ECONOMY OF PAKISTAN
Pakistan is basically a poor country with a lot of inequality and illiterate people. There is a rich and politically-connected elite that wield a great deal of power in some of the more lucrative economic sectors. The country relies heavily on foreign loans and grants, and debt obligations take nearly 50 percent of the government's expenditures. The average per capita income per person in Pakistan is low and a large number of Pakistanis, estimated at 35 percent, live below the poverty line.
Pakistan continues to have a largely agricultural economy. The Pakistani economy is about one fifth the size of India's and is much more vulnerable to sanctions and the cut off of aide. By many estimates, Pakistan is one of the ten poorest nations in the world. A typical Pakistani earns only a few dollars a day. Some industrialized regions around Karachi and Lahore are relative prosperity and are in sharp contrast to the poverty of semi-arid Balochistan and the mountainous Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where illiteracy rates are high and people struggle to earn a living from the land.
According to the World Bank's statistics, Pakistan is among Asia's five fastest emerging economies, registering a growth rate of over 5.7 percent in 2017. Karachi remains country's main trade and economic hub but with the ongoing development of another port city Gwadar and regional connectivity ushered in by China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a major impetus to country's international trade and economic activity is expected. More than half the working population is involved in agriculture and live in rural areas. Manufacturing, mining, and service industries are the other large employers in the urban sectors. Many people go abroad in search of work. [Source: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime]
Pakistan is the world's 43rd largest economy out of 192 countries based on a GDP of about US$287 billion in 2019 (compared to around US$7 billion in Malawi and US$21 trillion in the United States). This is not so great considering Pakistan is the now the fifth most populous country in the world. Pakistan’s ranking is just below that of Bangladesh and South Africa and just ahead of Portugal and Vietnam. [Source: World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, Wikipedia Wikipedia ]
Economic competitiveness ranking of 141 countries: 110 with a score of 51.4 (compared to the United States ranked No. 1 with a score of 85.6 and Chad in last place with a score of 35.6). [Source: World Economic Forum, based on statistical measures and subjective opinions of businessmen who travel a lot overseas weforum.org ].
Economy Overview of Pakistan
According to the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Nations”: “Despite steady expansion of the industrial sector during the 1990s, Pakistan's economy remains dominated by agriculture. Agriculture and industry made roughly similar contributions to GDP — 21.6 percent and 25.1 percent, respectively — in 2005, although 42 percent of the labor force was in agriculture and only 20 percent in industry. About 70 percent of export revenues are generated by agriculture or agriculture-based manufactures, with cotton alone accounting for about 60 percent of the total. Exports of primary agricultural products are concentrated in cotton and rice. One-fourth of the land is farmed or used for grazing, and much of this is planted to food crops for domestic consumption. Pakistan is generally poor in natural resources, although extensive reserves of natural gas and petroleum are being exploited. Iron ore, chromite, and low-quality coal are mined. [Source: “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Nations”, Thomson Gale, 2007]
“This strong performance not withstanding, a growing debt-servicing burden, large government expenditures on public enterprises, low tax revenues, high levels of defense spending, and a rapid rise in imports with burgeoning domestic demand contributed to serious fiscal and current account deficits during the late 1980s. In response, in 1988 the government initiated a major structural reform program with World Bank and IMF support. When the country was created in 1947, there were no industries, and few banks or mercantile firms. Since that time, industrial production has risen significantly. In 1998, industry accounted for about 26 percent of the GDP, compared with only 7 percent in 1950. Thanks in part to significant expansion of power facilities, largely in the Indus basin, the pace of economic development was particularly rapid during the 1980s. For most of the decade, the annual GDP growth rate averaged 6.5 percent, reflecting an expansion of over 4 percent annually in the agricultural sector and over 7 percent in value added in the industrial sector.
