Pakistanis

Pakistanis are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. According to the 2017 Pakistani census, the population of Pakistan stood at over 213 million people, making it the world's fifth-most populous country. The majority of Pakistanis natively speak languages belonging to the Indo-Iranic family.

Pakistani people are a diverse group, representing various ethnic, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds. The major ethnic groups include Punjabis, Sindhis, Pashtuns, Baloch, and Muhajirs, among others. Each group has its own distinct traditions, languages, and cultural practices, which contribute to the country's rich cultural fabric. The official language is Urdu, which serves as a unifying means of communication, while regional languages like Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, and Balochi are widely spoken. English is also commonly used, especially in business, government, and higher education. Religion plays a significant role in the daily life of most Pakistanis, with Islam being the predominant faith, practiced by the majority. This influence is evident in the country’s festivals, customs, and social norms. Family is considered an essential pillar of society, with extended families often living together or maintaining close ties. Hospitality, respect for elders, and strong community bonds are valued traits among Pakistani people. ~ Akhtar Aly Kureshy

Arranged alphabetically by author or source:
A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · J · K · L · M · N · O · P · Q · R · S · T · U · V · W · X · Y · Z · See also · External links

A

• Here I may add an interesting footnote to the sociological history of modern Muslim India and Pakistan. Almost every Muslim of any importance claimed, and still claims today, in his autobiography reminiscences, memoirs, journal and bio data, that his ancestors had come from Yemen, Hejaz, Central Asia, Iran, Ghazni, or some other foreign territory. In most cases, this is a false claim for its arithmetic reduces the hordes of local converts (to Islam) to an insignificant number. Actually, it is an aftermath and confirmation of Afghan and Mughal exclusiveness. It is also a declaration of disaffiliation from the soil on which the shammers have lived for centuries, and to which in all probability, they have belonged since history began. If all the Siddiquis, Qureshis, Faruqis, ... have foreign origins and their forefathers accompanied the invading armies, or followed them, what happens to the solemn averment that Islam spread peacefully in India? Are we expected to believe that local converts, whose number must have been formidable, were all nincompoops and the wretched of the earth—incapable over long centuries of producing any leaders, thinkers, or scholars?
  • Khursheed Kamal Aziz, quoted from Tarek Fatah, Chasing a Mirage (2008)

F

• Pakistanis are the custodians of the ancient civilization of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, not Madain Saleh in Saudi Arabia or Giza in Egypt. When Pakistanis deny their Indianness, it is equivalent to the French denying their Europeanness.
  • Tarek Fatah, Chasing a Mirage (2008)

• In attempting to forge an identity that defies language, geography, culture, clothing, and cuisine, many Pakistanis, especially the second generation in the West, have become easy pickings for Islamist extremist radicals who fill their empty ethnic vessels with false identities that deny them their own ethnic heritage. I am hoping that potential recruits from the diaspora of Pakistani youth will realize they are being taken for a ride by the Islamists and are nothing more than gun fodder for the supremacist cults that use Islam as a political tool to further its goals.
  • Tarek Fatah, Chasing a Mirage (2008)

H

• Pakistan has to export a lot of uneducated people, many of whom have become infected with the most barbaric reactionary ideas.
  • Christopher Hitchens, "Fanatics of London", Vanity Fair (June 2007)

J

• I remember vividly being called a 'Paki bastard' in the school playground. Like Sayeeda, and so many others, I know what it's like to face prejudice – as a child, in the workplace and in politics. I pay tribute to all those calling out discrimination wherever they see it. We will only defeat racism by working together.
  • Sajid Javid From a statement cited in "Sayeeda Warsi on Tory Islamophobia: 'It feels like I'm in an abusive relationship'", The Guardian (27 November 2019)

K

• I tell you, the Pakistanis are fine people, but they are primitive in their mental structure. They just don’t have the subtlety of the Indians.
  • Henry Kissinger, to Richard Nixon. In 1971. Quoted in Gary J. Bass. The Terrible Cost of Presidential Racism Sept. 3, 2020 [1]

N

• The Pakistanis are a different breed. The Pakistanis are straightforward—and sometimes extremely stupid.
  • Richard Nixon, quoted in Bass, G. J. (2014). The Blood telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a forgotten genocide.

• You know, Biafra stirred up a few Catholics. But you know, I think Biafra stirred people up more than Pakistan, because Pakistan they’re just a bunch of brown goddamn Moslems.
  • Richard Nixon, quoted in Bass, G. J. (2014). The Blood telegram: Nixon, Kissinger, and a forgotten genocide.

R

• It is commonly and, I believe, accurately said of Pakistan that her women are much more impressive than her men.
  • Salman Rushdie, Shame (1983), p. 189