Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of
Pashtunistan
Pashtunistan ( ps, پښتونستان, lit=land of the Pashtuns) is a historical region in Central Asia and South Asia, inhabited by the indigenous Pashtuns, Pashtun people of Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto ...
in the present-day countries of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. They were historically referred to as
Afghans
Afghans ( ps, افغانان, translit=afghanan; Persian/ prs, افغان ها, translit=afghānhā; Persian: افغانستانی, romanized: ''Afghanistani'') or Afghan people are nationals or citizens of Afghanistan, or people with ancestry f ...
() or xbc, αβγανο () until the 1970s, when the term's meaning officially evolved into that of a demonym for all residents of Afghanistan, including those outside of the Pashtun ethnicity.
The group's native language is
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
, an
Iranian language
The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau.
The Iranian languages are grouped ...
Indo-European language family
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...
. Additionally,
Dari Persian
Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the Variety (linguistics), variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Politics of Afghanistan, Afghan government ...
serves as the second language of Pashtuns in Afghanistan while those in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
(see
Hindustani language
Hindustani (; Devanagari: ,
*
*
*
* ; Perso-Arabic: , , ) is the '' lingua franca'' of Northern and Central India and Pakistan. Hindustani is a pluricentric language with two standard registers, known as Hindi and Urdu. Thus, the lan ...
) as their second language.
Pashtuns are the 26th-largest ethnic group in the world, and the largest
segmentary lineage
A segmentary lineage society has equivalent parts ("segments") held together by shared values. A segmentary lineage society is a type of tribal society.
A close family is usually the smallest and closest segment and will generally stand together ...
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, significant and historical communities of the
Pashtun diaspora
The Pashtun diaspora comprises all ethnic Pashtuns and their descendants who are living outside of their traditional homeland of Pashtunistan, a historic region that is today situated over parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. While Pashtunistan ...
exist in the northern region of
Rohilkhand
Rohilkhand (previously Rampur State) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Rampur, Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the Rohilla tribe. Th ...
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, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
and
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
. A more recent Pashtun diaspora has formed in the
Arab states of the Persian Gulf
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...
(primarily in the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
) as part of the larger Afghan and Pakistani diaspora in that region.
Prominent Pashtun figures include
Abdul Ahad Momand
Abdul Ahad Momand (; born 1959) is a Afghan-German and former Afghan Air Force aviator who became the first, and currently only, Afghan citizen to journey to outer space.
He became one of Soyuz TM-6 crew members and spent nine days aboard the ...
,
Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtun, independence activist, and founder of the Khudai Khidmatgar ...
,
Abdul Ghani Baradar
Abdul Ghani Baradar, , (born 29 September 1963 or 1968; known by the honorific '' mullah'') is an Afghan political and religious leader who is currently the acting first deputy prime minister alongside Abdul Salam Hanafi and Abdul Kabir, of ...
,
Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...
,
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
,
Alauddin Khalji
Alaud-Dīn Khaljī, also called Alauddin Khilji or Alauddin Ghilji (), born Ali Gurshasp, was an emperor of the Khalji dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over lar ...
,
Amanullah Khan
Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...
,
Ashraf Ghani
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban.
Born in L ...
,
Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
,
Bahlul Lodi
Bahlul Khan Lodi (12 July 1489) was the chief of the Pashtun Lodi tribe. Founder of the Lodi dynasty from the Delhi Sultanate upon the abdication of the last claimant from the previous Sayyid rule. Bahlul became sultan of the dynasty on 19 A ...
,
Dilip Kumar
Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...
,
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
,
Hasan Akhund
Mohammad Hasan Akhund (born or ) is an Afghan mullah, politician and Taliban leader who is currently the acting prime minister of Afghanistan.
Akhund is one of the founding members of the Taliban and has been a senior leading member of t ...
,
Hibatullah Akhundzada
Hibatullah Akhundzada, also spelled Haibatullah Akhunzada, is an Afghan Islamic scholar, cleric, and jurist who is the supreme leader of Afghanistan. He has led the Taliban since 2016, and came to power with its victory over Western-backe ...
,
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
,
Irrfan Khan
Irrfan Khan () (born Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan; 7 January 196729 April 2020), also known simply as Irrfan, was an Indian actor who worked in Indian cinema as well as British and American films. Widely regarded as one of the finest actors in In ...
Madhubala
Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...
,
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
,
Manzoor Pashteen
Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen (Pashto: منظور احمد پښتين, Urdu: منظور احمد پشتین) is a Pakistani Pashtun human rights activist from South Waziristan. He is the chairman of Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM).
("Pashtun Protection ...
,
Mirwais Hotak
Mir Ways ibn Shah 'Alam, also known as Mirwais Khan Hotak (Pashto/Dari: ) (1673–1715) was an Afghan ruler from the Ghilji tribe of Kandahar, Afghanistan, and the founder of the Hotak dynasty.
In 1709, after overthrowing and assassinating Geor ...
,
Mohammed Daoud Khan
Mohammed Daoud Khan ( ps, ), also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an Afghan politician and general who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup ...
,
Mullah Omar
Mullah Muhammad Omar (; –April 2013) was an Afghan Islamic revolutionary who founded the Taliban and served as the supreme leader of Afghanistan from Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001), 1996 to 2001.
Born into a religious family of ...
,
Pir Roshan
Bāyazīd Khān Ansārī Pīr Rōshān ( ps, ) or Pīr Rōkhān (1525–1585) was an Afghan warrior, poet, Sufi, and revolutionary leader. He wrote mostly in Pashto, but also in Persian, Hindustani, and Arabic, while he also spoke Ormuri. He ...
,
Rahman Baba
Abdur Rahmān Momand ( ps, عبدالرحمان بابا; 1632–1706) or Rahmān Bābā ( ps, رحمان بابا), was a renowned Pashtun Sufi Dervish and poet from Momand Agency in Peshawar during the Mughal era. He, along with his contemp ...
,
Salman Khan
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
,
Sirajuddin Haqqani
Sirajuddin Haqqani ( ps, سراج الدين حقاني, Sirāj al-Dīn Ḥaqqānī, ; aliases ''Khalifa'', and, ''Siraj Haqqani''. born December 1979) is an Afghan Islamist militant who is the first deputy leader of Afghanistan and the acting ...
,
Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
,
Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi ( ur, شاہد افریدی, ps, شاهد افریدی; born 1 March 1977), known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is current ...
,
Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری)
(1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان)
, was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
,
Zabiullah Mujahid
Zabihullah Mujahid ( ps, ; ''Ẕabīḥullāh Mujāhid'' ; also spelled Dhabih Allah Mujahid) is an Afghan official Central spokesman for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 25 October 2021 and Deputy Ministry of Information and Culture si ...
,
Zalmay Khalizad
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad ( ps, ځلمی خلیل زاد, prs, زلمی خلیلزاد; born March 22, 1951) is an Afghan-American diplomat and foreign policy expert. Khalilzad was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to serve as U.S. Specia ...
, and
Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of:
* Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India
* Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor
* Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player
* ...
, among many others.
Geographic distribution
Traditional homeland
The majority of Pashtuns are found in the native Pashtun homeland, located south of the
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...
which is in Afghanistan and west of the
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayan river of South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in Western Tibet, flows northwest through the disputed region of Kashmir, ...
in Pakistan, principally around the
Sulaiman Mountains
The Sulaiman Mountains, also known as Kōh-e Sulaymān ( Balochi/Urdu/ fa, ; "Mountains of Solomon") or Da Kasē Ghrūna ( ps, د كسې غرونه; "Mountains of Kasi"), are a north–south extension of the southern Hindu Kush mountain system i ...
. It is believed that the Pashtuns emerged from the region around
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
and the
Sulaiman Mountains
The Sulaiman Mountains, also known as Kōh-e Sulaymān ( Balochi/Urdu/ fa, ; "Mountains of Solomon") or Da Kasē Ghrūna ( ps, د كسې غرونه; "Mountains of Kasi"), are a north–south extension of the southern Hindu Kush mountain system i ...
, roughly around the ancient region of
Arachosia
Arachosia () is the Hellenized name of an ancient satrapy situated in the eastern parts of the Achaemenid empire. It was centred around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan, and extended as far east as the In ...
, and expanded from there between the 13th and 16th centuries to the adjoining areas of modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Starting in the 1880s, various Pashtun-dominated governments of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
have pursued policies, called
Pashtunization
Pashtunization ( ps, پښتون جوړونه), also called Pathanization, is a process of cultural or linguistic change in which someone or something non-Pashtun becomes acculturated to Pashtun influence. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group ...
, aimed towards settling more ethnic Pashtuns in non-Pashtun regions, particularly the northern region of Afghanistan. Metropolitan centres within Pashtun dominated areas include
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
,
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
,
Jalalabad
Jalalabad (; Dari/ ps, جلالآباد, ) is the fifth-largest city of Afghanistan. It has a population of about 356,274, and serves as the capital of Nangarhar Province in the eastern part of the country, about from the capital Kabul. Jala ...
,
Mardan
Mardān (Pashto and ; Urdu ; Pashto: ) is a city in the Mardan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. Located in the Valley of Peshawar, Mardan is the second-largest city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (after Peshawar). It is a fast-growing ...
,
Mingora
Mingora ( ps, مینګورہ, ur, ) 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 t ...
and
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
.
Karachi
Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
is home to the largest community of Pashtuns outside of the native homeland (with estimates of around 7 million).
India
Pashtuns in India are often commonly referred to as ''Pathans'' (the Hindustani word for Pashtun) both by themselves and other ethnic groups of the subcontinent.
Historically, Pashtuns have settled in various cities of India before and during the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
in
colonial India
Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spices.
The search for the wealth and prosper ...
. These include Bombay (now called
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
),
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, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
,
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
,
Rohilkhand
Rohilkhand (previously Rampur State) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Rampur, Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the Rohilla tribe. Th ...
,
Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...
and
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
. The settlers are descended from both Pashtuns of present-day
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
(
British India
The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...
before 1947). In some regions in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, they are sometimes referred to as ''Kabuliwala''.
In
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
significant Pashtun diaspora communities exist. While speakers of Pashto in the country only number 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 (previously Rampur State) is a region in the northwestern part of Uttar Pradesh, India, that is centered on the Rampur, Bareilly and Moradabad divisions. It is part of the upper Ganges Plain, and is named after the Rohilla tribe. Th ...
region of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
is named after the
Rohilla
Rohillas are a community of Pashtun ancestry, 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. The Ro ...
community of Pashtun ancestry. They also live in the states of
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...
in central India and
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
in eastern India that each have a population of over a million with Pashtun ancestry; both
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
and
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
were primary locations of Pashtun migrants from
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
during the colonial era. There are also populations over 100,000 each in the cities of
Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...
in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
and
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
in
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...
. Bombay (now called
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
) and
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
both have a Pashtun population of over 1 million, whilst
Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...
and
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
have an estimate of around 100,000. The Pashtuns in
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
Sanjay Sanjay, also spelled Sanjai, Sanjey, Sanje, Sanjaey and Sunjay, is a male given name of Sanskrit origin meaning "triumphant" (from Sañjaya) and may refer to:
People
* Sanjaya, an important character in the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata''
* San ...
Bangalore
Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...
from
Ghazni
Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...
.
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, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
and
central India
Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in alm ...
. Following the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
in 1947, many of them migrated to Pakistan. The majority of Indian Pashtuns are Urdu-speaking communities, who have assimilated into the local society 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, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
Safavid Iran
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
Nader Shah
Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...
defeated the last independent Ghilji ruler of
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
,
Hussain Hotak
Shah Hussain Hotak, (Pashto/Dari: ), son of Mirwais Hotak, was the fifth and last ruler of the Hotak dynasty. An ethnic Pashtun (''Afghan'') from the Ghilji tribe, he succeeded to the throne after the death of his brother Mahmud Hotak in 1725. He ...
. 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 Hotak dynasty. An ethnic Pashtun (''Afghan'') from the Ghilji tribe, he succeeded to the throne after the death of his brother Mahmud Hotak in 1725. He ...
and large numbers of the Ghilji Pashtuns to the Mazandaran Province in northern Iran. The remnants of this once sizable 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 ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...
itself. The second Durrani king of Afghanistan,
Timur Shah Durrani
Timur Shah Durrani (; prs, ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – May 20, 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the se ...
was born in
Mashhad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, 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. It serves as the capital of R ...
