|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Pakistan
has a rich and
unique culture that
has preserved
established
traditions
throughout history.
Many cultural
practices, foods,
monuments, and
shrines were
inherited from the
rule of Muslim
Mughal and Afghan
emperors including
the national dress
of Shalwar Qameez.
Women wear brightly
colored shalwar
qameez, while men
often wear
solid-colored ones,
usually with a
sherwani or achkan
(long coat) that is
worn over the
garment.
The variety of
Pakistani music
ranges from diverse
provincial folk
music and
traditional styles
such as Qawwali and
Ghazal Gayaki to
modern forms fusing
traditional and
western music, such
as the
synchronization of
Qawwali and western
music by the
renowned Nusrat
Fateh Ali Khan.
Other major Ghazal
singers include
Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam
Ali, Farida Khanum,
Tahira Syed, Abida
Parveen and Iqbal
Bano. The arrival of
Afghan refugees in
the western
provinces has
rekindled Pashto and
Persian music and
established Peshawar
as a hub for Afghan
musicians and a
distribution centre
for Afghan music
abroad. Until the
1990s, the
state-owned Pakistan
Television
Corporation (PTV)
and Pakistan
Broadcasting
Corporation were the
dominant media
outlets, but there
are now numerous
private television
channels such as Geo
TV, Indus TV, Hum,
ARY, KTN, Sindh TV
and Kashish. Various
American, European,
and Asian television
channels and movies
are available to the
majority of the
Pakistani population
via cable and
satellite
television. There
are also small
indigenous movie
industries based in
Lahore and Peshawar
(often referred to
as Lollywood and
Pollywood). Although
Bollywood movies are
banned, Indian film
stars are generally
popular in Pakistan.
Pakistani society is
largely multilingual
and predominantly
Muslim, with high
regard for
traditional family
values, although
urban families have
grown into a nuclear
family system due to
the socio-economic
constraints imposed
by the traditional
joint family system.
Recent decades have
seen the emergence
of a middle class in
cities like Karachi,
Lahore, Rawalpindi,
Hyderabad,
Faisalabad, Sukkur
and Peshawar that
wish to move in a
more liberal
direction, as
opposed to the
northwestern regions
bordering
Afghanistan that
remain highly
conservative and
dominated by
centuries-old
regional tribal
customs. Increasing
globalization has
increased the
influence of
"Western culture"
with Pakistan
ranking 46th on the
Kearney/FP
Globalization Index.
There are an
approximated four
million Pakistanis
living abroad, with
close to a
half-million
expatriates living
in the United States
and around a million
living in Saudi
Arabia. As well as
nearly one million
people of Pakistani
descent in the
United Kingdom,
there are burgeoning
cultural
connections.
Tourism is a growing
industry in
Pakistan, based on
its diverse
cultures, peoples
and landscapes.
Ancient civilization
ruins such as
Mohenjo-daro,
Harappa and Taxila,
to the Himalayan
hill stations
attract those
interested in field
and winter sports.
Pakistan is home to
several mountain
peaks over 7000m,
which attracts
adventurers and
mountaineers from
around the world,
especially K2. The
northern parts of
Pakistan have many
old fortresses,
towers and other
architecture as well
as the Hunza and
Chitral valleys, the
latter being home to
the small
pre-Islamic Animist
Kalasha community
who claim descent
from the army of
Alexander the Great.
Punjab is the site
of Alexander's
battle on the Jhelum
River and the
historic city
Lahore, Pakistan's
cultural capital
with many examples
of Mughal
architecture such as
the Badshahi Masjid,
Shalimar Gardens,
Tomb of Jahangir and
the Lahore Fort. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
