English to Urdu Translation

This direction is used when an English document has to be submitted in Pakistan. The typical applicant is someone presenting a diploma, registry record or family document issued in an English-speaking country to an institution in Pakistan. The source carries a Latin-script, left-to-right Anglo-Saxon order; the target is carried into a system written in the Arabic-based Urdu alphabet and running from right to left.

Concrete examples make the direction clear: using a power of attorney drawn up abroad for a property transaction in Pakistan, a local recognition application made with an English diploma, submitting the registration of a child born abroad to a Pakistani authority. The source carries an Anglo-Saxon reality, while the target assesses it against Pakistani administrative language and its writing system.

The documents most often requested in this direction concern family and property matters: using a power of attorney drawn up abroad for a real estate or inheritance transaction in Pakistan, submitting the registration of a child born abroad to the authorities of the country, the local registration of a marriage certificate. In these documents the wording that sets the limits of authority and the relationships of kinship is preserved to the letter, because the smallest shift in scope changes the legal outcome.

Right-to-left typesetting in the Nastaliq style is the distinctive technical burden of this direction: the way the letters join, the flow of the lines and the alignment of figures differ from plain Arabic-script typesetting, and because this calls for typesetting work as well as translation, it is reflected in the delivery plan. English names are matched to the person’s existing Urdu spelling in Pakistani documents so that identity remains consistent.

In this direction the document is often prepared so that someone living abroad can carry out a transaction in Pakistan remotely; powers of attorney, consent forms and declarations are therefore frequent. In these texts, to whom authority is given, for which transaction and within which limits is conveyed to the letter, because uncertainty about scope may lead to the transaction being refused on the Pakistani side.

When English names are carried into the Urdu text, the spelling in the person’s existing records in the country is taken as the basis; inventing a new reading creates a contradiction with their identity documents. Dates and currency are not converted, only adapted to the target script; English abbreviations are expanded.

The right-to-left flow of Nastaliq typesetting reverses the orientation of the tables and lists in the English source; figure columns and alignment are rebuilt. This formal transformation matters as much as the translation itself if the document is to look legible and orderly to the Pakistani authority.

Technical issues specific to English into Urdu

In this direction the writing direction is reversed: the text is set from right to left in the Nastaliq style, and the page layout, the orientation of tables and the alignment of figures are reworked. English names may be kept in the Urdu text in their original Latin spelling or given in their Urdu reading; where the person has an existing Urdu spelling in Pakistani documents, that is taken as the basis so that the identity match is not broken.

English legal concepts are rendered according to their function; company types are kept in their original abbreviation and explained. English abbreviations are expanded and, where necessary, given in brackets. Dates and currency are not converted.

Nastaliq typesetting requires a layer of work different from plain Arabic-script setting; the way the letters join and the flow of the lines call for special handling, and this too is reflected in the delivery plan. The signature and date details in the document are kept in place.

In family documents and powers of attorney, the accurate rendering of kinship relationships and of the limits of authority is necessary for the document to be accepted by the Pakistani authority. Across documents belonging to the same person the form of the name is kept consistent.

Which documents call for this direction

• Diplomas, transcripts and professional certificates
• Birth, marriage and family documents
• Powers of attorney and consent documents
• Company and commercial contract documents
• Criminal record and residence documents

Family documents and powers of attorney are frequent in this direction; the accurate rendering of the names of the parties and of kinship relationships is necessary for the document to be accepted. In powers of attorney the scope of the authority is preserved explicitly.

In education files the accurate rendering of the degree title and the course details is expected. In commercial documents the company type and the registry number are given in their original form.

Chain of certification

Pakistan uses an agency declaration together with notarisation and attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; since the apostille regime for documents from an English-speaking source country is new, its current status should be confirmed from an official source.

To see these expectations and the certification regime of the destination country, look at the country page and the document type requirements. Tell us which institution the document is to be submitted to before you send it.

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The account here summarises the typical case; notarisation and apostille steps are costed as separate items. The requirements in force on the date of the transaction are what count.