. Contemporary to Durrani rule in the east,
Azad Khan Afghan
Azād Khān Afghān (Persian, ps, آزاد خان افغان), 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. ( ...
, an ethnic Ghilji Pashtun, formerly second in charge of
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
during Afsharid rule, gained power in the western regions of Iran and
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
Indian and Pakistani Pashtuns have utilised the British/
Commonwealth
A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
links of their respective countries, and modern communities have been established starting around the 1960s mainly in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
but also in other
commonwealth countries
The Commonwealth of Nations is a voluntary association of 56 sovereign states. Most of them were British colonies or dependencies of those colonies.
No one government in the Commonwealth exercises power over the others, as is the case in a po ...
(and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
). Some Pashtuns have also settled in the Middle East, such as in the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
. For example, about 300,000 Pashtuns migrated to the
Persian Gulf countries
The Arab states of the Persian Gulf refers to a group of Arab states which border the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. ...
between 1976 and 1981, representing 35% of Pakistani immigrants.
Due to the multiple wars in Afghanistan since the late 1970s, various waves of
refugees
A refugee, conventionally speaking, is a displaced person who has crossed national borders and who cannot or is unwilling to return home due to well-founded fear of persecution.
(Afghan Pashtuns, but also a sizeable number of Tajiks, Hazara, Uzbek, Turkmen and Afghan Sikhs) have left the country as
asylum seeker
An asylum seeker is a person who leaves their country of residence, enters another country and applies for asylum (i.e., international protection) in that other country. An asylum seeker is an immigrant who has been forcibly displaced and mi ...
s.
There are 1.3 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan and 1 million in Iran. Others have claimed asylum in the United Kingdom, United States and
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
countries through Pakistan.
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 usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...
s. The Pashtuns remain a predominantly tribal people, but the trend of urbanisation has begun to alter Pashtun society as cities such as
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
,
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
,
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
and
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) 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; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
have grown rapidly due to the influx of rural Pashtuns. Despite this, many people still identify themselves with various
clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
s.
The tribal system has several levels of organisation: the tribe they are in is from four 'greater' tribal groups: the
Sarbani
Saṛbanī ( ps, سړبني) or Sarban Confedracy is a tribal group of Pashtuns. They are situated in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Sarbani include many Pashtun tribes, including Sherani, Tareen, Durrani, Khalil, Kheshgi,Kasi which includes M ...
, the
Bettani
The Bettani ( ps, بېټني), also spelled Baittani or Bhittani, is a Pashtun tribe located mostly in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The Bettani are named after ''Shaykh Beṭ'', their legendary ancestor who is said to be the second son of Qais Abdur ...
, the Gharghashti, and the
Karlani
Karlāṇī ( ps, کرلاڼي) 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 dynas ...
, the '' tabar'' (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''.
History and origins
Excavations of prehistoric sites suggest that early humans were living in what is now Afghanistan at least 50,000 years ago. Since the
2nd millennium BC
The 2nd millennium BC spanned the years 2000 BC to 1001 BC.
In the Ancient Near East, it marks the transition from the Middle to the Late Bronze Age.
The Ancient Near Eastern cultures are well within the historical era:
The first half of the mil ...
, cities in the region now inhabited by Pashtuns have seen invasions and migrations, including by Ancient Indian peoples,
Ancient Iranian peoples
The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities.
The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...
, the
Medes
The Medes (Old Persian: ; Akkadian: , ; Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were an ancient Iranian people who spoke the Median language and who inhabited an area known as Media between western and northern Iran. Around the 11th century BC, the ...
,
Persians
The Persians are an Iranian ethnic group who comprise over half of the population of Iran. They share a common cultural system and are native speakers of the Persian language as well as of the languages that are closely related to Persian.
...
, and
Ancient Macedonians
The Macedonians ( el, Μακεδόνες, ''Makedónes'') were an ancient tribe that lived on the alluvial plain around the rivers Haliacmon and lower Vardar, Axios in the northeastern part of Geography of Greece#Mainland, mainland Greece. Es ...
in antiquity,
Kushans
The Kushan Empire ( grc, Βασιλεία Κοσσανῶν; xbc, Κυϸανο, ; sa, कुषाण वंश; Brahmi: , '; Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, BHS: ; xpr, 𐭊𐭅𐭔𐭍 𐭇𐭔𐭕𐭓, ; zh, wikt:貴霜, 貴霜 ) was a Sync ...
,
Hephthalite
The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...
s,
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
,
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
,
Mongols
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
, and others. In recent times, people of the Western world have explored the area as well.
The early precursors to modern-day Pashtuns may have been old
Iranian tribes
The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities.
The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...
that spread throughout the eastern
Iranian plateau
The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature in Western Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia. It comprises part of the Eurasian Plate and is wedged between the Arabian Plate and the Indian Plate; situated between the Zagros ...
.
According to Yu. V. Gankovsky:
Gankovsky proposes Ephthalite origin for Pashtuns but others draw a different conclusion.
Ghilji
The Ghiljī ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settle ...
tribe has been connected to the
Khalaj people
The Khalaj ( Bactrian χαλασσ ''Xalass''; ps, خلجیان, Khalajyān; fa, خلجها, Xalajhâ) are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly live in Iran. Medieval Muslim scholars considered the tribe to be one of the earliest to cross the Am ...
. According to
Abdul Hai Habibi
Abdul Hai Habibi ( ps, عبدالحى حبيبي, fa, عبدالحی حبیبی) – ''ʿAbd' ul-Ḥay Ḥabībi'') (1910 – 9 May 1984) was a prominent Afghan historian for much of his lifetime as well as a member of the National Assembly of ...
, some oriental scholars hold that the second largest Pasthun tribe, the
Ghilji
The Ghiljī ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settle ...
s, are the descendants of a mixed race of
Hephthalite
The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...
and Pakhtas who have been living in Afghanistan since the Vedic Aryan period. But according to Sims-Williams, archaeological documents do not support the suggestion that the Khalaj were the Hephthalites' successors. 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 ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...
tribe who were known as the "Abdali" before the formation of the
Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...
1747, might be connected to with the
Hephthalites
The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Central Asia during th ...
;
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.
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 introdu ...
of the Pashtun ethnic group is unclear but historians have come across references to various ancient peoples called ''
Pakthas
This is a list of ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes that are mentioned in the literature of Indic religions.
From the second or first millennium BCE, ancient Indo-Aryan peoples and tribes turned into most of the population in the northern p ...
'' (''Pactyans'') between the
2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...
and the 1st millennium BC, who may be their early ancestors. However, there are many conflicting theories amongst historians and the Pashtuns themselves.Mohan Lal states:
Willem Vogelsang
Willem Vogelsang (born 1956 in Medemblik) is the deputy director of the International Institute for Asian Studies at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. He is also a colonel in the Dutch armed forces as Project Coordinator for Cultural Af ...
states:
Pashtuns are tied to the history of modern Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India: following
Muslim conquests
The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...
from the 7th to 11th centuries, many Pashtun warriors invaded and conquered much of the northern parts of
South Asia
South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...
Durranis
The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...
.
Linguistic origin
Pashto is generally classified as an
Eastern Iranian
The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages emerging in Middle Iranian times (from c. the 4th century BC). The Avestan language is often classified as early Eastern Iranian. As opposed to the Middle Western Iranian diale ...
language. It shares features with the
Munji language
The Munji language ( fa, مونجی), also known as Munjani (), Munjhan (), and the Munjiwar language, is a Pamir language spoken in Munjan valley in Badakhshan Province in northeast Afghanistan. It is similar to the Yidgha language, which 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 languages, 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 Uzbekist ...
Sanglechi
Sanglechi is an Iranian 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 San ...
, 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 parts of modern-day north-eastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan, and Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County in China. Badakhshan Province is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. Much of historic Ba ...
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 Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...
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 Persian: ; Kharoṣṭhī: ; Ancient Egyptian: , ; , old , mod. , ), Shaka (Sanskrit ( Brāhmī): , , ; Sanskrit (Devanāgarī): , ), or Sacae (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a group of nomadic Iranian peoples who hist ...
group. Furthemore 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, tk, Amyderýa/ uz, Amudaryo// tg, Амударё, Amudaryo ps, , tr, Ceyhun / Amu Derya grc, Ὦξος, Ôxos (also called the Amu, Amo River and historically known by its Latin name or Greek ) is a major river in Central Asi ...
at that time. Others however have suggested a much older Iranic ancestor given the affinity to
Old Avestan
Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...
.
Ancient historical references: Pashtun
There is mention of the tribe called Pakthās who were one of the tribes that fought against
Sudas
Sudās Paijavana ( sa, सुदास्) 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 Battle of the Ten Kings near the Paruṣṇī (mod ...
in the
Dasarajna
The Battle of the Ten Kings ( sa, दाशराज्ञ युद्ध, translit=Dāśarājñá yuddhá) is a battle, first alluded to in the 7th Mandala of the Rigveda (RV), between a Bharata king and a confederation of tribes. It resulte ...
- ''the Battle of the Ten Kings'' - of the
Rigveda
The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one Sh ...
(
RV 7
The seventh Mandala of the Rigveda ("book 7", "RV 7") has 104 hymns. In the Rigveda Anukramani, all hymns in this book are attributed to ''Vashista''. Hymn 32 is additionally credited to Sakti Vashista, and hymns 101-102 (to Parjanya) are addit ...
.18.7) dated between c. 1500 and 1200 BCE. The Pakthās are mentioned:
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 India ...
connects them with a tribe mentioned by
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
(''Pactyans''), and with
Pashtuns
Pashtuns (, , ; ps, پښتانه, ), also known as Pakhtuns or Pathans, are an Iranian ethnic group who are native to the geographic region of Pashtunistan in the present-day countries of Afghanistan and Pakistan. They were historically re ...
in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
.
Herodutus in 430 BCE mentions 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 (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
Arachosia
Arachosia () is the Hellenized name of an ancient satrapy situated in the eastern parts of the Achaemenid empire. It was centred around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan, and extended as far east as the In ...
Satrapy
A satrap () was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Achaemenid Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires.
The satrap served as viceroy to the king, though with consid ...
as early as the 1st millennium BCE, present day Afghanistan.
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
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 Cordi ...
has linked them with the Pashtun tribe: ''
Afridi
The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...
s'' as all these tribes have been placed in the Indus valley. Herodotus states:
Joseph Marquart made the connection of the Pashtuns with names such as the Parsiētai (Παρσιῆται), Parsioi (Πάρσιοι) that were cited by
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
150 CE. The text from Ptolemy:
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 "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
, the Greek geographer, in the
Geographica
The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Ancient Greek, Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen ...
(written between 43 BC to 23 AD) makes mention of the Pasiani (Πασιανοί), this has been identified with Pashtuns given that Pashto is an Eastern-Iranian language and Pashtuns reside in the area once termed
Ariana
Ariana was a general geographical term used by some Greek and Roman authors of the ancient period for a district of wide extent between Central Asia and the Indus River, comprising the eastern provinces of the Achaemenid Empire that covered the ...
. Strabo states:
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 late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
until the advent of modern Afghanistan in the 18th century and the division of Pashtun territory by the 1893
Durand Line
The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...
, Pashtuns were often referred to as ethnic '' "Afghans"''.
The earliest mention of the name ''Afghan'' (''Abgân - αβγανο'') is by
Shapur I
Shapur I (also spelled Shabuhr I; pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, Šābuhr ) was the second Sasanian King of Kings of Iran. The dating of his reign is disputed, but it is generally agreed that he ruled from 240 to 270, with his father Ardas ...
of the
Sasanian Empire
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
during the 3rd century CE. In the 4th century the word "Afghans/Afghana" (αβγανανο) as a reference to the Pashtun people is mentioned in the Bactrian documents, they mention an Afghan chief named Bredag Watanan in connection with the
Hephtalites
The Hephthalites ( xbc, ηβοδαλο, translit= Ebodalo), sometimes called the White Huns (also known as the White Hunas, in Iranian languages, Iranian as the ''Spet Xyon'' and in Sanskrit as the ''Sveta-huna''), were a people who lived in Cen ...
and in the context of some stolen horses. Interestingly the documents mention the Afghans far in the north of Afghanistan around modern
Baghlan
Baghlan (Dari: بغلان ''Baġlān'') is a city in northern Afghanistan, in the eponymous province, Baghlan Province. It is located three miles east of the Kunduz River, 35 miles south of Khanabad, and about 500 metres above sea level in the ...
