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Pakistan 2013

Pakistan

Khanewal, Punjab

In a small village near Khanewal, Punjab, an area known as Pakistan’s “cotton belt,” a woman sews clothes for her family. Next to her, seated on a Pakistani rope charpoy, her daughter learns to sew. The village, a farm cooperative, consists of mud homes surrounded by low mud walls. Inside each home an extended family lives and works. The women are not veiled and can be seen bustling about the compound doing chores with children all around. With traditional Pakistani hospitality, they warmly greet visitors and invite them into their compounds for a visit.
Photo © 2007 Barbara Janes
Peace Corps, Pakistan 1961-1963

Pakistan/Jamhuryat Islami Pakistan
Southern Asia, bordered by Arabian Sea, between India on east, Iran and Afghanistan on west, China to the north. Flat Indus plain in east, mountains in north and northwest, Balochistan plateau in west. 796,095 km2 (slightly < 2 x CA) 24% arable.

Capital Islamabad (1.7M)

Population 190M (239/km2)

Life expectancy 66 years

HIV/AIDS 0.1%

Literacy 50%

Lang(s) Punjabi 48%, Sindhi 12%, Saraiki 10%, Pashtu 8%, Urdu OFFICIAL 8%, Balochi 3%, Hindko 2%, Brahui 1%, English OFFICIAL, Burushaski and other 8%

Religions Muslim 95% (Sunni 75%, Shia 20%), other (includes Christian and Hindu) 5%

Ethnic Groups Punjabi 45%, Pashtun (Pathan) 15%, Sindhi 14%, Sariaki 8%, Muhajirs 8%, Balochi 4%, other 6%

Gov’t Federal Republic

GDP/cap $2,800

PCVs 1961-67, 1982-91; agriculture, business, health, education, youth development. VOLUNTEERS SERVED 517(+)

Nat’l holiday Republic Day, 23 March (1956)

Adult Books

Back to Pakistan
by Leslie Noyes Mass

Hardcover: 236 pages
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers (August 12, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1442213197

Book Description
Mass was a Peace Corps volunteer in Pakistan in the early 1960s. This volume, subtitled A Fifty-year Journey and published in 2011, is a recounting of her return to Pakistan decades later, interwoven with letters and diary entries written during her volunteer service.

Kids' Books

Broken Moon
by Kim Antieau

Format: Hardcover, 183 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1-41691767-0
Age Range: 14+ years
Publisher: New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2007

Films

Film: Khuda Kay Liye
Director: Shoaib Mansoor (2007)

Music

Pakistani Dance (5:52 min)

Singer Shazia Khushk: Shazia (1:27 min)

Focus Word

Focus Word for 2013 - "Friendship"

Urdu (OFFICIAL): Dosti (dos-tee) or Dostana (dos-ta-nah)

Printed floral design from fabric.
Copyright © Julie Olsen

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