I sense you are well meaning but confused, in your thinking and the construct of your argument, forgive me if my reply ends up being a bit longer then I plan.
Let's take Chinese as an example. All Chinese students are required to learn at least some classical Chinese. Japanese student (classical Chinese was also used in Japan as a classical language, kind of like Persian vs Urdu; or Latin vs English) also learn classical Chinese in high school.
Right, but when you make comparisons, that cannot stand alone, if required other aspects of influence come into play.
Chinese and Japanese are two completely different languages, when compared with Urdu and English, Urdu and English are part of the Indo-European linguistic group, so the borrowing of words is a lot more natural then would be the case in the other to languages. Still English word use is common among Chinese and Japanese, and the western cultural influence on the Japanese culture is a lot more then the linguistic influence, it is external influence so relevant to your argument. I fear you are still being picky in creating your argument.
Plus, Urdu, being a cauldron of different languages, it is inherently designed to observe outside influence, as required. You need to keep in mind that Urdu does not have a single heritage source point, its heritage derived from different language and none of those languages is dominate by itself. Sanskrit, Khariboli, Hindustani, Persian, Turkish, Dari, Arabic and few other smaller influences, all these combined to make the Urdu we have today. There is no classical linguistic reference point to create classical knowledge base as per your argument, it has evolved through time, that is the beauty of Urdu, and that is why it will survive.
No one learns Latin in Europe anymore, except perhaps exclusive private schools, certainly not in the UK, I am aware vast majority of the Chinese do not know classical Chinese, but in there case at least there is a direct link to a single classical language, which does not exist in the case of Urdu.
So this argument of yours has no basis.
I am very curious what Pakistani students learn in Urdu classes. Do they read any classical Urdu literature? Or they just treat Urdu as a foreign language as opposed to their mother tongue? I notice that not many educated Pakistanis speak proper Urdu. It's fine to have some English loanwords, but it's detrimental to the language itself to include English words directly whenever the speaker does not know the Urdu word for it. At least in China/Japan, we don't use English words for 'party, congress, people, university, train, medicine'. But these words are used a lot by Pakistani Urdu speakers. Don't tell me that there are no equivalent words in the Persian/Urdu heritage.
Again, you are picking and choosing, are you telling me you do not use English words at all in Chinese or Japanese, or not certain words, that's being picky and small. It matters not which words are borrowed, it is the choice of the grouping which words they chose to borrow for their language, you have no say on the matter. Unless you say that Chinese is 100% pure Chinese, then you can make an argument, otherwise it is being picky and rude. because it is unfair criticism.
You fail to understand that Urdu has gained status of being a second mother tongue in Pakistani society, there is deep emotional attachment to Urdu, whilst, also being proud of ones original mother tongue. Everyone learns Urdu from the first day of school till the last day. Each province is free to teach and propagate any local language they wish, it is their right, but Urdu has gained primacy, it has happened naturally without enforcement, encouragement yes, but not enforcement.
All major media outlets are in Urdu because that's what the market demands, there were few English ones, but they closed because the market, the people did not watch them, and there are no major stations with regional languages, because there is no demand, people are happy with the presence of Urdu. It is better to understand the ground realities then construct imagined arguments.
Regional language production houses do exit but it is a very small market, because, people are happy with the use of Urdu.
The only important point you hint towards is the classical Urdu literature, that is lacking, and that I agree is shameful, but there again it is only lacking at lower levels, soon as you reach college and university, it has strong presence, but I do think it should be started earlier.
The rest of your points are totally irrelevant, because you are creating an argument in your head by ignoring the realities on the ground, either you are unaware, or blinded.
It's impossible to make all 220 million people fluent in English. And it's a fact. No education program will be able to achieve this. Neither in China, nor in Japan do most people speak English at any level beyond holding a very basic conversation. For Urdu to become a true lingua franca, it needs a literature tradition which it has but it seems not to be taught properly. To properly learn Urdu literature, one has to know SOME Persian.
Again, when did I or anyone demand to make 230 million fluent in English? You are constructing imagine arguments.
Urdu already is the lingua franca and a second mother tongue of Pakistan, it is entrenched, as I have explained above. Urdu has Persian words, does not mean one needs to learn Persian to know Urdu, as explained above Urdu has a rich heritage from various source languages, and Urdu literature stands alone from other languages, exposure to Persian, Turkish or Arabic is good, but it will not add anything to the Pakistani society, other then the literary classes, and they are already aware, I can assure you, they are.
Learning your heritage has nothing to do against modernization or science. Many countries in the world are excellent in both.
There you go, again, making wild assumptions. No-one made that claim so why are you constructing such an argument. Just because the people you speak with, use lot of English words, does not mean their identity with the Urdu language is any less.
Take me as an example, I think in English, but I feel in Urdu, I do math in Urdu, and feel a sense of peace in my heart every time I hear Urdu, a feeling non-Urdu speaker could never understand. All this, whilst I live in England, raised in England, although born in Pakistan. Urdu is not my first mother tongue.
Do not presume to know another's identity, especially without relevant arguments, and especially by ignoring the realities on the ground.
