Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns,
or Pathans, are an
Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern
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 ...
and northwestern
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# ...
.
They were historically also referred to as
Afghans until 1964
after the term's meaning had become a demonym for all citizens of Afghanistan regardless of their
ethnic group
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...
.
The Pashtuns speak the
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 ...
, which belongs to the
Eastern Iranian
The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages, having emerged during the Middle Iranian era (4th century BC to 9th century AD). The Avestan language is often classified as early Eastern Iranian. As opposed to the Middle-e ...
branch of the
Iranian language family. Additionally,
Dari
Dari (; endonym: ), Dari Persian (, , or , ), or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language;Lazard, G.Darī – The New Persian ...
serves as the second language of Pashtuns in Afghanistan, while those in Pakistan speak Urdu and English.
In India, the majority of those of Pashtun descent have lost the ability to speak Pashto and instead speak Hindi and other regional languages.
There are an estimated 350–400
Pashtun tribes and clans with a
variety of origin theories.
In 2021,
Shahid Javed Burki
Shahid Javed Burki () (born 1938) is a Pakistani-American professional economist who has served as Vice President of the World Bank and as de facto Finance Minister of Pakistan on a caretaker basis. He has written extensively on economic deve ...
estimated the total Pashtun population to be situated between 60 and 70 million, with 15 million in Afghanistan.
Others who accept the 15 million figure include British academic Tim Willasey-Wilsey
as well as Abubakar Siddique, a journalist specializing in Afghan affairs.
This figure is disputed due to the
lack of an official census in Afghanistan since 1979 due to continuing conflicts there.
They are the second-largest
ethnic group in Pakistan and the largest
ethnic group in Afghanistan, constituting around 18.24% of the total Pakistani population and around 47% of the total Afghan population. In India, significant and historical communities of the
Pashtun diaspora
Pashtun diaspora () comprises all ethnic Pashtuns. There are millions of Pashtuns who are living outside of their traditional homeland of Pashtunistan, a historic region that is today situated over parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. While the ( ...
exist in the northern region of
Rohilkhand
Rohilkhand (today Bareilly, Moradabad, Badaun and Rampur; ) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the ...
, as well as in major Indian cities such as
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
and
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
.
Geographic distribution
Afghanistan and Pakistan
Pashtuns are spread over a wide geographic area, south of the
Amu river and west of the
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...
. They can be found all over Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Big cities with a Pashtun majority include
Jalalabad
Jalalabad (; Help:IPA/Persian, ͡ʒä.lɑː.lɑː.bɑːd̪ is the list of cities in Afghanistan, fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 200,331, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part ...
,
Kandahar
Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...
,
Bannu
Bannu (, ), also called Bani Gul or Bani (, ) is a city located on the Kurram River in southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the capital of Bannu Division. Bannu's residents are primarily members of the Banuchi tribe and speak Banuch ...
,
Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan (; Urdu and , ), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 10th largest city of Pakistan and third or fourth largest in the province of Khy ...
,
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 ...
,
Kohat
Kohat (; ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. With a population o ...
,
Lashkar Gah
Lashkargāh (; ), historically called Bost or Boost (), is a city in southwestern Afghanistan and the capital of Helmand Province. It is located in Lashkargah District, where the Arghandab River merges into the Helmand River. The city has a po ...
,
Mardan
Mardān is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). ...
,
Ghazni
Ghazni (, ), historically known as Ghaznayn () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana (), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan with a population of around 190,000 people. The city is strategica ...
,
Mingora
Mingora (, ''Romanised: Minga Wara'') is a city in the Swat District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Located on the Swat River, it is the 3rd largest city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the 26th largest in Pakistan. Mingora is the largest city and ...
,
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
,
Quetta
Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...
, among others. Pashtuns also live in
Abbottabad
Abbottabad is a city in the Hazara Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in the country and 6th largest in the province by population, and serves as the headquarter of its namesake tehsil and district ...
,
Farah,
Herat
Herāt (; Dari/Pashto: هرات) is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Se ...
,
Islamabad
Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...
,
Kabul
Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
,
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
,
Kunduz
Kunduz (; ; ) is a city in northern Afghanistan and the capital of Kunduz Province. The city has an estimated population of about 268,893 as of 2015, making it about the List of cities in Afghanistan, seventh largest city of Afghanistan, and the ...
,
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
,
Mazar-i-Sharif
Mazar-i-Sharīf ( ; Dari and ), also known as Mazar-e Sharīf or simply Mazar, is the fifth-largest city in Afghanistan by population, with the estimates varying from 500,000-680,000. It is the capital of Balkh province and is linked by highway ...
,
Mianwali
Mianwali (Saraiki language, Saraiki, ) city in Mianwali Tehsil is the capital city of Mianwali District in Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab, Pakistan. The Largest cities of Pakistan, 81st most populous city of Pakistan, it is known for its diverse popu ...
, and
Attock
Attock ( Punjabi, ), formerly known as Campbellpur (Punjabi, ), is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 36th largest city in the Punjab and 61st largest c ...
.
The city of
Karachi
Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...
, the financial capital of Pakistan, is home to the world's largest urban community of Pashtuns, larger than those of
Kabul
Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...
and
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
. Likewise,
Islamabad
Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...
, the country's political capital, also serves as the major urban center of Pashtuns. More than 20% of the city's population belongs to the
Pashto
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 ...
-speaking community.
India
Pashtuns in India often identify as ''Pathans'' (the Hindustani word for Pashtun), and are referred to this way by other ethnic groups of the subcontinent.
Some Indians claim descent from Pashtun soldiers who settled in India by marrying local women during the
Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
The Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent mainly took place between the 13th and the 18th centuries, establishing the Indo-Muslim period. Earlier Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent include the invasions which started in the ...
.
Many Pathans chose to live in the Republic of India after the
partition of India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
. Khan Mohammad Atif, a professor at the
University of Lucknow
University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is one of the oldest public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. LU's main campus is located at Badshah Bagh, University Road area of the city with a second ...
, estimates that "The population of Pathans in India is twice their population in Afghanistan".
Historically, Pashtuns settled in various cities of India before and during the
British Raj
The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent,
*
* lasting from 1858 to 1947.
*
* It is also called Crown rule ...
in
colonial India
Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during and after the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spice trade, spices. The search for ...
. These include Bombay (now called
Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
),
Farrukhabad
Farrukhabad is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Farrukhabad tehsil. This city is on the banks of river Ganges is from the national capital Delhi and from the state capital Lucknow.
His ...
,
Delhi
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
,
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
,
Saharanpur
Saharanpur is a city and a Municipal corporation (India), municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the public administration, administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district.
Saharanpur city's name was given after the Sain ...
,
Rohilkhand
Rohilkhand (today Bareilly, Moradabad, Badaun and Rampur; ) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the ...
,
Jaipur
Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
, and
Bangalore
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
.
The settlers are descended from both Pashtuns of present-day
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# ...
and
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 ...
(
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...
before 1947). In some regions in India, they are sometimes referred to as ''Kabuliwala''.
In India significant Pashtun diaspora communities exist.
While speakers of Pashto in the country number only 21,677 as of 2011, estimates of the ethnic or ancestral Pashtun population in India range from 3,200,000
to 11,482,000, to as high as double their population in Afghanistan (approximately 30 million).

The
Rohilkhand
Rohilkhand (today Bareilly, Moradabad, Badaun and Rampur; ) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the ...
region of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
is named after the
Rohilla
Rohillas are a community of Pashtuns, Pashtun heritage, historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region ...
community of Pashtun ancestry; the area came to be governed by the
Royal House of Rampur, a Pashtun dynasty.
They also live in the states of
Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
in central India and
West Bengal
West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
in eastern India that each have a population of over a million with Pashtun ancestry;
both
Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
and
Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
were primary locations of Pashtun migrants from
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 ...
during the colonial era. There are also populations over 100,000 each in the cities of
Jaipur
Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
and
Bangalore
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
in
Karnataka
Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
.
[ Bombay (now called ]Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
) and Calcutta
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...
both have a Pashtun population of over 1 million, while Jaipur
Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
and Bangalore
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
have an estimate of around 100,000. The Pashtuns in Bangalore
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
include the Khan siblings Feroz
Feroz or variants such as Firuz, Firuze, Peroz or Piruz (Persian, 'victorious') is a name.
Historical people
* Peroz I (died 484), Sasanian king of Iran
* Peroz II, Sasanian king of Iran
* Fayruz al-Daylami, companion of Muhammad
* Piruz Khosrow ...
, Sanjay
Sanjay, also spelled Sanjai, Sanjey, Sanje, Sanjaye and Sunjay, is a male given name of Sanskrit origin meaning "triumphant," from the Sanskrit Sañjaya ( सञ्जय), and may refer to:
People
* Sanjaya, an important character in the ancient ...
and Akbar Khan, whose father settled in Bangalore
Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
from Ghazni
Ghazni (, ), historically known as Ghaznayn () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana (), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan with a population of around 190,000 people. The city is strategica ...
.
During the 19th century, when the British were recruiting peasants from British India as indentured servants to work in the Caribbean
The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...
, South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
and other places, Rohillas were sent to Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...
, Surinam, Guyana
Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...
, and Fiji
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...
, to work in the sugarcane fields and perform manual labour. Many stayed and formed communities of their own. Some of them assimilated with the other South Asian Muslim nationalities to form a common Indian Muslim community in tandem with the larger Indian community, losing their distinctive heritage. Some Pashtuns travelled as far as Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
during the same era.
Today, the Pashtuns are a collection of diversely scattered communities present across the length and breadth of India, with the largest populations principally settled in the plains of northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...
and central India
Central India refers to a geographical region of India that generally includes the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.
The Central Zonal Council, established by the Government of India, includes these states as well as Uttar Prades ...
. Following the partition of India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
in 1947, many of them migrated to Pakistan. The majority of Indian Pashtuns are Urdu-speaking communities, who have assimilated into the local society
A local community has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location. The word is often used to refer to a group that is organized around common values and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical l ...
over the course of generations. Pashtuns have influenced and contributed to various fields in India, particularly politics, the entertainment industry and sports.
Iran
Pashtuns are also found in smaller numbers in the eastern and northern parts of Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. Records as early as the mid-1600s report Durrani Pashtuns living in the Khorasan province
Khorasan ( ; also transcribed as Khurasan, Xorasan and Khorassan), also called Traxiane during Hellenistic and Parthian Empire, Parthian times, was a Provinces of Iran, province in northeastern Iran until September 2004, when it was divided in ...
of Safavid Iran
The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
. After the short reign of the Ghilji Pashtuns in Iran, Nader Shah
Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...
defeated the last independent Ghilji ruler of Kandahar
Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...
, Hussain Hotak
Shah Hussain Hotak (Pashto/ Dari: ), son of Mirwais Hotak, was the fifth and last ruler of the Ghilji Hotak dynasty. An ethnic Pashtun ('' Afghan'') from the Ghilji tribe, he succeeded to the throne after the death of his brother Mahmud Hotak ...
. In order to secure Durrani control in southern Afghanistan, Nader Shah deported Hussain Hotak
Shah Hussain Hotak (Pashto/ Dari: ), son of Mirwais Hotak, was the fifth and last ruler of the Ghilji Hotak dynasty. An ethnic Pashtun ('' Afghan'') from the Ghilji tribe, he succeeded to the throne after the death of his brother Mahmud Hotak ...
and large numbers of the Ghilji Pashtuns to the Mazandaran province
Mazandaran Province (; ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is bordered clockw ...
in northern Iran. The remnants of this once sizeable exiled community, although assimilated, continue to claim Pashtun descent. During the early 18th century, in the course of a very few years, the number of Durrani Pashtuns in Iranian Khorasan, greatly increased. Later the region became part of the Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...
itself. The second Durrani king of Afghanistan, Timur Shah Durrani
Timur Shah Durrani (; ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – 20 May 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the second e ...
was born in Mashhad
Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...
. Contemporary to Durrani rule in the east, Azad Khan Afghan
Azād Khān Afghān ( Persian, ), or Azād Shāh Afghān () (died 1781), was a Pashtun military commander and a major contender for supremacy in western Iran after the death of Nader Shah Afshar in 1747.Perry, J. R. (1987), "Āzād Khan Afḡān ...
, an ethnic Ghilji Pashtun, formerly second in charge of Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
during Afsharid rule, gained power in the western regions of Iran and Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
for a short period. According to a sample survey in 1988, 75 per cent of all Afghan refugees in the southern part of the Iranian Khorasan province were Durrani Pashtuns.
In other regions
Indian and Pakistani Pashtuns have utilized the British/Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...
links of their respective countries, and modern communities have been established starting around the 1960s mainly in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia but also in other commonwealth countries
The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire from which i ...
(and the United States). Some Pashtuns have also settled in the Middle East, such as in the Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world.
Geographically, the ...
. For example, about 300,000 Pashtuns migrated to the Persian Gulf countries
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf, also known as the Gulf Arab states (), refers to a group of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi ...
between 1976 and 1981, representing 35% of Pakistani immigrants. The Pakistani
Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...
and Afghan diaspora
Afghan diaspora refers to the Afghan people that domicile (law), reside and work (human activity), work outside of Afghanistan. They include natives and Afghan identity card, citizens of Afghanistan who have immigration, immigrated to other coun ...
around the world includes Pashtuns.
Etymology
Ancient historical references: Pashtun
A tribe called Pakthās, one of the tribes that fought against Sudas
''For other uses, see Suda (disambiguation) and Souda (disambiguation)
Sudās Paijavana was an Indo-Aryan tribal king of the Bharatas, during the main or middle Rigvedic period (c. 14th century BCE). He led his tribe to victory in the Battl ...
in the Dasarajna
The Battle of the Ten Kings (, ) was first alluded to in the 7th Mandala of the Rigveda (RV) and took place between a king of the Bharatas named King Sudas versus a confederation of tribes. It resulted in a decisive victory for the Bharatas ...
, or ''"Battle of the Ten Kings"'', are mentioned in the seventh mandala of the Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' (, , from wikt:ऋच्, ऋच्, "praise" and wikt:वेद, वेद, "knowledge") is an ancient Indian Miscellany, collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canoni ...