Decades of internal political disputes and low levels of foreign investment have led to underdevelopment in Pakistan. Pakistan has a large English-speaking population, with English-language skills less prevalent outside urban centers. Despite some progress in recent years in both security and energy, a challenging security environment, electricity shortages, and a burdensome investment climate have traditionally deterred investors. Agriculture accounts for one-fifth of output and two-fifths of employment. Textiles and apparel account for more than half of Pakistan's export earnings; Pakistan's failure to diversify its exports has left the country vulnerable to shifts in world demand. Pakistan’s GDP growth has gradually increased since 2012, and was 5.3 percent in 2017. Official unemployment was 6 percent in 2017, but this fails to capture the true picture, because much of the economy is informal and underemployment remains high. Human development continues to lag behind most of the region. [Source: CIA World Factbook, 2020]
In 2013, Pakistan embarked on a US$6.3 billion IMF Extended Fund Facility, which focused on reducing energy shortages, stabilizing public finances, increasing revenue collection, and improving its balance of payments position. The program concluded in September 2016. Although Pakistan missed several structural reform criteria, it restored macroeconomic stability, improved its credit rating, and boosted growth. The Pakistani rupee has remained relatively stable against the US dollar since 2015, though it declined about 10 percent between November 2017 and March 2018. Balance of payments concerns have reemerged, however, as a result of a significant increase in imports and weak export and remittance growth.
Pakistan must continue to address several longstanding issues, including expanding investment in education, healthcare, and sanitation; adapting to the effects of climate change and natural disasters; improving the country’s business environment; and widening the country’s tax base. Given demographic challenges, Pakistan’s leadership will be pressed to implement economic reforms, promote further development of the energy sector, and attract foreign investment to support sufficient economic growth necessary to employ its growing and rapidly urbanizing population, much of which is under the age of 25.
In an effort to boost development, Pakistan and China are implementing the "China-Pakistan Economic Corridor" (CPEC) with US$60 billion in investments targeted towards energy and other infrastructure projects. Pakistan believes CPEC investments will enable growth rates of over 6 percent of GDP by laying the groundwork for increased exports. CPEC-related obligations, however, have raised IMF concern about Pakistan’s capital outflows and external financing needs over the medium term.
Pakistan’s Economy in the Mid 2000s
Throughout the 1990s, Pakistan’s economy suffered for a number of reasons, but from 2002 to 2004 the economy has recovered as a result of changes in government policies and the resumption of international lending. Economic statistics do not reflect the reality of the economy, because official economic data omit the informal economy, which is estimated to equal about 30 percent of the formal economy. Agriculture employs the greatest proportion of the working population but accounts for less than 25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). This discrepancy is the result of rapid growth in services and industry since the 1980s, although major industries, such as textiles and sugar, are heavily reliant on agriculture. [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005 **]
Since independence, economic growth rates have been impressive but also have fluctuated widely. These fluctuations have occurred largely because successive governments have emphasized different sectors through changes in subsidies, regulations, and state ownership of industry. Furthermore, shifts in international aid and foreign capital flows have influenced economic growth through changes in government spending and budget deficits. Still, from 2002 to 2004 there were surpluses in the current account, inflation was low, and export growth was the highest in almost a decade. **
Economic liberalization and deregulation began in the early 1980s, continued through the 1990s, and have accelerated under the government of President Pervez Musharraf (1999–). The government has shifted from state ownership of many industries and heavy regulation of the private economy to privatization of some state industries, deregulation, facilitation of capital flows, and reforms of the financial system and monetary policy. Still, lax fiscal and monetary policies, infrastructural deficiencies, a poorly developed human resource base, and persistent market distortions that benefit a small elite of landowners, industrialists, and others undercut economic potential. **
Development of Pakistan’s Economy
Pakistan's cultivation of the rich alluvial soil of the Indus River basin is its single most important economic activity. Because of extensions and improvements to the irrigation system, waters of the Indus River and its tributaries flow to the fields, a necessity because of scant rainfall. The Indus irrigation system is the world's largest, but there are many problems because of inadequate water management and use. Farmers continue to employ traditional cultivation practices, and support services, such as research and development, are inadequate, although high-yield seeds and fertilizers are fairly widely used. Yields of most crops, with the significant exception of cotton, are low by international standards and substantially below the area's potential. Many farms are too small to support a family using existing agricultural practices. The landless often sharecrop or work as agricultural laborers. A flood in September 1992 temporarily displaced as many as 3 million people and destroyed many irrigation networks. Its effects are expected to limit agricultural production, particularly cotton, in the 1990s. [Source: Peter Blood, Library of Congress, 1994 *]
