Pakistanis in Singapore include migrants who settled in colonial-era Singapore, their descendants and more recent migrants, including students. As of 2010[update], theNational University of Singapore Pakistani Society had at least 120 members.[2] The Singapore Urdu Development Centre offers classes inUrdu language to the children of Pakistanis, whereas the Singapore Pakistani Association promotes Pakistani culture in Singapore in collaboration with the Pakistan high commission.[3]
Most Singaporean-Pakistanis are descended from migrants from thePunjab andNorth-West Frontier Province who settled in Singapore during the period of British colonial rule.[4] While the first generation of migrants spoke Pakistani languages, the second and third generations were taught in Malay at school, and acculturation into the Malay language and culture were also assisted by Pakistan families' reliance on their Malay neighbours for religious obligation such as weddings and funerals and the lack of a "Pakistani" mosque. Malay is the first language of most third-generation Singaporean-Pakistanis.[5]