Bactria
Bactria (; Bactrian: , ), or Bactriana, was an ancient region in Central Asia in Amu Darya's middle stream, stretching north of the Hindu Kush, west of the Pamirs and south of the Gissar range, covering the northern part of Afghanistan, southwe ...
Other reference from the same documents :
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.
Xuanzang
Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...
, a Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, visiting the Afghanistan region several times between 630 and 644 CE also speaks about them. In
Shahnameh
The ''Shahnameh'' or ''Shahnama'' ( fa, شاهنامه, Šāhnāme, lit=The Book of Kings, ) is a long epic poem written by the Persian poet Ferdowsi between c. 977 and 1010 CE and is the national epic of Greater Iran. Consisting of some 50,00 ...
1–110 and 1–116, it is written as ''Awgaan''. According to several scholars such as V. Minorsky, the name "Afghan" is documented several times in the 982 CE Hudud-al-Alam.
Hudud ul-'alam also speaks of a king in Ninhar ( Nangarhar), who had Muslim, ''Afghan'' and Hindu wives. Writing in the 11th century AD,
Al-Biruni
Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni (973 – after 1050) commonly known as al-Biruni, was a Khwarazmian Iranian in scholar and polymath during the Islamic Golden Age. He has been called variously the "founder of Indology", "Father of Co ...
in his ''Tarikh al Hind'', In the western frontier mountains of India there live various tribes of the Afghans, and extend up to the neighbourhood of the Sindh Valley, It was reported that between 1039 and 1040 CE Mas'ud I of the
Ghaznavid Empire
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate, Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, ...
sent his son to subdue a group of rebel Afghans near
Ghazni
Ghazni ( prs, غزنی, ps, غزني), historically known as Ghaznain () or Ghazna (), also transliterated as Ghuznee, and anciently known as Alexandria in Opiana ( gr, Αλεξάνδρεια Ωπιανή), is a city in southeastern Afghanistan ...
. An army of
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
, Afghans,
Khiljis
The Khalji or Khilji (Pashto language, Pashto: ; Persian language, Persian: ) dynasty was a Turkic people, Turco-Afghans, Afghan dynasty which ruled the Delhi sultanate, covering large parts of the Indian subcontinent for nearly three decad ...
Muhammad of Ghor
Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad ibn Sam ( fa, معز الدین محمد بن سام), also Mu'izz ad-Din Muhammad Ghori, also Ghūri ( fa, معز الدین محمد غوری) (1144 – March 15, 1206), commonly known as Muhammad of Ghor, also Gh ...
, ruler of the
Ghorids
The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; fa, دودمان غوریان, translit=Dudmân-e Ğurīyân; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty and a clan of presumably eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from the ...
, also had Afghans in his army along with others. A famous Moroccan travelling scholar,
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...
, visiting Afghanistan following the era of the
Khalji dynasty
The Khalji or Khilji (Pashto: ; Persian: ) dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty which ruled the Delhi sultanate, covering large parts of the Indian subcontinent for nearly three decades between 1290 and 1320.Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah (Ferishta), writes about Afghans and their country called ''
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
'' in the 16th century.
Anthropology and oral traditions
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
is classified under the
Eastern Iranian
The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages emerging in Middle Iranian times (from c. the 4th century BC). The Avestan language is often classified as early Eastern Iranian. As opposed to the Middle Western Iranian diale ...
Indo-European language family
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutch ...
. Those who speak a Southern dialect of Pashto refer to themselves as Pashtuns, while those who speak Northern Dialect call themselves Pukhtuns. These native people compose the core of ethnic Pashtuns who are found in southeastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan. The Pashtuns have oral and written accounts of their family tree. Lineage is considered very important.
Theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites
Some
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...
s lend credence to the
oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...
s of the Pashtun tribes themselves. For example, according to the ''
Encyclopaedia of Islam
The ''Encyclopaedia of Islam'' (''EI'') is an encyclopaedia of the academic discipline of Islamic studies published by Brill. It is considered to be the standard reference work in the field of Islamic studies. The first edition was published in ...
'', 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 ''Makhzan-i-Afghani''. Its translated copies appear as ''The History of the A ...
, who compiled a history for ''Khan-e-Jehan Lodhi'' in the reign of Mughal Emperor
Jehangir
Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti.
Ear ...
in the 17th century. The 13th century
Tabaqat-i Nasiri
''Tabaqat-i Nasiri'' ( fa, ), 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 st ...
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 Ephraim and Manasseh (often called the "two half-tribes of Joseph") together traditionally constituted the tribe of Joseph, it was often not listed as one of the ...
, 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 the ten of the Twelve Tribes of Israel that were said to have been exiled from the Kingdom of Israel after its conquest by the Neo-Assyrian Empire BCE. These are the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Ashe ...
after groups converted to Christianity and Islam. Hence the tribal name
Yusufzai
The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Sulim ...
in Pashto translates to the "son of Joseph". A similar story is told by many historians, including the 14th century
Ibn Battuta
Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Battutah (, ; 24 February 13041368/1369),; fully: ; Arabic: commonly known as Ibn Battuta, was a Berbers, Berber Maghrebi people, Maghrebi scholar and explorer who travelled extensively in the lands of Afro-Eurasia, ...
and 16th century
Ferishta
Firishta or Ferešte ( fa, ), full name Muhammad Qasim Hindu Shah Astarabadi ( fa, مُحَمَّد قاسِم هِندو شاہ), was a Persian historian, who later settled in India and served the Deccan Sultans as their court historian. He was ...
. However, the similarity of names can also be traced to the presence of Arabic through Islam.
One conflicting issue in the belief that the Pashtuns descend from the
Israelites
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
is that the Ten Lost Tribes were exiled by the ruler of
Assyria
Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...
, while ''Maghzan-e-Afghani'' 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 (; Akkadian: , ''māt Akkadī'') was an ancient Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Syria). It emerged as an Amorite-ruled state c. ...
, 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 criticised by not being substantiated by historical evidence. Dr. Zaman Stanizai criticises this theory:
According to genetic studies Pashtuns have a greater R1a1a*-M198 modal halogroup than Jews:
Other theories of descent
Some Pashtun tribes claim descent from
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
, including some claiming to be
Sayyid
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Prophets in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali ...
s (descendants of Muhammad).Caroe, Olaf. 1984. ''The Pathans: 500 B.C.-A.D. 1957'' (Oxford in Asia Historical Reprints)." Oxford University Press. Some groups from
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
and
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
believe to be descended from
Greeks
The Greeks or Hellenes (; el, Έλληνες, ''Éllines'' ) are an ethnic group and nation indigenous to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea regions, namely Greece, Cyprus, Albania, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, and, to a lesser extent, oth ...
who arrived with
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, wikt:Ἀλέξανδρος, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Maced ...
. According to Firasat et al. 2007, only a small 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 ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of ...
. Some like the
Ghilji
The Ghiljī ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settle ...
also claim Turkish descent having settled in the
Hindu Kush
The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and western Afghanistan, Quote: "The Hindu Kush mountains run along the Afghan border with the North-West Frontier Provinc ...
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
and language of the Pashtun tribes already present there.
One historical account connects the Pashtuns to a possible Ancient Egyptian 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 ...
(1864) was of the view that the Pashtuns likely have mixed Greek and Rajput roots. Following Alexander's brief occupation, the successor state of the
Seleucid Empire
The Seleucid Empire (; grc, Βασιλεία τῶν Σελευκιδῶν, ''Basileía tōn Seleukidōn'') was a Greek state in West Asia that existed during the Hellenistic period from 312 BC to 63 BC. The Seleucid Empire was founded by the ...
expanded influence on the Pashtuns until 305 BCE when they gave up dominating power to the Indian
Maurya Empire
The Maurya Empire, or the Mauryan Empire, was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in the Indian subcontinent based in Magadha, having been founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 BCE, and existing in loose-knit fashion until 1 ...
as part of an alliance treaty.
Vogelsang (2002) suggests that a single origin of the Pashtuns is unlikely but rather they are a tribal confederation.
Modern era
Their modern past stretches back to the
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
, particularly the
Hotak dynasty
The Hotak dynasty ( ps, fa, ) 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 revolution against t ...
and the
Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...
. The Hotaks were
Ghilji
The Ghiljī ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settle ...
tribesmen who rebelled against the
Safavids
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
and seized control over much of Persia from 1722 to 1729. This was followed by the conquests of
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
who was a former high-ranking military commander under
Nader Shah
Nader Shah Afshar ( fa, نادر شاه افشار; also known as ''Nader Qoli Beyg'' or ''Tahmāsp Qoli Khan'' ) (August 1688 – 19 June 1747) was the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran and one of the most powerful rulers in Iranian h ...
. He created the last
Afghan empire
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
**Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pash ...
that covered most of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan,
Kashmir
Kashmir () is the 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 Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...
,
Indian Punjab
Punjab (; ) is a state in northern 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, and R ...
, as well as the
Kohistan
Kohistan ( fa, کوہستان, ), 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 form ...
and
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
provinces of Iran. After the decline of the Durrani dynasty in the first half of the 19th century under
Shuja Shah Durrani
Shuja ( ar, شجاع, ur, شجاع, bn, সুজা) is a surname and male given name.
Notable people with this name include:
* Shuja al-Khwarazmi, was the mother of Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861)
* Ahmad Shuja Pasha (born ...
, the
Barakzai dynasty
The two branches of the Barakzai dynasty (, "sons of Barak") ruled modern day Afghanistan from 1823 to 1973 when the monarchy ended under Musahiban Mohammed Zahir Shah. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Durra ...
took control of the empire. Specifically, the
Mohamedzai
Mohammadzai ( ps, محمدزی), 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 a ...
subclan held Afghanistan's monarchy from around 1826 to the end of
Zahir Shah
Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 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. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...
's reign in 1973. Former President
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
is from the
Popalzai
Popalzai or Popalzay ( ps, پوپلزی), 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 ...
tribe of
Kandahar
Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a List of cities in Afghanistan, city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population ...
.
The Pashtuns in Afghanistan resisted
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
designs upon their territory and kept the
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
at bay during the so-called "
Great Game
The Great Game is the name for a set of political, diplomatic and military confrontations that occurred through most of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century – involving the rivalry of the British Empire and the Russian Empi ...
". By playing the two super powers against each other, Afghanistan remained an independent sovereign state and maintained some 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 lands ...
). During the reign of
Abdur Rahman Khan
Abdur Rahman Khan GCSI (Pashto/Dari: ) (between 1840 and 1844 – 1 October 1901) was Emir of Afghanistan from 1880 to his death in 1901. He is known for uniting the country after years of internal fighting and negotiation of the Durand Line Ag ...
politically
Politics (from , ) 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 resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
divided by the
Durand Line
The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...
, and what is today 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 an Indian independence activist in the Indian independence movement and co-founder of the Hindustan Republican Association.
Early life
Khan was born in the Shahjahanpur district of th ...
,
Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai
Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai (7 July 1907 – 2 December 1973) ( ps, عبدالصمد خان اڅکزی), commonly known as Khan Shaheed () (This title or name was given by the great Baba-e-Afghan Abdul Rahim Khan Mandokhail) was a Pashtun peop ...
,
Ajmal Khattak
Ajmal Khattak ( ps, اجمل خټک) (15 September 1925 – 7 February 2010) was a Pashtun politician, writer, poet, Khudai Khidmatgar, former President of Awami National Party and close friend of the late Khan Wali Khan.From Khudai Khidmatgar ...
,
Bacha Khan
Abdul Ghaffār Khān (; 6 February 1890 – 20 January 1988), also known as Bacha Khan () or Badshah Khan (), and honourably addressed as Fakhr-e-Afghan (), was a Pakistani Pashtuns, Pashtun, List of Indian independence activists, independence ...
Khudai Khidmatgar
Khudai Khidmatgar ( ps, خداۍ خدمتګار; literally "servants of God") was a 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 ...
), and were inspired by
Mohandas Gandhi
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...