Since Pakistan became independent in 1947, its leaders have generally sought to increase the role of industry in the nation's economy. They achieved a remarkable degree of success toward this end. A broad industrial base is now in place, producing a wide range of products for both consumer and industrial use. Industrialization, however, has failed to create sufficient jobs for the rapidly expanding urban population. Construction and service-sector activities, especially in trade, transportation, and government, have expanded and now provide more employment than industry. Nonetheless, underemployment remains prevalent throughout the economy. An outdated infrastructure is another problem facing the economy. Frequent electricity shortages, for example, hamper industrial development and production.*
Most central government administrations have sought to raise the majority of the population's low standard of living through economic growth rather than through the redistribution of wealth. The gross domestic product (GDP) in constant prices increased an average of 5.3 percent per year between 1950 and 1993, roughly 2 percent per year faster than population growth. In fiscal year (FY) 1993, GDP amounted to the equivalent of US$50.8 billion, or roughly US$408 on a per capita basis. Income, however, has never been evenly distributed. Furthermore, the unequal income distribution pattern has been a political issue since the late 1960s and is expected to remain controversial throughout the 1990s. Social development indicators reflect long-standing problems in providing basic health and education services. Only just over one third of all children of primary school age attended school in 1989, a rate well below the average for low-income countries). It was estimated in 1992 that 28 percent of the population lived below the official poverty line, which is based on the government's estimate of an income sufficient to provide basic minimum needs.*
A pressing problem facing the economy is the government's chronically high budget deficit, which has adverse implications for the nation's balance of payments, inflation and exchange rates, capital formation, and overall financial stability. The government has been attempting to restore fiscal balance through a multiyear structural adjustment program designed to increase revenues, control spending, and stabilize monetary growth. In addition, the government has privatized public-sector industrial enterprises, financial institutions, and utilities; eliminated state monopolies in banking, insurance, shipping, telecommunications, airlines, and power generation; and liberalized investment and foreign exchange regulations. As of early 1994, not all these programs had been implemented as quickly as planned, however, and the deficit and the associated structural problems persisted.*
Economic Statistics for Pakistan
GDP (purchasing power parity): US$1.061 trillion (2017 est.)
US$1. 007 trillion (2016 est.)
US$962.8 billion (2015 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): US$305 billion (2017 est.) =
Fiscal year (FY): 1 July — 30 June
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2020 =]
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019: US$282 billion (compared to around US$7 billion in Malawi and US$21 trillion in the United States). [Source: World Population Review worldpopulationreview.com ]
Growth (GDP, real growth rate): 5.4 percent (2017 est.), compared with other countries in the world: 41
4.6 percent (2016 est.)
4. 1 percent (2015 est.) =
GDP — per capita (PPP): US$5,400 (2017 est.)
US$5,200 (2016 est.)
US$5,100 (2015 est.) =
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in 2019: US$1,254 (compared to around US$356 in Malawi and US$65,000 in the United States). [Source: World Population Review worldpopulationreview.com ]
Gross national saving: 12 percent of GDP (2017 est.)
13.9 percent of GDP (2016 est.)
14.7 percent of GDP (2015 est.) =
GDP — composition, by end use: household consumption: 82 percent (2017 est.)
government consumption: 11.3 percent (2017 est.)
investment in fixed capital: 14.5 percent (2017 est.)
investment in inventories: 1.6 percent (2017 est.)
exports of goods and services: 8. 2 percent (2017 est.)
imports of goods and services: -17.6 percent (2017 est.) =
Unemployment rate: 6 percent (2017 and 2016est.) Pakistan has substantial underemployment; compared with other countries in the world: 90. The rate in 2001 was 8.1 percent, compared to 7.8 percent o 2000. In While unemployment was officially 6.6 percent in 2005, underemployment was believed to be as high as 25 percent. =
Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4. 1 percent (2017 est.); 2.9 percent (2016 est.); compared with other countries in the world: 161 The exact figures for inflation rates vary by source, but it is clear that rates of inflation declined throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. According to World Bank figures, inflation peaked at 25 percent in 1974, ranged from approximately 4 percent to 11 percent in the late 1970s and 1980s, and rose to 13 percent in 1991. After 1991, inflation generally declined to 2.4 percent in 2002 and 4.2 percent in 2003. [ = Source: Library of Congress, February 2005]
Sectors of the Pakistan Economy
GDP — composition, by sector of origin: agriculture: 24.4 percent (2016 est.)
industry: 19. 1 percent (2016 est.)
services: 56.5 percent (2017 est.)
