A Sweet Indo-Aryan Tongue
Saraiki is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by tens of millions of people across South Punjab and neighbouring regions. It is admired for its softness, its implosive consonants and its deeply expressive vocabulary.
Written in the Perso-Arabic (Shahmukhi) script, Saraiki carries a vast oral and written tradition of Kafis, folk tales, riddles and lullabies passed down through generations.
Recognised as a distinct language in Pakistan's national census since 1981, Saraiki (ISO 639-3: skr) is spoken by an estimated 20 to 30 million people, placing it among the country's largest language communities alongside Punjabi, Pashto and Sindhi. Its homeland, the Saraiki Wasaib, stretches from Dera Ismail Khan in the north to the Cholistan desert in the south, uniting the cities of Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rahim Yar Khan through a shared tongue, cuisine and Sufi culture.