, a text of Vedic Sanskrit
Vedic Sanskrit, also simply referred as the Vedic language, is the most ancient known precursor to Sanskrit, a language in the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is atteste ...
hymns dated between 1500 and 1200 BCE:
Heinrich Zimmer
Heinrich Robert Zimmer (6 December 1890 – 20 March 1943) was a German Indologist and linguist, as well as a historian of South Asian art, most known for his works, ''Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization'' and ''Philosophies of Indi ...
connects them with a tribe mentioned by Herodotus
Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
(''Pactyans'') in 430 BCE in the Histories
Histories or, in Latin, Historiae may refer to:
* the plural of history
* ''Histories'' (Herodotus), by Herodotus
* ''The Histories'', by Timaeus
* ''The Histories'' (Polybius), by Polybius
* ''Histories'' by Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust) ...
:
These Pactyans lived on the eastern frontier of the Achaemenid
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...
Arachosia
Arachosia (; ), or Harauvatis ( ), was a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire. Mainly centred around the Arghandab River, a tributary of the Helmand River, it extended as far east as the Indus River. The satrapy's Persian-language name is the et ...
Satrapy
A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. A satrapy is the territory governed by a satrap.
...
as early as the 1st millennium BCE, present-day Afghanistan. Herodotus
Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...
also mentions a tribe of known as Aparytai (Ἀπαρύται). Thomas Holdich
Colonel Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich (13 February 1843 – 2 November 1929) was an English geographer and president of the Royal Geographical Society. He is best known as Superintendent of Frontier Surveys in British India, arbiter in the Cor ...
has linked them with the Afridi
The Afrīdī ( ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ) are a Pashtun tribe present mostly in tribal areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
The Afridis are most dominant in the Spin Ghar range west of Peshawar in Tribal areas of modern-day Khyb ...
tribe:
Joseph Marquart made the connection of the Pashtuns with names such as the Parsiētai (Παρσιῆται), Parsioi (Πάρσιοι) that were cited by Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
150 CE:
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
, the Greek geographer, in the Geographica
The ''Geographica'' (, ''Geōgraphiká''; or , "Strabo's 17 Books on Geographical Topics") or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek in the late 1st century BC, or early 1st cen ...
(written between 43 BC to 23 AD) makes mention of the Scythian tribe Pasiani (Πασιανοί), which has also been identified with Pashtuns given that Pashto is an Eastern-Iranian language, much like the Scythian languages
The Scythian languages are a group of Eastern Iranic languages of the classical and late antique period (the Middle Iranic period), spoken in a vast region of Eurasia by the populations belonging to the Scythian cultures and their desce ...
:
This is considered a different rendering of Ptolemy's Parsioi (Πάρσιοι). Johnny Cheung, reflecting on Ptolemy's ''Parsioi (Πάρσιοι)'' and Strabo's ''Pasiani'' (Πασιανοί) states: "Both forms show slight phonetic substitutions, viz. of υ for ι, and the loss of r in Pasianoi is due to perseveration from the preceding Asianoi. They are therefore the most likely candidates as the (linguistic) ancestors of modern day Pashtuns."
Middle historical references: Afghan
In the Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
until the advent of modern Afghanistan in the 18th century, the Pashtuns were often referred to as '' "Afghans"''.
The etymological
Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
view supported by numerous noted scholars is that the name ''Afghan'' evidently derives from Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
''Aśvaka
Asvakas (Sanskrit language, Sanskrit:
Aśvaka) were an ancient people from Gandhara in the present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. The region in which they lived was also called ''Aśvaka''.
Etymology
The Sanskrit term ''aśva'', Prakrit ''assa' ...
n'', or the Assakenoi of Arrian
Arrian of Nicomedia (; Greek: ''Arrianos''; ; )
was a Greek historian, public servant, military commander, and philosopher of the Roman period.
'' The Anabasis of Alexander'' by Arrian is considered the best source on the campaigns of ...
, which was the name used for ancient inhabitants of the Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...
. ''Aśvakan'' literally means "horsemen", "horse breeders", or "cavalry
Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...
men" (from ''aśva
Ashva (, ) is the Sanskrit word for a horse, one of the significant animals finding references in the Vedas as well as later Hindu scriptures. The word is cognate to Avestan (), Latin '' equus'', Ancient Greek (), Proto-Germanic *''ehwaz'', obs ...
'' or ''aspa'', the Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
and Avestan
Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...
words for "horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...
"). This view was propounded by scholars like Christian Lassen
Christian Lassen (22 October 1800 – 8 May 1876) was a Norwegian-born, German orientalist and Indologist. He was a professor of Old Indian language and literature at the University of Bonn.
Biography
He was born at Bergen, Norway where he a ...
, J. W. McCrindle,[''"The name Afghan has evidently been derived from Asvakan, the Assakenoi of Arrian... "'' (Megasthenes and Arrian, p 180. See also: Alexander's Invasion of India, p 38; J. W. McCrindle).] M. V. de Saint Martin, and É. Reclus,[''"Even the name Afghan is Aryan being derived from Asvakayana, an important clan of the Asvakas or horsemen who must have derived this title from their handling of celebrated breeds of horses"'' (See: Imprints of Indian Thought and Culture abroad, p 124, Vivekananda Kendra Prakashan).][cf: ''"Their name (Afghan) means "cavalier" being derived from the ]Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, ''Asva'', or ''Asvaka'', a horse, and shows that their country must have been noted in ancient times, as it is at the present day, for its superior breed of horses. Asvaka was an important tribe settled north to Kabul river, which offered a gallant resistance but ineffectual resistance to the arms of Alexander "''(Ref: Scottish Geographical Magazine, 1999, p 275, Royal Scottish Geographical Society).[Cf: ''"The name represents Sanskrit Asvaka in the sense of a ''cavalier'', and this reappears scarcely modified in the Assakani or Assakeni of the historians of the expedition of ]Alexander
Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here ar ...
" '' (Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian
Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...
words and phrases, and of kindred terms, etymological..by Henry Yule, AD Burnell).
The earliest mention of the name ''Afghan'' (''Abgân'') is by Shapur I
Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; ) was the second Sasanian Empire, Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The precise dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardashir I as co-regent u ...
of the Sassanid Empire
The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...
during the 3rd century CE, In the 4th century the word "Afghans/Afghana" (αβγανανο) as a reference to a particular people is mentioned in the Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian language, Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian peoples, Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area ...
n documents found in Northern Afghanistan.
The name Afghan is later recorded in the 6th century CE in the form of ''"Avagāṇa"'' ��वगाणby the Indian astronomer Varāha Mihira in his Brihat-samhita.
The word Afghan also appeared in the 982 Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam
The ''Ḥudūd al-ʿĀlam'' (, "Boundaries of the World," "Limits of the World," or in also in English "The Regions of the World") is a 10th-century geography book written in Persian by an anonymous author from Guzgan (present day northern Afgha ...
, where a reference is made to a village, Saul, which was probably located near Gardez
Gardez ( / ; ''Gardēz'', meaning "mountain fortress" in Middle Persian) is the capital of the Paktia Province of Afghanistan. The population of the city was estimated to be ca. 10,000 in the 1979 census and was estimated to be 70,000 in 2008. Th ...
, Afghanistan.
The same book also speaks of a king in Ninhar (Nangarhar
Nangarhār (Pashto: ; Dari: ), also called Nangrahar or Ningrahar, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country and bordering Logar, Kabul, Laghman and Kunar provinces as well as having an internatio ...
), who had Muslim, ''Afghan'' and Hindu wives. In the 11th century, Afghans are mentioned in Al-Biruni
Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (; ; 973after 1050), known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously "Father of Comparative Religion", "Father of modern ...
's ''Tarikh-ul Hind'' ("History of the Indus"), which describes groups of rebellious Afghans in the tribal lands west of the Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...
in what is today Pakistan.
Al-Utbi, the Ghaznavid
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus to the Indus Va ...
chronicler, in his '' Tarikh-i Yamini'' recorded that many Afghans and Khiljis (possibly the modern 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 ...
) enlisted in the army of Sabuktigin
Abu Mansur Nasir ad-Din wa'd-Dawla Sabuktigin (; 940s – August-September 997) was the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, and amir of Ghazna from 977 to 997. Sabuktigin was a Turkic slave who was bought by Alp-Tegin, the commander of the r ...
after Jayapala
Jayapala was a ruler of the Hindu Shahi dynasty from 964 to 1001 CE. He ruled over the area which stretched from Laghman in the west, to Kashmir in the east and from Sirhind to Multan. He was the son of Hutpal and the father of Anandapala. ...
was defeated. Al-Utbi further stated that Afghans and Ghiljis made a part of Mahmud Ghaznavi
Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (), was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usuall ...
's army and were sent on his expedition to Tocharistan
Tokharistan (formed from "Tokhara" and the suffix ''-stan'' meaning "place of" in Persian) is a historical name used by Islamic sources in the early Middle Ages to refer to the area which was known as Bactria in Ancient Greek sources.
By the 6 ...
, while on another occasion Mahmud Ghaznavi attacked and punished a group of opposing Afghans, as also corroborated by Abulfazl Beyhaqi. It is recorded that Afghans were also enrolled in the Ghurid Kingdom (1148–1215). By the beginning of the Khilji dynasty
The Khalji or Khilji dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate for three decades between 1290 and 1320. It was the second dynasty to rule the Delhi Sultanate which covered large swaths of the Indian subcontinent. in 1290, Afghans have been well known in northern India.
Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...
, when visiting Afghanistan following the era of the Khilji dynasty, also wrote about the Afghans.
Ferishta
Firishta or Ferešte (), full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astarabadi (), was a Persian historian, who later settled in India and served the Deccan Sultans as their court historian. He was born in 1570 and died between 1611 and 1623.
Life
F ...
, a 16th-century Muslim historian
The following is a list of Muslim historians writing in the Islamic historiographical tradition, which developed from hadith literature in the time of the first caliphs.
Chronological list
Historians of the Formative Period
The First Century ...
writing about the history of Muslim rule in the subcontinent, stated:
History and origins
The ethnogenesis
Ethnogenesis (; ) is the formation and development of an ethnic group. This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification.
The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th-century neologism that was later introduce ...
of the Pashtun ethnic group is unclear. There are many conflicting theories among historians and the Pashtuns themselves. Modern scholars believe that Pashtuns do not all share the same origin. The early ancestors of modern-day Pashtuns may have belonged to old Iranian tribes that spread throughout the eastern Iranian plateau
The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature spanning parts of the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. It makes up part of the Eurasian plate, and is wedged between the Arabian plate and the Indian plate. ...
. Historians have also come across references to various ancient Indo-Aryan tribes
Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse collection of peoples predominantly found in South Asia, who (traditionally) speak Indo-Aryan languages. Historically, Aryans were the Indo-Iranian speaking pastoralists who migrated from Central Asia into ...
called ''Pakthas
Pakthas or Pakhtas was an ancient Vedic Indo-Aryan tribe living in the northern borderlands of South Asia. They are considered to be one of the possible ancestors of modern Pakhtun people. They are sometimes identified with the "Pactyans" of ...
'' (''Pactyans'') between the 2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Minute and second of arc, ...
and the 1st millennium BC, although according to Richard N. Frye
Richard Nelson Frye (January 10, 1920 – March 27, 2014) was an American scholar of Iranian and Central Asian studies, and Aga Khan Professor Emeritus of Iranian Studies at Harvard University. His professional areas of interest were Irania ...
the identification of Pashtuns with the Pakhtas is a mere guess and not proven. And scholars such as Georg Morgenstierne
Georg Valentin von Munthe af Morgenstierne (2 January 1892 – 3 March 1978) was a Norwegian professor of linguistics with the University of Oslo (UiO). He specialized in Indo-Iranian languages.
Studies
During the years 1923 to 1971, Morgenst ...
propose the derivation of Pashto from Parsa or Parswana.
Mohan Lal stated in 1846 that "the origin of the Afghans
Afghans (; ) are the citizens and nationals of Afghanistan, as well as their descendants in the Afghan diaspora. The country is made up of various ethnic groups, of which Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, and Uzbeks are the largest. The three main lan ...
is so obscure, that no one, even among the oldest and most clever of the tribe, can give satisfactory information on this point." Others have suggested that a single origin of the Pashtuns is unlikely but rather they are a tribal confederation.
Linguistic origin
Pashto is generally classified as an Eastern Iranian
The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages, having emerged during the Middle Iranian era (4th century BC to 9th century AD). The Avestan language is often classified as early Eastern Iranian. As opposed to the Middle-e ...
language. It shares features with the Munji language
The Munji language (, ), also known as Munjani (, , Munjani: ), Munjhan (), and the Munjiwar language, is a Pamir language spoken in the Munjan valley in the Kuran wa Munjan district of the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan. It is s ...
, which is the closest existing language to the extinct Bactrian, but also shares features with the Sogdian language
The Sogdian language was an Eastern Iranian language spoken mainly in the Central Asian region of Sogdia (capital: Samarkand; other chief cities: Panjakent, Fergana, Khujand, and Bukhara), located in modern-day Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhst ...
, as well as Khwarezmian, Shughni, Sanglechi
Sanglechi is a Pamiri language spoken in villages in the Zebak District of Afghanistan: Dashte Rubat, Esketul, Faruq, Flaxmadek, Sar-Sanglech, and Takya. It is also spoken in Tajikistan, where it is called Sanglich. The name comes from the Sangl ...
, and Khotanese Saka
Saka, or Sakan, was a variety of Eastern Iranian languages, attested from the ancient Buddhist kingdoms of Khotan, Kashgar and Tumshuq in the Tarim Basin, in what is now southern Xinjiang, China. It is a Middle Iranian language. The two ...
.
It is suggested by some that Pashto may have originated in the Badakhshan
Badakhshan is a historical region comprising the Wakhan Corridor in northeast Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic ...
region and is connected to a Saka language
Saka, or Sakan, was a variety of Eastern Iranian languages, attested from the ancient Buddhist kingdoms of Khotan, Kashgar and Tumshuq in the Tarim Basin, in what is now southern Xinjiang, China. It is a Middle Iranian language. The two ki ...
akin to Khotanese. In fact major linguist Georg Morgenstierne
Georg Valentin von Munthe af Morgenstierne (2 January 1892 – 3 March 1978) was a Norwegian professor of linguistics with the University of Oslo (UiO). He specialized in Indo-Iranian languages.
