Pakistani in Austria
The over 1000 Pakistanis (as of 2005) represent a numerically small minority in Austria .
In 1991 there were 900 Pakistanis living in Austria. From a demographic point of view, the majority of Austro-Pakistanis were men; few came as asylum seekers, but some now have Austrian citizenship.
The Pakistani communities in Austria are mainly based in the federal capital Vienna. Many Pakistani immigrants belong to the worldwide Sunni- Islamic religious community and contribute to the much larger community of Muslims in Austria . They celebrate festivals to commemorate religious and cultural events. The organization Minhaj ul-Quran opened a local branch in Austria, which is operated and organized by the Pakistani community. The organization also arranges several Islamic gatherings.
The Austrian-Pakistani Society, based in Vienna, aims to maintain cultural and scientific contacts between Austria and Pakistan and to promote an understanding of politics, economy and society in Pakistan in broader circles. In addition, some members of the Austrian-Pakistani Society are successfully involved in school and humanitarian projects and in promoting sporting activities in Pakistan. In 2009 Ms. Mag. Claudia Wachtel was elected as the new President of the Society after Dr. Friedrich Posch (former Austrian ambassador to Pakistan) had held this position for ten years.
In 2009, 21 Pakistanis were held in Austrian prisons for illegal immigration. The government of Pakistan tried to resolve these cases through its embassy .
Well-known Austrians related to Pakistan
- Muhammad Asad (actually Leopold Weiss), Islamic scholar, diplomat and correspondent for the Frankfurter Zeitung
- Sabatina James , human rights activist, publicist, critic of Islam
Individual evidence
- ↑ Austria: Statistics on South Asians (PDF; 80 kB)
- ↑ Dr Raheeq Abbasi's organizational visit of Austria: Minhaj-ul-Quran
- ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original from June 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ National Assembly Secretariat PCPPI-2313 (09) NA 11-3-2009-700 page 16