'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. Some Pashtuns also worked in the
Muslim League Muslim League may refer to:
Political parties Subcontinent
; British India
*All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan.
**Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...
to fight for an independent Pakistan, including
Yusuf Khattak
Muhamad Yusuf Khan Khattak ( b. 18 November 1917 – 29 July 1991) was a Pakistani politician, Socialism in Pakistan, left-wing intellectual, lawyer, and noted Pakistan Movement :Pakistan Movement activists, activist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. ...
and
Abdur Rab Nishtar
Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar (13 June 1899 – 14 February 1958) was a Pakistani Muslim League politician from North-West Frontier Province.Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Muhammad Ali Jinnah (, ; born Mahomedali Jinnahbhai; 25 December 1876 – 11 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 ...
.
The Pashtuns of Afghanistan attained complete independence from British political intervention during the reign of
Amanullah Khan
Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...
, following the
Third Anglo-Afghan War
The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...
. By the 1950s a popular call for
Pashtunistan
Pashtunistan ( ps, پښتونستان, lit=land of the Pashtuns) is a historical region in Central Asia and South Asia, inhabited by the indigenous Pashtuns, Pashtun people of Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto ...
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:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Daoud Khan
Mohammed Daoud Khan ( ps, ), also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an Afghan politician and general who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup d ...
seized control of Afghanistan from his cousin
Zahir Shah
Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 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. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...
in 1973, which opened doors for a
proxy war
A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a pr ...
by neighbors and the rise of
Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
Mujahideen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
commanders began being recruited in neighboring Pakistan for a
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare in which small groups of combatants, such as paramilitary personnel, armed civilians, or Irregular military, irregulars, use military tactics including ambushes, sabotage, Raid (military), raids ...
against the
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA),, renamed the Republic of Afghanistan, in 1987, was the Afghan state during the one-party rule of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) from 1978 to 1992.
The PDPA came to power ...
- the Marxist government was also dominated by Pashtun
Khalq
Khalq ( ps, خلق, ) 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) and Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy (1979–1990). It was also ...
ists. In 1979, the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
invaded its southern neighbor Afghanistan in order to defeat a rising insurgency. The mujahideen were funded by the United States, Saudi Arabia, China and others, and included some Pashtun commanders such as
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ( ps, ګلب الدين حكمتيار; born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so calle ...
and
Jalaluddin Haqqani
Jalaluddin Haqqani ( ps, جلال الدين حقاني, Jalāl al-Dīn Ḥaqqānī) (1939 – 3 September 2018) was an Afghan insurgent commander who founded the Haqqani network, an insurgent group fighting in guerilla warfare against US-led ...
. In the meantime, millions of Pashtuns fled their native land to live among other
Afghan diaspora
Afghan diaspora refers to the Afghan people that reside and work outside of Afghanistan. They include citizens of Afghanistan who have immigrated to other countries. The majority of the diaspora has been formed by Afghan refugees since the star ...
in
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
and
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and from there tens of thousands proceeded to North America, the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, the Middle East, Australia and other parts of the world.
In politics and media
Many high-ranking government officials in Afghanistan are Pashtuns, including:
Zalmay Rasoul
Zalmai Rassoul ( ps, زلمی رسول; born 11 May 1943) is an politics of Afghanistan, Afghan politician who served as Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Afghanistan), Foreign Minister of Afghanistan from January 2010 to October 2013. He previously se ...
,
Abdul Rahim Wardak
General Abdul Rahim Wardak (; Pashto/ prs, عبدالرحیم وردگ; born 1945), an ethnic Pashtun, is an Afghan politician and former Defense Minister of Afghanistan. He was appointed on December 23, 2004, by Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
,
Omar Zakhilwal
Dr. Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal ( ps, ډاکتر عمر زاخيلوال ; 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 ...
,
Ghulam Farooq Wardak
Ghulam Farooq Wardak (born 1959) is a politician in Afghanistan, formerly serving as the Minister of Education. He was appointed to that position by Afghan President Hamid Karzai on October 11, 2008.
Early life
Farooq Wardak was born in the Say ...
,
Anwar ul-Haq Ahady
Anwar ul-Haq Ahady (August 12, 1951) is a politician in Afghanistan, formerly serving as Afghan Minister of Commerce and Industry. He had served as the nation's Finance Minister from December 2004 to February 5, 2009. Prior to that he held the ...
,
Yousef Pashtun
Mohammad Yousef Pashtun ( ps, یوسف پښتون ) 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 ...
and
Amirzai Sangin
Amirzai Sangeen Sangin ( ps, اميرزی سنگين, born 6 June 1949) is a politician in Afghanistan, he was the Minister of Communications & Information Technology. An ethnic Pashtun, he was born in the Urgun District of Paktika Province in Af ...
. 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 leader of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
Governors
See also
* List of current provincial deputy governors in Afghanistan
* List of ...
House of Elders House of Elders could refer to:
* House of Elders (Afghanistan)
* House of Elders (Somaliland)
See also
* Elder (disambiguation)
An elder is someone with a degree of seniority or authority.
Elder or elders may refer to:
Positions Administra ...
, include large percentage of Pashtuns. The Chief of staff of the
Afghan National Army
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
* Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
**Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
,
Sher Mohammad Karimi
General officer, General Sher Mohammad Karimi (born November 11, 1945) was the Chief of staff, Chief of Army Staff in the Military of Afghanistan. An ethnic Pashtun people, Pashtun, Karimi was born in Khost Province of Afghanistan.
After the 197 ...
, and Commander of the
Afghan Air Force
The Air Force of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Air Force and the Afghan Air Force, is the air force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.
The Royal Afghan Air Force was e ...
,
Mohammad Dawran
Major General Mohammad Dawran (January 20, 1954) was Commander of the Afghan Air Force.http://www.pajhwok.com/en/2010/01/04/ministry-gets-firefighting-vehicles He was promoted to the post in 2005 by Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak and the Co ...
, as well as
Chief Justice of Afghanistan
The chief justice of Afghanistan is the head of Afghanistan's supreme court. There have been multiple supreme courts throughout Afghanistan's history. The current supreme court is the Supreme Court of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, and its ...
Abdul Salam Azimi
Abdul Salam Azimi (born 1936 in Farah Province) is an Afghan judge who was the Chief Justice of Afghanistan and, as such, the head of the Afghan Supreme Court from May 2006 to October 2014, when he resigned his position.
A former professor at th ...
and Attorney General
Mohammad Ishaq Aloko
Mohammad Ishaq Aloko ps, محمد اسحاق الکو; born 1935) is the Attorney General of Afghanistan since August 2008. He was appointed by President Hamid Karzai after Abdul Jabar Sabit was forced to resign from the post. An ethnic Pashtun ...
also belong to the Pashtun ethnic group.
Pashtuns not only played an important role in South Asia but also in Central Asia and the Middle East. Many of the non-Pashtun groups in Afghanistan have adopted the Pashtun culture and use Pashto as a second language. For example, many leaders of non-Pashtun ethnic groups in Afghanistan practice Pashtunwali to some degree and are fluent in Pashto language. These include
Ahmad Shah Massoud
)
, branch = Jamiat-e Islami / Shura-e Nazar Afghan Armed Forces United Islamic Front
, serviceyears = 1975–2001
, rank = General
, unit =
, commands = Mujahideen commander during the Soviet–Afghan Wa ...
,
Ismail Khan
Mohammad Ismail Khan (Dari/Pashto: محمد اسماعیل خان) (born 1946) is an Afghan former politician who served as Minister of Energy and Water from 2005 to 2013 and before that served as the governor of Herat Province. Originally a cap ...
,
Mohammed Fahim
Mohammad Qasim Fahim ( prs, محمد فهیم, also known as "Marshal Fahim"; 1957 – 9 March 2014) was a politician in Afghanistan who served as Vice President from June 2002 until December 2004 and from November 2009 until his death. Betwee ...
,
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi
Bismillah Khan Mohammadi (; born 1961, in Panjshir Province), or Bismillah Khan, is an Afghan politician who served as the defense minister of Afghanistan from 2012 to 2015 and for two months in 2021. From 2002 to 2010, he served as Chief of St ...
, and many others. The Afghan
royal family
A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term ...
, which was represented by King Zahir Shah, belongs to the
Mohammadzai
Mohammadzai ( ps, محمدزی), 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 a ...
tribe of Pashtuns. Other prominent Pashtuns include the 17th-century poets
Khushal Khan Khattak
Khošāl Khān Khaṭak (1613 – 25 February 1689; Pashto: خوشال خان خټک), also known as Khushal Baba ( ps, خوشال بابا), was a Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them fr ...
and
Rahman Baba
Abdur Rahmān Momand ( ps, عبدالرحمان بابا; 1632–1706) or Rahmān Bābā ( ps, رحمان بابا), was a renowned Pashtun Sufi Dervish and poet from Momand Agency in Peshawar during the Mughal era. He, along with his contemp ...
Abdul Ahad Mohmand
Abdul Ahad Momand (; born 1959) is a Afghan-German and former Afghan Air Force aviator who became the first, and currently only, Afghan citizen to journey to outer space.
He became one of Soyuz TM-6 crew members and spent nine days aboard the ...
, former
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations
The United States ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is formally known as the permanent representative of the United States of America to the United Nations ...
Zalmay Khalilzad
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad ( ps, ځلمی خلیل زاد, prs, زلمی خلیلزاد; born March 22, 1951) is an Afghan-American diplomat and foreign policy expert. Khalilzad was appointed by President Donald J. Trump to serve as U.S. Specia ...
, and
Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban.
Born in ...
among many others.
Many Pashtuns of Pakistan and India have adopted non-Pashtun cultures, and learned other languages such as
Hindko
Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...
Finance Minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
, from 1947 to 1951, and third
Governor-General of Pakistan
The governor-general of Pakistan ( ur, ) was the representative of the Pakistani monarch in the Dominion of Pakistan, established by the Indian Independence Act 1947. The office of governor-general was abolished when Pakistan became an Islami ...
, from 1951 to 1955),
Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
, who was the second
President of Pakistan
The president of Pakistan ( ur, , translit=s̤adr-i Pākiṣṭān), officially the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is the ceremonial head of state of Pakistan and the commander-in-chief 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 third president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969.
Born in Hyderabad in a Afridi Pashtun family, Husain ...
, who was the third
President of India
The president of India ( IAST: ) 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, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...
. Many more held high government posts, such as Fazal-ur-Rehman,
Asfandyar Wali Khan
Asfandyar Wali Khan (Urdu and Pashto: اسفندیار ولی خان) (born 19 February 1949) is a Pakistani Pashtun politician who is the president of the Awami National Party (ANP). His father, Abdul Wali Khan, was the party's first presiden ...
,
Mahmood Khan Achakzai
Mahmood Khan Achakzai ( ps, محمود خان اڅکزی; born 14 December 1948) is a Pakistani Pashtun politician who is the chairman of the Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) till 27th December of 2022. Mahmood Achakzai was thrown out by the ...
Aftab Ahmad Sherpao
Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao (آفتاب احمد خان شېرپاؤ; 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 Paki ...
, who are presidents of their respective political parties in Pakistan. Others became famous in sports (e.g.,
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
,
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 a ...
,
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 ...
,
Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi ( ur, شاہد افریدی, ps, شاهد افریدی; born 1 March 1977), known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is current ...
,
Irfan Pathan
Irfan Pathan (; born 27 October 1984) is a former Indian cricketer turned Commentator, Cricket Analyst, Actor and Dancer. He was a bowling all rounder and a member of the Indian cricket team that won the inaugural 2007 ICC Twenty20 World Cup a ...
,
Jahangir Khan
Jahangir Khan (Pashto/ ur, جهانگير خان born 10 December 1963) is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times , and the British Open title ten times (1982-1991). Jahangir Khan is w ...
,
Jansher Khan
Jansher Khan PP SI HI ( ur, جان شیر خان; born 15 June 1969, in Peshawar, Pakistan) is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. During his career, he won the World Open a record eight times, and the British Open s ...
,
Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan Arman ( ps, ; born 20 September 1998) is an Afghan international cricketer and a former captain of the national team. In franchise leagues, he plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide Strikers in Austra ...
, and
Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Mujeeb Ur Rahman Zadran ( ps, مجیب الرحمن ځدراڼ; 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 b ...