Studies
During the years 1923 to 1971, Morgenst ...
has described Pashto as a Saka
The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...
dialect and many others have observed the similarities between Pashto and other Saka languages as well, suggesting that the original Pashto speakers might have been a Saka
The Saka, Old Chinese, old , Pinyin, mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit (Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples, Eastern Iranian peoples who lived in the Eurasian ...
group. Furthermore, Pashto and Ossetian, another Scythian-descending language, share cognates in their vocabulary which other Eastern Iranian languages lack Cheung suggests a common isogloss between Pashto and Ossetian which he explains by an undocumented Saka dialect being spoken close to reconstructed Old Pashto which was likely spoken north of the Oxus
The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...
at that time. Others however have suggested a much older Iranic ancestor given the affinity to Old Avestan
Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family and was originally spoken during the Old Iranian period ( – 400 BCE) by the Iranians living in the eastern po ...
.
Diverse origin
According to one school of thought, Pashtun are descended from a variety of ethnicities, including Persians
Persians ( ), or the Persian people (), are an Iranian ethnic group from West Asia that came from an earlier group called the Proto-Iranians, which likely split from the Indo-Iranians in 1800 BCE from either Afghanistan or Central Asia. They ...
, Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
, Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Turkey
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic lang ...
, Arabs
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
, Bactrians
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient Iranian civilization in Central Asia based in the area south of the Oxus River (modern Amu Darya) and north of the mountains of the Hindu Kush, an area within the north of modern Afghani ...
, Dards
The Dardic languages (also Dardu or Pisaca), or Hindu-Kush Indo-Aryan languages, are a group of several Indo-Aryan languages spoken in northern Pakistan, northwestern India and parts of northeastern Afghanistan. This region has sometimes been r ...
, Scythians
The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian noma ...
, Tartars
Tartary (Latin: ''Tartaria''; ; ; ) or Tatary () was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounded by the Caspian Sea, the Ural Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and the northern borders of China ...
, Huns (Hephthalites
The Hephthalites (), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian languages, Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit and Prakrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during the 5th to ...
), Mongols
Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
, Moghals (Mughals), and anyone else who has crossed the region where these Pashtun live. Unexpectedly, this includes alleged ties of Israelite
Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age.
Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...
descent.
Some Pashtun tribes claim descent from Arabs
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
, including some claiming to be Sayyids
''Sayyid'' is an honorific title of Hasanid and Husaynid lineage, recognized as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and Ali's sons Hasan and Husayn. The title may also refer to the descendants of the fami ...
.[Caroe, Olaf. 1984. ''The Pathans: 500 B.C.-A.D. 1957'' (Oxford in Asia Historical Reprints)." Oxford University Press.]
One historical account connects the Pashtuns to a possible Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
ian past but this lacks supporting evidence.
Henry Walter Bellew
Henry Walter Bellew MRCP (30 August 1834 – 26 July 1892) was an Indian-born British medical officer who worked in Afghanistan. He wrote several books based on his explorations in the region during the course of his army career and also studied ...
, who wrote extensively on Afghan culture, noted that some people claim that the Bangash
The Bangash, Bungish, Bangaš or Bangakh () are a tribe of Pashtuns, inhabiting their traditional homeland, the Bangash district which stretches from Kohat to Tall in Hangu and Spīn Ghar, Kurram in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They also live ...
Pashtuns are connected to Ismail Samani
Abū Ibrāhīm Ismā'īl ibn-i Aḥmad-i Sāmāni (; May 849 – 24 November 907), better known simply as Amir Ismail-i Samani (), and also known as Isma'il ibn-i Ahmad (), was the Samanid amir of Transoxiana (892–907) and Khorasan (900–907) ...
.
Greek origin
According to Firasat et al. 2007, a proportion of Pashtuns may descend from Greeks, but they also suggest that Greek ancestry may also have come from Greek slaves brought by Xerxes I
Xerxes I ( – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was a List of monarchs of Persia, Persian ruler who served as the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC. He was ...
.
The Greek ancestry of the Pashtuns may also be traced on the basis of a homologous group. And Hoplogroup J2 is from the Semitic population, and this Hoplogroup is found in 6.5% of Greeks and Pashtuns and 55.6% of the Israelite population.
A number of genetic studies on ''Pashtuns'' have lately been undertaken by academics from various institutions and research institutes. The Greek heritage of Pakistani Pashtuns has been researched in. In this study, the ''Pashtuns'', ''Kalash'', and ''Burusho'' to be descended from Alexander's soldiers considered.
Henry Walter Bellew
Henry Walter Bellew MRCP (30 August 1834 – 26 July 1892) was an Indian-born British medical officer who worked in Afghanistan. He wrote several books based on his explorations in the region during the course of his army career and also studied ...
(1834–1892) was of the view that the Pashtuns likely have mixed Greek and Indian Rajput roots.
Following Alexander's brief occupation, the successor state of the Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire ( ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator, following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great ...
expanded influence on the Pashtuns until 305 BCE when they gave up dominating power to the Indian Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in South Asia with its power base in Magadha. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya around c. 320 BCE, it existed in loose-knit fashion until 185 BCE. The primary source ...
as part of an alliance treaty.
Some groups from Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
and Kandahar
Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...
believe to be descended from Greeks
Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
who arrived with Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
.
Hephthalite origin
According to some accounts the 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 ...
tribe has been connected to the Khalaj people
The Khalaj (; ) are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly reside in Iran.
In Iran they still speak the Khalaj language, although most of them are Persianized. ''Xalaj'').; excerpts from "The Turkish Dialect of the Khalaj", Bulletin of the School o ...
. Following al-Khwarizmi
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi , or simply al-Khwarizmi, was a mathematician active during the Islamic Golden Age, who produced Arabic-language works in mathematics, astronomy, and geography. Around 820, he worked at the House of Wisdom in B ...
, Josef Markwart
Josef Markwart (originally spelled Josef Marquart: December 9, 1864 in Reichenbach am Heuberg – February 4, 1930 in Berlin) was a German historian and orientalist. He specialized in Turkish and Iranian Studies and the history of the Middl ...
claimed the Khalaj to be remnants of the Hephthalite
The Hephthalites (), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit and Prakrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during the 5th to 8th centuries CE, ...
confederacy.[ḴALAJ i. TRIBE]
– ''Encyclopaedia Iranica
An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles or entries that are arranged alphabetically by artic ...
, 15 December 2010 (Pierre Oberling)'' The Hephthalites may have been Indo-Iranian, although the view that they were of Turkic Gaoju
The Tiele ( zh, c=鐵勒, p=Tiělè),, Mongolian ''*Tegreg'' " eople of theCarts" also transliterated as Chile ( zh, c=敕勒, links=no), Dili ( zh, c=狄歷, links=no), Zhile ( zh, c=直勒, links=no) and Tele ( zh, c=特勒, links=no), who w ...
origin "seems to be most prominent at present". The Khalaj may originally have been Turkic-speaking and only federated with Iranian Pashto-speaking tribes in medieval times.
However, according to linguist Sims-Williams
Nicholas Sims-Williams, FBA (born 11 April 1949, Chatham, Kent) is a British professor of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, where he is the Research Professor of Iranian and Central Asian Studies at the De ...
, archaeological documents do not support the suggestion that the Khalaj were the successors of the Hephthalites, while according to historian V. Minorsky, the Khalaj were "perhaps only politically associated with the Hephthalites."
According to Georg Morgenstierne
Georg Valentin von Munthe af Morgenstierne (2 January 1892 – 3 March 1978) was a Norwegian professor of linguistics with the University of Oslo (UiO). He specialized in Indo-Iranian languages.
Studies
During the years 1923 to 1971, Morgenst ...
, the Durrani
The Durrānī (, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribal confederation of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, ...
tribe who were known as the "Abdali" before the formation of the Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...
1747, might be connected to with the Hephthalites
The Hephthalites (), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian languages, Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit and Prakrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during the 5th to ...
; Aydogdy Kurbanov
Aydogdy Kurbanov (in Turkmen: ''Aýdogdy Gurbanow'', born 2 February 1976, in Ashgabat, Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic, USSR) is a Turkmen archaeologist and historian whose main area of research is prehistoric and late antiquity of Central A ...
endorses this view who proposes that after the collapse of the Hephthalite confederacy, Hephthalite likely assimilated into different local populations.
According to The Cambridge History of Iran
''The Cambridge History of Iran'' is a multi-volume survey of Iranian history published in the United Kingdom by Cambridge University Press. The seven volumes cover "the history and historical geography of the land which is present-day Iran, as w ...
volume 3, Issue 1, the 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 ...
tribe of Afghanistan are the descendants of Hephthalites.
Anthropology and oral traditions
Theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites
Some anthropologist
An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
s lend credence to the oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...
s of the Pashtun tribes themselves. For example, according to the ''Encyclopaedia of Islam
The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is a reference work that facilitates the Islamic studies, academic study of Islam. It is published by Brill Publishers, Brill and provides information on various aspects of Islam and the Muslim world, Isl ...
'', the theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites is traced to Nimat Allah al-Harawi
Ni'mat Allah al-Harawi (also known as Niamatullah; ) was a chronicler at the court of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir where he compiled a Persian history of the Afghans, the '' Tarikh-i-Khan-Jahani''. He was a '' waqia navis'' (news-writer) in the ...
, who compiled a history for '' Khan-e-Jehan Lodhi'' in the reign of Mughal
Mughal or Moghul may refer to:
Related to the Mughal Empire
* Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
* Mughal dynasty
* Mughal emperors
* Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia
* Mughal architecture
* Mug ...
Emperor Jehangir
Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...
in the 17th century. The 13th century Tabaqat-i Nasiri
''Tabaqat-i Nasiri'' (), named for ''Sultan'' Nasir-ud-Din, is an elaborate history of the Islamic world written in Persian by Minhaj-i-Siraj Juzjani and completed in 1260. Consisting of 23 volumes and written in a blunt straightforward style, J ...
discusses the settlement of immigrant Bani Israel at the end of the 8th century CE in the Ghor region of Afghanistan, settlement attested by Jewish inscriptions in Ghor. Historian André Wink suggests that the story "may contain a clue to the remarkable theory of the Jewish origin of some of the Afghan tribes which is persistently advocated in the Persian-Afghan chronicles." These references to Bani Israel agree with the commonly held view by Pashtuns that when the twelve tribes of Israel were dispersed, the tribe of Joseph
The Tribe of Joseph is one of the Tribes of Israel in biblical tradition. Since the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (often called the "two half-tribes of Joseph") together traditionally constituted the "tribe of Joseph", it was often not lis ...
, among other Hebrew tribes, settled in the Afghanistan region. This oral tradition is widespread among the Pashtun tribes. There have been many legends over the centuries of descent from the Ten Lost Tribes
The Ten Lost Tribes were those from the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), Kingdom of Israel after it was conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire around 720 BCE. They were the following ...
after groups converted to Christianity and Islam. Hence the tribal name Yusufzai
The Yusufzai or Yousafzai (, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ), or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( Malakand, Dir, Swat, Shangl ...
in Pashto translates to the "son of Joseph". A similar story is told by many historians, including the 14th century Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta (; 24 February 13041368/1369), was a Maghrebi traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn ...
and 16th century Ferishta
Firishta or Ferešte (), full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astarabadi (), was a Persian historian, who later settled in India and served the Deccan Sultans as their court historian. He was born in 1570 and died between 1611 and 1623.
Life
F ...
. However, the similarity of names can also be traced to the presence of Arabic through Islam.
This theory of Pashtuns Jewish origin has been largely denied and is said that Its biblical claims are anecdotal, its historical documentation is inconsistent, its geographic claims are incoherent, and its linguistic assertions are implausible.
One conflicting issue in the belief that the Pashtuns descend from the Israelites
Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age.
Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...
is that the Ten Lost Tribes were exiled by the ruler of Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...
, while ''Maghzan-e-Afghani
The ''Tarikh-i-Khan-Jahani'' () is a 17th-century Persian language text describing the history of the ethnic Afghans. Versions of the work are referred to by the names ''Makhzan-i-Afghani'' () and ''Tarikh-i-Khan Jahani Wa Makhzan-i-Afghani.'' It ...
'' says they were permitted by the ruler to go east to Afghanistan. This inconsistency can be explained by the fact that Persia acquired the lands of the ancient Assyrian Empire when it conquered the Empire of the Medes and Chaldean Babylonia
Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...
, which had conquered Assyria decades earlier. But no ancient author mentions such a transfer of Israelites further east, or no ancient extra-Biblical texts refer to the Ten Lost Tribes at all.
Some Afghan historians have maintained that Pashtuns are linked to the ancient Israelites. Mohan Lal quoted Mountstuart Elphinstone
Mountstuart Elphinstone (6 October 1779 – 20 November 1859) was a Scottish statesman and historian, associated with the government of British India. He later became the Governor of Bombay (now Mumbai) where he is credited with the open ...
who wrote:
This theory has been criticized for not being substantiated by historical evidence. Zaman Stanizai criticizes this theory:
According to genetic studies Pashtuns have a greater R1a1a*-M198 modal halogroup than Jews:
Modern era
Their modern past stretches back to the Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate or the Sultanate of Delhi was a Medieval India, late medieval empire primarily based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for more than three centuries. ( Khalji and Lodi dynasty
The Lodi dynasty was an Afghan royal family that ruled Sultanate of Delhi from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Lodi when he replaced the Sayyid dynasty.
Bahlul Lodi
Followin ...
), the Hotak dynasty
The Hotak dynasty ( ) was an Afghan monarchy founded by Ghilji Pashtuns that briefly ruled portions of Iran and Afghanistan during the 1720s. It was established in April 1709 by Mirwais Hotak, who led a successful rebellion against the declining ...
and the Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire, colloquially known as the Afghan Empire, or the Saddozai Kingdom, was an Afghanistan, Afghan empire founded by the Durrani tribe of Pashtuns under Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747, which spanned parts of Central Asia, the Iranian ...
. The Hotak rulers rebelled against the Safavids
The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
and seized control over much of Persia from 1722 to 1729. This was followed by the conquests of Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan.
Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...
who was a former high-ranking military commander under Nader Shah
Nader Shah Afshar (; 6 August 1698 or 22 October 1688 – 20 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian history, ruling as shah of Iran (Persia) from 1736 to 1747, when he was a ...
and founder of the Durrani Empire, which covered most of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir
Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...
, Indian Punjab
Punjab () is a state in northwestern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the north and northeast, Haryana to the south and southeast, a ...
