1st row:Yousaf Raza Gillani 2nd row:Shah Mehmood Qureshi, Hina Rabbani Khar 3rd row:Farooq Leghari, Pathanay Khan |
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| Total population | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13.9 million | ||||||
| Regions with significant populations | ||||||
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| Languages | ||||||
| Religion | ||||||
Islam • Hinduism • Sikhism • Christianity |
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| Related ethnic groups | ||||||
|
Indo-Aryans • Sindhis • Punjabis • Dogra |
The Saraiki people (Saraiki: سرائيکی Perso-Arabic, ਸਰਾਇਕੀ Gurmukhi) or Multani people (ملتانی Perso-Arabic, मुल्तानी Devanagari, ਮੁਲਤਾਨੀ Gurmukhi) are an ethnic group from the central and south-eastern areas of Pakistan, especially the former princely state of Bahawalpur and the districts of Multan, Lodhran, Vehari, Khanewal, Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Bhakkar, Mianwali, Dera Ismail Khan, Bahawalnagar, Sukkur, Larkana, Dadu, Sehwan, Sanghar, Nawabshah, Hyderabad, Sindh, Mirpurkhas, Dera Bugti, Jafarabad, Nasirabad and Sibi. A significant number of Saraikis also reside in India, with most concentrated in Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat.[1] The Saraikis speak the Saraiki language. Saraikis follow Islam and were earlier known as Sauvira.[3]