The Culture of Pakistan ( ur, ) is very unique in terms of its social values revolving around the religion of Islam. The region has formed a distinct cultural unit within the main cultural complex of

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;; ...

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the fo ...

. Quote: "Numerous passageways through the northwestern frontiers of the Indian subcontinent in modern Pakistan and Afghanistan served as migration routes to South Asia from the Iranian plateau and the Central Asian steppes. Prehistoric and protohistoric exchanges across the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Province ...

Karakoram The Karakoram is a mountain range in Kashmir region spanning the borders of Pakistan, China, and India, with the northwest extremity of the range extending to Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Most of the Karakoram mountain range falls under the ...

, and Himalaya ranges demonstrate earlier precedents for routes through the high mountain passes and river valleys in later historical periods. Typological similarities between Northern Neolithic sites in Kashmir and Swat and sites in the Tibetan plateau and northern China show that 'Mountain chains have often integrated rather than isolated peoples.' Ties between the trading post of Shortughai in

Badakhshan Badakhshan is a historical region comprising parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic ...

(northeastern Afghanistan) and the lower

Indus valley The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...

provide evidence for long-distance commercial networks and 'polymorphous relations' across the Hindu Kush until c. 1800 B.C.' The Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex (BMAC) may have functioned as a 'filter' for the introduction of

Indo-Iranian languages The Indo-Iranian languages (also Indo-Iranic languages or Aryan languages) constitute the largest and southeasternmost extant branch of the Indo-European language family (with over 400 languages), predominantly spoken in the geographical subr ...

to the northwestern Indian subcontinent, although routes and chronologies remain hypothetical. (page 55)" Quote: "Here also, in ancient days, was the meeting-place of three great trade-routes , one, from Hindustan and Eastern India, which was to become the `royal highway' described by

Megasthenes Megasthenes ( ; grc, Μεγασθένης, c. 350 BCE– c. 290 BCE) was an ancient Greek historian, diplomat and Indian ethnographer and explorer in the Hellenistic period. He described India in his book '' Indica'', which is now lost, but ha ...

as running from

Pataliputra Pataliputra (IAST: ), adjacent to modern-day Patna, was a city in ancient India, originally built by Magadha ruler Ajatashatru in 490 BCE as a small fort () near the Ganges river.. Udayin laid the foundation of the city of Pataliputra at t ...

to the north-west of the

Maurya empire The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until ...

; the second from Western Asia through

Bactria Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, sou ...

, Kapisi and

Pushkalavati Pushkalavati ( ps, پشکلاوتي; Urdu: ; Sanskrit: ; Prākrit: ; grc, Πευκελαῶτις ) or Pushkaravati ( Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ), and later Shaikhan Dheri ( ps, شېخان ډېرۍ; ur, ), was the capital of the Gandhara kingd ...

and so across the Indus at

Ohind Attock Khurd ( ur, ; ''"''Little Attock''"'') is a small town located beside the Indus River in the Attock District of Punjab Province in Pakistan. Khurd and Kalan are Persian words, themselves derived from Sanskrit (''Kshudra'' means "smal ...

to Taxila; and the third from Kashmir and Central Asia by way of the

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its ...

valley and

Baramula Baramulla (), also known as Varmul () in Kashmiri, is a town and a municipality in the Baramulla district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is also the administrative headquarters of the Baramulla district. It is on the b ...

Mansehra Mansehra is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Mansehra District. It is the 71st largest city of Pakistan and 7th largest city in the province. The name of the city (written in Hindko, Urdu and Gojr ...

and so down the Haripur valley. These three trade-routes, which carried the bulk of the traffic passing by land between India and Central and Western Asia, played an all-important part in the history of Taxila. (page 1)" There are differences in culture among the different

ethnic groups An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

in matters such as dress, food, and religion, especially where pre-Islamic customs differ from Islamic practices. The existence of Pakistan as an

Islamic state An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic ter ...

since

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, are kille ...

has led to the large-scale injection of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

into most aspects of Pakistani culture and everyday life, which has accordingly impacted the historical values and traditions of the Muslim-majority population. Marriages and other major events are significantly impacted by regional differences in culture, but generally follow

Islamic jurisprudence ''Fiqh'' (; ar, فقه ) is Islamic jurisprudence. Muhammad-> Companions-> Followers-> Fiqh. The commands and prohibitions chosen by God were revealed through the agency of the Prophet in both the Quran and the Sunnah (words, deeds, and ex ...

where required.

Civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.local cultural etiquette and traditional Islamic values that govern personal and political life. The basic family unit is the

extended family An extended family is a family that extends beyond the nuclear family of parents and their children to include aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins or other relatives, all living nearby or in the same household. Particular forms include the stem ...

, although for socio-economic reasons there has been a growing trend towards nuclear families. The traditional dress for both men and women is the

shalwar kameez Shalwar kameez (also salwar kameez and less commonly shalwar qameez) is a traditional combination dress worn by women, and in some regions by men, in South Asia, and Central Asia. ''Shalwars'' are trousers which are atypically wide at the w ...

; trousers,

jeans Jeans are a type of pants or trousers made from denim or dungaree cloth. Often the term "jeans" refers to a particular style of trousers, called "blue jeans", with copper-riveted pockets which were invented by Jacob W. Davis in 1871 and pa ...

, and shirts are also popular among men. In recent decades, the middle class has increased to around 35 million and the upper and upper-middle classes to around 17 million, and power is shifting from rural landowners to the urbanised elites. Pakistani festivals, including Eid-ul-Fitr,

Eid-ul-Azha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's com ...

, Ramazan,

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samue ...

Holi Holi (), also known as the Festival of Colours, the Festival of Spring, and the Festival of Love,The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) p. 874 "Holi /'həʊli:/ noun a Hindu spring festival ...". is an ancient Hindu religious festival ...

, and

Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

, are mostly religious in origin. Increasing globalisation has resulted in Pakistan ranking 56th on the

A.T. Kearney Kearney is a global management consulting firm with offices in more than 40 countries worldwide. Kearney has consistently earned top places among global management consulting firm rankings, such as Vault's Consulting 50 and ''Consulting'' magazine' ...

/FP Globalization Index.

Literature

Pakistan has literature in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
'' Sindhi Sindhi may refer to: *something from, or related to Sindh, a province of Pakistan * Sindhi people, an ethnic group from the Sindh region * Sindhi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them People with the name * Sarkash Sindhi (1940–2012 ...

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official langua ...

, Baluchi, Persian,

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

, and many other languages. The

Pakistan Academy of Letters The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) ( ur, ) is a national academy with its main focus on Pakistani literature and related fields. It is the largest and the most prestigious learned society of its kind in Pakistan, with activities throughout t ...

is a large literary community that promotes literature and poetry in Pakistan and abroad. The

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, or significant wo ...

publishes and promotes literature in the country. Before the 19th century, Pakistani literature consisted mainly of lyric and religious poetry and mystical and folkloric works. During the colonial period, native literary figures were influenced by western

literary realism Literary realism is a literary genre, part of the broader realism in arts, that attempts to represent subject-matter truthfully, avoiding speculative fiction and supernatural elements. It originated with the realist art movement that began with ...

and took up increasingly varied topics and narrative forms. Prose fiction is now very popular. The

national poet A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbo ...

of Pakistan,

Muhammad Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...

, wrote poetry in Urdu and Persian. He was a strong proponent of the political and spiritual revival of Islamic civilisation and encouraged Muslims all over the world to bring about a successful revolution. Well-known figures in contemporary Pakistani Urdu literature include

Josh Malihabadi Josh Malihabadi (born Shabbir Hasan Khan; 5 December 1898 – 22 February 1982) popularly known as Shayar-e-Inqalab (poet of revolution) was a Pakistani poet and is regarded as one of the finest Urdu poets of the era of British India. Kno ...

Faiz Ahmed Faiz Faiz Ahmad ''Faiz'' (13 February 1911 – 20 November 1984; Urdu, Punjabi: فیض احمد فیض) was a Pakistani poet, and author of Urdu and Punjabi literature. Faiz was one of the most celebrated Pakistani Urdu writers of his time. Out ...

and

Saadat Hasan Manto Saadat Hasan Manto (; Punjabi, ur, , ; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author born in Ludhiana, who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan. Writing mai ...

