Editing Urdu (section)

=== Pakistan ===
Urdu is the sole national, and one of the two official languages of Pakistan (along with English).<ref name="Raj-2017" /> It is spoken and understood throughout the country, whereas the state-by-state languages (languages spoken throughout various regions) are the [[Provincial languages of Pakistan|provincial languages]], although only 7.57% of Pakistanis speak Urdu as their first language.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/other_tables/pop_by_mother_tongue.pdf|title=Government of Pakistan: Population by Mother Tongue|publisher=[[Pakistan Bureau of Statistics]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060217220529/http://www.statpak.gov.pk/depts/pco/statistics/other_tables/pop_by_mother_tongue.pdf|archive-date=17 February 2006}}</ref> Its official status has meant that Urdu is understood and spoken widely throughout Pakistan as a second or third language. It is used in [[Education in Pakistan|education]], [[Pakistani literature|literature]], office and court business,<ref>In the [[lower court]]s in Pakistan, despite the proceedings taking place in Urdu, the documents are in English, whereas in the higher courts, i.e. the High Courts and the [[Supreme Court of Pakistan|Supreme Court]], both documents and proceedings are in English.</ref> although in practice, English is used instead of Urdu in the higher echelons of government.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.tariqrahman.net/content/lanpolicy.pdf|title=Language Policy, Identity and Religion|last=Rahman|first=Tariq|publisher=Quaid-i-Azam University|year=2010|location=Islamabad|page=59|author-link=Tariq Rahman|access-date=18 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021124602/http://www.tariqrahman.net/content/lanpolicy.pdf|archive-date=21 October 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> Article 251(1) of the [[Constitution of Pakistan|Pakistani Constitution]] mandates that Urdu be implemented as the sole language of government, though English continues to be the most widely used language at the higher echelons of Pakistani government.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1194296|title=Language change|last=Hussain|first=Faqir|date=14 July 2015|website=DAWN.COM|language=en|access-date=3 December 2019}}</ref>