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“UNDERSTANDING”

“PAKISTAN ToDAy”

Pakistan has been the centre of much attention in recent months ; now front-line state

fighting against the terrorism being a part of international coalition. Her President and

P/Minister travelling widely to gain acceptance for his regime and help for his country;

her experiments in building an Islamic society leading the Muslim world; and behind the

headlines, a quiet and secret work, as God has been building His kingdom.

In this booklet we want to help you to come to a better understanding of this unique

and beautiful land.

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We want to introduce you to the land at the crossroads of Asia, to her history and to her

people, to her culture and her religion. Above all we want to introduce you to her

Church, to help you understand what God is doing in Pakistan today, and to solicit your

prayers and your concern for God’s work in this special day of opportunity.

“understanding PAKISTAN’S past…”

*…. O e a st o ghold of Buddhis ……

*…. Co ue ed Da ius I of Pe sia, a d tha

…… Ale a de the G eat……

*….. O e -run by the Muslim armies of

…… Moha ad i Qasi i AD………

*….. Hea t of the Mughal E pi e…………

………………seat of the g eat “ikh ki gdo ……. In the 19th e tu ………

I o po ated i to the ast ….. B itish I dia E pi e……………..

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And then, in 1930, the poet Allama Mohammad Iqbal presented his dream a national

homeland for Indian Muslims. In 1933 Choudhri Rahmat Ali suggested the name,

PAKI“TAN the la d of the Pu e. A d i th ough the astute politi al craftsmanship of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan was born as the British rule in

I dia…. A Isla i Repu li eated to e od the ideals of Isla and to provide a

haven for the Muslims of Hindu-dominated India.

Originally in two halves, East and West , Pakistan is now one land mass with India to

the East, Afghanistan and Iran to the West; East Pakistan separated in 1971 to become

the independent of Bangladesh.

Sadly, and for deep-rooted historical reasons, there has been constant hostility

between India and Pakistan, which has erupted into war three times in 1947, 1965 and

1971. Relations with Afghanistan have also been strained through Russian occupation

of that land in 1980 and the consequent influx of 3 million Afghan refugees into

Pakistan.

Pakistan today is a land with a multi-faced identity. Geographically and ethnically

linked to India, historically to the British Common wealth religiously deeply linked to

the heart of Islam, Saudi Arabia and increasingly today materially linked to the

technological revolutions of Japan and the Western World.

“PAKISTAN”

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A ea: , s KMs… ei g kilo ete s o th to south, a d a out kilometers east

to est. Co p isi g Fou …

Provinces : Baluchistan, Punjab, Sind and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Jammu and

Kashmir in dispute with India.

Population : 193,238,868 (July 2013); 105 per sq KM. ANNUAL growth : 1.52%

Principal Cities: Karachi (13.125 million) , Lahore ( 7.132 million), Faisalabad (2.849

million), Rawalpindi ( 2.026 million), Islamabad Capital (832,000). 36.2% of people live

in the cities and 63.8% in villages.

Languages: Urdu the national language, is only spoken by the minority of the

people as their first language, Punjabi, Sindhi, Baluchi, Pashto and about 35 other

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languages are spoken . English is used for official purposes and is the medium of

higher education.

Literacy : Officially around 17.9 %

Religion: Muslim (official) 96.4% (Sunni 85-90%, Shia 10-15%), other (includes

Christian and Hindu) 3.6% (2010 est.

“ThE PEoPlE…”

There is great variety among the people of Pakistan. For centuries the land has been a

cross roads for migrating people from both East and West traders, conquerors,

wanderers have settled and mixed with the inhabitants of the land.

Descendants of the Greeks who came with Alexander the Great, Mongol peoples

migrated from central Asia, the offspring of African Negro slaves probably brought by

the Arab invaders, even some who claim descent from the ten lost tribes of Israel all

these and more mingled with the earlier inhabitants the Dravidian and Aryan people.

…… La guage…….

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While URDU (itself descended from Sanskrit with many Arabic and Persian additions)

is the official language of Pakistan. Only a minority speak it as a first language. Forty

other languages are in daily use, most of which are only spoken and not written

languages. English is still used widely.

.... A d Cou t …..

There is a great variety in the land:

…i the o th the assi e s o -capped peaks of the Himalayan, Karakoram and

Hi dukush ou tai s ith the o ld’s se o d highest ou tai K-2 Mount Godwin

Austin) on the border of Azad Kashmir and China.

… i the south the d hill dese t of Balu hista a d the Thar desert which stretches

from Eastern Sind into India.

… a d i et ee , the lush fe tile plains of the River Indus (from which India gets her

name), with its source in Tibet, stretching over a thousand kilometers from the

northern hills to the Arabian Sea.

In climate too there is variety; snow five feet deep falls in the Murree hills in winter,

while temperature in sind and Baluchistan are among the hottest in the whole

subcontinent in summer. Monsoon rains drench Punjab and Sind in July and August,

while parts of the western hills have only a few inches of rain each year.

“UNDERSTANDING ISlAm IN PAKISTAN…”

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The five pillars of Islam, which every good Muslim should observe are.

1. Reciting the creed (kalmia): There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is the

Prophet of Allah. This creed in Arabic will be found written in many prominent

public places in Pakistan, on buildings , in homes, on taxi etc.

2. Prayer to Allah five times a day (namaz). All over the country the call goes out

from the loudspeakers set up on the mosque minarets. Allah is ost g eat…. Co e to P a e … Ve fe a tuall p a egula l .

3. Fasting (Saum) during the month of Ramadan. No food may be eaten publicly

during the day anywhere in Pakistan. Restaurants are close till sunset.