Sadequain Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi ( ur, ) (30 June 1930 10 February 1987), often referred to as Sadequain Naqqash, was a Pakistani artist, best known for his skills as a calligrapher and a painter. He is considered one of the finest painters and cal ...

and

Gulgee Ismail Gulgee ( Urdu: ; 25 October 1926 – 16 December 2007), also known simply as Gulgee, was a Pakistani painter. Born in Peshawar, he received his early education at Lawrence College before attending Aligarh University, Columbia Uni ...

are known for their calligraphy and paintings. The Sufi poets

Shah Abdul Latif Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai ( sd, شاھ عبداللطيف ڀٽائي, ur, ; 1689/1690 – 21 December 1752), commonly known by the honorifics ''Lakhino Latif'', ''Latif Ghot'', ''Bhittai'', and ''Bhit Jo Shah'', was a Sindhi Sufi mystic, and ...

Bulleh Shah Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri ( pa, ; ; 1680–1757), known popularly as Bulleh Shah ( pa, ; ) and Bulleya, was a Punjabi philosopher and Sufi poet during 17th-century Punjab. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan) ...

Mian Muhammad Bakhsh Mīān Muhammad Bakhsh (میاں محمد بخش) was a Punjabi Muslim Sufi and poet. Born in the city of Mirpur to a Gujjar family of Paswal tribe, he is renowned as a great poet and Sufi scholar by the people of Punjab and Azad Kashmir. Wri ...

, and Khawaja Farid enjoy considerable popularity in Pakistan.

Mirza Kalich Beg Mirza Kalich Baig ( sd, مرزا قليچ بيگ) was a scholar within Sindhi literature. He was born on 4 October 1853 in Tando Thoro on the bank of Phuleli Canal in Hyderabad, British India (presently in Pakistan). Family chronicle The live ...

has been termed the father of modern Sindhi prose. Historically, philosophical development in the country was dominated by

, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan,

Muhammad Asad Muhammad Asad, ( ar, محمد أسد , ur, , born Leopold Weiss; 2 July 1900 – 20 February 1992) was an Austro-Hungarian-born Pakistani journalist, traveler, writer, linguist, political theorist and diplomat. He was a Jew but, later conve ...

, Maududi, and Mohammad Ali Johar. Ideas from

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

and

American philosophy American philosophy is the activity, corpus, and tradition of philosophers affiliated with the United States. The '' Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' notes that while it lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can never ...

greatly shaped philosophical development in Pakistan. Analysts such as

M. M. Sharif Mian Mohammad Sharif (Urdu:محمد شریف ) (1965 – 1893) TI was a Pakistani philosopher, Islamic scholar, and college professor. He is noted for his work in analytical philosophy and pioneered the idea of Muslim philosophy. His wo ...

and Zafar Hassan established the first major Pakistani philosophical movement in 1947. After the 1971 war, philosophers such as

Jalaludin Abdur Rahim Jalaluddin Abdur Rahim ( Urdu: جلال الدين عبدالرحيم; Bengali: জালালুদ্দিন আবদুর রহিম; also known as J. A. Rahim) (27 July 1906 – 1977) was a Bengali communist and political philosopher ...

, Gianchandani, and Malik Khalid incorporated

Marxism Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

into Pakistan's philosophical thinking. Influential work by

Manzoor Ahmad Manzoor Ahmed, DSc ( Urdu: منظور احمد; born 11 March 1934) is a Pakistani scientist and philosopher of science. He is a professor of philosophy and is currently serving as rector of Usman Institute of Technology (UIT) in Karachi, Sin ...

Jon Elia Syed Hussain Sibt-e-Asghar Naqvi, commonly known as Jaun Elia ( ur, , 14 December 1931 – 8 November 2002), was an Indo-Pakistani poet, philosopher, biographer, and scholar. One of the most prominent modern Urdu poets, popular for his unconve ...

Hasan Askari Rizvi Hassan Askari Rizvi ( ur, ) ( SI), is a Pakistani political scientist and military analyst who served as caretaker Chief Minister of Punjab, Pakistan in 2018. He is noted for his work in comparative politics, nuclear weapons, and country's ...

, and Abdul Khaliq brought mainstream

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

political Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studi ...

, and analytical philosophy to the fore in academia. Works by

Noam Chomsky Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...

have influenced philosophical ideas in various fields of social and political philosophy.