, as well as the Kohistan
Kohistan (, , ), also transliterated Kuhistan, Kuhiston, Quhistan, may refer to:
In Afghanistan
*Kohistan District, Kapisa, Kapisa Province
** Kohistan Hesa Awal District, a district in Kapisa Province, created within the former Kohistan Distr ...
and Khorasan
KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West and Central Asia that encompasses western and no ...
provinces of Iran. After the decline of the Durrani dynasty
The Durrani dynasty (; ) was founded in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani at Kandahar, Afghanistan. He united the different Pashtun tribes and created the Durrani Empire. which at its peak included the modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, as well as ...
in the first half of the 19th century under Shuja Shah Durrani
Shuja (, , ) is a surname and male given name.
Notable people with this name include:
* Shuja al-Khwarazmi, was the mother of Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil
Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā ...
, the Barakzai dynasty
The Barakzai dynasty (, "Sons of Barak"), also known as the Muhammadzai dynasty ("the ruling sub-clan of the Barakzai"), ruled what is now Afghanistan from 1823 to 1978, when the monarchy ended de jure under Musahiban Mohammad Zahir Shah and ...
took control of the empire. Specifically, the Mohamedzai
Mohammadzai (), also spelled Moḥammadzay (meaning "descendants of Mohammad"), is a Pashtun sub-tribe or clan of the Barakzai which is part of the Durrani confederacy of tribes. They are primarily centered on Kandahar, Kabul and Ghazni in A ...
s held Afghanistan's monarchy from around 1826 to the end of Zahir Shah
Mohammad Zāhir Shāh (15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Ruling for 40 years, Zahir Shah was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan since t ...
's reign in 1973.
During the so-called "Great Game
The Great Game was a rivalry between the 19th-century British Empire, British and Russian Empire, Russian empires over influence in Central Asia, primarily in Emirate of Afghanistan, Afghanistan, Qajar Iran, Persia, and Tibet. The two colonia ...
" of the 19th century, rivalry between the British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
and Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
empires was useful to the Pashtuns of Afghanistan in resisting foreign control and retaining a degree of autonomy (see the Siege of Malakand
The siege of Malakand was the 26 July – 2 August 1897 siege of the British garrison in the Malakand region of colonial British India's North West Frontier Province.Nevill p. 232 The British faced a force of Pashtun tribesmen whose tribal la ...
). However, during the reign of Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan (Pashto: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) also known by his epithet, The Iron Amir, was Amir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for perpetrating the Hazara genocide, but also uniting the ...
(1880–1901), Pashtun regions
Pashtunistan () or Pakhtunistan is a historical region on the crossroads of Central and South Asia, located on the Iranian Plateau, inhabited by the Pashtun people of southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, wherein Pashtun cu ...
were politically
Politics () is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources.
The branch of social science that studies poli ...
divided by the Durand Line
The Durand Line (; ; ), also known as the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, is a international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to the border with China.
The D ...
– areas that would become western Pakistan fell within British India as a result of the border.
In the 20th century, many politically active Pashtun leaders living under British rule of undivided India supported Indian independence, including Ashfaqulla Khan
Ashfaqulla Khan (22 October 1900 – 19 December 1927) was a freedom fighter in the Indian independence movement against British rule and the co-founder of the Hindustan Republican Association, later to become the Hindustan Socialist Republic ...
, Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai
Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai (7 July 1907 – 2 December 1973) (), commonly known as Khan Shaheed () (This title or name was given by the great Baba-e-Afghan Abdul Rahim Khan Mandokhail) was a Pashtun nationalist and political leader from the ...
, Ajmal Khattak
Ajmal Khan Khattak (; ; 15 September 1925 – 7 February 2010) was a Pakistani politician, writer and Pashto language poet from North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), who served as the President of Awami National Party. He wa ...
, Bacha Khan
Abdul Ghaffar Khan (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan () was a Pathan activist and formerly an Indian independence activist from the North-West Frontier Province, and founder of the Khudai K ...
and his son Wali Khan (both members of the Khudai Khidmatgar
Khudai Khidmatgar () was an Indian, predominantly Pashtun, nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-West Frontier Province (present-day Khyber Pakhtun ...
), and were inspired by Mohandas Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British ...
's non-violent
Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...
method of resistance. Many Pashtuns also worked in the Muslim League Muslim League may refer to:
Political parties British India
*All-India Muslim League, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan
** Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organization above
**Unionist Muslim L ...
to fight for an independent Pakistan through non violent resistance, including Yusuf Khattak
Muhamad Yusuf Khan Khattak (18November 191729July 1991) was a Pakistani politician, left-wing intellectual, lawyer, and noted Pakistan Movement activist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Although an early member of the Muslim League, he actively parti ...
and Abdur Rab Nishtar
Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar (13 June 1899 – 14 February 1958) was a Pakistani independence activist and politician from the North-West Frontier Province (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). He served as the first Minister of Communications o ...
who was a close associate of Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 187611 September 1948) was a barrister, politician, and the founder of Pakistan. Jinnah served as the leader of the All-India Muslim League from 1913 until the inception of Pa ...
.
The Pashtuns of Afghanistan attained complete independence from British political intervention
Interventionism, in international politics, is the interference of a state or group of states into the domestic affairs of another state for the purposes of coercing that state to do something or refrain from doing something. The intervention ca ...
during the reign of Amanullah Khan
Ghazi (warrior), Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 26 April 1960) was the head of state, sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emirate of Afghanistan, Emir and after 1926 as Kingdom of Afghanistan, King, until his abdic ...
, following the Third Anglo-Afghan War
The Third Anglo-Afghan War was a short war which began on 3 May and ended on 8 August 1919. The new Amir of the Emirate of Afghanistan Amanullah Khan declared a Jihad against the British in the hope to proclaim full independence, as well as ...
. By the 1950s a popular call for Pashtunistan
Pashtunistan () or Pakhtunistan is a historical region on the crossroads of Central and South Asia, located on the Iranian Plateau, inhabited by the Pashtun people of southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, wherein Pashtun cu ...
began to be heard in Afghanistan and the new state of Pakistan. This led to bad relations between the two nations. The Afghan monarchy ended when President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Daoud Khan
Mohammad Daoud Khan (Dari/) also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan; 18July 190928April 1978) was an Afghan head of state, military officer and politician who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 ...
seized control of Afghanistan from his cousin Zahir Shah
Mohammad Zāhir Shāh (15 October 1914 – 23 July 2007) was the last King of Afghanistan, reigning from 8 November 1933 until he was deposed on 17 July 1973. Ruling for 40 years, Zahir Shah was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan since t ...
in 1973 on a Pashtun Nationalist
Pashtun nationalism () is an ideology that claims that the Pashtuns form a distinct nation and that they should always be united to preserve their culture and homeland. In Afghanistan, those who advocate Pashtun nationalism favour the idea of a " G ...
agenda, which opened doors for a proxy war
In political science, a proxy war is an armed conflict where at least one of the belligerents is directed or supported by an external third-party power. In the term ''proxy war'', a belligerent with external support is the ''proxy''; both bel ...
by neighbours. In April 1978, Daoud Khan was assassinated along with his family and relatives in a bloody coup orchestrated by Hafizullah Amin
Hafizullah Amin (Dari/; 1 August 192927 December 1979) was an Afghan communist head of state, who served in that position for a little over three months, from September 1979 until his assassination. He organized the Saur Revolution of 1978 and ...
. Afghan mujahideen
The Afghan ''mujahideen'' (; ; ) were Islamist militant groups that fought against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the Soviet Union during the Soviet–Afghan War and the subsequent Afghan Civil War (1989–1992), First Afghan Ci ...
commanders in exile in neighbouring Pakistan began recruiting for a guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, later known as the Republic of Afghanistan, was the Afghan state between History of Afghanistan (1978–1992), 1978 and 1992. It was bordered by Pakistan to the east and south, by Iran to the west, by the ...
– the Marxist government which was also dominated by Pashtun Khalq
Khalq (Dari/, ) was a faction of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA). Its historical ''de facto'' leaders were Nur Muhammad Taraki (1967–1979), Hafizullah Amin (1979) It was also the name of the leftist newspaper produced by ...
ists who held Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...
views including Hafizullah Amin
Hafizullah Amin (Dari/; 1 August 192927 December 1979) was an Afghan communist head of state, who served in that position for a little over three months, from September 1979 until his assassination. He organized the Saur Revolution of 1978 and ...
, Nur Muhammad Taraki
Nur Muhammad Taraki (; 14 July 1917 – 9 October 1979) was an Afghan communist politician, journalist and writer. He was a founding member of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) who served as its General Secretary from 1965 to ...
, General Mohammad Aslam Vatanjar, Shahnawaz Tanai
Lieutenant General Shahnawaz Tanai (Russian: Шахнаваз Танай, 1950 – 7 March 2022) was an Afghan military officer and politician who served as the Chief of General Staff of the Afghan Army during the Soviet-Afghan War until his ...
, Mohammad Gulabzoy and many more. In 1979, the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
intervened in its southern neighbour Afghanistan in order to defeat a rising insurgency. The Afghan mujahideen were funded by the United States, Saudi Arabia, China and others, and included some Pashtun commanders such as Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
Abdulrab Rasul Sayyaf ( ; ; born 1946) is an exiled Afghan politician and former Afghan mujahideen, mujahideen commander. He took part in the war against the Marxist–Leninist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) government in the 198 ...
, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar (born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, and former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so called after Mohammad Yunus Khalis spl ...
, Jalaluddin Haqqani
Jalaluddin Haqqani () (1939 – 3 September 2018) was an Afghan insurgent commander who founded the Haqqani network, an insurgent group who fought in guerilla warfare against US-led NATO forces and the former Islamic Republic of Afghanistan g ...
, Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi
Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi (; 1920–21 April 2002) was an Afghan politician and mujahideen leader who was the founder and leader of the Harakat-i-Inqilab-i-Islami ( Islamic Revolution Movement) political party and paramilitary group. He served as ...
and Mohammad Yunus Khalis
Mohammad Yunus Khalis (alternate spellings Yunis and Younas) (; c. 1919 – 19 July 2006) was a mujahideen commander in Afghanistan during the Soviet–Afghan War. His party was called Hezb-i-Islami ("Islamic Party"), the same as Gulbuddin Hekm ...
. In the meantime, millions of Pashtuns joined the Afghan diaspora
Afghan diaspora refers to the Afghan people that domicile (law), reside and work (human activity), work outside of Afghanistan. They include natives and Afghan identity card, citizens of Afghanistan who have immigration, immigrated to other coun ...
in 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# ...
and Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
, and from there tens of thousands proceeded to Europe, North America, Oceania and other parts of the world. The Afghan government and military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
would remain predominantly Pashtun until the fall of Mohammad Najibullah's Republic of Afghanistan The Republic of Afghanistan may refer to:
* Republic of Afghanistan (1973–1978)
* Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (1978–1992), was renamed as the Republic of Afghanistan from 1987 to 1992
* Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021)
See ...
in April 1992.
Many high-ranking government officials in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic in Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan Afghan Interim Administration, interim (2001–2002) and Transitional Islamic State of Afghanist ...
were Pashtuns, including: Abdul Rahim Wardak
General Abdul Rahim Wardak (; Pashto/; born 1945) is an Afghan politician and former Defense Minister of Afghanistan. He was appointed on December 23, 2004, by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.[Abdul Salam Azimi
Abdul Salam Azimi (born 1936 in Farah Province) is an Afghan former judge who was the Chief Justice of Afghanistan and, as such, the head of the Afghan Supreme Court from August 2006 to October 2014, when he resigned his position.
A former pro ...]
, Anwar ul-Haq Ahady
Anwar ul-Haq Ahady (August 12, 1951) is an Afghan politician and former Minister of Commerce and Industry. He had served as the nation's Finance Minister from December 2004 to February 5, 2009. From 2002 to 2004, he was the head of Da Afghanis ...
, Amirzai Sangin, Ghulam Farooq Wardak
Ghulam Farooq Wardak (born 1959) is a politics of Afghanistan, politician in Afghanistan, formerly serving as the Ministry of Education (Afghanistan), Minister of Education. He was appointed to that position by President of Afghanistan, Afghan Pr ...
, Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...
, Mohammad Ishaq Aloko, Omar Zakhilwal
Dr. Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal ( ; born 1968) is an Afghan politician who served as the President's Special Representative and Afghanistan's Ambassador to Pakistan from 2016 until 2018. He also served as Minister of Finance from 2009 to 2015. Since ea ...
, Sher Mohammad Karimi
General Sher Mohammad Karimi (born November 11, 1945) was the Chief of Army Staff in the Military of Afghanistan. An ethnic Pashtun, Karimi was born in Khost Province of Afghanistan.
After the 1978 Saur Revolution in Afghanistan, Karimi was ar ...
, Zalmay Rasoul, Yousef Pashtun
Mohammad Yousef Pashtun () is an Afghan technocrat and politician. He served as Minister of Urban Development and Housing for two terms (2002–2003, 2005–2010) and as Governor of Kandahar province in 2003, replacing Gul Agha Sherzai under ...
. The list of current governors of Afghanistan
This is a table chart of the current governors of Afghanistan. Provincial governors are all appointed by the supreme leader of Afghanistan. Provincial governors are often interchanged between provinces and it is not uncommon for the governor of ...
also include large percentage of Pashtuns. Mullah Yaqoob
Muhammad Yaqoob Mujahid Tumzi (born 1990), commonly known as Mullah Yaqoob, is an Afghan military leader and cleric who is serving as the second deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acting defense minister in the internationally unrecognized Ta ...
serves as acting Defense Minister, Sirajuddin Haqqani
Sirajuddin Haqqani (, ; aliases '' Khalifa'' and Siraj Haqqani; born December 1979) is an Afghan leader who is the first deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acting interior minister in the post-2021 Taliban regime. He has been a deputy lead ...
as acting Interior Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi
Amir Khan Muttaqi ( ; born 26 February 1971) is a politician serving as the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 7 September 2021. He was also a member of the Taliban negotiation team in the Qatar offic ...
as acting Foreign Minister, Gul Agha Ishakzai as acting Finance Minister, and Hasan Akhund
Muhammad Hasan Akhund Kakar (born ) is an Afghan politician and cleric who is currently the acting prime minister of Afghanistan in the internationally unrecognized Taliban government since 7 September 2021.