4. Alms-giving (Zakat). This is now a compulsory tax for Muslims in Pakistan.

Proceeds go to the poor.

5. Pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia (Hajj). Thousands of pilgrims go every year

by air and sea from Karachi.

The e a e t o ai se ts of Isla . “u i a d “hi’a. Most of Pakista is a e Sunnis. The

differences between the two are slight but often erupt into open clashes.

Islam in Pakistan is a religion of many festivals, rituals and deeply engrained customs

that affect every area of daily life. Most Muslims in Pakistan are more superstitious

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than religious, not bound so much to the legalistic rules of Islam as they are to go to

spiritual teachers or guides (pirs). Almost every Pakistani Muslims has a special pir to

whom he will go regularly for guidance. Many Pakistanis also deep superstitious

regard for the graves of dead saints charms and other mystical objects of devotion.

“The church in Pakistan…”

The “p ead of the Gospel…..

Christian preachers have passed through the land now known as PAKISTAN since

Apostolic times when Thomas-the Apostle is said to have founded the Church in South

India. However, only after the British conquest of the Sikh kingdom in Punjab in 1784

did Missions being intensive evangelistic work in this area.

1850: The Anglican Church began work in Karachi, soon moving i la d to… othe cities. After 35 years of labor the entire Anglican Ch istia … o u it i the egio numbered only 511.

1855: Andrew Gordon arrived in India to Spearhead the work of the United

Presbyterian Church of the USA in the area around Sialkot.

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These two Churches remain the largest in Pakistan, though many other missions came

in to do valuable work in the following decades. Schools, colleges, hospitals and other

mission institutes did noble community services, but growth of the Christian Church

was very slow.

In 1873, however there began a mass movement of people to Christ from the Hindu

Chuh a aste the a ea of Punjab around Sialkot. But 1900 there were 7000

Presbyterian converts and 5000 Anglicans. The famous Sialkot convention, a centre of

revival, was started in 1904 by the missionary John Praying Hyde.

By 1930 there were 45000 Presbyterians and an equal number of Anglicans, plus many

more from other missions.

. . . The result has been that there is a Church today in Pakistan that is numerically

strong, numbered in thousand but spiritually weak and ignorant. The vast majority of

the Christians come from a poor, illiterate and depressed. Caste of Hinduism and are

now fourth-generation nominal Christians. Surrounded by a militant Muslim majority,

the Church itself of from evangelism out of fear, and shut itself into introspection with

a serious inferiority complex , compounded by internal divisions, political power-

grabbing and carnal status-seeking.

The Church Alive Happily, however, there are many bright lights on this dark horizon.

** In spite of all fears, the government remains committed to equal rights for every

citizen whatever his religion, which guarantees freedom to practice and propagate

the faith.

** Missionaries are not allowed to live in Pakistan but can come to visit and

strengthen the Churches.

** The Church remains essentially evangelical, troubled very little by liberal

theology or sectarian false teaching. The problem is ignorance and carnality, not false

teaching.

** Young people are coming to Christ and are growing in serious spiritual maturity.

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** The annual Christian Conventions held in many parts of the country attract

thousands of people and provide Bible teaching and evangelistic challenge.

“Punjab”

Second largest of the four provinces (206, 251sq. KMs), Punjab contains 61% of

Pakista ’s people ½ illio i .

Punjab means five waters referring to the five rivers that divide it- the Chenab,

Jhelum, Ravi, Satluj and Beas, all of which flow into the Indus near the Southern

border of the Province. Punjab is consequently a flat and fertile land producing most

of the wheat and rice that feed the nation.

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The Punjabi is mainly a framer or soldier, usually tall, well built, active and

industrious. 72% of the Punjabis live in 25,000 villages. Density of population is more

than double the national average. Punjabi culture is rich with folk songs and dances.

Lahore (7.132 million) is the major city, followed by Faisalabad 5 million, Rawalpindi,

Multan and Gujranwala ( all over 3 million).

A out % of Pakista ’s Ch istia s a e Pu ja is. The e a e hole Pu ja i illages which are entirely populated by Christians and any hundred of villages with sizeable

Christian communities Christian at least in name.

Much mission activity has focused on the Punjabi Christians. There are major mission

hospitals i Laho e, Multa , “ahi al, “ialkot, Te ila et ….O e of the ai theologi al seminaries is in Gujranwala.

“Balochistan”

The la gest of Pakista ’s fou p o i es , s KM’s. Balu hista has a population of only 15 million. The Countryside is barren, consisting of dry valleys,

saline lakes and vast area of desert with dry hills.

The Baluchistan, like the Pathans are a sensitive and independent people and have

long been seeking political autonomy, which has caused continuous tension in the

region compounded by the influx of refugees from both Afghanistan and Iran.

Quetta, the Capital , has a sizable Christian community and mission hospital, but open

evangelism is discouraged due to local political and religious sensitivities . Much of the

rest of Baluchistan is inaccessible and prohibited to outsiders.

Sindh

Sindh is the industrial province of the Pakistan and different kind

of industries are located in Karachi, so this city is also capital of

sindh. At time of independence Karachi was a capital of the

Pakistan but it was changed, and Islamabad is capital now. Second

Karachi is the biggest city of the Pakistan with millions of

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population and area there Karachi is situated. The climate of Sindh

is too hot in all places.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is another province of the Pakistan and in

this province mostly population and people are belonging from

Patha fa il so that’s h go e e t has ee ha ged its name from N.W.F.P to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Peshawar is the

capital of this province, and the climate of this area is too cold and

hot in some locations.