Pakistan

While Pakistan has experienced rapid economic growth and substantial poverty reduction in recent years, governance, security, and social challenges remain. Our programs foster greater participation of all citizens, with a focus on women and minorities, to ensure that the benefits of Pakistan’s economic prosperity are broadly shared. We work with local partners to strengthen the democratic political process, promote inclusive participation, and build the capacity of local institutions to meet the needs of citizens and sustain the gains of economic and social development.

Country overview

Farid Alam,
Officer in Charge

Staff in Pakistan »

Contact

The Asia Foundation – Pakistan

P.O. Box 1165
Islamabad, Pakistan

Tel: +92 (51) 235-6007
Email: pakistan.general@asiafoundation.org

Vote First for first-time voters

In support of Pakistan’s General Elections that took place last year, the Foundation successfully implemented a voter education campaign, Vote First, to encourage citizens to participate at the ballot, especially young people and women. We organized 21 election workshops in nine urban and rural districts of Sindh, Baluchistan, and Punjab. With the assistance of representatives from the Election Commission of Pakistan, more than 2,200 Pakistanis participated in training, information, and mock ballots to practice voting. The program also conducted an Elections Mela (festival) that featured many local organizations in Islamabad one week prior to the elections.

The Asia Foundation Brings Eco-Friendly Bags to Islamabad
September 19, 2019
Media Coverage
Trade and Livelihoods in the Afghanistan-Pakistan Borderlands

August 30, 2019
Publication

Green Growth in Pakistan: A Necessary Paradigm Shift

Sarim Jamal
August 28, 2019
Blog
Meet One of Pakistan’s Rare Women Judges

Abbas Hussain
March 27, 2019
Blog

Asia’s Free Digital Library Comes to Pakistan

Let’s Read!, The Asia Foundation’s free digital library, was launched in Pakistan in July, 2018 with the very first Urdu translation event. Access to quality books can be limited, especially in remote and turbulent areas. The Asia Foundation is scaling Let’s Read! to 8,000 quality titles in 40 local languages across Asia, dramatically reducing barriers of availability and cost, and increasing the pool of trained writers and illustrators who can produce children’s stories in local languages. Since the 1950s, The Asia Foundation’s Books for Asia program has provided more than three million books to Pakistani students, marginalized groups and nonprofit organizations. In 2017, we started a new partnership with the Culture, Tourism, and Antiquities Department of Sindh Province to provide materials to education departments and institutions in Sindh and Balochistan.

Learn more