ABSTRACT
Pakistan has four main geographical-political regions: the Punjab, Sind, the Northwest Frontier, and Baluchistan (Khan, 1977). The locations of these regions are shown in Figure 4.1. Parts of the Kashmir are also administered by Pakistan, the whole region being widely regarded as part of Pakistan and the subject of a long-standing dispute with India. The population of about 80,000,000 occupies a territory of about 800,000 square Kilometers, the northern regions of which are mountainous, the southern containing large fertile plains. The major cities such as Karachi (three and a half million inhabitants) and Lahore (about two and a quarter million) support a sophisticated cultural life for the educated well-to-do. Nonetheless, Pakistan is still essentially an agricultural country, and about 55 per cent of the populace lives in rural regions. Farms in the north tend to be relatively unproductive with the result that they remain small and poor, but the south contains many more-prosperous farmers. Rural Pakistanis mostly live in villages with between, perhaps, one hundred, and several thousand residents. The main agricultural products are wheat, rice and cotton, while a good deal of livestock is also raised. Among the major industries is the production of textiles, a fact which, along with the prevalence of cotton production, perhaps helps to account for the frequency with which Pakistanis in Britain make their living in various branches of the textile and clothing industries.
