The Pashtuns of Punjab ( Punjabi, ; ), also called Punjabi Pathans or Pathans, are descendants of Pashtun settlers, 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 ...

ethnic group, in the

Punjab region Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

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# ...

''Punjabi Musalmans''; by J. M. Wikely, pages 133-134 and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. They were originally from the Pashtunistan region of

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

and

bordering the Punjab region. These non-frontier Pathans are usually known by the town or locality in which they are settled, e.g. Lahori Pathans.

History and origin

Colonies of Pathans (Pashtun people) arriving in Punjab are accounted for by Sir Densil Ibbetson in the following manner: The Pathans are speculated by some to be descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great who invaded the area in 327–323 BC. Archaeological evidence, however, suggests a Greek influence before this invasion. A phylogenetic study investigated the possible genetic relation of Pathans with Greeks and found evidence of a limited contributions of Greek genes in the Pathan population.

Main divisions

Malerkotla Pathans

In the Indian Punjabi city of Malerkotla, sixty-five percent of the total population is Muslim and out of this population, twenty percent are Punjabi Pathans. These Pathans trace their ancestry to Shaikh Sadruddin-i-Jahān, a pious man of the

Sherwani A sherwani is a long-sleeved outer coat worn by men in South Asia. Like the Western frock coat, it is fitted, with some waist suppression; it falls to below the knees and is buttoned down the front. It can be collarless, have a shirt-style col ...

of the Darband area of what is now the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Bahlul Lodi (1451–1517), the Afghan king who had most of the western parts of India under his control, desired to rule

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 on his way, he was caught in a sand drift. While there was nothing visible in the darkness, the King spotted a dim light of a lamp still burning in the wind. It was the hut of Shaikh Sadruddin and when the king found out, he came to the hut to show his respect and asked the holy man to pray for him to bear a son and have victory. During 1451 and 1452, the king married off his daughter Taj Murassa to Shaikh Sadruddin after being enthroned in Delhi, and also gave him the area of Malerkotla. The descendants of Shaikh Sadruddin branched into two groups. One started ruling the state and were given the title of ''

Nawab Nawab is a royal title indicating a ruler, often of a South Asian state, in many ways comparable to the Western title of Prince. The relationship of a Nawab to the Emperor of India has been compared to that of the Kingdom of Saxony, Kings of ...

''. The other branch lived around the Shrine of Shaikh Sadruddin, controlling its revenue. One notable thing about the Punjabi Pathans of Malerkotla is the fact the women strictly observe pardah, albeit they are no longer required to wear the

burqa A burqa or burka (; ) is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Muslim women which fully covers the body and the face. Also known as a chadaree (; ) or chaadar (Dari: چادر) in Afghanistan, or a ''paranja'' (; ; ) in Central Asia, the Ara ...

. In regards to language, Pashto was their primary language until 1903. Afterwards, the Malerkotla Pathans began to speak Punjabi and Hindustani. In the city, there are twenty-nine shrines to saints from

, whom the Malerkotla Pathans revere. Although the level of education is low among the community, many of these Pathans serve in the civil service, particularly in the

Indian Police Service The Indian Police Service (IPS) is a civil service under the All India Services. It replaced the Indian Imperial Police in 1948, a year after India became Partition of India, independent from the British Empire. Along with the Indian Admini ...

. Others maintain businesses, rent property, and rear horses. Because the level of religiosity amongst Malerkotla Pathans is high, many families sent their children to

madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning ...

s where Qur'anic education is compulsory. For higher education, many children study in schools in

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubar ...

Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...

Multani Pathans

The descendants of Zamand very early migrated in large numbers to

Multan Multan is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fifth-most populous city in the Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. Located along the eastern bank of the Chenab River, it is the List of cities in Pakistan by populatio ...