Performing arts

Music

Pakistani music ranges from diverse forms of provincial folk music and traditional styles such as

Qawwali Qawwali (Punjabi language, Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nastaʿlīq, Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali language, Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali alphabet, Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Isl ...

and

Ghazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

Gayaki to modern musical forms that fuse traditional and western music. Pakistan has many famous folk singers. The arrival of

Afghan refugees Afghan refugees are citizens of Afghanistan who were compelled to abandon their country as a result of major wars, persecution, torture or genocide. The 1978 Saur Revolution followed by the 1979 Soviet invasion marked the first wave of interna ...

in the western provinces has stimulated interest in Pashto music, although there has been intolerance of it in some places.

Dances

Pakistan has various regional dances including:

Punjabi

* Dahamal –

folk dance * Bhangra –

folk dance *

Jhumar Jhumar or Jhoomar (also called Ghumbar in Sandalbar area) is a lively form of music and dance that originated in the Multan and Balochistan, also thrived in Sandalbar areas (Faisal abad, Jhang, Chiniot, Nankana Sahib, Toba Tek Singh districts) ...

– Saraiki folk dance

Balochi

* Chaap – Baloch folk dance performed at weddings

Pashtun

Attan Attan ( ps, اتڼ) is a traditional dance originating from the tribal Pashtun regions of Afghanistan and North Western Pakistan. It is now considered the national dance of Afghanistan. Some believe it has spiritual roots connecting it to Zoroa ...

– Folk dance of

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically r ...

tribes of Pakistan including the unique styles of

Quetta Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه‎) is the tenth most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in south-west of the country close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is the capital of th ...

and

Waziristan Waziristan (Pashto and ur, , "land of the Wazir") is a mountainous region covering the former FATA agencies of North Waziristan and South Waziristan which are now districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Waziristan covers some . ...

Khattak Dance Khattak Attan (Dance) (Pashto: خټک اتڼ , ur, ) is a swift martial attan dance usually performed while carrying a sword and a handkerchief by the tribesmen from the agile Khattak tribe of Pashtuns. Khattak dance is also the National dance ...

– Sword dance of Khattak tribe in

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the northwestern region of the country, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ...

Sindhi

Ho Jamalo "Ho Jamalo" is a Sindhi-language folk song and associated dance in the Sindhi culture. The performance is about the local folk hero Jamalo Khoso Baloch, of middle 19th century. In modern times, the song has been repopularized since 1947, and re ...

–

Sindhi Sindhi may refer to: *something from, or related to Sindh, a province of Pakistan * Sindhi people, an ethnic group from the Sindh region * Sindhi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them People with the name * Sarkash Sindhi (1940–2012 ...

dance

Drama and theatre

These are very similar to stage plays in theatres. They are performed by well-known actors and actresses in the Lollywood industry. The dramas and plays often deal with themes from

everyday life Everyday life, daily life or routine life comprises the ways in which people typically act, think, and feel on a daily basis. Everyday life may be described as mundane, routine, natural, habitual, or normal. Human diurnality means most peo ...

, often with a humorous touch.

Architecture

Four periods are recognised in Pakistani architecture: pre-Islamic,

Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ma ...

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

, and post-colonial. With the beginning of the

Indus civilization The Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC), also known as the Indus Civilisation was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia, lasting from 3300 BCE to 1300 BCE, and in its mature form 2600 BCE to 1900 ...

around the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, an advanced urban culture developed for the first time in the region, with large buildings, some of which survive to this day. The rise of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and the influence of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

civilisation led to the development of a Greco-Buddhist style, starting from the 1st century CE. The high point of this era was the Gandhara style. An example of Buddhist architecture is the ruins of the Buddhist monastery

Takht-i-Bahi Takht-i-Bahi ( Persian/ ur, , translation=throne of the water spring), is an Indo-Parthian archaeological site of an ancient Buddhist monastery in Mardan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The site is considered among the most important relics of Bu ...

in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The arrival of Islam in what is today Pakistan meant the sudden end of Buddhist architecture in the area and a smooth transition to the predominantly pictureless

Islamic architecture Islamic architecture comprises the architectural styles of buildings associated with Islam. It encompasses both secular and religious styles from the early history of Islam to the present day. The Islamic world encompasses a wide geographic ...

. The most important Indo-Islamic-style building still standing is the tomb of Shah Rukn-i-Alam in Multan. During the Mughal era, design elements of Persian-Islamic architecture were fused with and often produced playful forms of Hindustani art. Lahore, as the occasional residence of Mughal rulers, contains many important buildings from the empire. Most prominent among them are the

Badshahi Mosque The Badshahi Mosque ( Urdu, Punjabi: ; literally ''The Royal Mosque'') is a Mughal-era congregational mosque in Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque is located west of Lahore Fort along the outskirts of the Walled ...