Akhund is one of the founding mem ...
as acting Prime Minister. A number of other ministers are also Pashtuns.
The Afghan royal family
A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family.
The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...
, which was represented by King Zahir Shah, are referred to Mohammadzai
Mohammadzai (), also spelled Moḥammadzay (meaning "descendants of Mohammad"), is a Pashtun sub-tribe or clan of the Barakzai which is part of the Durrani confederacy of tribes. They are primarily centered on Kandahar, Kabul and Ghazni in Af ...
s. Other prominent Pashtuns include the 17th-century poets Khushal Khan Khattak
Khushal Khan Khattak (Pashto: خوشال خان خټک; ; 1613 – 20 February 1689), also known as Khushal Baba (), was a 17th-century Afghan Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them from Pa ...
and Rahman Baba
Abdur Rahmān Momand (; – 1706) or Rahmān Bābā (), was a renowned Afghan Sufi Saint, member of Sufi Dervish and poet from Peshawar (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) during the Mughal era. He, along with his contemporary Khush ...
, and in contemporary era Afghan Astronaut Abdul Ahad Mohmand
Abdul Ahad Momand (; born 1959) is an Afghan-German and former Afghan Air Force aviator who became the first, and currently only, Afghan astronaut to journey to outer space. He became one of Soyuz TM-6 crew members and spent nine days aboard ...
, former U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad (born March 22, 1951) is an American diplomat and foreign policy expert. Khalilzad was the U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation from September 2018 to October 2021. Khailzad was appointed by Preside ...
, and Ashraf Ghani
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan former politician and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was 2021 Taliban offensive, overthrown by the Ta ...
among many others.
Many Pashtuns of Pakistan and India have adopted non-Pashtun cultures, mainly by abandoning Pashto and using languages such as Urdu
Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...
, Punjabi
Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan
* Punjabi language
* Punjabis, Punjabi people
* Punjabi dialects and languages
Punjabi may also refer to:
* Punjabi (horse), a ...
, and Hindko
Hindko (, , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Pun ...
. These include Ghulam Mohammad (first Finance Minister
A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position .
A ministry of finance's portfoli ...
, from 1947 to 1951, and third Governor-General of Pakistan
The governor-general of Pakistan () was the Political representation, representative of the Monarchy of Pakistan, Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was ...
, from 1951 to 1955), Ayub Khan
Mohammad Ayub Khan (14 May 1907 – 19 April 1974) was a Pakistani military dictator who served as the second president of Pakistan from 1958 until his resignation on 1969. He was the first native commander-in-chief of the Pakistan Army, se ...
, who was the second President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces. , Zakir Husain
Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the vice president of India from 1962 to 1967 and president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969.
Born in H ...
who was the third President of India
The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...
and Abdul Qadeer Khan
Abdul Qadeer Khan (1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021) was a Pakistani Nuclear physics, nuclear physicist and metallurgist, metallurgical engineer. He is colloquially known as the "father of Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction, Pakistan's ...
, father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons program.
Many more held high government posts, such as Asfandyar Wali Khan
Asfandyar Wali Khan (; ; born 19 February 1949) is a Pakistani politician from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, currently serving as the president of the Awami National Party (ANP). He is the son of Abdul Wali Khan, the party's founding president.
Wali Kh ...
, Mahmood Khan Achakzai
Mahmud Khan Achakzai (; born 14 December 1948) is a Pakistani Pashtun regionalist politician who is the Chairman of Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party. Achakzai completed his Engineering degree from the Peshawar University of Engineering and Technol ...
, Sirajul Haq
Siraj-ul-Haq (Pashto: سراج الحق; born 5 September 1962) is a Pakistani politician who was elected as the chief of Jamaat-e-Islami, a religious political party in Pakistan which seeks to establish an Islamic legal system. He also served ...
, and Aftab Ahmad Sherpao
Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao (; born 20 August 1944) is a Pakistani politician who is the current chairman of the centre-left Pashtun nationalist Qaumi Watan Party, after previously being a member of the Pakistan Peoples Party. He was a member of ...
, who are presidents of their respective political parties in Pakistan. Others became famous in sports (e.g., Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...
, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi
Nawab Mohammad Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi (also known as Mansur Ali Khan or M. A. K. Pataudi; 5 January 1941 – 22 September 2011; nicknamed Tiger Pataudi) was an Indian cricketer and a former captain of the Indian cricket team.
Pataudi was ap ...
, Younis Khan
Mohammad Younis Khan PP SI (Urdu: ; Pashto: ; born 29 November 1977) is a Pakistani professional cricket coach and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in all three formats of the game, and is widely regarded as o ...
, Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (, ; born 1 March 197is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. An all-rounder, Afridi was a right-handed leg spinner and a right-handed batsman.
Afridi made ...
, Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan (; born 27 October 1984) is an Indian cricket commentator, analyst and former player. He was a bowling all-rounder and member of the Indian cricket team that won the inaugural 2007 ICC Twenty20 World Cup and 2013 ICC Champion ...
, Jahangir Khan
Jahangir Khan (Pashto, born 10 December 1963) is a former professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times, and the British Open title ten times (1982–1991). He is widely regarded as the greatest squash player ...
, Jansher Khan
Jansher Khan (Pashto: جان شیر خان; born 15 June 1969) is a Pakistani former professional squash player. During his career, he won the World Open a record eight times and the British Open six times. He was the world's number-one-r ...
, Hashim Khan
Hashim Khan (; – 18 August 2014) was a squash player from Pakistan. He won the British Open Squash Championships (the then ''de facto'' world championship) a total of seven times, from 1951 to 1956, and then again in 1958. Khan was th ...
, Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan Arman (; born 20 September 1998) is an Afghan international cricketer and captain of the Afghanistan national team in the T20I format. In franchise leagues, he plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide ...
, Shaheen Afridi
Shaheen Shah Afridi (; born 6 April 2000) is a Pakistani cricket, international cricketer and former captain of the national T20I team. A left-arm fast bowler, he made his debut for Pakistan in 2018, and quickly became a leading figure, winning t ...
, Naseem Shah
Naseem Shah (; born 15 February 2003) is a Pakistani international cricketer. In October 2019, at the age of 16, he was called up to the Pakistan cricket team for their Test series against Australia. He made his international debut for Pakistan ...
, Misbah Ul Haq
Misbah-ul-Haq PP SI (; born 28 May 1974) is a former Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer. Misbah captained Pakistan in all formats and is former head coach and former chief selector of the Pakistan national team. As ca ...
, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Mujeeb Ur Rahman Zadran (; born 28 March 2001) is an Afghan cricketer, who plays for the Afghanistan national cricket team. Two months after his international debut, at the age of 16 years and 325 days, he became the youngest player to take a ...
and Mohammad Wasim) and literature (e.g., Ghani Khan, Hamza Shinwari
Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari (), commonly known as Hamza Baba () was a prominent Pashto poet, playwright and author. His works are studied at Master-level at the University of Peshawar. He is considered a bridge between classic Pashto literature a ...
, and Kabir Stori
Kabir Stori (6 April 1942 – 4 April 2006) () was a Pashtun nationalist, poet, and writer from Kunar Province of Afghanistan. He was chairman of the Pashtoons Social Democratic Party, a political party that he founded, until his death.
Ea ...
). Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai (; , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997) is a Pakistani female education activist, film and television producer, and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the age of 17. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, ...
, who became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
recipient in 2014
The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, is a Pakistani Pashtun. Pashtuns are considered to be well-integrated in the Pakistani society, and as per a 2009 Pew Research Center
The Pew Research Center (also simply known as Pew) is a nonpartisan American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world. It ...
report 92% of the Pashtuns identified with their Pakistani identity before their ethnic Pashtun identity.
Many of the Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
film stars in India have Pashtun ancestry; some of the most notable ones are Aamir Khan
Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, filmmaker, and television personality who works in Bollywood, Hindi films. Referred to as "Mr. Perfectionist" in the media, he is known for his work in a variety of film g ...
, Shahrukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi cinema. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood" and "King Khan", he has appeared in more th ...
, Salman Khan
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; born 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who predominantly works in Hindi films. In a career spanning over three decades, his awards include two National Film Awa ...
, Feroz Khan, Madhubala
Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. She is considered as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. One of the country ...
, Kader Khan
Kader Khan (22 October 1937 – 31 December 2018) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and film producer. As an actor, he appeared in over 300 Bollywood films after his debut in the 1973 film '' Daag'', starring Rajesh Khanna, as a prosecuting l ...
, Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who primarily works in Hindi cinema, Hindi films. The titular head of the Pataudi family since 2011, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore a ...
, Soha Ali Khan
Soha Ali Khan Pataudi (born 4 October 1978) is an Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali, and English films. She is the younger daughter of veteran actress Sharmila Tagore and former India cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan, of Bhopal, ...
, Sara Ali Khan
Sara Ali Khan Pataudi (; born 12 August 1995) is an Indian actress who works in Hindi films. Born into the Pataudi family, she is the daughter of actors Amrita Singh and Saif Ali Khan. Khan is a recipient of a Filmfare Award and appeared in ...
, and Zarine Khan
Zareen Khan (born 14 May 1987), also known as Zarine Khan, is an Indian actress and model. Primarily working in the Hindi film industry, she has also appeared in Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil films.
Khan made her Bollywood debut in 2010 playin ...
. In addition, one of India's former presidents, Zakir Husain
Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the vice president of India from 1962 to 1967 and president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969.
Born in H ...
, belonged to the Afridi
The Afrīdī ( ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ) are a Pashtun tribe present mostly in tribal areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
The Afridis are most dominant in the Spin Ghar range west of Peshawar in Tribal areas of modern-day Khyb ...
tribe. Mohammad Yunus, India's former ambassador to Algeria and advisor to Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...
, is of Pashtun origin and related to the legendary Bacha Khan.
In the late 1990s, Pashtuns were the primary ethnic group in the ruling regime i.e. Islamic Emirate 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 ...
(Taliban regime). The Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance ( ''Da Šumāl E'tilāf'' or ''Ettehād Šumāl''), officially known as the United National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( ''Jabha-ye Muttahid-e barāye Afğānistān''), was a military alliance of groups that op ...
that was fighting against the Taliban also included a number of Pashtuns. Among them were Abdullah Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah (Dari language, Dari, , ; born Abdullah; 5 September 1960) is an Afghan politician who led the High Council for National Reconciliation (HCNR) from May 2020 until August 2021, when the Afghan government was Fall of Kabul (2021), ...
, Abdul Qadir
Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir () is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means 'servant of who can do everything'. ''Al-Qādir'' is one of the names of Allah in the Qur'an, which ...
and his brother Abdul Haq ʻAbd al-Ḥaqq (ALA-LC romanization of ) is an Arabic male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words ''Abd (Arabic), ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥaqq'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to the List of ...
, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
Abdulrab Rasul Sayyaf ( ; ; born 1946) is an exiled Afghan politician and former Afghan mujahideen, mujahideen commander. He took part in the war against the Marxist–Leninist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) government in the 198 ...
, Asadullah Khalid
Asadullah Khalid is a politician in Afghanistan. He served as head of the National Directorate of Security (NDS), which is the domestic intelligence agency of Afghanistan. Before his appointment as the head of the NDS in September 2012, Khalid ser ...
, Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan politician who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2014, including as the first president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan from 2004 to 2014. He previously served a ...
and Gul Agha Sherzai
Gul Agha Sherzai (; born 1954), also known as Mohammad Shafiq, is a politician and former warlord in Afghanistan. He is a former governor of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.
He previously served as Governor of Kandahar province, in th ...
. The Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001 during the US-led War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...
and replaced by the Karzai administration
The Karzai administration was the government of Afghanistan under President Hamid Karzai, who became the head of state of Afghanistan in December 2001 after the Taliban government was overthrown. Karzai was appointed at the 2002 Loya Jirga as ...
. This was followed by the Ghani administration and the reconquest of Afghanistan by the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan).
The long wars in Afghanistan have led to Pashtuns gaining a reputation for being exceptional fighters. Some activists and intellectuals are trying to rebuild Pashtun intellectualism and its pre-war culture.
Genetics
The majority of Pashtuns from Afghanistan belong to R1a, with a frequency of 50–65%. Subclade R1a-Z2125 occurs at a frequency of 40%. This subclade is predominantly found in Tajiks, Turkmen, Uzbeks and in some populations in the Caucasus and Iran. Haplogroup G-M201
Haplogroup G (M201) is a human Y-chromosome haplogroup. It is one of two branches of the parent haplogroup GHIJK, the other being HIJK.
G-M201 is most commonly found among various ethnic groups of the Caucasus, but is also widely distributed ...
reaches 9% in Afghan Pashtuns and is the second most frequent haplogroup in Pashtuns from southern Afghanistan. Haplogroup L and Haplogroup J2 occurs at an overall frequency of 6%. According to a Mitochondrial DNA analysis of four ethnic groups of Afghanistan, the majority of mtDNA among Afghan Pashtuns belongs to West Eurasian lineages, and share a greater affinity with West Eurasian and Central Asian populations rather than to populations of South Asia or East Asia. The haplogroup analysis indicates the Pashtuns and Tajiks in Afghanistan share ancestral heritage. Among the studied ethnic groups, the Pashtuns have the greatest mtDNA diversity. The most frequent haplogroup among Pakistani Pashtuns is haplogroup R which is found at a rate of 28–50%. Haplogroup J2 was found in 9% to 24% depending on the study and Haplogroup E has been found at a frequency of 4% to 13%. Haplogroup L occurs at a rate of 8%. Certain Pakistani Pashtun groups exhibit high levels of R1b. Overall Pashtun groups are genetically diverse, and the Pashtun ethnic group is not a single genetic population. Different Pashtun groups exhibit different genetic backgrounds, resulting in considerable heterogeneity.
