Pakistanis in Italy form one of Europe's larger
Pakistani diaspora
Overseas Pakistanis ( ur, ), or the Pakistani diaspora, refers to Pakistani people who live outside of Pakistan. These include citizens that have migrated to another country as well as people born abroad of Pakistani descent. According to th ...
communities.
Estimates for the number of Pakistanis living in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
vary. Pakistan's
Ministry of Foreign Affairs repeats the Italian government's 2003 figure of 30,500 individuals, while their embassy in Rome speculated to a reporter of Pakistani newspaper ''
Dawn
Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...
'' as early as 2002 that the number might have already reached as high as 50,000. Media reports in 2017 gave numbers higher than 130,000 .
Most of the workers are of Punjabi background with accounting for 72 percent share of migrants in 2016 and 76 percent in 2017.
According to the Italian ambassador to Pakistan, Andreas Ferrarese, as of February 2021, there are around 200,000 Pakistanis in Italy, of them 140,000 are documented.
Cultural integration
A monthly Urdu-language magazine called ''Azad'' (which means "free" in Urdu) has been launched. It aims to bridge the two cultures by helping Pakistani immigrants who either cannot speak Italian or have limited interaction with the locals. It also helps Pakistanis to learn about Italy and its culture.
According to media commentator Ejaz Ahmad, himself a Pakistani with two decades of residence in Italy, roughly 10,000 Pakistani migrants have purchased homes in Italy, which he analyses as a signal of their intention to remain in the country.
Services to Italy
The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)
was founded in 1964 by
Pakistani scientist
A scientist is a person who conducts scientific research to advance knowledge in an area of the natural sciences.
In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engaged in the philosoph ...
and
Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam
Mohammad Abdus Salam Salam adopted the forename "Mohammad" in 1974 in response to the anti-Ahmadiyya decrees in Pakistan, similarly he grew his beard. (; ; 29 January 192621 November 1996) was a Punjabi Pakistani theoretical physicist and a ...
. It operates under a tripartite agreement among the
Italian Government
The government of Italy is in the form of a democratic republic, and was established by a constitution in 1948. It consists of legislative, executive, and judicial subdivisions, as well as a Head of State, or President.
The Italian Constituti ...
,
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
, and
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It is located near the
Miramare Park, about 10 kilometres from the city of
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
.
Notable people
*
Akhlaq Qureshi - Italian cricketer
*
Prince Aly Khan
Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was a Pakistani diplomat of Iranian and Italian descent. He was the son of the Aga Khan III, and the father of Aga Khan IV.
A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, ...
- The Italian-born son of
Aga Khan III
Sultan Muhammad Shah (2 November 187711 July 1957), commonly known by his religious title Aga Khan III, was the 48th Imam of the Nizariyya. He played an important role in British Indian politics.
Born to Aga Khan II in Karachi, Aga Khan II ...
See also
*
Pakistani students
*
Italy–Pakistan relations
References
ITHUBPKthe ithubpk, Pakistan, 2007-12-02, retrieved 2008-11-18
Further reading
*
Islam in Italy
Muslim communities in Europe
Pakistani diaspora in Italy
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