, the fortress of Lahore with the famous

Alamgiri Gate The Lahore Fort ( ur, , lit=Royal Fort, translit=Shāhī Qilā, label= Punjabi and Urdu) is a citadel in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. The fortress is located at the northern end of walled city Lahore, and spreads over an area greater than 20 ...

, the colourful, Mughal-style

Wazir Khan Mosque ; ''Masjid Wazīr Khān'') is a 17th-century mosque located in the city of Lahore, capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. The mosque was commissioned during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a part of an ensemble of buildings that ...

, the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, and the

Shahjahan Mosque The Shah Jahan Mosque ( ur, , sd, مسجد شاهجهاني،, fa, مسجد شاه‌جهان), also known as the Jamia Masjid of Thatta ( ur, , sd, شاھجھاني مسجد ٺٽو), is a 17th-century building that serves as the central mo ...

in Thatta. In the British colonial period, predominantly functional buildings of the Indo-European representative style developed from a mixture of European and Indian-Islamic components. Post-colonial national identity is expressed in modern structures such as the

Faisal Mosque The Faisal Mosque ( ur, , faisal masjid) is the national mosque of Pakistan, located in capital Islamabad. It is the fifth-largest mosque in the world and the largest within South Asia, located on the foothills of Margalla Hills in Pakistan ...

, the

Minar-e-Pakistan Minar E Pakistan ( ur, , literally "Tower of Pakistan") is a tower located in Lahore, Pakistan. The tower was built between 1960 and 1968 on the site where the All-India Muslim League passed the Lahore Resolution (which was later called the Pa ...

, and the

Mazar-e-Quaid Mazar-e-Quaid ( ur, , lit=Mausoleum of the Leader) is the resting place of Muhammad Ali Jinnah situated in Karachi, Sindh. The marble monument comprises a surface area of . It is surrounded by formal gardens and designed in an Islamic modernist ...

. Several examples of architectural infrastructure demonstrating the influence of

British design British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

can be found in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

, and

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

Recreation and sports

Most sports played in Pakistan originated and were substantially developed by athletes and sports fans from the United Kingdom who introduced them during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

Field hockey Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ...

is the

national sport A national sport is considered to be an intrinsic part of the culture of a nation. Some sports are ''de facto'' (not established by law) national sports, as sumo is in Japan and Gaelic games are in Ireland and field hockey in Pakistan, while othe ...

of Pakistan; it has won three gold medals in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

held in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * J ...

, and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

. Pakistan has also won the

Hockey World Cup The Men's FIH Hockey World Cup is an international field hockey competition organised by the International Hockey Federation (FIH). The tournament was started in 1971. It is held every four years, bridging the four years between the Summer O ...

a record four times, held in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, and

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, however, is the most popular game across the country. The country has had an array of success in the sport over the years, and has the distinct achievement of having won each of the major ICC international cricket tournaments:

ICC Cricket World Cup The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), ...

ICC World Twenty20 The ICC Men's T20 World Cup (earlier known as ICC World Twenty20) is the international championship of Twenty20. Organised by cricket's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the tournament consists of 16 teams, comprising t ...

, and

ICC Champions Trophy The ICC Champions Trophy is a One-Day International (ODI) cricket tournament organised by the International Cricket Council. The 2013 tournament was intended to be the final edition of the Champions Trophy, but it was extended to 2017 due to i ...

; as well as the

ICC Test Championship The ICC Men's Test Team Rankings (formerly known as the ICC Test Championship) is an international rankings system of the International Cricket Council for the 12 teams that play Test cricket (though Afghanistan and Ireland are not currently ra ...

. The

cricket team Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by strikin ...

(known as ''Shaheen'') won the

Cricket World Cup The Cricket World Cup (officially known as ICC Men's Cricket World Cup) is the international championship of One Day International (ODI) cricket. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), e ...

held in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

; it was runner-up once, in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

. Pakistan was runner-up in the inaugural

World Twenty20 The ICC Men's T20 World Cup (earlier known as ICC World Twenty20) is the international championship of Twenty20. Organised by cricket's governing body, the International Cricket Council (ICC), the tournament consists of 16 teams, comprising t ...