) and literature (e.g.,
Ghani Khan
, image = Khan Abdul Ghani Khan 1940s.jpg
, image_size = 250px
, caption = Khan in the 1940s
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Hashtnagar, North-West Frontier Province, British India, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
, death_date =
, de ...
,
Hamza Shinwari
Ameer Hamza ( ps, امیرحمزه), commonly known as Hamza Baba (), was a prominent Pashto-language poet. His books are taught on master levels in University of Peshawar. At least 5 scholars did their PH.D research thesis on him. He is consid ...
, and
Kabir Stori
Kabir Stori (6 April 1942 – 4 April 2006) ( ps, کبیر ستوری) 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 ...
).
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
, who became the youngest
Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
recipient in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, is a Pakistani Pashtun.
Many of the
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
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, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...
,
Shahrukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
,
Salman Khan
Abdul Rashid Salim Salman Khan (; 27 December 1965) is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. In a film career spanning over thirty years, Khan has received numerous awards, including two Nation ...
,
Feroz Khan Feroz Khan or Feroze Khan may refer to:
* Feroz Khan (actor) (1939–2009), Indian actor and film director
* Feroz Khan Noon (1893–1970), Pakistani politician and 8th Prime Minister of Pakistan
* Feroze Khan (born 1990), Pakistani VJ, television ...
,
Madhubala
Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...
,
Kader Khan
Kader Khan (22 October 1937 – 31 December 2018) was an Indian actor, screenwriter and film director. As an actor, he appeared in over 300 Bollywood films after his debut film in the 1973 film '' Daag'', starring Rajesh Khanna, in which he ...
,
Saif Ali Khan
Saif Ali Khan (; born Sajid Ali Khan Pataudi; 16 August 1970) is an Indian actor and film producer who works in Hindi films. Part of the Pataudi family, he is the son of actress Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi.
Khan ma ...
,
Soha Ali Khan
Soha Ali Khan Pataudi Khemu (born 4 October 1978) is an Indian actress who has worked in Hindi, Bengali and English films. She is the daughter of veteran actress Sharmila Tagore and former Indian cricket captain Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, and th ...
,
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. After graduating with a degree in history and political sc ...
, and
Zarine Khan
Zareen Khan (born 14 May 1987), also known as Zarine Khan, is an Indian actress and model. Mainly working in the Hindi film industry, she has also appeared in Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil films.
Khan made her Bollywood debut in 2010 playing a pr ...
. In addition, one of India's former presidents,
Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of:
* Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India
* Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor
* Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player
* ...
, belonged to the
Afridi
The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...
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 a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...
, is of Pashtun origin and related to the legendary Bacha Khan.
Conflicts of Afghanistan
The wars in Afghanistan altered the balance of power in the country - Pashtuns were historically dominant in the country, but the emergence of well-organized armed groups consisting of
Tajiks
Tajiks ( fa, تاجيک، تاجک, ''Tājīk, Tājek''; tg, Тоҷик) are a Persian-speaking Iranian ethnic group native to Central Asia, living primarily in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. Tajiks are the largest ethnicity in Tajik ...
,
Uzbeks
The Uzbeks ( uz, , , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the wider Central Asian region, being among the largest Turkic ethnic group in the area. They comprise the majority population of Uzbekistan, next to Kazakh and Karakalpak mino ...
and
Hazaras
The Hazaras ( fa, , Həzārə; haz, , Āzərə) are an ethnic group and the principal component of the population of Afghanistan, native to, and primarily residing in the Hazaristan (Hazarajat) region in central Afghanistan and generally scatt ...
, combined with politically fragmented Pashtuns, reduced their influence on the state. In 1992, following the mujahideen victory,
Burhanuddin Rabbani
Burhānuddīn Rabbānī (Persian: ; 20 September 1940 – 20 September 2011) was an Afghanistani politician and teacher who served as President of Afghanistan from 1992 to 1996 (in exile from 1996 to 2001).
Born in the Badakhshan Province, Rab ...
became the first non-Pashtun President in Afghanistan.
In the late 1990s, Pashtuns were the primary ethnic group in the
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
(Taliban regime). The
Northern Alliance
The Northern Alliance, officially known as the United Islamic National Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ( prs, جبهه متحد اسلامی ملی برای نجات افغانستان ''Jabha-yi Muttahid-i Islāmi-yi Millī barāyi Nijāt ...
that was fighting against the Taliban also included a number of Pashtuns. Among them were
Abdullah Abdullah
Abdullah Abdullah (Dari/ ps, عبدالله عبدالله, ; born as Abdullah on 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 wa ...
,
Abdul Qadir
Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir ( ar, عبد القادر) is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', ''al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means "servant of the powerful", ''Al-Qādir'' being one of the names of God in the ...
and his brother
Abdul Haq ʻAbd al-Ḥaqq (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الحقّ) is an Arabic male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥaqq'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to the ...
,
Abdul Rasul Sayyaf
Abdulrab Rasul Sayyaf ( ; ps, عبدالرسول سیاف; born 1946) is an exiled Afghan politician and former mujahideen commander. He took part in the war against the Marxist–Leninist People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) govern ...
,
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 and
Gul Agha Sherzai
Gul Agha Sherzai (), also known as Mohammad Shafiq, is a politician in Afghanistan. He is the former governor of Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan.
He previously served as Governor of Kandahar province, in the early 1990s and from 2001 ...
. 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)
*Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see als ...
and replaced with the
Karzai administration
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Republi ...
. This was followed by the Ghani administration.
The long wars in Afghanistan have led to Pashtuns on both sides of the border gaining a "reputation" for violence. Conflict as well as the Taliban have also led to a decline in traditional Pashtun customs including Pashtun music and poetry. Some activists and intellectuals are trying to rebuild Pashtun intellectualism and its pre-war culture.
Genetics
According to a study from 2012 called "Afghanistan from a Y-chromosome perspective", the study from a sample size of 190 showed R1a1a-M198 to be the most dominant
haplogroup
A haplotype is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent, and a haplogroup (haploid from the el, ἁπλοῦς, ''haploûs'', "onefold, simple" and en, group) is a group of similar haplotypes that share ...
in Pashtuns at 67.4%. In the north, it peaks at 50% while in the south, it peaks at 65.8%. R1a-Z2125 occurs at a frequency of 40% in Pashtuns from Northern Afghanistan. This subclade is also predominantly present among Tajik, Turkmen, Uzbek, and Bashkir ethnic groups, as well as in some populations in the Caucasus and Iran.
Haplogroup G-M201 reaches 14.7% in Afghan Pashtuns and is the second most frequent haplogroup in Pashtuns from southern Afghanistan. It is virtually absent from all other Afghan populations. This haplogroup is reported at high frequencies in the Caucasus and is thought to be associated with the Neolithic expansion throughout the region.
Haplogroup L-M20 exhibits substantial disparity in its distribution on either side of the Hindu Kush range, with 25% of Pashtuns from northern Afghanistan belonging to this lineage, compared with only 4.8% of males from the south. Paragroup L3*-M357 accounts for the majority of L-M20 chromosomes among Afghan Pashtuns in both the north and south.
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 share some sort of ancestral heritage. The study also states that among the studied ethnic groups, the Pashtuns have the greatest HVS-I sequence diversity.
A 2019 study on autosomal STR profiles of the populations of South and North Afghanistan states:
Definitions
Among historians, anthropologists, and the Pashtuns themselves, there is some debate as to who exactly qualifies as a Pashtun. The most prominent views are:
# Pashtuns are predominantly an
Eastern Iranian people
The Iranian peoples or Iranic peoples are a diverse grouping of Indo-European peoples who are identified by their usage of the Iranian languages and other cultural similarities.
The Proto-Iranians are believed to have emerged as a separate ...
, who use Pashto as their
first language
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
, and originate from Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the generally accepted academic view.
# They are those who follow
Pashtunwali
Pashtunwali or Pakhtunwali ( ps, پښتونولي) is the traditional lifestyle and is best described as a code of honor of the Pashtun people, by which they live. Scholars widely have interpreted it as being "the way of the Afghans" or "the code ...
.
# Pashtuns are those whose related 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 ...
. This may be traced back to legendary times, in accordance with the legend of
Qais Abdur Rashid
Qais Abdur Rashīd or Qais Abdul Rasheed ( ps, قيس عبد الرشيد) is said to be, in post-Islamic lore, the legendary founding father of the Pashtuns. It is believed that the conception of such a figure was promoted to bring harmony betw ...
, the figure regarded as their progenitor in folklore.
These three definitions may be described as the ethno-linguistic definition, the religious-cultural definition and the patrilineal definition, respectively.
Ethnic
The ethno-linguistic definition is the most prominent and accepted view as to who is and is not a Pashtun. Generally, this most common view holds that Pashtuns are defined within the parameters of having mainly eastern Iranian ethnic origins, sharing a common language, culture and history, living in relatively close geographic proximity to each other, and acknowledging each other as kinsme. Thus, tribe that speak disparate yet mutually intelligible dialects of Pashto acknowledge each other as ethnic Pashtuns, and even subscribe to certain dialects as "proper", such as the Pukhto spoken by the
Yusufzai
The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Sulim ...
,
Gigyani tribe
Gigyani is a tribe of Pakhtuns.
Pashtun tribes
Social groups of Pakistan
{{Pakistan-ethno-stub ...
,
Ghilji
The Ghiljī ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settle ...
and other tribes in Eastern Afghanistan and the Pashto spoken by the
Kakar
The Kakar (Pashto: کاکړ) is a Gharghashti Pashtun tribe, based mostly in Northern Balochistan, Pakistan and Loy Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Legendary origin
Kakars are sons of Gharghashti who was the son of Qais Abdul Rashid.
In Herat, the Ka ...
Khilji
The Khalji or Khilji (Pashto: ; Persian: ) dynasty was a Turco-Afghan dynasty which ruled the Delhi sultanate, covering large parts of the Indian subcontinent for nearly three decades between 1290 and 1320.Durrani
The Durrānī ( ps, دراني, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, Pakistan, but ...
s in Southern Afghanistan. These criteria tend to be used by most Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
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 larger, more rural, and apparently tougher. In the 18th century, the two 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 or Sowr Revolution ( ps, د ثور انقلاب; prs, إنقلاب ثور), also known as the April Revolution or the April Coup, was staged on 27–28 April 1978 (, ) by the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan (PDPA) ...
of 1978; the new communist rulers 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.
Cultural
The cultural definition requires Pashtuns to adhere to Pashtunwali codes. Orthodox tribesmen, may refuse to recognise any non-Muslim as a Pashtun. However, others tend to be more flexible and sometimes define who is Pashtun based on cultural and not religious criteria: Pashtun society is not homogenous by religion. The overwhelming majority of Pashtuns are
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
, with a tiny
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
Bangash
The Bangash, Bungish or Bangakh ( ps, بنګښ) are a tribe of Pashtuns, inhabiting their traditional homeland, historically known as Bangash district, which stretches from Kohat to Tall and Spīn Ghar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They also l ...
Orakzai
The Orakzai are a Pashtun tribe native to the Orakzai Agency and parts of Kurram Agency located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They speak the language Pashto.
Location
The Orakzai belong to the Tirah valley located in FATA or wha ...
agencies of FATA, Pakistan. There are also
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
Pashtuns, sometimes known as the Sheen Khalai, who have moved predominantly to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
.
Ancestral
The patrilineal definition is based on an important orthodox law of Pashtunwali which mainly requires that only those who have a Pashtun father are Pashtun. This law has maintained the tradition of exclusively patriarchal tribal lineage. This definition places less emphasis on what language one speaks, such as Pashto,
Dari
Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...
,
Hindko
Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...
Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
or English. There are various communities who claim Pashtun origin but are largely found among other ethnic groups in the region who generally do not speak the Pashto language. These communities are often considered overlapping groups or are simply assigned to the ethno-linguistic group that corresponds to their geographic location and mother tongue. The
Niazi
Niazi (; , ps, نيازي; ur, نیازی) Niazai, Nyazi, Nyazai, Niyazi or Niyazai is one of the largest Pashtun tribes which resides in Afghanistan and northwestern part of Pakistan.
The earliest work which provides the details about o ...
is one of these groups.