Labor force; — by occupation: agriculture: 42.3 percent
industry: 22.6 percent
services: 35. 1 percent (FY2015 est.) =
According to the Columbia Encyclopedia: “Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan's economy, employing more than 40 percent of the population. Cotton, wheat, rice, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables, and tobacco are the chief crops, and cattle, sheep, and poultry are raised. There is also a fishing industry. Most of Pakistan's agricultural output comes from the Indus basin. The country is now self-sufficient in food, as vast irrigation schemes have extended farming into arid areas, and fertilizers and new varieties of crops have increased yields. [Source: Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed., The Columbia University Press]
“Pakistan's industrial base is able to supply many of the country's needs in consumer goods and other products. The country major manufactures textiles (the biggest earner of foreign exchange), processed foods, pharmaceuticals, construction materials, paper products, and fertilizer. Remittances from Pakistanis working abroad constitute the second largest source of foreign exchange. Since the mid-1950s electric power output has greatly increased, mainly because of the development of hydroelectric power potential and the use of thermal power plants.
The largest sector of the economy is service, which constitutes over 55 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 35 percent of the labor force. Growth in the industrial sector was substantial in the 1970s and 80s but declined in the 1990s and 2000s largely due to inconsistent economic policies of successive governments. According to “Cities of the World”: “A common feature in developing countries is the informal sector , often making up a good deal of the services sector. The popular view of informal sector activities is that they are primarily those of petty traders, smugglers, drug traffickers, street hawkers , shoeshine boys, and other groups underemployed on the streets of the big towns. Evidence suggests that the bulk of employment in the informal sector, far from being only marginally productive, is economically efficient and profit-making, though mostly small in scale and limited by simple technologies and little capital. The informal sector employs a variety of tradesmen offering virtually the full range of basic skills needed to provide goods and services for a large though often poor section of the population. Persons employed in this sector are not documented, meaning they do not have access to public services and do not pay income tax. [Source: “Cities of the World”, The Gale Group Inc., 2002]
Money of Pakistan
Monetary unit: Pakistani rupees (PKR, or rupee (r)) is divided into 100 paisa. There are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, and 50 paisa and of 1 rupee, and notes of 1, 2, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 rupees. r1 = US$0.01678 (or US$1 = r59.6) as of 2005. [Source: “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Nations”, Thomson Gale, 2007]
Exchange rates per US dollar: 160.425 (2020 est.)
155.04 (2019 est.)
138.8 (2018 est.)
102.769 (2014 est.)
101.1 (2013 est.)
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2020]
Currency and Exchange Rate: For decades Pakistan’s official currency, the rupee (Rs), has declined in value against the U.S. dollar. The official exchange rate was Rs4.76 to US$1 in 1970, Rs9.85 to US$1 in 1980, Rs21.61 to US$1 in 1990, Rs53.65 to US$1 in 2000, and approximately Rs59.34 to US$1 in late February 2005. [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005]
According to the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies”: In June 2001, 1 U.S. dollar equaled 63 Pakistani rupees. The rupee's average value against the dollar had been R12.7 for US$1 in 1982-83. This shows that inflation has been running high since that time. For the decade from 1980 to 1990, the inflation rate averaged 7 percent per year, and from 1990 to 1995, it reached an average
“Exchange rates: Pakistan
Pakistani rupees per US$1 : Jan 2001 59.152
2000: 52.814
1999: 49.118
1998: 44.943
1997: 40.918
1996: 35.909
[Source: “Worldmark Encyclopedia of National Economies”, The Gale Group Inc., 2002]
Inflation rate (consumer prices): Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4. 1 percent (2017 est.); 2.9 percent (2016 est.); compared with other countries in the world: 161 The exact figures for inflation rates vary by source, but it is clear that rates of inflation declined throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. According to World Bank figures, inflation peaked at 25 percent in 1974, ranged from approximately 4 percent to 11 percent in the late 1970s and 1980s, and rose to 13 percent in 1991. After 1991, inflation generally declined to 2.4 percent in 2002 and 4.2 percent in 2003. [ = Source: Library of Congress, February 2005]
GDP
GDP (purchasing power parity): US$1. 061 trillion (2017 est.)
US$1. 007 trillion (2016 est.)
US$962.8 billion (2015 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate): US$305 billion (2017 est.) =
[Source: CIA World Factbook, 2020 =]
Growth (GDP, real growth rate): 5.4 percent (2017 est.), compared with other countries in the world: 41
4.6 percent (2016 est.)
4. 1 percent (2015 est.) =
2.09 percent (2006 est.)
GDP — per capita (PPP): US$5,400 (2017 est.)
US$5,200 (2016 est.)