(2007) in South Africa and won the

in England in 2009. In March 2009, militants attacked the touring

Sri Lankan cricket team The Sri Lanka men's national cricket team, ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජාතික ක්‍රිකට් කණ්ඩායම, ta, இலங்கை தேசிய கிரிக்கெட் அணி) nicknamed The Lions ...

, after which no international cricket was played in Pakistan until May 2015, when the Zimbabwean team agreed to a tour. Pakistan also won the

2017 ICC Champions Trophy The 2017 ICC Champions Trophy was the eighth ICC Champions Trophy, a cricket tournament for the eight top-ranked One Day International (ODI) teams in the world. It was held in England and Wales from 1 to 18 June 2017. Pakistan won the competitio ...

by defeating arch-rivals

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Pakistan Super League The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league contested during February and March of every year by six teams representing six cities of Pakistan. The league was founded on 9 September 2015 with five teams by the Paki ...

is one of the largest cricket leagues of the world with a brand value of about .

Association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

is the second-most played sport in Pakistan and it is organised and regulated by the

Pakistan Football Federation Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) is the governing body of association football in Pakistan. Founded in 1947, its headquarters are at the FIFA Football House in Lahore, Punjab (Pakistan), Punjab near Punjab Stadium. The federation manages the ...

Football in Pakistan Association football is among the most popular team sports in Pakistan, Football in Pakistan has historically been among the top sports in Pakistan, together with long time number one cricket and hockey Pakistan's current top domestic football l ...

is as old as the country itself. Shortly after the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) was created, and

Muhammad Ali Jinnah Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the ...

became its first Patron-in-Chief. The highest football division in Pakistan is the

Pakistan Premier League The Pakistan Premier League (PPL; ur, پاکستان پریمیئر لیگ) is a Pakistani professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the Pakistan football league system, it is the country's primary football compe ...

. Pakistan is known as one of the best manufacturers of the official

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

ball. The best football players to play for Pakistan are Kaleemullah,

Zesh Rehman Zeshan Rehman ( ur, ; born 14 October 1983) is an English-born Pakistani former professional footballer who played as a defender. He is currently U18 coach and acting assistant coach at Portsmouth FC. He was the first British Asian to start ...

Muhammad Essa Muhammad Essa Khan (Urdu/Pashto: ; born on 20 November 1983) is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a forward. Essa is one of the most well known faces in Pakistani football, due to his regular goal scoring at international level. Clu ...

, Haroon Yousaf, and

Muhammad Adil Muhammad Adil Iqbal ( ur, ; born 9 July 1992) is a Pakistani footballer who plays as a midfielder for Lyallpur FC of Pakistan Premier League and the Pakistan national team. A right-footed player, he usually plays as central midfielder. Earlie ...

. Pakistan has hosted or co-hosted several international sporting events: the

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

and

2004 South Asian Games The 2004 South Asian Games, officially known as the IX South Asian Federation Games, were held in Islamabad, Pakistan from 29 March to 7 April 2004. Originally scheduled for 2001, the games were postponed in the wake of the 9/11 attacks on the Un ...

; the

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

and 2003 World Squash Championships; the

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and

1996 Cricket World Cup The 1996 Cricket World Cup, also called the Wills World Cup 1996 after the Wills Navy Cut brand produced by tournament sponsor ITC, was the sixth Cricket World Cup organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was the second World Cu ...

; and the 1990 Hockey World Cup. Pakistan is set to host the

2024 South Asian Games The 2024 South Asian Games, officially the XIV South Asian Games, will be a major multi-sport event which will be held in Pakistan,and will have Lahore, the capital of Punjab province as main host city. The cities of Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Isla ...

. There are also some

traditional games of Pakistan Pakistan has many traditional games and sports. Many of them are similar to the traditional South Asian games played in countries such as India and Bangladesh. Traditional games Gilli Danda Gilli Danda revolves around players taking turns to ...

, such as

kabaddi Kabaddi is a contact team sport. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a "raider", to run into the opposing team's half of the court, touch out as many of their ...

, which are popular.

