A Country Study
Do now: pg 12
 Answer the following in your
notebook:
 What do you “know” about Pakistan?
 Describe what you think Pakistan looks like:
 What have you heard about Pakistan in the news?
A few facts about Pakistan
 Pakistan emerged as an independent sovereign state on
August 14th 1947.
 Capital City: Islamabad
 Located between Afghanistan and
India ( Asia)
 Language: Urdu (National) English (official)
 Divided into 4 provinces: Sindh, Punjab, North West
Frontier Province, and Balochistan.
A few facts… continued.
•Pakistan relies on its network of canals
to run its agricultural economy.
•Major Crops: Wheat, cotton, rice, millet,
sugar canes.
•Major Fruits: mangos, oranges, bananas,
apples
•Main Resources: natural gas, coal, salt &
iron.
•Cotton, textiles, sugar, cement &
chemicals play an important role in the
economy.
 The President is elected for a 5 year term by
the electoral college.
 Pakistan also has upper house/lower house
 The President MUST be Muslim.
 The President may be reelected but for no
more than two consecutive terms.
Who’s who in Pakistan’s Government Today:
President: Asif Ali Zadari
Prime Minister: Yousaf Rasa Gilani
Chairman of the Senate: Farooq Hamid Naek
 97% of all Pakistanis are Muslims.
 77% of the population are Sunni Muslims.
 20% are adherents of Shia Islam.
 Christians, Hindus and other religions make up only 1%.
 The central belief of Islam is that there is one God, Allah and the
prophet, Mohammed is his final messenger.
 Islam is derived from the Judeo-Christian tradition and considers
Abraham and Jesus as prophets.
 The Islamic religion recognizes both the Old & New Testaments.
Education
 Education is Pakistan is very poor.
 The government only sets aside 3%of the annual budget for
education.
 There are three types of schools: Private for the wealthy, Public which
is government run, and Religious schools.
 The government run schools do not teach English and many of them
exist only on paper.
 Many poor families try to send their children to Private schools for
the public ones are so terrible.
 The Pakistani government estimates the literacy rate of Pakistan to be
at 47% but outside spectators beg to differ claiming the rate must be
around 20%.
Religion continued…
 The Quran is the holy scripture of Islam and is
recognized as the holy word of God.
 The Muslim people follow the Five Pillars:
1. Shahada: (testimony) “There is no god but God, and
Mohammad is his Prophet.”
2. Salat: Mulims must pray five times a day.
3. Zakat: The obligation to provide alms for the poor and
disadvantaged.
4. Sawm: The obligation to fast from sunrise to sunset
during Ramadan.
5. Hajj: The pilgrimage to Mecca, this must be done at
least once in an adult Muslim’s lifetime. The pilgrimage
occurs during the last month of the Muslim lunar
calender.
Women in Pakistan
 Pakistani women are considered subordinate to men.
 A women’s actions are held responsible for the reputation of
the family.
 Women live under the constraints of veiling.
 Women spend most of their lives in their homes and can only
go out for serious and approved reasons.
 If a women has a small job their income is credited to their
husband or man of the house.
Media
 The major news agencies in Pakistan are the Associated Press
of Pakistan and Pakistan Press International.
 The Government took over The Associated Press of Pakistan in
1960.
 Radio is an effective method for spreading news in Pakistan
because the literacy rate is not as high as it is in countries like
the United States.
 By the mid 1990’s television reached 80% of the Pakistan
population.
Media continued…
 Until 1990 the government owned Pakistan Television
Corporation was the only channel available. PTV then
bought Cable News Network (CNN) to Pakistan.
 The government owned t.v channels and newspapers
show ideas from the governments view point.
 There are a lot of restrictions in the media, frequently
controversial songs are banned from the radio.
 The government required women to wear scarves over
their heads during newscasts and other television shows.
Top Stories in
Pakistan
Today
 Flour Giveaway in Pakistan Turns Into Deadly
Stampede. (CNN) 18 women are dead after a mob
scene broke out at a flour giveaway in Karachi.
 US Missile Strike Kills Four in Pakistan (LA Times).
An unmanned US plane fired a missile and hit a
moving car killing four citizens of Pakistan by the
Afgan border.
 Pakistan Army Said to Be Linked to Swat Killings
(NY Times). Hundreds of dead bodies are being
dumped onto the streets locals and politicians
believe it to be the work of the army because of their
desire to “silence any enthusiasm of Taliban
supporters.
Pakistan and the Millennium Development
Goals
Here is the progress Pakistan has made in reaching the Millennium Development Goals:
-Nearly 1.4 million children have been enrolled in primary school.
-9,121 community based schools have been established.
-1.4 million women have been trained different techniques to save children from
dehydration.
-300,000 women and children have received vaccinations.
-9,000 adult literacy centers have been established.
-Volunteers from more than 30,000 villages have been enlisted to help support human
development at the grassroots level.
This information was found on the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals
Website.
My Research was done on:
www.pak.gov.pk
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/pk.html