groups, and counter- offensives by Pakistan’s military, have killed tens of thousands of Pakistanis over a decade and forced nearly 1.5 million from their homes. Sectarian violence against minorities is fuelled by a narrow vision for Pakistan’s national identity that has been promoted by political movements and state institutions. The inability of state institutions to reliably provide peaceful ways to resolve competing interests has encouraged groups to see violence as a legitimate alternative. The violent instability of Pakistan, the world’s sixth -most 6 UNESCO 2014 7 http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/ethnic-groups-in-pakistan.html 8 https://www.britannica.com/place/Pakistan/Religion