Y haplogroup and mtdna haplogroup samples were taken from Jadoon, Yousafzai, Sayyid, Gujar and Tanoli men living in Swabi District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. Jadoon men have predominantly East Asian origin paternal ancestry with West Eurasian maternal ancestry and a lesser amount of South Asian maternal ancestry according to a Y and mtdna haplogroup test indicating local females marrying immigrant males during the medieval period. Y Haplogroup O3-M122 makes up the majority of Jadoon men, the same haplogroup carried by the majority (50–60%) of Han Chinese. 82.5% of Jadoon men carrying Q-MEH2 and O3-M122 which are both of East Asian origin. O3-M122 was absent in the Sayyid (Syed) population and appeared in low numbers among Tanolis, Gujars and Yousafzai
The Yusufzai or Yousafzai (, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ), or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( Malakand, Dir, Swat, Shangl ...
s. There appears to be founder affect in the O3-M122 among the Jadoon. 76.32% of Jadoon men carry O3-M122 while 0.75% of Tanolis, 0.81% of Gujars and 2.82% of Yousafzais carry O3-M122.
56.25% of the Jadoons in another test carried West Eurasian maternal Haplogroup H (mtDNA)
Haplogroup H is a Human mitochondrial DNA haplogroup, human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroup. The clade is believed to have originated in West Asia, near present-day Syria, around 20,000 to 25,000 years ago. A specimen found in South Italy f ...
. Dental morphology of the Swabi Jadoons was also analysed and compared to other groups in the regions like Yousufzais and Sayyids.
Definitions
The most prominent views among Pashtuns as to who exactly qualifies as a Pashtun are:
# Those who are well-versed in Pashto
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 ...
and use it significantly. The Pashto language is "one of the primary markers of ethnic identity" among Pashtuns.
# Adherence to the code of Pashtunwali
Pashtunwali (), also known as Pakhtunwali and Afghaniyat, is the traditional lifestyle or a code of honour and tribal code of the Pashtuns, Pashtun people, from Afghanistan and Pakistan, by which they live. Many scholars widely have interpreted it ...
. The cultural definition requires Pashtuns to adhere to Pashtunwali codes.
# Belonging to a Pashtun tribe
The Pashtun tribes (), are tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who speak the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali, the social code of conduct for Pashtuns. They are found primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan ...
through patrilineal descent
Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...
, based on an important orthodox law of Pashtunwali which mainly requires that only those who have a Pashtun father are Pashtun. This definition places less emphasis on the language.
Tribes
A prominent institution of the Pashtun people is the intricate system of tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
s. The tribal system has several levels of organization: the tribe they are in is from four 'greater' tribal groups: the Sarbani
The Saṛbanī () or Sarban Confederacy are a tribal group of Pashtuns. They are situated in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Sarbani include many Pashtun tribes, including Yusufzai, Mandanr, Utmanzai, Sherani, Tareen, Loni, Durrani (Abdali ...
, the Bettani
The Bettani (), also spelled Batani, Baittani or Bhittani, is a Pashtun confederacy located mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Bettani are named after ''Shaykh Beṭ'', their legendary ancestor, who is said to be the third and last son of ...
, the Gharghashti, and the Karlani
Karlāṇī or Karrani () is a Pashtun tribal confederacy. They primarily inhabit the FATA region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and certain parts of eastern Afghanistan. In the 16th century the Karlani founded the Karrani dynasty, th ...
. The tribe is then divided into kinship groups called ''khels'', which in turn is divided into smaller groups (''pllarina'' or ''plarganey''), each consisting of several extended families called ''kahols''.
Durrani and Ghilji Pashtuns
The Durranis and Ghiljis (or Ghilzais) are the two largest groups of Pashtuns, with approximately two-thirds of Afghan Pashtuns belonging to these confederations. The Durrani tribe has been more urban and politically successful, while the Ghiljis are more numerous, more rural, and reputedly tougher. In the 18th century, the groups collaborated at times and at other times fought each other. With a few gaps, Durranis ruled modern Afghanistan continuously until the Saur Revolution
The Saur Revolution (; ), also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was a violent coup d'état and uprising staged on 27–28 April 1978 (, ) by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA), which overthrew President of Afghan ...
of 1978; the new communist rulers
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, distrib ...
were Ghilji.
Tribal allegiances are stronger among the Ghilji, while governance of the Durrani confederation is more to do with cross-tribal structures of land ownership.
Language
Pashto
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 ...
is the mother tongue
A first language (L1), native language, native tongue, or mother tongue is the first language a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongue'' refers ...
of most Pashtuns. It is one of the two national language
'' ''
A national language is a language (or language variant, e.g. dialect) that has some connection— de facto or de jure—with a nation. The term is applied quite differently in various contexts. One or more languages spoken as first languag ...
s 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 ...
.[Modarresi, Yahya: "Iran, Afghanistan and Tadjikistan, 1911–1916." In: ''Sociolinguistics'', Vol. 3, Part. 3. Ulrich Ammon, Norbert Dittmar, Klaus J. Mattheier, Peter Trudgill (eds.). Berlin, De Gryuter: 2006. p. 1915.]
/ref> In Pakistan, although being the second-largest language being spoken, it is often neglected officially in the education system. This has been criticized as adversely impacting the economic advancement of Pashtuns, as students do not have the ability to comprehend what is being taught in other languages fully. Robert Nichols remarks:
Pashto is categorized as an Eastern Iranian
The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages, having emerged during the Middle Iranian era (4th century BC to 9th century AD). The Avestan language is often classified as early Eastern Iranian. As opposed to the Middle-e ...
language, but a remarkably large number of words are unique to Pashto. Pashto grammar, Pashto morphology in relation to verbs is complex compared to other Iranian languages. In this respect MacKenzie
Mackenzie, Mckenzie, MacKenzie, or McKenzie may refer to:
People
* Mackenzie (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
* Mackenzie (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name)
* Clan Mackenzie, a Sc ...
states:
Pashto has a large number of dialects
A dialect is a variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standardized varieties as well as vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardized varieties, such as those used in developing countries or iso ...
: generally divided into Northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...
, Southern and Central groups; and also Tarino or Waṇetsi as distinct group. As Elfenbein notes: "Dialect differences lie primarily in phonology
Phonology (formerly also phonemics or phonematics: "phonemics ''n.'' 'obsolescent''1. Any procedure for identifying the phonemes of a language from a corpus of data. 2. (formerly also phonematics) A former synonym for phonology, often pre ...
and lexicon: the morphology and syntax are, again with the exception of Wanetsi
Waṇetsi (), commonly called Tarīno (), and sometimes Tsalgari (), is a distinct variety of Pashto dialects, Pashto and is considered by some to be a different language. In some cases, Wanetsi shares similarities with the Pamir languages, Pami ...
, quite remarkably uniform". Ibrahim Khan provides the following classification on the letter ښ: the Northern Western dialect (e.g. spoken by the Ghilzai
The Ghiljī (, ; ) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai and Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settled in other regions throughout the ...
) having the phonetic value , the North Eastern (spoken by the Yusafzais etc.) having the sound , the South Western (spoken by the Abdalis etc.) having and the South Eastern (spoken by the Kakar
The Kakar (Pashto: کاکړ) is a Gharghashti Pashtun tribe, based in Afghanistan, parts of Iran, and northern Balochistan in Pakistan.
Origins of the tribe
Kakars are descendants of Dani (or Daani) who was the son of Gharghasht. Gharghasht wa ...
s etc.) having . He illustrates that the Central dialects, which are spoken by the Karlāṇ tribes, can also be divided on the North and South distinction but provides that in addition these Central dialects have had a vowel shift which makes them distinct: for instance represented by aleph
Aleph (or alef or alif, transliterated ʾ) is the first Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''ʾālep'' 𐤀, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''ʾālef'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''ʾālap'' � ...
the non-Central dialects becoming in Banisi
The Banuchi(Shitak) (), Bannuzai (), also Banusi () or Banisi, is a prominent tribe of Pashtun people which has the reputation of being one of the most warlike amongst Pashtun people.They inhabit the Bannu District and Dera Ismail Khan of the Khy ...
dialect.[
The first Pashto alphabet was developed by ]Pir Roshan
Bāyazīd Khān Ansārī (; – 1585), commonly known as Pīr Rōshān or Pīr Rōkhān, was an Afghan warrior, Sufi pir and revolutionary leader. He wrote mostly in Pashto, but also in Persian, Urdu and Arabic. His mother tongue was Ormur ...
in the 16th century. In 1958, a meeting of Pashtun scholars and writers from both Afghanistan and Pakistan, held in Kabul, standardized the present Pashto alphabet
The Pashto alphabet () is the right-to-left script, right-to-left abjad-based alphabet developed from the Persian alphabet, Perso-Arabic script, used for the Pashto, Pashto language in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It originated in the 16th century ...
.
Culture
Pashtun culture is based on Pashtunwali, Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
and the understanding of Pashto language. The Kabul dialect is used to standardize the present Pashto alphabet
The Pashto alphabet () is the right-to-left script, right-to-left abjad-based alphabet developed from the Persian alphabet, Perso-Arabic script, used for the Pashto, Pashto language in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It originated in the 16th century ...
. Poetry is also an important part of Pashtun culture and it has been for centuries. Pre-Islamic traditions, dating back to Alexander
Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here ar ...
's defeat of the Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the larg ...
in 330 BC, possibly survived in the form of traditional dances, while literary styles and music reflect influence from the Persian tradition and regional musical instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...
s fused with localized variants and interpretation. Like other Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, Pashtuns celebrate Islamic holidays
There are two main holidays in Islam that are celebrated by Muslims worldwide: Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha. The timing of both holidays are set by the lunar Islamic calendar, which is based upon the cycle of the moon, and so is different from the ...
. Contrary to the Pashtuns living in Pakistan, Nowruz in Afghanistan is celebrated as the Afghan New Year by all Afghan ethnicities.
Jirga
Another prominent Pashtun institution is the ''lóya jirgá'' () or 'grand council' of elected elders. Most decisions in tribal life are made by members of the ''jirgá'' (), which has been the main institution of authority that the largely egalitarian Pashtuns willingly acknowledge as a viable governing body.
Religion
Before Islam there were various different beliefs which were practised by Pashtuns such as Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism ( ), also called Mazdayasnā () or Beh-dīn (), is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion centred on the Avesta and the teachings of Zoroaster, Zarathushtra Spitama, who is more commonly referred to by the Greek translation, ...
, Buddhism
Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
and Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...
.
The overwhelming majority of Pashtuns adhere to Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...
and belong to the Hanafi
The Hanafi school or Hanafism is the oldest and largest Madhhab, school of Islamic jurisprudence out of the four schools within Sunni Islam. It developed from the teachings of the Faqīh, jurist and theologian Abu Hanifa (), who systemised the ...
school of thought. Small Shia
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
communities exist in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Paktia. The Shias belong to the Turi tribe while the Bangash
The Bangash, Bungish, Bangaš or Bangakh () are a tribe of Pashtuns, inhabiting their traditional homeland, the Bangash district which stretches from Kohat to Tall in Hangu and Spīn Ghar, Kurram in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They also live ...
tribe is approximately 50% Shia and the rest Sunni, who are mainly found in and around Parachinar
Parachinar (; ) is a city and the capital of the Kurram District in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Parachinar is situated on the west of Peshawar, that juts into the Paktia, Logar and Nangarhar provinces of Afghanistan. With ...
, Kurram, Hangu, Kohat
Kohat (; ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. With a population o ...
and Orakzai
The Orakzai (Pashto: وركزۍ) are a Pashtun tribe native to the Orakzai Agency and parts of Kurram and Khyber Agencies in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Additionally, a sub-tribe of the Orakzai resides in Afghanistan's Maidan W ...
.
A legacy of Sufi
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
activity may be found in some Pashtun regions, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as evident in songs and dances. Many Pashtuns are prominent Ulema
In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam.
"Ulama ...
, Islamic scholars, such as Maulana Aazam an author of more than five hundred books including Tafasee of the Quran as Naqeeb Ut Tafaseer, Tafseer Ul Aazamain, Tafseer e Naqeebi and Noor Ut Tafaseer etc., as well as Muhammad Muhsin Khan
Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Pashto/Dari/Arabic: ; 1927 – 14 July 2021) was an Islamic scholar and translator of Afghan origin, who lived in Madinah and served as the Chief of Department of Chest Diseases at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and ...
who has helped translate the Noble Quran, Sahih Al-Bukhari
() is the first hadith collection of the Six Books of Sunni Islam. Compiled by Islamic scholar al-Bukhari () in the format, the work is valued by Sunni Muslims, alongside , as the most authentic after the Qur'an.
Al-Bukhari organized the bo ...
and many other books to the English language. Many Pashtuns want to reclaim their identity from being lumped in with the Taliban and international terrorism, which is not directly linked with Pashtun culture and history.
Little information is available on non-Muslim as there is limited data regarding irreligious
Irreligion is the absence or rejection of religious beliefs or practices. It encompasses a wide range of viewpoints drawn from various philosophical and intellectual perspectives, including atheism, agnosticism, religious skepticism, rationa ...
groups and minorities, especially since many of the Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
and Sikh
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
Pashtuns migrated from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the partition of India
The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...
and later, after the rise of the Taliban.
There are also Hindu Pashtuns, sometimes known as the Sheen Khalai, who have moved predominantly to India. A small Pashtun Hindu community, known as the '' Sheen Khalai'' meaning 'blue skinned' (referring to the color of Pashtun women's facial tattoo
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...
s), migrated to Unniara, Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
, India after partition. Prior to 1947, the community resided in the Quetta
Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...
, Loralai
Loralai (, ), also known as Bori (), is a Pakistani city that serves both as the division headquarter of Loralai Division and the district headquarter of Loralai District. It is located in the northeastern part of Balochistan province of Paki ...
and Maikhter regions of the British Indian province of Baluchistan
Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of de ...
. They are mainly members of the Pashtun Kakar
The Kakar (Pashto: کاکړ) is a Gharghashti Pashtun tribe, based in Afghanistan, parts of Iran, and northern Balochistan in Pakistan.
Origins of the tribe
Kakars are descendants of Dani (or Daani) who was the son of Gharghasht. Gharghasht wa ...
tribe. Today, they continue to speak Pashto and celebrate Pashtun culture through the Attan
''Attan'' (), the national dance of Afghanistan, is a traditional dance originating from the tribal Pashtun regions. The dance is performed during weddings or other celebrations (engagements, weddings and informal gatherings). The Attan was also ...
dance.
There is also a minority of Pashtun Sikhs in Tirah
Tirah, also spelled Terah (), also called the Tirah Valley (), is a mountainous region located in the Orakzai District and the southern part of the Khyber District, positioned between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley in Pakistan. Due to ...
