Recreation and sports:

The official and national sport of Pakistan is field hockey and Polo is recognized as the State sport, although squash and cricket are also very popular. The national cricket team has won the Cricket World Cup once (in 1992), were runners-up once (in 1999) and co-hosted the games twice (in 1987 and 1996). They won the 20-20 International World Cup in 2009. The team has also won the Australasia Cup in 1986, 1990, and 1994. The country will also be hosting the 2011 Cricket World Cup with India and Bangladesh.

At an international level, Pakistan has competed many times at the Summer Olympics in field hockey, boxing, athletics, swimming, and shooting. Hockey is the sport that Pakistan has been most successful at the Olympics, with three gold medals (1960, 1968, 1984). Pakistan has also won the Hockey World Cup four times (1971, 1978, 1982, 1994). Pakistan has hosted several international competitions, including the SAFG in 1989 and 2004.

A1 Grand Prix racing is also becoming popular with the entry of a Pakistani team in the 2005 season. The Tour de Pakistan, modelled on the Tour de France, is an annual cycling competition that covers the length and breadth of Pakistan. Recently, football has grown in popularity across the country, where traditionally it had been played almost exclusively in the western province of Balochistan. Fifa has recently teamed up with the government to bring football closer to the northern areas too. Also, it is hoped that Pakistan will fare better in the Football World Cup qualifiers for 2010.

Polo is regarded as a traditional sport and played widely in the northern areas


Field hockey match between Pakistan and India

Cuisine:

Culinary art in Pakistan comprises a mix of Middle Eastern, Indian, Iranian, Afghan, and Turkish cuisine that reflects the country's history as well as the variation of cooking practices from across the surrounding regions. Urban centres of the country offer an amalgamation of recipes from all parts of the country, while food with specific local ingredients and tastes is available in rural areas and villages. Besides the main dishes of curry with or without meat cooked with vegetables or lentils, there are a number of provincial specialties such as karahi, biryani and tikka in various forms and flavours, eaten alongside a variety of breads such as naan, chapati and roti.

There are also local forms of grilled meat or kebabs, desserts, and a variety of hot and cold drinks.

Kababs


Chapati