US$5,100 (2015 est.) =
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2019: US$282 billion (compared to around US$7 billion in Malawi and US$21 trillion in the United States). [Source: World Population Review worldpopulationreview.com ]
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in 2019: US$1,254 (compared to around US$356 in Malawi and US$65,000 in the United States). [Source: World Population Review worldpopulationreview.com ]
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)/Power Purchasing Parity (PPP): According to World Bank data, in 2003 Pakistan’s GDP was US$68.6 billion, gross national income (GNI) per capita was US$430, and PPP per capita was US$2,060. GDP grew an average of 5.4 percent annually from 1961 to 2003, but average annual GDP growth from 1993 to 2003 was lower, at 3.4 percent. Similarly, per capita GDP grew at an annual average of 2.6 percent from 1961 to 2003 and 0.9 percent from 1993 to 2003. From 1974 to 2004, agriculture’s proportion of GDP declined from 35 to 23 percent, whereas the proportion created by services increased from 43 percent to 52 percent, and industry and manufacturing increased slightly from 22 percent to 25 percent. [Source: Library of Congress, February 2005]
“According to the World Bank, in 2003 remittances from citizens working abroad totaled US$3.964 billion or about US$27 per capita and accounted for approximately 4.8 percent of GDP. Foreign aid receipts amounted to US$1,068 million or about US$7 per capita and accounted for approximately 1.3 percent of the gross national income (GNI). [Source: “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Nations”, Thomson Gale, 2007]
“The World Bank reports that in 2003 household consumption in Pakistan totaled US$60.57 billion or about US$409 per capita based on a GDP of US$82.3 billion, measured in current dollars rather than PPP. Household consumption includes expenditures of individuals, households, and nongovernmental organizations on goods and services, excluding purchases of dwellings. It was estimated that for the period 1990 to 2003 household consumption grew at an average annual rate of 4.0 percent. In 2001 it was estimated that approximately 45 percent of household consumption was spent on food, 19 percent on fuel, 6 percent on health care, and 5 percent on education. It was estimated that in 2001 about 32 percent of the population had incomes below the poverty line.
Pashtun Economics
The Pashtuns (Pathans) are an ethnic group that live in western and southern Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan and whose homeland is in the valleys of Hindu Kush. Three things are considered essential to a Pashtun man: “zar” (gold), “zamin” (land) and “zan” (women). If you don’t possess these things you are regarded nothing. Smuggling, raiding and politics have traditionally been considered honorable professions while trading and to a lesser extent farming were looked down upon. Despite this many Pashtuns are involved in trading and money lending and various kinds of businesses as well as agriculture.
Pashtuns are regarded as the world mst prolific smugglers. Many Pashtuns are involved in heroin, opium, hashish and weapons trafficking. Those living in the Tribal Areas have traditionally made a living smuggling fuel, automatic weapons, computer parts, and other contraband between Afghanistan and Pakistan. Blood feuds often have their roots in battles over smuggling routes. Some slave trading is said to still exist. The Pashtun were noticeably upset when the Musharraf government of the 2000s tried tax cross-border smuggling.
Traditional trades include bricklaying, carpentry. weaving. blacksmithing, goldsmithing and shoemaking. Darra Adam Khe is famous for its gun industry. In places were there are not enough jobs, Pashtuns have traditionally migrated to serve as mercenaries or work as laborers, drivers or entrepreneurs in the cities of Pakistan or the Persian Gulf states. Many Pashtuns have migrated to Karachi and other cities. Many truck drivers in Pakistan are Pashtuns.
Akbar S. Ahmed wrote in the “Encyclopedia of World Cultures”: “Many industrial activities are done by part-time Pashtun specialists who also farm. However, in many areas non-Pashtun occupational groups carry out these activities, as well as others such as weaving, blacksmithing, and goldsmithing. Villages in Pashtun areas have until recently been largely self-sufficient. In areas where” trade is still frowned up “trade is carried out by non-Pashtun (frequently Hindu) shopkeepers and peddlers or through barter with nomads.. [Source: Akbar S. Ahmed with Paul Titus “Encyclopedia of World Cultures Volume 3: South Asia,” edited by Paul Hockings, 1996 |~|]
“The strict observance of purdah results in a marked division of labor between the sexes. Although rural women may participate in the harvesting of crops, they remain primarily inside the compound where they are expected to do the traditional home tasks of rearing children, maintaining the house, cooking, etc. Indeed, purdah is frequently observed to such an extent that women are not allowed to go out in public to do the shopping; thus, the shopping is all done by men. Purdah is less strictly observed by nomadic groups. |~|
Baloch Economics
The Baloch, also know the Balochi, Baluch or Baluchi, are an ethnic group that live primarily in the sandy plains, deserts and barren mountains of southeast Iran, southwest Pakistan and southern Afghanistan. Balochistan has some large deposits of natural gas, coal, iron and other resources. There is iron and coal mining, and oil and gas exploration. The country's largest natural gas reservoir, discovered in 1952, is located at Sui. Inhabitants say they receive little benefit from these resources: most of the money goes to the central government and the Pakistani elite. The fact that Baloch have seen relatively few benefits from Balochistan’s natural gas and resources has bred resentment and anger. They are also angry that some of their traditional grazing land has been given to other groups, namely Pashtuns.