, Orakzai
The Orakzai (Pashto: وركزۍ) are a Pashtun tribe native to the Orakzai Agency and parts of Kurram and Khyber Agencies in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Additionally, a sub-tribe of the Orakzai resides in Afghanistan's Maidan W ...
, Kurram, Malakand, and Swat
A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations.
SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...
. Due to the ongoing insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
The insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also known as the War in North-West Pakistan or Pakistan's war on terror, is an ongoing armed conflict involving Pakistan and Islamist militant groups such as the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jundal ...
, some Pashtun Sikhs were internally displaced
An internally displaced person (IDP) is someone who is forced to leave their home but who remains within their country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee.
I ...
from their ancestral villages to settle in cities like Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
and Nankana Sahib
Nankana Sahib (; ) is a city and capital of Nankana Sahib District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is named after the first Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Nanak, who was born in the city and first began preaching here. Nankana Sahib is among ...
.
Ruchi Kumar
The decline of Afghanistan's Hindu and Sikh communities
Al Jazeera, 2017-01-01, "the culture among Afghan Hindus is predominantly Pashtun"
Beena Sarwar
Finding lost heritage
Himal, 2016-08-03, "Singh also came across many non turban-wearing followers of Guru Nanak in Pakistan, all of Pashtun origin and from the Khyber area."
Sonia Dhami
Sikh Religious Heritage – My visit to Lehenda Punjab
Indica News, 2020-01-05, "Nankana Sahib is also home to the largest Sikh Pashtun community, many of whom have migrated from the North West Frontier Provinces, renamed Khyber-Pakhtunwa."
Neha
Pak misusing Durand Line to facilitate terrorists, says Pashtun
Siasat Daily, 2019-09-20, "The members of the Pashtun and Afghan Sikh community living in Europe and UK have gathered in Geneva"
Sabrina Toppa
Despite border tensions, Indian Sikhs celebrate festival in Pakistan
TRT World, 2019-04-16, "Hasanabdal is home to around 200 Sikh families that have primarily moved from Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including Pakistan's former tribal areas. The majority are Pashtun Sikhs who abandoned their homes and took refuge near Sikhism's historical sites."
Pashto literature and poetry
The majority of Pashtuns use Pashto
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 ...
as their native tongue, belonging to the Iranian
Iranian () may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Iran
** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran
** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia
** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...
language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, called the proto-language of that family. The term ''family'' is a metaphor borrowed from biology, with the tree model used in historical linguistics ...
,Nicholas Sims-Williams
Nicholas Sims-Williams, FBA (born 11 April 1949, Chatham, Kent) is a British professor of the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, where he is the Research Professor of Iranian
Iranian () may refer to:
* Somethi ...
, , in Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition, 2010. ''"The Modern Eastern Iranian languages are even more numerous and varied. Most of them are classified as North-Eastern: Ossetic; Yaghnobi (which derives from a dialect closely related to Sogdian); the Shughni group (Shughni, Roshani, Khufi, Bartangi, Roshorvi, Sarikoli), with which Yaz-1ghulami (Sokolova 1967) and the now extinct Wanji (J. Payne in Schmitt, p. 420) are closely linked; Ishkashmi, Sanglichi, and Zebaki; Wakhi; Munji and Yidgha; and Pashto."'' and spoken by up to 60 million people. It is written in the Pashto-Arabic script and is divided into two main dialects, the southern "Pashto" and the northern "Pukhto". The language has ancient origins and bears similarities to extinct language
An extinct language or dead language is a language with no living native speakers. A dormant language is a dead language that still serves as a symbol of ethnic identity to an ethnic group; these languages are often undergoing a process of r ...
s such as Avestan
Avestan ( ) is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family and was First language, originally spoken during the Avestan period, Old ...
and Bactrian. Its closest modern relatives may include Pamir languages, such as Shughni and Wakhi, and Ossetic
Ossetian ( , , ), commonly referred to as Ossetic and rarely as Ossete, is an Eastern Iranian language that is spoken predominantly in Ossetia, a region situated on both sides of the Russian-Georgian border in the Greater Caucasus region. ...
. Pashto may have ancient legacy of borrowing vocabulary from neighbouring languages including such as Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
and Vedic Sanskrit
Vedic Sanskrit, also simply referred as the Vedic language, is the most ancient known precursor to Sanskrit, a language in the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. It is atteste ...
. Modern borrowings come primarily from the English language.[Awde, Nicholas and Asmatullah Sarwan. 2002. ''Pashto: Dictionary & Phrasebook'', New York: Hippocrene Books Inc. . Retrieved 18 February 2007.]
The earliest describes Sheikh Mali's conquest of Swat
A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations.
SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to res ...
. Pir Roshan
Bāyazīd Khān Ansārī (; – 1585), commonly known as Pīr Rōshān or Pīr Rōkhān, was an Afghan warrior, Sufi pir and revolutionary leader. He wrote mostly in Pashto, but also in Persian, Urdu and Arabic. His mother tongue was Ormur ...
is believed to have written a number of Pashto books while fighting with the Mughals. Pashtun scholars such as Abdul Hai Habibi
Abdul-Hai Habibi (, ) (1910 – 9 May 1984) was a prominent Afghan historian for much of his lifetime as well as a member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan (Afghan Parliament) during the reign of King Zahir Shah. A Pashtun nationalist, bo ...
and others believe that the earliest Pashto work dates back to Amir Kror Suri
Amīr Krōṛ Sūrī (), also known as Jahan Pahlawan, is a legendary character in Afghan national history and is claimed to have become the King of Mandesh in Ghor. Amir Kror Suri is considered to be the first poet of Pashto language. He is no ...
, and they use the writings found in Pata Khazana
Pata Khazāna () is the title of a manuscript written in the Pashto language. According to its discoverer, the script contains an anthology of Pashto poetry, which precedes the earliest known works of Pashto literature by hundreds of years.
Di ...
as proof. Amir Kror Suri, son of ''Amir Polad Suri'', was an 8th-century folk hero
A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythology, mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in Folk music, folk songs, folk tales ...
and king from the Ghor
Ghōr, also spelled Ghowr or Ghur (), is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. It is located in the western Hindu Kush in central Afghanistan, towards the northwest. The province contains eleven districts, encompassing hundreds of vil ...
region in Afghanistan. However, this is disputed by several European experts due to lack of strong evidence.
The advent of poetry helped transition Pashto to the modern period. Pashto literature gained significant prominence in the 20th century, with poetry by Ameer Hamza Shinwari
Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari (), commonly known as Hamza Baba () was a prominent Pashto poet, playwright and author. His works are studied at Master-level at the University of Peshawar. He is considered a bridge between classic Pashto literature a ...
who developed ''Pashto Ghazals''. In 1919, during the expanding of mass media, Mahmud Tarzi
Mahmud Tarzi (, Dari: محمود بیگ طرزی; August 23, 1865 – November 22, 1933) was an Afghan politician and intellectual. He is known as the father of Afghan journalism. He became a key figure in the history of Afghanistan, following t ...
published Seraj-al-Akhbar, which became the first Pashto newspaper in Afghanistan. In 1977, Khan Roshan Khan wrote ''Tawarikh-e-Hafiz Rehmatkhani'' which contains the family trees and Pashtun tribal names. Some notable poets include Malak Ahmad Khan Yusufzai
Malak Ahmad Khan Yusufzai (1460–1530), also known as Malik Ahmad Baba, was an Pashtun chief and warrior from the Razar-Mandanr clan of the Yousafzai. He is known for his role in the Yousafzai conquest of Swat, Malakand and Lower Dir. Under hi ...
Abdul Ghani Khan
Khan Abdul Ghani Khan (; – 15 March 1996) was a Pashtun Pashto language philosopher, poet, artist, writer and politician. He was a son of Abdul Ghaffar Khan, a prominent British Raj-era independence activist. Throughout his life as a poet ...
, Afzal Khan Khattak
Afzal Khan Khattak (, 1661 - 1747) was a Pashtun chief of the Khattak tribe, poet in Pashto, and author of ''Târikh-e morassa'' (The Bejeweled History).
Early life
He was the eldest son of Ashraf Khan (1044-1105/1635 to 1693–94). In 1083/ ...
, Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī (; ; – 4 June 1772), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the first ruler and founder of the Durrani Empire. He is often regarded as the founder of modern Afghanistan.
Throughout his reign, Ahmad Shah fought ov ...
, Gaju Khan
Malak Gaju Khan Yousafzai (), also spelled Gajju Khan or Gajo Khan Yousafzai, popularly known as Khan Al Khawanin or Khan of Khans, was a Pashtun ruler and military commander from Yousafzai chieftaincy. He is often seen as a founding chief of the ...
Kalu Khan Yousafzai
Kalu Khan Yusufzai (Pashto: کالو خان یوسفزئی) was an Afghan warrior and military leader in the 16th century who inflicted one of the greatest defeats of the Mughal Empire. He is known for leading the Afghan Yusufzai rebellion again ...
Ajmal Khattak
Ajmal Khan Khattak (; ; 15 September 1925 – 7 February 2010) was a Pakistani politician, writer and Pashto language poet from North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), who served as the President of Awami National Party. He wa ...
, Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi
''Sardar'' Ghulam Muhammad Khan Tarzi (born Kandahar, April 30, 1830 – 1900/1901) son of ''Sardar'' Rahim Dil Khan (and grandson of ''Sardar'' Payinda Khan Mohammadizi or ''Sardar'' Payinda Muhammad Khan) was a ruler of Kandahar. He was a ...
, Hamza Shinwari
Amir Hamza Khan Shinwari (), commonly known as Hamza Baba () was a prominent Pashto poet, playwright and author. His works are studied at Master-level at the University of Peshawar. He is considered a bridge between classic Pashto literature a ...
, Hanif Baktash, Khushal Khan Khattak
Khushal Khan Khattak (Pashto: خوشال خان خټک; ; 1613 – 20 February 1689), also known as Khushal Baba (), was a 17th-century Afghan Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them from Pa ...
, Nazo Tokhi
Nāzo Tokhī (نازو توخۍ), commonly known as Nāzo Anā (, "Nazo the grandmother"), was an Afghans, Afghan poet and writer in the Pashto language. Mother of the famous early-18th century List of monarchs of Afghanistan, Afghan king Mirwais ...
, Pareshan Khattak
Pareshan Khattak (), (10 December 1932 – 16 April 2009) ''real name Gahami Jan Khattak'' was a former Vice-Chancellor, Pashto poet and writer and former Chairman University Grants Commission.
Born in Karak, Pakistan he joined education depa ...
, Rahman Baba
Abdur Rahmān Momand (; – 1706) or Rahmān Bābā (), was a renowned Afghan Sufi Saint, member of Sufi Dervish and poet from Peshawar (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan) during the Mughal era. He, along with his contemporary Khush ...
, Shuja Shah Durrani
Shuja (, , ) is a surname and male given name.
Notable people with this name include:
* Shuja al-Khwarazmi, was the mother of Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil
Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā ...
, and Timur Shah Durrani
Timur Shah Durrani (; ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – 20 May 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the second e ...
.
Media and arts
Pashto media
The Pashto media includes Pashto literature, Pashto-language newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations, as well as Pashto films and Pashto internet. Pashto media involves the Pashtuns of Pakistan, Afghanistan and the Pashtun diasp ...
has expanded in the last decade, with a number of Pashto TV channels becoming available. Two of the popular ones are the Pakistan-based AVT Khyber
Khyber TV, formerly known as AVT Khyber, is a Pashto-language satellite television channel in Pakistan, which was launched in July 2004. It is Pakistan’s first Pashto language television channel.
The channel broadcasts 24 hours a day, providi ...
and Pashto One. Pashtuns around the world, particularly those in Arab countries, watch these for entertainment purposes and to get latest news about their native areas. Others are Afghanistan-based Shamshad TV
Shamshad Media Network () is based in Afghanistan and Dubai. Shamshad Media Network is a private and an independent network based in Afghanistan, which began transmission in 2005.
Shamshad's broadcast area covers a large portion of the country ...
, Radio Television Afghanistan
National Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA; ''Da Afġānistān Millī Rādīo Televizion'', ''Rādīo Televizion-e Millī-ye Afġānistān'', branded as ملی (meaning ''national'')) is the public-broadcasting organization of Afghanistan, bas ...
, TOLOnews
Tolo News (Dari and Pashto: ), stylized TOLOnews, is an Afghan news channel and website broadcasting from Kabul. Owned by the Moby Media Group, it was launched in August 2010 as Afghanistan's first twenty-four hour news channel.
TOLOnews is av ...
and Lemar TV
Lemar (Pashto:لمر, meaning "sun" in Pashto) is a television station based in Kabul, Afghanistan, which was launched on August 15, 2006. It is owned by MOBY Group. The channel broadcasts news and entertainment programs in the Pashto language. ...
, which has a special children's show called '' Baghch-e-Simsim''. International news sources that provide Pashto programs include BBC Pashto
BBC Pashto () is the Pashto-language station of the BBC World Service. It was launched in August 1981, and reaches out to the over 50-60 million Pashto speakers in Afghanistan and Pakistan, as well as the Pashtun diaspora around the world. Nabi ...
and Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...
.
Producers based in Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
have created Pashto-language films
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 Khyber ...
since the 1970s.
Pashtun performers remain avid participants in various physical forms of expression including dance, sword fighting, and other physical feats. Perhaps the most common form of artistic expression can be seen in the various forms of Pashtun dances. One of the most prominent dances is ''Attan
''Attan'' (), the national dance of Afghanistan, is a traditional dance originating from the tribal Pashtun regions. The dance is performed during weddings or other celebrations (engagements, weddings and informal gatherings). The Attan was also ...
'', which has ancient roots. A rigorous exercise, Attan is performed as musicians play various native instruments including the ''dhol
Dhol () can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in Indian subcontinent primarily includes northern areas such ...
'' (drums), ''tabla
A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...
s'' (percussions), '' rubab'' (a bowed
Bowed string instruments are a subcategory of string instruments that are played by a bow rubbing the strings. The bow rubbing the string causes vibration which the instrument emits as sound.
Despite the numerous specialist studies devoted to t ...
string instrument
In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners.
Musicians play some ...
), and ''toola'' (wooden flute). With a rapid circular motion, dancers perform until no one is left dancing, similar to Sufi
Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism.
Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
whirling dervishes
The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya (; ) is a Sufi order that originated in Konya, Turkey (formerly capital of the Sultanate of Rum) and which was founded by the followers of Jalaluddin Muhammad Balkhi Rumi, a 13th-century Persian poet, Sufi ...
. Numerous other dances are affiliated with various tribes notably from Pakistan including the ''Khattak Wal Atanrh'' (eponymously named after the Khattak
The Khattak () tribe is a prominent Pashtun tribe located in the Khattak territory, which consists of Karak, Nowshera, Kohat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
History Origins
Multiple British Raj historians have identified the Khat ...
tribe), ''Mahsood Wal Atanrh'' (which, in modern times, involves the juggling of loaded rifles), and ''Waziro Atanrh'' among others. A sub-type of the ''Khattak Wal Atanrh'' known as the ''Braghoni'' involves the use of up to three swords and requires great skill. Young women and girls often entertain at weddings with the ''Tumbal'' (Dayereh
Daf (), also known as dâyere and riq, is an Iranian frame drum musical instrument, also used in popular and classical music in Persian-influenced South and Central Asia, such as in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, many r ...
) which is an instrument.
Sports
Both the Pakistan national cricket team
The Pakistan men's national cricket team represents Pakistan in international cricket. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the governing body for cricket in Pakistan, which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Counc ...
and the Afghanistan national cricket team
The Afghanistan men's national cricket team (, ) represents Afghanistan in international cricket. It is a full Member of the International Cricket Council with Test, One-Day International and T20 International status.
Cricket has been play ...
have Pashtun players. One of the most popular sports among Pashtuns is cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
, which was introduced to South Asia during the early 18th century with the arrival of the British. Many Pashtuns have become prominent international cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
ers, including Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi (born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician, philanthropist, and former cricketer who served as the 19th prime minister of Pakistan from August 2018 until April 2022. He was the founder of the political party Pak ...
, Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (, ; born 1 March 197is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. An all-rounder, Afridi was a right-handed leg spinner and a right-handed batsman.
Afridi made ...
, Majid Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq
Misbah-ul-Haq Pride of Performance, PP Sitara-e-Imtiaz, SI (; born 28 May 1974) is a former Pakistani cricket coach and former international cricketer. Misbah captained Pakistan national cricket team, Pakistan in all formats and is former head ...
, Younis Khan
Mohammad Younis Khan PP SI (Urdu: ; Pashto: ; born 29 November 1977) is a Pakistani professional cricket coach and former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in all three formats of the game, and is widely regarded as o ...
, Umar Gul
Umar Gul (Urdu: , ) (born 15 October 1982) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who is the current bowling consultant of Peshawar Zalmi and interim bowling coach of the Pakistan national cricket team. Gul was a member of the Pakis ...
, Junaid Khan Junaid Khan may refer to:
* Junaid Khan (Basmachi leader), political leader in the Khanate of Khiva and the Basmachi movement
* Junaid Khan (cricketer) (born 1989), Pakistani cricketer
* Junaid Khan (Pakistani actor) (born 1981), Pakistani singer ...
, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan
Mohammad Rizwan (, ; born 1 June 1992) is a Pakistani international cricket player. He is a right-handed batsman, batter and wicket-keeper who is the current Captain (cricket), captain of the Pakistan national cricket team, Pakistan team in l ...
, Usman Shinwari
Usman Khan Shinwari (Urdu, ; born 5 January 1994) is a professional Pakistani cricketer. He is a left-arm fast bowler who plays for the Zarai Taraqiati Bank Ltd cricket team (ZTBL) in Pakistan's first-class cricket circuit. He has also previou ...
, Naseem Shah
Naseem Shah (; born 15 February 2003) is a Pakistani international cricketer. In October 2019, at the age of 16, he was called up to the Pakistan cricket team for their Test series against Australia. He made his international debut for Pakistan ...
, Shaheen Afridi
Shaheen Shah Afridi (; born 6 April 2000) is a Pakistani cricket, international cricketer and former captain of the national T20I team. A left-arm fast bowler, he made his debut for Pakistan in 2018, and quickly became a leading figure, winning t ...
, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim and Yasir Shah
Yasir Shah SI (; born 2 May 1986) is an international cricketer from Pakistan. He plays as a bowler, and is the joint-second fastest bowler in the history of Test cricket to take 100 wickets, as well as also being the fastest to pick up 200 wi ...
. Australian cricketer Fawad Ahmed
Fawad Ahmed (; born 10 March 1979) is an Australian former cricketer. Born in Pakistan, he was granted Australian citizenship in July 2013. In August and September 2013, he played for the Australian cricket team in both a T20I and an ODI series ...
is of Pakistani Pashtun origin who has played for the Australian national team.
Makha
Mukkha is an archery sport. The game is played with a long arrow (''ghashay'') and a long bow (''leenda''). The arrow has a saucer shaped metallic plate (''tubray'') at its distal end. The archers play in teams and attempt to hit a small white woo ...
is a traditional archery sport in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, played with a long arrow (''gheshai'') having a saucer shaped metallic plate at its distal end, and a long bow. In Afghanistan, some Pashtuns still participate in the ancient sport of buzkashi
Buzkashi () is the most favored sport of Afghanistan. It is a traditional sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or Calf (animal), calf carcass in a goal. Similar games are known as kokpar, kupkari, and ulak tartysh in Uzbek ...
in which horse riders attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal circle.
Women
Pashtun women are known to be modest and honourable because of their modest dressing. The lives of Pashtun women vary from those who reside in the ultra-conservative rural areas to those found in urban centres. At the village level, the female village leader is called "qaryadar". Her duties may include witnessing women's ceremonies, mobilizing women to practice religious festivals, preparing the female dead for burial, and performing services for deceased women. She also arranges marriages for her own family and arbitrates conflicts for men and women. Though many Pashtun women remain tribal and illiterate, some have completed universities and joined the regular employment world.
The decades of war and the rise of the Taliban caused considerable hardship among Pashtun women, as many of their rights have been curtailed by a rigid interpretation of Islamic law
Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam, particularly the Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' refers to immutable, intan ...
. The difficult lives of Afghan female refugees gained considerable notoriety with the iconic image ''Afghan Girl
''Afghan Girl'' is a 1984 photographic portrait of Sharbat Gula, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan during the Soviet–Afghan War. The photograph, taken by American photojournalist Steve McCurry near the Pakistani city of Peshawar, appeared on the ...
'' (Sharbat Gula) depicted on the June 1985 cover of ''National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'' magazine.
Modern social reform for Pashtun women began in the early 20th century, when Queen Soraya Tarzi
Soraya Tarzi (Pashto/Dari: ثريا طرزی) (24 November 1899 – 20 April 1968) was Queen of Afghanistan as the wife of King Amanullah Khan. As Queen, she became one of the most influential women in the world at the time. She played a majo ...
of Afghanistan made rapid reforms to improve women's lives and their position in the family. She was the only woman to appear on the list of rulers in Afghanistan. Credited with having been one of the first and most powerful Afghan and Muslim female activists. Her advocacy of social reforms for women led to a protest and contributed to the ultimate demise of King Amanullah
Ghazi (warrior), Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto/Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 26 April 1960) was the head of state, sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emirate of Afghanistan, Emir and after 1926 as Kingdom of Afghanistan, King, until his abdic ...
's reign in 1929. Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...
remained an important issue during the 1970s, as feminist leader Meena Keshwar Kamal
Meena Keshwar Kamal (Pashto/; 27 February 1956 – 4 February 1987), commonly known as Meena, was an Afghan revolutionary political activist, women's rights activist and founder of Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA), w ...
campaigned for women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and Entitlement (fair division), entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st c ...
and founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) (, ''Jamʿiyat-e Inqilābi-ye Zanān-e Afghānistān'', ) is a women's organization originally based in Kabul, Afghanistan, that promotes women's rights and secular democracy. It w ...
(RAWA) in the 1977.
Pashtun women these days vary from the traditional housewives who live in seclusion to urban workers, some of whom seek or have attained parity with men. But due to numerous social hurdles, the literacy rate remains considerably lower for them than for males. Abuse against women is present and increasingly being challenged by women's rights organizations which find themselves struggling with conservative religious groups as well as government officials in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. According to a 1992 book, "a powerful ethic of forbearance severely limits the ability of traditional Pashtun women to mitigate the suffering they acknowledge in their lives."
Further challenging the status quo, Vida Samadzai
Vida Samadzai (born 22 February 1978) is an Afghan-American actress, model and beauty pageant titleholder who was Miss Afghanistan 2003. As the first Afghan woman to participate in an international beauty pageant since 1974, her appearance in a ...
was selected as Miss Afghanistan in 2003, a feat that was received with a mixture of support from those who back the individual rights of women and those who view such displays as anti-traditionalist and un-Islamic. Some have attained political office in Afghanistan and Pakistan. A number of Pashtun women are found as TV hosts, journalists and actors. In 1942, Madhubala
Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. She is considered as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. One of the country ...
(Mumtaz Jehan), the Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...
of India, entered the Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...
film industry. Bollywood blockbusters of the 1970s and 1980s starred Parveen Babi
Parveen Sultana Wali Mohammad Khanji Babi (; 4 April 195420 January 2005) was an Indian actress and model, who worked in Hindi films. One of the highest-paid actresses of the 1970s and the 1980s, she appeared in over 70 films and was the first ...
, who hailed from the lineage of Gujarat's historical Pathan community: the royal Babi Dynasty. Other Indian actresses and models, such as Zarine Khan
Zareen Khan (born 14 May 1987), also known as Zarine Khan, is an Indian actress and model. Primarily working in the Hindi film industry, she has also appeared in Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil films.
Khan made her Bollywood debut in 2010 playin ...
, continue to work in the industry. During the 1980s many Pashtun women served in the ranks of the Afghan communist regime's Military. Khatol Mohammadzai served paratrooper during the Afghan Civil War and was later promoted to brigadier general in the Afghan Army
The Islamic National Army (, ), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when the Ho ...
. Nigar Johar
Nigar Johar Khan () is a retired three-star general in the Pakistan Army. Nigar is the first and only woman in the history of Pakistan Army to reach the rank of lieutenant-general, and the third to reach the rank of major-general. She belongs t ...
is a three-star general
Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10.
Star ranking
One-star
A one-star rank is usually ...
in the Pakistan Army, another Pashtun female became a fighter pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its Aircraft flight control system, directional flight controls. Some other aircrew, aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are al ...
in the Pakistan Air Force
The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) (; ) is the aerial warfare branch of the Pakistan Armed Forces, tasked primarily with the aerial defence of Pakistan, with a secondary role of providing air support to the Pakistan Army and Pakistan Navy when re ...
.
Pashtun women often have their legal rights curtailed in favour of their husbands or male relatives. For example, though women are officially allowed to vote in Pakistan, some have been kept away from ballot box
A ballot box is a temporarily sealed container, usually a square box though sometimes a tamper resistant bag, with a narrow slot in the top sufficient to accept a ballot paper in an election but which prevents anyone from accessing the votes cas ...
es by males.
Notable people
Explanatory notes
* Note: population statistics for Pashtuns (including those without a notation) in foreign countries were derived from various census counts, the UN, the CIA's ''The World Factbook
''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a Reference work, reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The off ...
'' and ''Ethnologue
''Ethnologue: Languages of the World'' is an annual reference publication in print and online that provides statistics and other information on the living languages of the world. It is the world's most comprehensive catalogue of languages. It w ...
''.
References
Further reading
* Ahmad, Aisha and Boase, Roger. 2003. "Pashtun Tales from the Pakistan-Afghan Frontier: From the Pakistan-Afghan Frontier." Saqi Books (1 March 2003). .
* Ahmad, Jamil. 2012. "The Wandering Falcon." Riverhead Trade. . A loosely connected collection of short stories focused on life in the Pashtun tribal regions.
* Ahmed, Akbar S. 1976. "Millennium and Charisma among Pathans: A Critical Essay in Social Anthropology." London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
* Ahmed, Akbar S. 1980. "Pukhtun economy and society." London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
* Banuazizi, Ali and Myron Weiner
Myron Weiner (11 March 1931 – 3 June 1999) was an American political scientist and renowned scholar of India, South Asia, internal and international migration, ethnic conflict, child labor, democratization, political demography, and the politic ...
(eds.). 1994. "The Politics of Social Transformation in Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan (Contemporary Issues in the Middle East)." Syracuse University Press. .
* Banuazizi, Ali and Myron Weiner (eds.). 1988. "The State, Religion, and Ethnic Politics: Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan (Contemporary Issues in the Middle East)." Syracuse University Press. .
*
* Caroe, Olaf. 1984. ''The Pathans: 500 B.C.-A.D. 1957'' (Oxford in Asia Historical Reprints). Oxford University Press. .
* Dani, Ahmad Hasan. 1985. "Peshawar: Historic city of the Frontier." Sang-e-Meel Publications (1995). .
*
* Dupree, Louis. 1997. "Afghanistan." Oxford University Press. .
Elphinstone, Mountstuart. 1815. "An account of the Kingdom of Caubul and its dependencies in Persia, Tartary, and India: comprising a view of the Afghaun nation." Akadem. Druck- u. Verlagsanst (1969).online version
*
* Habibi, Abdul Hai. 2003. "Afghanistan: An Abridged History." Fenestra Books. .
* Hopkirk, Peter
Peter Stuart Hopkirk (15 December 1930 – 22 August 2014) was a British journalist, author and historian who wrote six books about the British Empire, Russia and Central Asia.
Biography
Peter Hopkirk was born in Nottingham, the son of Frank St ...
. 1984. " The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia" Kodansha Globe; Reprint edition. .
* Spain, James W. (1962; 2nd edition 1972). "The Way of the Pathans." Oxford University Press. .
* Wardak, Al
"Jirga – A Traditional Mechanism of Conflict Resolution in Afghanistan"
, 2003, online at UNPAN (the United Nations Online Network in Public Administration and Finance).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pashtun People
Social groups of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Social groups of Balochistan, Pakistan
Ethnic groups in Pakistan
Ethnic groups in Balochistan
Nomads
Iranian nomads
Modern nomads
Pastoralists
Ethnic groups in Afghanistan
Ethnic groups in India
Iranian ethnic groups
Ethnic groups divided by international borders
Pashtun people
Ethnic groups in South Asia