Claimants of Pashtun heritage in South Asia have mixed with local Muslim populations and are referred to as ''Pathan,'' the Hindustani form of ''Pashtun''. These communities are usually partial Pashtun, to varying degrees, and often trace their Pashtun ancestry through a paternal lineage. The Pathans in India have lost both the language and presumably many of the ways of their ancestors, but trace their fathers' ethnic heritage to the Pashtun tribes.
Smaller number of Pashtuns living in Pakistan are also fluent in Hindko, Seraiki and Balochi. These languages are often found in areas such as
Abbottabad
Abbottabad (; Urdu, Punjabi language(HINDKO dialect) آباد, translit=aibṭabād, ) is the capital city of Abbottabad District in the Hazara region of eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in Pakistan and fourth ...
,
Mansehra
Mansehra is a city in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and the headquarters of Mansehra District. It is the 71st largest city of Pakistan and 7th largest city in the province.
The name of the city (written in Hindko, Urdu and Goj ...
Attock
Attock ( Punjabi and Urdu: ), formerly known as Campbellpur (), is a historical city located in the north of Pakistan's Punjab Province, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 61st larg ...
,
Khanewal
Khanewal () is a city and the capital of Khanewal District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the 36th largest city of Pakistan by population.
Khanewal is named after the earliest settlers here who belonged to the caste ‘Daha’ (A Sub ...
,
Multan
Multan (; ) is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, on the bank of the Chenab River. Multan is Pakistan's seventh largest city as per the 2017 census, and the major cultural, religious and economic centre of southern Punjab.
Multan is one of the List ...
,
Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan (; bal, , Urdu and skr, , ps, ډېره اسماعيل خان), abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 37th largest city of Pakistan ...
and
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
.
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 from the 13th to 17th centuries. Earlier Muslim conquests include the invasions into what is now modern-day Pakistan and the Umayyad campaigns in India in eighth century and res ...
. No specific population figures exist, as claimants of Pashtun descent are spread throughout the country. Notably, the
Rohilla
Rohillas are a community of Pashtun ancestry, 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. The Ro ...
s, after their defeat by the British, are known to have settled in parts of
North India
North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...
and intermarried with local ethnic groups. They are believed to have been bilingual in Pashto and Urdu until the mid-19th century. Some Urdu-speaking
Muhajir people
Muhajir or Mohajir ( ar, مهاجر, '; pl. , ') is an Arabic word meaning ''migrant'' (see immigration and emigration) which is also used in other languages spoken by Muslims, including English. In English, this term and its derivatives may refer ...
of India claiming descent from Pashtuns began moving to Pakistan in 1947. Many Pathans chose to live in the Republic of India after the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
and Khan Mohammad Atif, a professor at the
University of Lucknow
The University of Lucknow (informally known as Lucknow University, and LU) is a public state university based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Founded in 1920, the University of Lucknow is one of the oldest government owned institutions of higher edu ...
, estimates that "The population of Pathans in India is twice their population in Afghanistan".
During the 19th century, when the British were accepting peasants from British India as indentured servants to work in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, South Africa and other far away places, Rohillas who had lost their empire were unemployed and restless were sent to places as far as
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), 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 ...
, to work with other Indians on the sugarcane fields and perform manual labour. Many of these immigrants stayed there and formed unique 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. Their descendants mostly speak English and other local languages. Some Pashtuns travelled to as far away as
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
during the same era.
Language
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
is the
mother tongue
A first language, native tongue, native language, mother tongue or L1 is the first language or dialect that a person has been exposed to from birth or within the critical period. In some countries, the term ''native language'' or ''mother tongu ...
of 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. There is little consistency in the use of this term. One or more languages spoken as first languages in the te ...
s of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
.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 criticised 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 categorised as an
Eastern Iranian
The Eastern Iranian languages are a subgroup of the Iranian languages emerging in Middle Iranian times (from c. the 4th century BC). The Avestan language is often classified as early Eastern Iranian. As opposed to the Middle Western Iranian diale ...
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 Sco ...
states:
Pashto has a large number of
dialects
The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of linguistic phenomena:
One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a ...
: generally divided into
Northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a ra ...
,
Southern
Southern may refer to:
Businesses
* China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China
* Southern Airways, defunct US airline
* Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US
* Southern Airways Express, M ...
and
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
groups; and also Tarino or Waṇetsi as distinct group. As Elfenbein notes: "Dialect differences lie primarily in
phonology
Phonology is the branch of linguistics that studies how languages or dialects systematically organize their sounds or, for sign languages, their constituent parts of signs. The term can also refer specifically to the sound or sign system of a ...
and lexicon: the morphology and syntax are, again with the exception of
Wanetsi
Waṇetsi ( wne, وڼېڅي), commonly called Tarīno ( wne, links=no, ترينو), and sometimes Tsalgari ( wne, links=no, څلګري), is a distinct variety of Pashto and is considered by some to be a different language. In some cases, Wanet ...
, 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 ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settle ...
) 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 mostly in Northern Balochistan, Pakistan and Loy Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Legendary origin
Kakars are sons of Gharghashti who was the son of Qais Abdul Rashid.
In Herat, the Ka ...
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 of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician , Hebrew , Aramaic , Syriac , Arabic ʾ and North Arabian 𐪑. It also appears as South Arabian 𐩱 and Ge'ez .
These letter ...
the non-Central dialects becoming in Banisi dialect.
The first Pashto alphabet was developed by
Pir Roshan
Bāyazīd Khān Ansārī Pīr Rōshān ( ps, ) or Pīr Rōkhān (1525–1585) was an Afghan warrior, poet, Sufi, and revolutionary leader. He wrote mostly in Pashto, but also in Persian, Hindustani, and Arabic, while he also spoke Ormuri. He ...
in the 16th century. In 1958, a meeting of Pashtun scholars and writers from both Afghanistan and Pakistan, held in Kabul, standardised the present
Pashto alphabet
The Pashto alphabet () is a version of Perso-Arabic script used to write the Pashto language.
Form
Pashto is written in the Arabic Naskh. Pashto uses all 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet, and shares 3 letters (, , and ) with Persian in the a ...
.
Culture
Pashtun culture is based on Pashtunwali and the usage of the Pashto language. Pre-Islamic traditions, dating back to
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. 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 are Aleksandar, Al ...
's defeat of the
Persian Empire
The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...
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 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 who pl ...
s fused with localised variants and interpretation. Poetry is a big part of Pashtun culture and it has been for centuries.
Pashtun culture is a unique blend of native customs with some influences from Western or Southern Asia. Like other Muslims, Pashtuns celebrate ''
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
'' and ''
Eid al-Fitr
, nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast
, observedby = Muslims
, type = Islamic
, longtype = Islamic
, significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan
, dat ...
'', which is the Persian New Year dating back to Zoroastrianism. The Kabul dialect is used to standardize the present
Pashto alphabet
The Pashto alphabet () is a version of Perso-Arabic script used to write the Pashto language.
Form
Pashto is written in the Arabic Naskh. Pashto uses all 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet, and shares 3 letters (, , and ) with Persian in the a ...
.
Pashtunwali
Pashtunwali
Pashtunwali or Pakhtunwali ( ps, پښتونولي) is the traditional lifestyle and is best described as a code of honor of the Pashtun people, by which they live. Scholars widely have interpreted it as being "the way of the Afghans" or "the code ...
( ps, پښتونولي) refers to an ancient self-governing tribal system that regulates nearly all aspects of Pashtun life ranging from community to personal level. One of the better known tenets is '' Melmastyā́'' ( ps, مېلمستيا), hospitality and asylum to all guests seeking help. Perceived injustice calls for ''Badál'' ( ps, بدل), swift
revenge
Revenge is committing a harmful action against a person or group in response to a grievance, be it real or perceived. Francis Bacon described revenge as a kind of "wild justice" that "does... offend the law ndputteth the law out of office." Pr ...
. Many aspects promote peaceful co-existence, such as '' Nənawā́te'' ( ps, ننواتې), the humble admission of guilt for a wrong committed, which should result in automatic forgiveness from the wronged party. These and other basic precepts of Pashtunwali continue to be followed by many Pashtuns, especially in rural areas.
Another prominent Pashtun institution is the ''lóya jirgá'' ( ps, لويه جرګه) or 'grand council' of elected elders. Most decisions in tribal life are made by members of the ''jirgá'' ( ps, جرګه), which has been the main institution of authority that the largely egalitarian Pashtuns willingly acknowledge as a viable governing body.
Pashto literature and poetry
The majority of Pashtuns use
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in hist ...
,
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 and Central Asian Studies at the Depa ...
Eastern Iranian languages 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 is 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 is a language that no longer has any speakers, especially if the language has no living descendants. In contrast, a dead language is one that is no longer the native language of any community, even if it is still in use, li ...
s such as
Avestan
Avestan (), or historically Zend, is an umbrella term for two Old Iranian languages: Old Avestan (spoken in the 2nd millennium BCE) and Younger Avestan (spoken in the 1st millennium BCE). They are known only from their conjoined use as the scrip ...
and Bactrian. Its closest modern relatives may include
Pamir languages
The Pamir languages are an areal group of the Eastern Iranian languages, spoken by numerous people in the Pamir Mountains, primarily along the Panj River and its tributaries.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries, the Pamir language family was s ...
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 Greater Caucasus. It is the native language of the Ossetia ...
. 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 was an ancient language of the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European language family. It is attested in the Vedas and related literature compiled over the period of the mid- 2nd to mid-1st millennium BCE. It was orally preser ...
. 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.
Fluency in Pashto is often the main determinant of group acceptance as to who is considered a Pashtun.
Pashtun nationalism
Pashtun nationalism ( ps, پښتون ملتپالنه) generally refers to the idea that Pashtuns must always be united to preserve their culture and defend their homeland against any oppressor. It propagates the view that Muslims are not a nation ...
emerged following the rise of
Pashto poetry
Pashto literature ( ps, ) refers to literature and poetry in Pashto language. The history of Pashto literature spreads over five thousands years having its roots in the oral tradition of tapa. However, the first recorded period begins in 7th cen ...
that linked language and ethnic identity. Pashto has national status in Afghanistan and regional status in neighboring Pakistan. In addition to their native tongue, many Pashtuns are fluent in
Dari
Dari (, , ), also known as Dari Persian (, ), is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the term officially recognised and promoted since 1964 by the Afghan government for the Persian language,Lazard, G.Darī ...
, English and Urdu. Throughout their history, poets, prophets, kings and warriors have been among the most revered members of Pashtun society. Early written records of Pashto began to appear around the 16th century.
The earliest describes Sheikh Mali's conquest of
Swat
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
.
Pir Roshan
Bāyazīd Khān Ansārī Pīr Rōshān ( ps, ) or Pīr Rōkhān (1525–1585) was an Afghan warrior, poet, Sufi, and revolutionary leader. He wrote mostly in Pashto, but also in Persian, Hindustani, and Arabic, while he also spoke Ormuri. He ...
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 ( ps, عبدالحى حبيبي, fa, عبدالحی حبیبی) – ''ʿAbd' ul-Ḥay Ḥabībi'') (1910 – 9 May 1984) was a prominent Afghan historian for much of his lifetime as well as a member of the National Assembly of ...
and others believe that the earliest Pashto work dates back to
Amir Kror Suri
Amīr Krōṛ Sūrī ( ps, امير کروړ سوري), 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 poe ...
, and they use the writings found in
Pata Khazana
Pata Khazāna ( ps, پټه خزانه, translation=The Hidden Treasure) 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 w ...
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 mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore; an ...
and king from the
Ghor
Ghōr (Dari: ), 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 ...
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
Ameer Hamza ( ps, امیرحمزه), commonly known as Hamza Baba (), was a prominent Pashto-language poet. His books are taught on master levels in University of Peshawar. At least 5 scholars did their PH.D research thesis on him. He is conside ...
who developed ''Pashto Ghazals''. In 1919, during the expanding of mass media,
Mahmud Tarzi
Mahmud Tarzi ( ps, محمود طرزۍ, 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 ...
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
Khushal Khan Khattak
Khošāl Khān Khaṭak (1613 – 25 February 1689; Pashto: خوشال خان خټک), also known as Khushal Baba ( ps, خوشال بابا), was a Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them fr ...