Cuisine

Pakistani cuisine is similar to that of other regions of South Asia, with some of it being originated from the royal kitchens of 16th-century Mughal emperors. Most of those dishes have their roots in

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Central Asian Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former S ...

and

Middle Eastern cuisine Middle Eastern cuisine or West Asian cuisine includes Arab, Armenian, Assyrian, Azerbaijani, Cypriot, Egyptian, Georgian, Iranian, Iraqi, Israeli, Kurdish, Lebanese, Palestinian and Turkish cuisines. Common ingredients include olives and ol ...

. Unlike Middle Eastern cuisine, Pakistani cooking uses large quantities of spices, herbs, and seasoning. Garlic,

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

turmeric Turmeric () is a flowering plant, ''Curcuma longa'' (), of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking. The plant is a perennial, rhizomatous, herbaceous plant native to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asi ...

, red chili, and

garam masala Garam masala Hindustani_language.html"_;"title="rom_Hindustani_language">Hindustani_/_(''garm_masala'',_"hot_spices")is_a_Spice_mix.html" ;"title="Hindustani language">Hindustani / (''garm masala'', "hot spices")">Hindustani_language.html" ;"tit ...

are used in most dishes, and home cooking regularly includes curry, ''roti'', a thin flatbread made from wheat, is a staple food, usually served with curry, meat, vegetables, and lentils. Rice is also common; it is served plain, fried with spices, and in sweet dishes.

Lassi Lassi () is a regional name for buttermilk, the traditional dahi (yogurt)–based drink, consumed in the South Asian region. Lassi is a blend of yogurt, water, spices, and sometimes fruit. Salty lassi is similar to doogh, while modern sweet la ...

is a traditional drink in the

Punjab region Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

. Sohan halwa is a popular sweet dish from the southern region of Punjab province and is enjoyed all over Pakistan.

Pakistani tea culture

Black tea with milk and sugar is popular throughout Pakistan and is consumed daily by most of the population.The consumption of

tea Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...

in Pakistan, called ''chai'' (), in

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Pakistani cuisine Pakistani cuisine ( ur, , romanized: ''pākistānī pakwān'') can be characterized by a blend of various regional cooking traditions from South Asia, Central and Western Asia, as well as elements from its Mughal legacy. The country's va ...

. Pakistan does produce its own limited tea in

Shinkiari Shinkiari ( ps, شینکیارۍ; Hindko/Urdu: شنکیاری) is a Union Council of Mansehra District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is a major tea city with many tea gardens. The police station was established before the Pa ...

farms, however it ranks as the third largest importer of tea in the world. In 2003, as much as 109,000 tonnes of tea were consumed in Pakistan, ranking it at seven on the list of tea-consuming countries in the world. Meissen-teacup pinkrose01

* Pakistani tea was praised by

Abhinandan Varthaman Abhinandan Varthaman VrC (born 21 June 1983) is an Indian Air Force fighter pilot who, during the 2019 India–Pakistan standoff, was involved in entering Pakistani airspace and his MIG 21 was shot down by Pakistani PAF F-16 on 27 February 2019 ...

, an

Indian Airforce The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

Pilot who was shot down by

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

and captured by

Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ) is the Army, land service branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The roots of its modern existence trace back to the British Indian Army that ceased to exist following the partition of India, Partition of British India, wh ...

for violating Pakistani airspace during

Operation Swift Retort On 27 February 2019, the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) conducted six airstrikes at multiple locations in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). The airstrikes were part of the PAF military operation codenamed Operation Swift Retort and were c ...

. In a video released by ISPR, Wing Commander Abhinandan is seen conversing with Pakistan military officials in a congenial environment and acknowledging that he has been treated well while enjoying Pakistani Tea. Upon being asked about the tea, Abhinandan replied "''The tea is fantastic''". This became a

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

in Pakistan as customers began using it to order tea. * The name for ''

Three Cups of Tea ''Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace ... One School at a Time'' (original hardcover title: ''Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations ... One School at a Time'') is a memoir book by Greg Morte ...

'', a bestselling book by American mountaineer and educator

Greg Mortenson Greg Mortenson is an American professional speaker, writer, veteran, and former mountaineer. He is a co-founder and former executive director of the non-profit Central Asia Institute and the founder of the educational charity Pennies for Peace. ...

, is taken from the Balti proverb in northern Pakistan: "The first time you share tea with a Balti, you are a stranger. The second time you take tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share a cup of tea, you become family..." * The British documentary film ''Tracing Tea'' briefly covers tea culture in Pakistan. *

Pak Tea House Pak Tea House is an intellectual tea–café located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan known for its association with progressive academics and left-leaning South Asian intelligentsia. Traditionally frequented by country's notably artistic, cultural and ...

