Pakistanis in Switzerland

Pakistanis in Switzerland consist of migrants from Pakistan in Switzerland and their descendants.

Situation

In 2004, there were 3,000 Pakistani citizen who lived in Switzerland. The community is one of the largest among the Muslims in Switzerland. The Pakistanis are mainly concentrated in the cities of Zurich and Bern. You speak as a native language mostly Punjabi and Urdu as well as English, German, French and Italian as a second language.

Reasons for migration

Many Pakistanis came to Switzerland as asylum seekers. However, there are also a large number of Pakistanis who are working as a high- tech experts in information technology and the health sector, for example, there Pakistani scientists working at CERN.

In addition, Pakistan has a diplomatic presence in Switzerland, both through their message, as well as through its Permanent Mission to the United Nations in Geneva.

Organizations

The Swiss Pakistan Society is a non-political and non- denominational organization of Pakistani citizens in Switzerland. Ahmadiyya in Switzerland is a national section of a community of faith that Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded in 1889 as an Islamic movement in India.