Ajmal Khattak
Ajmal Khattak ( ps, اجمل خټک) (15 September 1925 – 7 February 2010) was a Pashtun politician, writer, poet, Khudai Khidmatgar, former President of Awami National Party and close friend of the late Khan Wali Khan.From Khudai Khidmatgar ...
,
Pareshan Khattak
Pareshan Khattak ( ur, پری شان خٹک), (10 December 1932 – 16 April 2009) real name Gahami Jan Khattak, former Vice-Chancellor, Pashto poet and writer and former Chairman University Grants Commission.
Born in Karak, Pakistan he joined ed ...
,
Rahman Baba
Abdur Rahmān Momand ( ps, عبدالرحمان بابا; 1632–1706) or Rahmān Bābā ( ps, رحمان بابا), was a renowned Pashtun Sufi Dervish and poet from Momand Agency in Peshawar during the Mughal era. He, along with his contemp ...
Hamza Shinwari
Ameer Hamza ( ps, امیرحمزه), commonly known as Hamza Baba (), was a prominent Pashto-language poet. His books are taught on master levels in University of Peshawar. At least 5 scholars did their PH.D research thesis on him. He is consid ...
,
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
,
Timur Shah Durrani
Timur Shah Durrani (; prs, ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – May 20, 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the se ...
,
Shuja Shah Durrani
Shuja ( ar, شجاع, ur, شجاع, bn, সুজা) is a surname and male given name.
Notable people with this name include:
* Shuja al-Khwarazmi, was the mother of Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861)
* Ahmad Shuja Pasha (born ...
,
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 P ...
, and
Ghani Khan
, image = Khan Abdul Ghani Khan 1940s.jpg
, image_size = 250px
, caption = Khan in the 1940s
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Hashtnagar, North-West Frontier Province, British India, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
, death_date =
, de ...
.
Recently, Pashto literature has received increased patronage, but many Pashtuns continue to rely on
oral tradition
Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another. Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (1985 ...
due to relatively low
literacy rate
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
s and education. Pashtun society is also marked by some
matriarchal
Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the primary power positions in roles of authority. In a broader sense it can also extend to moral authority, social privilege and control of property.
While those definitions apply in general E ...
tendencies. Folktales involving reverence for Pashtun mothers and matriarchs are common and are passed down from parent to child, as is most Pashtun heritage, through a rich oral tradition that has survived the ravages of time.
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 diaspor ...
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
AVT Khyber or Khyber TV is a Pakistani-operated Pashto 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, providing educat ...
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 ( ps, شمشاد) 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 Media Network was established to represen ...
,
Radio Television Afghanistan
National Radio Television Afghanistan (RTA; ps, ''Da Afġanistan Mīlī Radīo Telvizoon'', fa, ''Rādīo Telvizoon-e Mīlī-e Afġānestān'', branded as ملی (meaning ''national'')) is the public-broadcasting organization of Afghanista ...
, and
Lemar TV
Lemar (Pashto:لمر, meaning "sun" in Pashto) is a television station based in Kabul, Afghanistan, which was founded in 2006. It is owned by MOBY Group. The channel broadcasts news, shows, and entertainment programs in the Pashto language. Its s ...
, which has a special children's show called '' Baghch-e-Simsim''. International news sources that provide Pashto programs include
BBC Pashto
BBC Pashto ( ps, بي بي سي پښتو) 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 diasp ...
and
Voice of America
Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...
.
Producers based in
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
have created
Pashto-language films
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
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 ( ps, اتڼ) is a traditional dance originating from the tribal Pashtun regions of Afghanistan and North Western Pakistan. It is now considered the national dance of Afghanistan. Some believe it has spiritual roots connecting it to Zoro ...
'', which has ancient roots. A rigorous exercise, Attan is performed as musicians play various native instruments including the ''
dhol
Dhol (IPA: ) 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 India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nort ...
'' (drums), ''
tabla
A tabla, bn, তবলা, prs, طبلا, gu, તબલા, hi, तबला, kn, ತಬಲಾ, ml, തബല, mr, तबला, ne, तबला, or, ତବଲା, ps, طبله, pa, ਤਬਲਾ, ta, தபலா, te, తబల ...
string instrument
String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner.
Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the ...
), and ''toola'' (wooden flute). With a rapid circular motion, dancers perform until no one is left dancing, similar to
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
whirling dervishes
The Mevlevi Order or Mawlawiyya ( tr, Mevlevilik or Mevleviyye; fa, طریقت مولویه) is a Sufism, Sufi order that originated in Konya (a city now in Turkey; formerly capital of the Sultanate of Rum, Seljuk Sultanate) and which was founded ...
. Numerous other dances are affiliated with various tribes notably from Pakistan including the ''Khattak Wal Atanrh'' (eponymously named after the
Khattak
The Khattak ( ps, خټک) tribe are a prominent Pashtun tribe located in the Khattak territory, which consists of Karak, Nowshera, Kohat districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
History
Khushal Khan Khattak
A warrior poet by the name of ...
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 ( fa, دف) also known as Dâyere and Riq is a Middle Eastern (mainly Iranian) frame drum musical instrument, used in popular and classical music in South and Central Asia. It is also used in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Iran, Uzbe ...
) which is an instrument.
Sports
Both the
Afghanistan national cricket team
The Afghanistan men's national team ( ps, د افغانستان کرکټ ملي لوبډله, fa, تیم ملی کریکت افغانستان) represents Afghanistan in international cricket. Cricket has been played in Afgha ...
and the
Pakistan national cricket team
The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International C ...
have Pashtun players. One of the most popular sports among Pashtuns is
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, 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 game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
ers, including
Imran Khan
Imran Ahmed Khan Niazi ( ur}; born 5 October 1952) is a Pakistani politician and former Cricket captain who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan from August 2018 to until April 2022, when he was ousted through a no-confidenc ...
,
Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi ( ur, شاہد افریدی, ps, شاهد افریدی; born 1 March 1977), known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is current ...
Misbah-ul-Haq
; 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.
A late bloomer, Misbah was a midd ...
,
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 ...
,
Umar Gul
Umar Gul (Urdu: , ps, عمر گل) (born 15 October 1982 ) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who is the current bowling coach of Quetta Gladiators.
He played all three formats of the game as a right arm fast medium bowler for ...
,
Junaid Khan Junaid Khan may refer to:
* Junaid Khan (de facto ruler of Khiva), political leader in the Khanate of Khiva and the Basmachi movement
*Junaid Khan (cricketer), Pakistani cricketer
*Junaid Khan (actor)
Junaid Khan (born as Junaid Khan Niazi 2 ...
Usman Shinwari
Usman Khan Shinwari ( ps, ; born 5 January 1994) is 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 previousl ...
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 ( ps, ; born 5 February 1982) is a Pakistan-born Australian cricketer. 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 aga ...
is of Pakistani Pashtun origin who has played for the Australian national team.
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
(soccer) is also one of the most popular sports among Pashtuns. The Former
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
and now the current assistant coach of
Pakistan national football team
The Pakistan national football team represents Pakistan association football in FIFA-authorized events and is controlled by the Pakistan Football Federation, the governing body for football in Pakistan. Pakistan became a member of FIFA in 19 ...
,
Muhammad Essa
Muhammad Essa Khan (Urdu/Pashto: ; born on 20 November 1983) is a Pakistani former footballer who played as a forward. Essa is one of the most well known faces in Pakistani football, due to his regular goal scoring at international level.
Clu ...
, is an ethnic Pashtun. Other sports popular among Pashtuns may include
polo
Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...
,
field hockey
Field hockey is a team sport structured in standard hockey format, in which each team plays with ten outfield players and a goalkeeper. Teams must drive a round hockey ball by hitting it with a hockey stick towards the rival team's shooting ci ...
,
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
,
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...
,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
,
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
,
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
,
bodybuilding
Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...
,
weightlifting
Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...
,
wrestling
Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...
,
kayaking
Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...
,
horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
,
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
,
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
,
taekwondo
''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. T ...
,
kick boxing
Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...
,
skateboarding
Skateboarding is an extreme sport, action sport originating in the United States that involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard, as well as a recreational activity, an art form, an entertainment industry Profession, job, and a ...
,
bowling
Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...
and
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...
.
Jahangir Khan
Jahangir Khan (Pashto/ ur, جهانگير خان born 10 December 1963) is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. He won the World Open title six times , and the British Open title ten times (1982-1991). Jahangir Khan is w ...
and
Jansher Khan
Jansher Khan PP SI HI ( ur, جان شیر خان; born 15 June 1969, in Peshawar, Pakistan) is a former World No. 1 professional Pakistani squash player. During his career, he won the World Open a record eight times, and the British Open s ...
became professional
squash
Squash may refer to:
Sports
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling
* Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
players. Although now retired, they are engaged in promoting the sport through the ''Pakistan Squash Federation''.
Maria Toorpakai Wazir
Maria Toorpakai Wazir ( ps, ; ur, ; born November 22, 1990 in South Waziristan, FATA) is a professional Pakistani squash player. She dressed like a boy for the first 16 years of her life in order to participate in competitive sports as a Musli ...
is the first female Pashtun squash player. Pakistan also produced other world champions of Pashtun origin:
Hashim Khan
Hashim Khan ( ps, ; – 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 ...
,
Roshan Khan
Roshan Khan (Pashto / ur, ; 26 November 1929 – 6 January 2006) was a squash player from Nawakille, Peshawar, Pakistan. He was one of the leading players in the game in the early-1960s, and won the British Open title in 1957.
Qamar Zaman
Qamar Zaman (born 11 April 1952 in Quetta, Balochistan, Pakistan) is a former squash player from Pakistan. He was one of the leading players in the game of Squash during the 1970s and 1980s. His biggest triumph was winning the British Open Sq ...
.In recent decades
Hayatullah Khan Durrani
Hayatullah Khan Durrani, PP (Pashto: ; born 22 April 1962) is a Pakistani caver, mountaineer, environmentalist, organizer, and a rescuer. He is also a part-time sports anchor actor on Pakistani television. He played a significant role in the ...
,
Pride of Performance
The Pride of Performance ( ur, ), officially known as Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sports, an ...
legendary caver from
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
, has been promoting
mountaineering
Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, a ...
,
rock climbing
Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...
and
Caving
Caving – also known as spelunking in the United States and Canada and potholing in the United Kingdom and Ireland – is the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems (as distinguished from show caves). In contrast, speleology i ...
in Balochistan, Pakistan.
Mohammad Abubakar Durrani
Mohammad Abubakar Durrani ( ps, محمد ابوبکر درانی; born in Quetta Balochistan Pakistan) is a Pakistani canoeist and documentary/ short film maker , cameraman, cave photographer and owner of the Abdali Productions.
Family Backgroun ...
International Canoeing shining star of Pakistan.
Snooker
Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sports, cue sport played on a Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, rectangular table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets, one at each corner and o ...
and
billiards
Cue sports are a wide variety of games of skill played with a cue, which is used to strike billiard balls and thereby cause them to move around a cloth-covered table bounded by elastic bumpers known as .
There are three major subdivisions of ...
are played by young Pashtun men, mainly in urban areas where snooker clubs are found. Several prominent international recognized snooker players are from the Pashtun area, including Saleh Mohammed. Although traditionally very less involved in sports than boys, Pashtun girls sometimes play volleyball, basketball,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
, and
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...
, especially in urban areas.
Makha
Mukkha is the 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 ...
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 (Pashto/ fa, بزکشی, lit=goat pulling) is a traditional Central Asian sport in which horse-mounted players attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal. It is played primarily in Afghanistan. Similar games are known as kokpar, k ...
in which horse riders attempt to place a goat or calf carcass in a goal circle.
Religion
Before the Islamization of their territory, the region used to be home to various beliefs and cults such as
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religions, Iranian religion and one of the world's History of religion, oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian peoples, Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a Dualism in cosmology, du ...
,
ancient Iranian religion
Ancient Iranian religion or Iranian paganism, refers to the ancient beliefs and practices of the Iranian peoples before the rise of Zoroastrianism. The religion closest to it was the Historical Vedic religion (ancient Hinduism) that was practiced ...
s,
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
and
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
. The region of
Arachosia
Arachosia () is the Hellenized name of an ancient satrapy situated in the eastern parts of the Achaemenid empire. It was centred around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan, and extended as far east as the In ...