– a tea cafe in Lahore famously known for being visited by prominent academic intellectuals and literary personalities from all walks of life.

Popular media

The private

print media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information e ...

, state-owned

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation ( ur, ; reporting name: PTV) is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster. Pakistan entered the television broadcasting age in 1964, with a pilot television station established at Lahore. Background Historical co ...

(PTV), and Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) for

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

were the dominant media outlets until the beginning of the 21st century. Pakistan now has a large network of domestic, privately owned 24-hour

news media The news media or news industry are forms of mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public. These include news agencies, print media (newspapers, news magazines), broadcast news (radio and television), and th ...

and

television channels A television channel is a terrestrial frequency or virtual number over which a television station or television network is distributed. For example, in North America, "channel 2" refers to the terrestrial or cable band of 54 to 60 MHz, with ...

. A 2016 report by the

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

ranked Pakistan 147th on the

Press Freedom Index The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to ...

, while at the same time terming the Pakistani media "among the freest in Asia when it comes to covering the squabbling among politicians." The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

terms the Pakistani media "among the most outspoken in South Asia". Pakistani media has also played a vital role in exposing corruption. The Lollywood, Punjabi and

film industry is based in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar. While

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

films were banned from public cinemas from 1965 until 2008, they have remained an important part of popular culture. In contrast to the ailing Pakistani film industry, Urdu televised dramas and theatrical performances continue to be popular, as many entertainment media outlets air them regularly. Urdu dramas dominate the television entertainment industry, which has launched critically acclaimed

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

and featured popular actors and actresses since the 1990s. In the 1960s–1970s,

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

and

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

(1970s) dominated the country's music industry. In the 1980s–1990s, British influenced

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

appeared and jolted the country's entertainment industry. In the 2000s,

heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a ...

gained popular and critical acclaim.

National dress

The national dress of Pakistan is the

, a unisex garment widely-worn, and

national dress A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...

, of Pakistan. When women wear the shalwar-kameez in some regions, they usually wear a long scarf or shawl called a

dupatta The dupattā is a Hindu shawl traditionally worn by women in Indian subcontinent to cover the head and shoulders. The dupatta is currently used most commonly as part of the women's shalwar kameez outfit, and worn over the kurta and the gharara. ...

around the head or neck. The dupatta is also employed as a form of modesty—although it is made of delicate material, it obscures the upper body's contours by passing over the shoulders. For Muslim women, the dupatta is a less stringent alternative to the

chador A chādor (Persian, ur, چادر, lit=tent), also variously spelled in English as chadah, chad(d)ar, chader, chud(d)ah, chadur, and naturalized as , is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many women in the Persian-influenced countries of Ira ...

burqa A burqa or a burka, or , and ur, , it is also transliterated as burkha, bourkha, burqua or burqu' or borgha' and is pronounced natively . It is generally pronounced in the local variety of Arabic or variety of Persian, which varies. Examp ...

(see

hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...

and

purdah Pardah or purdah (from Hindi-Urdu , , meaning "curtain") is a religious and social practice of female seclusion prevalent among some Muslim and Hindu communities. It takes two forms: physical segregation of the sexes and the requirement that wom ...

). Besides the national dress, domestically tailored suits and neckties are often worn by men, and are customary in offices, schools, and social gatherings. The

fashion industry Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

has flourished in the changing environment of the fashion world. Since Pakistan came into being, its fashion has evolved in different phases and developed a unique identity. Today, Pakistani fashion is a combination of traditional and modern dress and has become a mark of Pakistani culture. Despite modern trends, regional and traditional forms of dress have developed their own significance as a symbol of native tradition. This regional fashion continues to evolve into both more modern and purer forms. The Pakistan Fashion Design Council based in

organizes PFDC Fashion Week and the Fashion Pakistan Council based in

organizes Fashion Pakistan Week. Pakistan's first fashion week was held in November 2009.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Culture of Pakistan +

Literature

Performing arts

Music

Dances

Punjabi

Balochi

Pashtun

Sindhi

Drama and theatre

Architecture

Recreation and sports

Cuisine

Pakistani tea culture

Popular media

National dress

See also

References

External links