Kurds in Pakistan ( ku, Kurdên li Pakistanê, , ur, ) comprise people residing in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

who are of

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

origin. They are a small population consisting mainly of expatriates and transient migrants, most of whom arrived following the start of the

Gulf War The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

in Iraq in 1990.

Demographics

As many as 4,000-5,000 Kurds, originating from

Iraqi Kurdistan Iraqi Kurdistan or Southern Kurdistan ( ku, باشووری کوردستان, Başûrê Kurdistanê) refers to the Kurdish-populated part of northern Iraq. It is considered one of the four parts of "Kurdistan" in Western Asia, which also inc ...

, migrated to Pakistan in the early 1990s when the

broke out in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

. A large number of them were based in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital ...

. As of 2013, up to 240 Iraqi Kurds were still living in the country. The majority of them were secondary migrants and asylum seekers, and were registered with the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...

(UNHCR) operating in Pakistan. Among them is a younger generation which is born in Pakistan. Over the years, these transient migrants have been able to obtain immigration and have resettled in other countries in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

and North America, with the help of the UNHCR. As Pakistan is not a signatory of the

1951 refugee convention The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention or the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951, is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is, and sets out the rights of individuals ...

, most Kurdish migrants are not able to acquire Pakistani citizenship. Due to their legal status, many tend to face social challenges relating to economic constraints, finding employment, healthcare, resettlement and other services. Members of the Kurdish community have raised their concerns with the UNHCR and other authorities, calling for the addressing of such issues.

Notable people

* Rez Gardi, New Zealand lawyer and human rights activist * Benazir Bhutto , Pakistani politician, Prime Minister of Kurdish origin *

Fatima Bhutto Fatima Bhutto ( ur, ; , born 29 May 1982) is a Pakistani writer and columnist. Born in Kabul, she is the daughter of politician Murtaza Bhutto, sister of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, niece of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and gran ...

, Pakistani Writer *

Murtaza Bhutto Ghulam Murtaza Bhutto (; 18 September 1954 – 20 September 1996) was a Pakistani politician and leader of al-Zulfiqar, a Pakistani left-wing militant organization. The son of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, he ear ...

, Pakistani politician and leader of

al-Zulfiqar Al-Zulfiqar was a Pakistani left-wing Insurgency organization. It was formed in 1979 by Murtaza Bhutto and Shahnawaz Bhutto after their father, then-Prime Minister of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, was deposed in a military coup and execute ...

, a Pakistani

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

militant organization *

Nusrat Bhutto ''Begum'' Nusrat Bhutto (; sd, نصرت ڀٽو; ur, ; born as Nusrat Ispahani; 23 March 1929 – 23 October 2011) was an Iranian-Pakistani public figure of Kurdish origin, who served as spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan between 1971 unti ...

public figure A public figure is a person who has achieved notoriety, prominence or fame within a society, whether through achievement, luck, action, or in some cases through no purposeful action of their own, In the context of defamation actions (libel and ...

of Kurdish origin, who served as spouse of the

Prime Minister of Pakistan The prime minister of Pakistan ( ur, , romanized: Wazīr ē Aʿẓam , ) is the head of government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen cabinet, despite the president of Pa ...

between 1971 until the 1977 coup, and as a senior member of the federal cabinet between 1988 and 1990. *

Shahnawaz Bhutto Shahnawaz Bhutto (November 21, 1958 – July 18, 1985; Sindhi: شاھنواز ڀٽو) was the son of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, the former President and Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1971 to 1977 and Begum Nusrat Bhutto, who was of Iranian Kurdish ...

, son of

Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...

former

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

and

from 1971 to 1977 and Begum

, who was of Iranian Kurdish descent * Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Jr, Pakistani visual artist, performance artist and curator. *

Nahid Mirza Nahid Iskander Mirza (6 February 1919 – 23 January 2019), born Nahid Amir Teymour (previously Nahid Afghamy), was an Iranian-Pakistani socialite who was the first lady of Pakistan between 1956 and 1958 and a distant relative of another first ...

, aristocrat who became the first lady of Pakistan from 1956 to 1958 *

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari Bilawal Bhutto Zardari ( ur, بلاول بھٹو زرداری; born 21 September 1988) is a Pakistani politician who is serving as the 37th Minister of Foreign Affairs, in office since 27 April 2022. He became the chairman of Pakistan Peop ...

, Pakistani politician and the current chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party.

References

{{Immigration to Pakistan

Immigration to Pakistan