Lōya Paktiā (; lit. Greater Paktia) is a historical and cultural region of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

, comprising the modern Afghan provinces of

Khost Khōst () is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram Agency, Kurram i ...

, Paktia, and Paktika, as well as parts of Logar7 Deadly Scenarios: A Military Futurist Explores the Changing Face of War in the 21st Century
Andrew Krepinevich, Random House Digital, Inc., 2010, , ''... Paktia was once a unified province with Khost and Paktika in southeast Afghanistan. The three provinces are now referred to as 'Loya Paktia', which means 'The Greater Paktia' ...'' and compromises Kurram, Bannu and Waziristan of

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

. Loya Paktia is vaguely defined by a common culture and history that is connected to the local indigenous tribes that reside in the region. Particular styles of clothing, articles of clothing, turban styles, turban cloth colors, dialects of

Pashto language Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

, etc. may sometimes be associated with specific tribes indigenous to Loya Paktia and thus integrate themselves into regional culture. For instance, a Pashtun tribesman from

Loy Kandahar Lōy Kandahār (, ) is a historical and cultural region of Afghanistan, comprising the modern Provinces of Afghanistan, Afghan provinces of Kandahar Province, Kandahar, Helmand Province, Helmand, Farah Province, Farah, Uruzgan Province, Uruzgan, a ...

may quickly recognize a Pashtun from Loya Paktia based upon his turban (or lungee) style and color. Likewise, a Pashtun from Loya Paktia may recognize someone from Loy Kandahar based upon his unique style of collarless kameez (shirt) with specific embroidered patterns on the front. There are many subtle and intricate cultural indicators of this type that are not recorded in any known written history but simply known and observed by the tribesmen of the various Pashtun regions of

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Main settlements

The largest city of the region is

, while other cities of Loya Paktia include Gardez (capital of Paktia Province), Zurmat (largest city of Paktia Province), Urgun (largest city of Paktika), and Sharana (capital of Paktika). Other main towns of Loya Paktia are Sardeh Band (Ghazni), Charkh (Logar), Tari Mangal (Kurram), Angur Ada (partly in

South Waziristan South Mahsud Waziristan District () was a Districts of Pakistan, district in the Dera Ismail Khan Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, before splitting into the Lower South Waziristan District and the Upper South Waziristan D ...

), Yakubi, Tani, Matun, Aryob, Khandkhel, Tsamkani, Zarghun Shar, Wazakhwa, and Zerok.

Demography

The population mostly consists of

Pashtuns Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghan (ethnon ...

from various tribes under the larger Karlani and

Ghilji The Ghiljī (, ; ) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai and Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtuns, Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settled in other regions throu ...

confederacies. Predominant tribes with notable large populations native to Loya Paktia include Zadran, Zazai, Mangal, Ahmadzai, Totakhil, Tani, Sabari, Sulaimankhel, Dawar, Kharoti, Wazir, Banuchi and Gurbaz. Kochian are common in the region throughout the year who still live a nomadic lifestyle.

Notable people

* Nur Muhammad Taraki, Afghan revolutionary who led the Saur Revolution * Dr. Mohammad Najibullah, President of Afghanistan * Shahnawaz Tanai, Afghan defence minister who led coup * Assadullah Sarawari, Intelligence Director of KhAD * Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy, Afghan air force general and politician * Mohammad Aslam Watanjar, Afghan general during the 1978 Coup d'état

References

Regions of Afghanistan Pashtun culture Paktia Province Paktika Province Khost Province Historical regions {{Khost-geo-stub

Main settlements

Demography

Notable people

See also

References