Baloch have traditionally been a very self-sufficient people, generally producing most of what they need for themselves. They have traditionally made their own homes, make many of the tools and household items they need themselves Women are skilled rug weavers and embroiderers. They have traditionally made rugs for household use and for sale.
Subsistence is hard in this environment and is achieved by pastoral nomadism, dryland and irrigated agriculture, and fishing. Raiding used to be profitable trade but is not practiced as much as it once was due to modern laws. Baloch sometimes earn extra cash smuggling opium and other goods. Opium and heroin addiction is a problem because so much opium and heroin is smuggled through the region.
Many Baloch that live along the coast are fishermen. Some Baloch have gotten jobs on ships that travel in the Arabian Sea. Young men have migrated to the cities and the oil fields of the Persian Gulf. Some work as cooks and crew members on ship, The large population of Afghan refugees has affected the Balochistan economy. Their goods, which have a Central Asian flavor, are widely available in bazaars.
Sindh Economics
Sindhis are the natives of the Sindh province, which includes Karachi, the lower part of the Indus River, the southeast coast of Pakistan and a lot of desert. Many people in the Sindh are engaged in agriculture and livestock raising. The fertile Indus Plains are heavily irrigated and provide a valuable source of income for the local people who practice farming on these lands. Nomadic way of lifestyle is commonly seen in the deserted regions of Thar Desert where people move from place to place in search for drinking water sources along with their animals.
According to the “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life”: Traditionally, Sindh lacked the pan-Indian four-tiered caste system (Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra). Brahmans, who elsewhere in the Indian subcontinent enjoyed high ritual status, were numerically insignificant. They were neither learned nor affluent, functioning only as priests to the Hindu trading castes. There was no question of royal patronage as the region was under Muslim rule. Since no Sindhi Hindus formed part of the nobility or army, Kshatriyas were notably absent from the region, as were Sudras, the castes who were tillers of the soil (these were mainly Muslims) or the service castes. The main Hindu communities in Sindh were, thus, of the trading caste — e.g. the Lohanas, Bhatias, Khatris, Chhaprus and Sahtas — and social hierarchies among these groups were primarily based on wealth. This social structure was unique to Sindh, and regional identity became more pronounced than caste identity. *\ [Source: D. O. Lodrick “Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life”, Cengage Learning, 2009 *]
“Around 70 percent of Sindhis derive their living from cultivation. Given the meager rainfall totals in the region, agriculture is dependent almost entirely on irrigation. The principal source of water is the Indus River, on which there are three major irrigation dams (called "barrages") in Sindh. They are the Ghuddu and Sukkur Barrages in the north, and the Kotri Barrage in the south near Hyderabad. The major crops grown include wheat, millet, maize, rice, cotton, and oilseeds. Fruits, such as mangoes, dates, and bananas, are also cultivated. Away from the Indus Valley, herding sheep, goats, and camels has become the dominant economic activity. Fishing is important along the Indus River and the Arabian Sea coast, where prawns, shrimp, pomfret, shad, and catfish are caught. *\
“Although Sindh is essentially a rural province, the provincial capital, Karachi, is Pakistan's largest city, with a population of over 13 million inhabitants. Karachi is Pakistan's leading commercial and industrial center, giving Sindh an important role in the country's economy. Industrial plants include cotton mills, sugar refineries, cement factories, steel mills, and automobile manufacturers. *\
Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons
Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (tourism.gov.pk), Official Gateway to the Government of Pakistan (pakistan.gov.pk), The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Wikipedia and various books, websites and other publications.
Last updated February 2022