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Country Compare

Run the Country Compare MicroSim Fullscreen

About This MicroSim

Country Compare puts Pakistan and Afghanistan side by side. The map is schematic: labeled dots for cities and heritage sites (Kabul, Bamiyan, the Minaret of Jam, Kandahar, the Khyber Pass, Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Quetta, Mohenjo-daro and Karachi), the Hindu Kush, and the Indus and Kabul rivers. Two soft colored areas stand for the two countries. No borders are drawn.

A comparison card shows each country's capital, its population in 2025 (World Bank), its languages, main faith, a UNESCO World Heritage site, some well-known foods and its main festivals. The menu can also switch the card to two cultural regions that cross today's border: the Punjab region and the Pashtun belt. When you pick one, it lights up on the map.

Press Start the Khyber road to send a traveler along the old route from Kabul, past Jalalabad, through the Khyber Pass to Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore. A line under the map describes each stop.

How to Use

  1. Read the Pakistan card. Then use the menu to switch to Afghanistan and compare the two cards row by row.
  2. Switch the menu to Punjab region, then Pashtun belt. Notice where each shaded area sits compared with the two countries.
  3. Click or tap any dot to read about that city or site.
  4. Press Start the Khyber road. Pause at the Khyber Pass and at Peshawar and read the line under the map.
  5. Press Reset to start the journey again.

Learning Objective

Students will be able to compare Pakistan and Afghanistan using the same set of features (capital, population, languages, faith, heritage, food, festivals) and analyze how cultural regions such as the Punjab and the Pashtun belt connect places that today's border separates.

Bloom level: Analyze (compare, connect).

Iframe Embed Code

<iframe src="https://aaryavvatts-lab.github.io/south-asian-culture-textbook/sims/ch18-pakistan-afghanistan-compare/main.html" height="802px" width="100%" scrolling="no"></iframe>

Lesson Plan

Grade level: 9-12 (world geography, world history, ethnic studies, or a South Asian student club meeting)

Duration: 15 to 20 minutes

Activity:

  1. (5 min) In pairs, students fill a two-column table (Pakistan, Afghanistan) with the seven rows from the card.
  2. (4 min) Students circle one row where the two countries are most alike and one where they differ most.
  3. (4 min) Students switch to the two cultural regions and list which cities on the map belong to each.
  4. (5 min) Students run the Khyber road and write two sentences on why a mountain pass could matter for trade, faith and empire.

Assessment questions:

  1. What are the official languages of Afghanistan? What is Pakistan's national language?
  2. Which city is the capital of Pakistan's Punjab province, and which UNESCO site is there?
  3. Name two cities that sit in the Pashtun belt, one in each country.
  4. Why does a comparison by country alone miss part of the story in this region?
  5. Which cities does the old road connect, and which pass does it cross?

Chapter 18: Pakistan and Afghanistan