Pashtun Customs Related to Death
The Pukhtoons are very social, humane and friendly. They share each other’s joys and sorrows. Their sympathetic behaviour can be judged from the fact that they give more importance to participation in funeral processions than festive occasions like marriages etc. At the time of someone’s death, the elders of the surrounding villages come to the [...]
Etiquette & Customs in Pakistan
Meeting and Greeting . Greetings are therefore often between members of the same sex; however, when dealing with people in the middle class, greetings may be across sex lines. . Men shake hands with each other. Once a relationship is developed, they may hug as well as shake hands. . Women generally hug and kiss. Pakistanis take their [...]
History of the Punjabi Language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region both in Pakistan and India as well as in their Diasporas. Punjabi is spoken by approximately 88 million native speakers, making it the 11th most widely spoken language in the world. Punjabi is a significant language for the Sikhs and Punjabi speaking [...]
History of Persian Language
By: Fariborz Rahnamoon ORIGIN: Parsi or Persian was the language of the Parsa people who ruled Iran between 550 – 330 BCE. It belongs to what scholars call the Indo-Iranian group of languages. It became the language of the Persian Empire and was widely spoken in the ancient days ranging from the borders of India [...]
The Early History of Pashto
According to G.P.Tate, the author of “The kingdom of Afghanistan” – the first to use Pashto for literary purposes was the famous Pir Roshan in the 7th century. His arch rival Akhund Derweza (1533-1638) was also compelled to use Pashto to arouse his followers against the Roshania movement. Apparently, both the giants exploited religious and [...]
Religion in Pakistan
Religious population in Pakistan Muslims: 175,376,000 Sunni Muslims: 80% Shia Muslims: 20% Ahmadi : 2,000,000 Hindus: 3,200,000 Christians: 2,800,000 Bahá’í Faith: 30,000 – 78,000 Sikhs: 20,000 Zoroastrian/Parsis: 20,000 Buddhism: 70,000 Census data indicates that over 98% of the population are Muslims. The Muslims are divided into different sects which are called schools of jurisprudence i.e. [...]
Festivals in Pakistan
Pakistan’s calendar features a great many festivals, both purely cultural and also religious. Others are in memory of National Heroes or commemorate political events in the nation’s recent history. Muslim festivals are celebrated according to Muslim (Lunar) Calendar and may occur some 10 days earlier each successive Christian Year. There are several folk and festivals [...]
Karachi’s Heritage
The preservation of lists of buildings identified as significant is a prerequisite to the conservation of historic urban architecture. During the 1960s, Karachi Development Authority(KDA), under the guidance of its Chief Town Planner, Mr. Ahmed Ali, prepared a list of such buildings; however, the KDA list was limited (42 structures) and confined itself to prominent [...]
Origin of Languages
It is an intriguing question, to which we may never have a complete answer: How did we get from animal vocalization (barks, howls, calls…) to human language? Animals often make use of signs, which point to what they represent, but they don’t use symbols, which are arbitrary and conventional. Examples of signs include sniffles as [...]
Festivals in Pakistan
Pakistan’s calendar features a great many festivals, both purely cultrual and also religious. Others are in memory of National Heroes or commemorate political events in the nation’s recent history. Muslim festivals are celebrated according to Muslim (Lunar) Calendar and may occur some 10 days earlier each successive Christian Year. There are several folk and festivals [...]
