Like all countries around the world, Pakistan is surrounded by a plethora of misunderstandings. As an English woman who has never stepped foot in Asia, let alone Pakistan, I thought I’d delve into the world of stereotypes and attempt to bust some myths about the glorious country that is Pakistan:
Pakistan Is In The Middle East
Although Pakistan is situated near what many of us would refer to as the Middle East, it is actually part of South Asia. The Middle East isn’t particularly well defined geographically, but most agree that it is made up of Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
Arabic Is Pakistan’s Mother Tongue
Although philologists claim that there are over 300 dialects and languages spoken throughout Pakistan, not one of those languages is Arabic. For many years, Pakistan’s national language was English, however in July Pakistani Minister of Planning, National Reforms and Development Ahsan Iqbal told TIME that the country would be switching to Urdu.
Urdu is perhaps the closest language to Arabic as it is a mixture of Arabic, Persian and other local languages. However, although it is written in Perso-Arabic script it’s arguably more similar to Standard Hindi. Other popular languages spoken throughout Pakistan include Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashtu, Balochi and, of course, English.
All Of Pakistan’s Neighbouring Countries Speak Arabic
Pakistan shares borders with India, China, Afghanistan and Iran, none of whom speak Arabic. In fact, lets just list the countries that actually do speak Arabic: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. More than 420 million people around the world speak Arabic, but very few of them live in or around Pakistan.
Pakistan Is Made Up Entirely Of Deserts
According to Pakistan Geographic, deserts do make up a significant amount of Pakistan’s overall landscape, particularly in the central and southeastern regions. The major deserts of Pakistan are the Thar, Cholistan, Thall and Kharan deserts.
That said, not all of Pakistan is one huge baron desert. Pakistan is actually home to the oldest and second largest Juniper forest in the world, where some of the trees are thought to be over 3000-years-old. Forests cover 4.8% of the Pakistani landscape, and although this falls below the optimum 25%, the forests are extremely bio-diverse and unique.
Pakistan is also home to the largest collection of glaciated ice in the world outside of the North and South Pole. These glaciers are found in the three great mountain ranges of Karakoram, Himalaya and Hindukush. ICIMOD claims that 5218 glaciers can be found in Pakistan, as well as 2420 glacial lakes.
Pakistan Doesn’t Have Any Great, Beautiful Cities
The idea that Pakistan has no beautiful, grand cities was probably formed by the same people who think Pakistan is one massive desert. In reality, Pakistan is home to many breathtaking cities; just look at the capital Islamabad for example.
Established in 1960, Islamabad is the ninth largest city in Pakistan. Within the capital there are attractions such as the Margallah Pass, the Wah Gardens and Hassan Abdal, as well as the Faisal Mosque. Meanwhile in Lahore, the second most populated city in Pakistan is home to Badshahi Masjid, Minar-e Pakistan, Lahore Zoo, the Golden Mosque and the 13 Gates Of Lahore.
Of course, we can’t forget Karachi, the second largest city in Asia, and third largest in the world. Quaid-e-Azam Mausoleum, Clifton Beach, Funland, Masjid-e-Tooba, Bagh-e-Jinnah and the Empress Market can all be found here. Whilst we’re talking about beautiful cities, we simply must mention Quetta, Multan, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Gujranwala and Hyderabad, all of which have their own diverse array of historic monuments and pure beauty.
Pakistani’s Only Eat Curry
Here is some Pakistani cuisine that is not curry:
Biryani – often made with either chicken or lamb and traditionally served with raita.
Kashmiri Chai – with pistachios and almonds on top.
Gajor Ka Halwa – Made from carrots and served at weddings.
Seekh Kebabs – put simply, these are mince hot dogs.
Falooda – made of milk, ice cream, jelly, basil, rose syrup and noodles, falooda a summer drink often served as desert.
Naan – a staple of Pakistani cuisine. FYI, if you say ‘naan bread’ your saying ‘bread bread’. The more you know.
Kulfi – Sort of like ice cream, often served at weddings.
Osama Bin Laden Was From Pakistan
Although Bin Laden died in Abbottabad, he was born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Whilst we’re here, lets just make it clear that Saddam Hussein wasn’t born in Pakistan either he’s from Iraq.
Pakistani’s Hate Indians
Although that kid may look less than impressed, Pakistani’s and Indians are largely friendly towards each other despite military and political conflicts. Unless of course there’s a cricket match happening.
