Pakistanis in Somalia

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Pakistanis in Somalia
Total population
(8,200 Baloch (1989);
<1,000 Indo-Pakistanis (2001)[1])
Regions with significant populations
southern Somalia (mainly Mogadishu)
Languages
Balochi · Urdu
Religion
Islam

Pakistanis in Somalia are residents of Somalia who are of Pakistani ancestry. They were historically a small community of retail traders and businesspeople.

Demographics

No official data exists on the current number or ethnic subdivisions of Pakistanis in Somalia.[2] Under 1,000 Shia Indo-Pakistanis were reported to reside in the country in 2001.[1]

As of 1989, a group of ethnic Baloch also lived in Somalia. An Iranic community, they were estimated at 8,200 residents.[3]

Community

There has been a small community of Pakistanis in Somalia since at least the 1960s.[4] Historically, they were mainly shopkeepers,[5] concentrated in Mogadishu and other southern urban areas.[6] Pakistanis were among the main expatriate communities in the country, which also included Indians, Yemenis and Italians.[7]

After the civil war broke out in Somalia in the early 1990s, most of the resident Pakistanis left the country.[8] Around 5,700 Pakistani troops contributed to the ensuing UN peacekeeping operation in southern Somalia.[9]

In the 2000s, some Pakistanis were reported to be among the ranks of foreign fighters involved in the Al-Shabaab-led Islamist insurgency in Somalia.[10] Pakistani missionaries from the Tablighi Jamaat also frequently journeyed to the country, where they would engage in missionary work and dawah.[11]

Organizations

The Pakistani community in Somalia was diplomatically represented by the Pakistani embassy in Mogadishu. Established in 1973, it provided services to the resident Pakistanis.[12]

See also

References

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