Glossory - Pakistan
Glossary -- Pakistan
- fiscal year (FY)
-
July 1 to June 30; FY 1994, for example, ran from July 1993
through June 1994.
- gross domestic product (GDP)
-
A value measure of the flow of domestic goods and services
produced by an economy over a period of time, usually one
year. Only output values of goods for final consumption and
investment are included because the values of primary and
intermediate production are assumed to be included in final
prices. GDP is sometimes aggregated and shown at market prices,
meaning that indirect taxes and subsidies are included; when
these have been eliminated, the result is GDP at factor cost.
The word gross indicates that deductions for depreciation
of physical assets have not been made. See also gross
national product.
- gross national product (GNP)
-
Gross domestic product (q.v.) plus the net income
or loss stemming from transactions with foreign countries.
GNP is the broadest measure of the output of goods and services
of an economy. It can be calculated at market prices, which
include indirect taxes and subsidies. Because indirect taxes
and subsidies are only transfer payments, GNP is often calculated
at factor cost by removing indirect taxes and subsidies.
- haq mehr
-
Promissory gift from the bride's in-laws at the time of marriage.
A kind of bridewealth based on Islamic traditions stipulated
in the marriage contract, to be paid to the wife in the event
of divorce or her husband's early death.
- hudood (sing., hadd)
-
The most serious kinds of crime in Islamic law, such as those
pertaining to theft and adultery.
- imam
-
Generally the leader of congregational prayers, implying
no ordination or special spiritual powers beyond sufficient
education to carry out this function. The word is also used
figuratively by many Sunni (q.v.) Muslims to mean
the leader of the Islamic community. Among Shia (q.v.)
Muslims, it indicates the particular descendant of the House
of Ali who is believed to have been God's designated repository
of the spiritual authority inherent in that line. The identity
of this individual and the means of ascertaining his identity
have been the major issues causing divisions among the Shia.
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
-
Established along with the World Bank (q.v.) in
1945, the IMF is a specialized agency affiliated with the
United Nations and is responsible for stabilizing international
exchange loans to its members (including industrialized and
developing countries) when they experience balance of payments
difficulties. These loans frequently carry conditions that
require substantial international economic adjustments by
the recipients, most of which are developing countries.
- jizya
-
A tax imposed on non-Muslims in a Muslim state meant to compensate
the state for the protection given to non-Muslims who are
not permitted to serve in the military.
- muhajir
-
Immigrant or descendant of immigrants from India who fled
to Pakistan after partition in 1947.
- mujahidin (sing., mujahid)
-
Fighters of a jihad, a Muslim holy war; Afghan freedom fighters.
- mullahs
-
Generic term for members of the Islamic clergy; usually refers
to preachers or other low-ranking clerics who have not earned
the right to interpret religious laws.
- mustahaqeen
-
Muslims deserving of receiving zakat (q.v.)
as stipulated in the Quran, such as the poor, the needy, recent
converts to Islam, those who do the good works of God, and
those who collect and disburse zakat.
- Nizam-i-Mustafa
-
Rule of the Prophet, i.e., rule by sharia (q.v.)
law according to Zia ul-Haq's use of the term.
- Pakhtuns
-
Term used for speakers of Pakhtu or Pashtu, who are frequently
called Pathans or Pashtuns. The tribes north of Peshawar are
mostly Pahktu speaking, those south of Peshawar mostly Pashtu
speaking.
- pakhtunwali
-
Tenets of the Pakhtun code of honor.
- Pathans
-
Pakhtuns (q.v.).
- pir
-
Successor to the founder of a Sufi (q.v.) order
or of a local subdivision of an order; in the Sufi tradition,
a religious man considered to have mystic powers.
- rupee (R or Re; pl., Rs)
-
The national currency, consisting of 100 paisa. From 1947
to 1972, Pakistan was a member of the sterling area, but in
1971, when the United States dollar was devalued, the rupee
was unpegged from sterling and pegged to the dollar at the
rate of Rs4.76 per US$1. On May 12, 1972, the rupee was devalued
from Rs4.76 to Rs11 per US$1. In February 1973, when the dollar
was again devalued, the rupee maintained its value in terms
of gold, and its value in relation to the dollar rose to Rs9.90
per US$1, where it remained until January 1982. After January
1982, the rupee was pegged to a market basket of currencies
important to Pakistan's trade. The rupee subsequently depreciated
steadily against the dollar, reaching Rs30.30 to US$1 at the
end of February 1994. Notes are printed in denominations of
Rs 1000, 500, 100, 50, 10, 5, 2, and 1. Coins are minted in
denominations of Rs1, as well as 50, 10, 5, 2, and 1 paisa.
- sharia
-
Islamic law. Based on the Quran and the sunna (q.v.)
with interpretations of Muslim jurisprudence. There are four
major Sunni (q.v.) schools (of which the Hanafi is
dominant in Pakistan) and one Shia (q.v.) school
(Jafariya).
- Shia
-
The smaller of the two major subdivisions of Islam. In Pakistan,
the two principal subgroups of Shiism are the "Twelvers" (Ithna
Ashari), who follow the same system as the majority group
in Iran, and the "Seveners" (Ismailis or Agha Khanis).
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC)
-
Comprises the seven nations of South Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan,
India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka; headquartered
in Kathmandu. Founded as South Asia Regional Cooperation (SARC)
at a meeting for foreign ministers in New Delhi on August
1-2, 1983; the group was renamed when the 1983 agreement was
ratified at the inaugural summit meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh,
on December 7-8, 1985. SAARC's goal is to effect economic,
technical, and cultural cooperation, and to provide a forum
for discussions of South Asia's political problems.
- Sufi
-
A follower of Sufism, or Islamic mysticism.
- sunna
-
In common usage refers to the deeds and utterances of Muhammad
that form the basis for the practice of the Muslim community.
- Sunni
-
The larger of the two major subdivisions of Islam, followed
by a majority of Pakistanis.
- ulama
-
(sing., alim), Islamic scholars.
- World Bank
-
Informal name used to designate a group of four affiliated
international institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction
and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association
(IDA), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and
the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA). The IBRD,
established in 1945, has as its primary purpose the provision
of loans to developing countries for productive projects.
The IDA, a legally separate loan fund but administered by
the staff of the IBRD, was set up in 1960 to furnish credits
to the poorest developing countries on much easier terms than
those of conventional IBRD loans. The IFC, founded in 1956,
supplements the activities of the IBRD through loans and assistance
designed specifically to encourage the growth of productive
private enterprises in the less developed countries. The MIGA,
founded in 1988, insures private foreign investment in developing
countries against various noncommercial risks.The president
and certain senior officers of the IBRD hold the same positions
in the IFC. The four institutions are owned by the governments
of the countries that subscribe their capital. To participate
in the World Bank group, member states must first belong to
the International Monetary Fund (IMF--q.v.).
- zakat
-
Islamic system of social welfare based on an alms tax on
wealth held more than a year.
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