, to which province they furnished rulers, till the reign of the

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

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

, when a number of the Abdali tribe under the leadership of Shah Husain were driven from Kandahar by tribal feuds, took refuge in Multan, and being early supplemented by other of their kinsmen who were expelled by Mir Wais, the great

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 ...

chief, conquered

and founded the tribe well known in the Punjab as Multani Pathans.Ahmad Khan, Hussain
Re-thinking Punjab: The Construction of Siraiki Identity
' (2004) National College of Arts Their main clans were the Alizai, Badozai, Bamzai and Saddozai, all clans of 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. Other tribal communities include the Safi (Pashtun tribe),

Babar Babar (), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of Persian language, Persian origin, and a popular male given name in Pakistan. It is generally taken in reference to the Persian language, Persian ''babr'' (Persian ...

, Khakwani, Tareen. In

Muzaffargarh District Muzaffargarh District () is a district of the Punjab province of Pakistan. Its capital is Muzaffargarh city. It lies on the bank of the Chenab River. History Muzaffargarh () was founded by the Saddozai Nawab of Multan, Nawab Muzaffar Kha ...

, the Pathans of the district are related to the Multani Pathans. They settled in Muzaffargarh in the 18th century, as small groups of Multani Pathan expended their control from the city of Multan. There distribution is as follows; the Alizai Durrani are found at Lalpur, and the

Popalzai Popalzai or Popalzay (), also known as Popal, are Durrani (formerly called Abdali or Bor Tareen) Pashtuns of Afghanistan. The Popalzai are part of the Zirak confederation of Pashtun tribes. The origin of the Abdali forefathers of the Saddozai ...

are found in Docharkha, while the Babars are based in Khangarh and Tareen in Kuhawar are other important tribes.

Demographics

Pakistan's Punjab

In Pakistan's Punjab province, at the time of the 2023 census, 2,3 million individuals spoke Pashto as their mother tongue, but many if not most of the Pashtuns who have settled in Punjab over the centuries don't speak Pashto anymore so aren't counted in such census.

Notable Pathans of Punjab

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 ...

, 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan *

Ashfaq Ahmed Ashfaq Ahmed (; 22 August 1925 – 7 September 2004) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and broadcaster. His works in Urdu included novels, short stories and plays for Pakistan Television Corporation, Pakistan Television and Radio Pakistan. H ...

, Pakistani writer, broadcaster and intellectual *

Yahya Khan Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan (4 February 191710 August 1980) was a Pakistani army officer who served as the third president of Pakistan from 1969 to 1971. He also served as the fifth Commander-in-Chief, Pakistan, commander-in-chief of the Pakistan ...

, Third President of Pakistan * Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, Pakistani army officer and last Governor of East Pakistan * Justice Munir, 2nd Chief Justice of Pakistan * Jehangir Khan, Pakistani businessman, politician and former minister for Industries * Dr. Nazir Ahmed, Pakistani scientist, bureaucrat and founding chairman of the

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* Shaukat Tarin, Pakistani politician and former finance minister of Pakistan * Ishaq Khan Khakwani, Pakistani politician and former minister of State for Railways, IT & Telecom * Maulana Kausar Niazi, Pakistani politician, religious leader and former federal minister * Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi, Pakistan movement activist and religious leader * Humair Hayat Khan Rokhri, Pakistani politician and member of the National Assembly of Pakistan * Tariq Masood Niazi, Pakistani field hockey player *

Munir Niazi Munir Niazi (Punjabi language, Punjabi, Urdu: ;09 April 1923 – 26 December 2006), was a Pakistani poet. He mostly wrote in the Punjabi language, Punjabi and Urdu languages and also wrote for newspapers, magazines and radio. In 1960, he es ...

, Pakistani poet of Urdu and Punjabi languages * Sardar Mohammad Khan, Linguistic researcher of

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

, English,

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 ...

and

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 ...

* Karamat Rahman Niazi, former Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan * Shuja Khanzada, Pakistan Army officer who fought in the War of '71 and

Siachen The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas, just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends in northeastern Kashmir. At long, it is the longest glaci ...

, martyred in a suicide blast at

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 ...

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 ...

, Pakistani cricketer

References

{{Pashtun Diaspora

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Pashtun tribes Punjabi tribes Saraiki tribes Pashtun diaspora in India