Mahan Mirza on Pakistan

Last Tuesday I attended an event at Chico State University put on by Mahan Mirza.  This event was about Pakistan, more specifically the history and geography of Pakistan.  One of my good friend’s family is from Pakistan, so I truthfully thought going into this that I did know quite a bit.  Well I did know some, but apparently one of the most basic things I didn’t know.  Wow was I embarrassed when Mirza said that Pakistan is a part of Asia.  My mouth dropped, just because I didn’t think I would learn much, but apparently I had a lot to learn. 

Mirza went on to talk about how people always think that Pakistan is part of the Middle East.  He said that the population in Pakistan is (I didn’t catch the exact number) just under two hundred million people.  Another thing that Mirza said that I was unaware of is that many people in Pakistan can speak English.  I guess I just never realized how many countries actually practice English, and truthfully I kind of wonder why, considering that we don’t take the time to learn their languages. 

Pakistan used to be a part of India until 1947 when it split apart and became its own country.  Since then Pakistan has become known as one of the most dangerous countries in the world.  To most we just think that they are full of terrorists and that’s why we think they are dangerous.  Most people probably don’t know this but they have the seventh largest army in the world. 

Overall I learned quite a bit about Pakistan, which when going in there I didn’t expect.  I guess even though I thought I knew a lot, that there was actually a whole lot more out there that I had no idea about.  I’m glad that Mirza was able to come in and speak about it,  because I think that for the rest of my life I might have just thought that Pakistan was part of the Middle East.