Pakistani Values

SUMMARY ( Article : Arabic Cluster : A Bridge Between East and West ) :

This article highlights the importance of the Arabic cluster which includes Egypt , Turkey ,Morocco , Kuwait and Qatar. The Arabic cluster lies in the Middle Eastern part of the world. All of these countries are rich in natural resources specially oil and have high GDP’s and contribute to about 18% of the world economy. The people in these countries have many things in common as they are not only geographically connected but also follow the same religion i-e Islam (above 90% Muslims). Most of the people speak Arabic as their mother tongue except turkey where people mostly speak Turkish. Majority of people dress, eat and behave in accordance with Islamic teachings. These countries attract great deal of foreign labor because of their vast oil industry. The major attributes of people in Arabic cluster are that they are highly group oriented, masculine , hierarchical and low on future orientation.  

Transformation :

 This is assignment about transforming the article to Pakistani perspective. Various sections of this article have been chosen and written from Pakistani point of view.

1. Demographic and Economic profile :

Geograhically Pakistan is located in the northwest of south asia.  Pakistan has a 1,046-kilometre (650 mi) coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by India to the east, Afghanistan to the west, Iran to the southwest and China in the far northeast respectively. It is separated from Tajikistan by Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor in the north, and also shares a maritime border with Oman. Pakistan is a highly populated country( 6th in the world) with a variety of landscape.  There is great potential for tourism in Pakistan, but it is severely affected by the country's instability. The economy of Pakistan is the 26th largest in the world in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP), and 41st largest in terms of nominal Gross Domestic Product. As Pakistan has a population of over 200 million (the world's 6th-largest), thus GDP per capita is $4,993 ranking 133th in the world, however, Pakistan's undocumented economy is estimated to be 36% of its overall economy, which is not taken into consideration when calculating per capita income. Pakistan is a developing country and is one of the Next Eleven, the eleven countries that, along with the BRICs, have a potential to become one of the world's large economies in the 21st century. However, after decades of war and social instability, as of 2013, serious deficiencies in basic services such as railway transportation and electric power generation had developed. The economy is semi-industrialized, with centres of growth along the Indus River. The textile industry enjoys a pivotal position in the exports of Pakistan. Pakistan is the 4th largest producer of cotton with the third largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India, and contributes 5% to the global spinning capacity.  Primary export commodities include textiles, leather goods, sports goods, chemicals and carpets/rugs.The country’s  economic growth is varying since its inception i-e slow during democratic rule and good in martial law rule. The country’s varying economy enforces  it to be dependent on IMF.

1. RELIGION :

The state religion in Pakistan is Islam, which is practiced by about 95-98% of the 195,343,000 people of the nation. The remaining 2-5% practice Christianity, Hinduism and other religions. Muslims are divided into the following  sects: the majority of them practice Sunni Islam, while 5-20% are Shias.  Nearly all Pakistani Sunni Muslims belong to the Hanafi Fiqh Islamic law school.[5] The majority of Pakistani Shia Muslims belong to the Ithnā‘Ashariyyah Islamic law school, with significant minority groups who practice Ismailism, which is composed of Nizari (Aga Khanis), Mustaali, Dawoodi Bohra, Sulaymani, and others. These sects often have clashes among them due to high ethnocentrism in Pakistan.

1. POLITICAL IDEOLOGY :

The Politics in Pakistan takes place within the framework under which the country is established by the Constitution. Classified itself as a nation-state in South Asia, Pakistan is an Islamic and federal parliamentary republic with Islam being its state religion. Stipulations set by the Constitution to provide a delicate check and balance of sharing powers between Executive, Parliament, and Judicature are reserved as the federal government shares sovereignty with the provincial governments. Since 1947, the military establishment has played an integral and influential role in country's politics. As an aftermath of the large-scale conventional war with India in 1971, the two-party system has dominated in Pakistan's politics; although there have been a sharp rise of other political parties.  Elections are held every five-consecutive years. The new governments are formed through direct elections followed by the electoral college.