, around Kandahar and Quetta in modern-day southern Afghanistan and western Pakistan, used to be primarily Zoroastrian and played a key role in the transfer of the Avesta to
Persia
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
and is thus considered by some to be the "second homeland of Zoroastrianism". The Khalaj of
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) 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; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
, supposed ancestors of the modern
Ghilji
The Ghiljī ( ps, غلجي, ; fa, خیلجی, Xelji) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai or Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settle ...
Pashtuns, used to worship various local
ancient Iranian gods
Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...
such as the fire God
Atar
Atar, Atash, or Azar ( ae, 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭, translit=ātar) is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" (Mirza, 1987:389). It is considered to b ...
. The historic region of
Gandhara
Gandhāra is the name of an ancient region located in the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent, more precisely in present-day north-west Pakistan and parts of south-east Afghanistan. The region centered around the Peshawar Vall ...
used to be dominantly
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
.
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
, in its own unique syncretic form, was also common throughout the whole region, people would be patrons of Buddhism but still worship local Iranian gods such as
Ahura Mazda
Ahura Mazda (; ae, , translit=Ahura Mazdā; ), also known as Oromasdes, Ohrmazd, Ahuramazda, Hoormazd, Hormazd, Hormaz and Hurmuz, is the creator deity in Zoroastrianism. He is the first and most frequently invoked spirit in the ''Yasna''. ...
Anahita
Anahita is the Old Persian form of the name of an Iranian goddess and appears in complete and earlier form as ('), the Avestan name of an Indo-Iranian cosmological figure venerated as the divinity of "the Waters" (Aban) and hence associate ...
or Mihr (Mithra).
In folklore, it is believed that most Pashtuns are descendants of
Qais Abdur Rashid
Qais Abdur Rashīd or Qais Abdul Rasheed ( ps, قيس عبد الرشيد) is said to be, in post-Islamic lore, the legendary founding father of the Pashtuns. It is believed that the conception of such a figure was promoted to bring harmony betw ...
, who is purported to have been an early convert to Islam and thus bequeathed the faith to the early Pashtun population.Life of the Amir Dost Mohammed Khan; of Kabul, Volume 1. By Mohan Lal (1846), pg.5 The legend says that after Qais heard of the new religion of Islam, he travelled to meet Muhammad in
Medina
Medina,, ', "the radiant city"; or , ', (), "the city" officially Al Madinah Al Munawwarah (, , Turkish: Medine-i Münevvere) and also commonly simplified as Madīnah or Madinah (, ), is the Holiest sites in Islam, second-holiest city in Islam, ...
and returned to Afghanistan as a Muslim. He purportedly had four children: Sarban, Batan, Ghourghusht and Karlan. This theory has been criticised, for not being substantiated by historical evidence and based on post-Arabic influence.
The Muslim conquest of Afghanistan was not completed until the 10th century under
Ghaznavid
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( fa, غزنویان ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a culturally Persianate, Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic ''mamluk'' origin, ruling, at its greatest extent, large parts of Persia, Khorasan, much of Transoxiana and the northwest ...
and
Ghurid dynasty
The Ghurid dynasty (also spelled Ghorids; fa, دودمان غوریان, translit=Dudmân-e Ğurīyân; self-designation: , ''Šansabānī'') was a Persianate dynasty and a clan of presumably eastern Iranian Tajik origin, which ruled from th ...
's rule who patronized Muslim religious institutions. The Caliph
Al-Ma'mun
Abu al-Abbas Abdallah ibn Harun al-Rashid ( ar, أبو العباس عبد الله بن هارون الرشيد, Abū al-ʿAbbās ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hārūn ar-Rashīd; 14 September 786 – 9 August 833), better known by his regnal name Al-Ma'mu ...
(r. 813–833 A.D.) conducted raids against non-Muslim rulers of a
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) 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; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
and
Zabul
Zabul (Pashto/Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the south of the country. It has a population of 249,000. Zabul became an independent province from neighbouring Kandahar in 1963. Historically, it was part of the Zabu ...
. Al-Utbi in
Tarikh Yamini
The Tarikh i Yamini, or Kitab i Yamini, written in Arabic in an embellished, flowery rhetorical rhymed prose, is a history of the reigns of Sebuktigin and Mahmud.
Written by the historian Abu Nasr Muhammad ibn Muhammad al Jabbaru-l 'Utbi (or ''al ...
states that the Afghans and Khaljis, living between Laghman and Peshawar, took the oath of allegiance to
Sabuktigin
Abu Mansur Nasir al-Din Sabuktigin ( fa, ابو منصور سبکتگین) ( 942 – August 997), also spelled as Sabuktagin, Sabuktakin, Sebüktegin and Sebük Tigin, was the founder of the Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 367 A.H/977 A.D to 38 ...
and were recruited into his army.
Modern era
The overwhelming majority of Pashtuns adhere to
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagre ...
and belong to the
Hanafi
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...
school of thought. Small
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
communities exist in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Paktia. The Shias belong to the Turi tribe while the
Bangash
The Bangash, Bungish or Bangakh ( ps, بنګښ) are a tribe of Pashtuns, inhabiting their traditional homeland, historically known as Bangash district, which stretches from Kohat to Tall and Spīn Ghar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. They also l ...
tribe is approximately 50% Shia and the rest Sunni, who are mainly found in and around
Parachinar
Parachinar ( ps, پاړه چنار; ur, ) is a small Pashtun ( Turi and Bangash tribe) town which is the capital of Kurram District in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
Parachinar is situated on a neck of Pakistani territory west ...
Kohat
Kohat ( ps, کوهاټ; ur, ) 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 ...
and
Orakzai
The Orakzai are a Pashtun tribe native to the Orakzai Agency and parts of Kurram Agency located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They speak the language Pashto.
Location
The Orakzai belong to the Tirah valley located in FATA or wha ...
.
A legacy of
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
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'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
, 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 Pashtun, Afghan origin, who lived in Madinah and served as the Chief of Department of Chest Diseases at the King Faisal Specialist Hosp ...
Sahih Al-Bukhari
Sahih al-Bukhari ( ar, صحيح البخاري, translit=Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī), group=note is a ''hadith'' collection and a book of '' sunnah'' compiled by the Persian scholar Muḥammad ibn Ismā‘īl al-Bukhārī (810–870) around 846. Al ...
and many other books to the English language. A number of Pashtuns are involved in
Dawah
Dawah ( ar, دعوة, lit=invitation, ) is the act of inviting or calling people to embrace Islam. The plural is ''da‘wāt'' (دَعْوات) or ''da‘awāt'' (دَعَوات).
Etymology
The English term ''Dawah'' derives from the Arabic ...
activities in the United States. One of them is Sheikh Uthman Ibn Farooq, who belongs to the
Yusufzai
The Yusufzai or Yousafzai ( ps, یوسفزی, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ) are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribes of ethnic Pashtuns. They are natively based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, to which they migrated to from Sulim ...
Pashtun tribe.
Jamal-al-Din al-Afghani
Sayyid Jamāl al-Dīn al-Afghānī ( Pashto/ fa, سید جمالالدین افغانی), also known as Sayyid Jamāl ad-Dīn Asadābādī ( fa, سید جمالالدین اسدآبادی) and commonly known as Al-Afghani ( ...
was a 19th-century Islamic ideologist and one of the founders of Islamic modernism. Although his ethnicity is disputed by some, he is widely accepted in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region as well as in the Arab world, as a Pashtun from the
Kunar Province
Kunar (Pashto: ; Dari: ) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. Its population is estimated to be 508,224. Kunar's major political groups include Wahhabis or Ahl-e- Ha ...
of Afghanistan. Like other non Arabic-speaking Muslims, many Pashtuns are able to read the Quran but not understand the Arabic language implicit in the holy text itself. Translations, especially in English, are scarcely far and in between understood or distributed. This paradox has contributed to the spread of different versions of religious practices and
Wahabism
Wahhabism ( ar, ٱلْوَهَّابِيَةُ, translit=al-Wahhābiyyah) is a Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, and ...
, as well as political
Islamism
Islamism (also often called political Islam or Islamic fundamentalism) is a political ideology which posits that modern states and regions should be reconstituted in constitutional, economic and judicial terms, in accordance with what is ...
(including movements such as the Taliban) having a key presence in Pashtun society. In order to counter radicalization, the United States began spreading its influence in Pashtun areas. 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.
Lastly, little information is available on non-Muslim as there is limited data regarding
irreligious
Irreligion or nonreligion is the absence or rejection of religion, or indifference to it. Irreligion takes many forms, ranging from the casual and unaware to full-fledged philosophies such as atheism and agnosticism, secular humanism and ant ...
groups and minorities, especially since many of the
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
and
Sikh
Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...
Pashtuns migrated from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the
partition of India
The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...
and later, after the rise of the Taliban.
A small Pashtun Hindu community, known as the ''
Sheen Khalai
Pathans in India are citizens or residents of India who are of ethnic Pashtun ancestry. "Pathan" is the local Hindi-Urdu term for an individual who belongs to the Pashtun ethnic group, or descends from it. The term additionally finds mention among ...
'' 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, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several Process of tatt ...
s), migrated to Unniara,
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
, India after
partition
Partition may refer to:
Computing Hardware
* Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive
* Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job
Software
* Partition (database), the division of a ...
. Prior to 1947, the community resided in the
Quetta
Quetta (; ur, ; ; ps, کوټه) is the tenth List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan with a population of over 1.1 million. It is situated in Geography of Pakistan, south-west of the country close to the ...
,
Loralai
Loralai ( ps, لورلايي, ur, ), also known as Bori ( ps, ), is the division headquarter of Loralai Division and district headquarter of Loralai District. It is in the northeast of Balochistan province in Pakistan. It is above sea level ...
and Maikhter regions of the British Indian province of
Baluchistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
. They are mainly members of the Pashtun
Kakar
The Kakar (Pashto: کاکړ) is a Gharghashti Pashtun tribe, based mostly in Northern Balochistan, Pakistan and Loy Kandahar in Afghanistan.
Legendary origin
Kakars are sons of Gharghashti who was the son of Qais Abdul Rashid.
In Herat, the Ka ...
tribe. Today, they continue to speak Pashto and celebrate Pashtun culture through the
Attan
Attan ( ps, اتڼ) is a traditional dance originating from the tribal Pashtun regions of Afghanistan and North Western Pakistan. It is now considered the national dance of Afghanistan. Some believe it has spiritual roots connecting it to Zoro ...
dance.
There is also a minority of Pashtun Sikhs in
Tirah
The Tirah also spelled Terah ( ps, تیراہ) also called the Tirah Valley (), is a mountainous tract located in the Khyber district, lying between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley in Pakistan.
Society
Lying close to the Pak-Afghan bord ...
,
Orakzai
The Orakzai are a Pashtun tribe native to the Orakzai Agency and parts of Kurram Agency located in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. They speak the language Pashto.
Location
The Orakzai belong to the Tirah valley located in FATA or wha ...
Swat
In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...
. 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), Jundall ...
, 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.
A ...
from their ancestral villages to settle in cities like
Peshawar
Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...
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 the most ...
.
Women
In Pashtun society there are three levels of women's leadership and legislative authority: the national level, the village level, and the family level. The national level includes women such as
Nazo Tokhi
Nāzo Tokhī (نازو توخۍ), commonly known as Nāzo Anā ( ps, نازو انا, "Nazo the grandmother"), was an Afghan poetess and a writer in the Pashto language. Mother of the famous early-18th century Afghan king Mirwais Hotak, she grew ...
,
Zarghona Anaa
Zarghona Anaa (died 1772), was an Afghan poet.M. Saed: Women in Afghanistan history She was the mother of Ahmad Shah Durrani (r. 1747–1772).
She was married to Seman Khan. Her son conquered the Afghan throne in Kandahar in 1747. She was active ...
and
Malalai of Maiwand
Malalai of Maiwand ( ps, د ميوند ملالۍ), also known as Malala ( ps, links=no, ملاله), or Malalai Anna ( ps, links=no, ملالۍ انا, meaning ''Malalai the "Grandmother"'') is a national folk hero of Afghanistan who rallied ...
. Tokhi was a 17th century Pashto poet who eventually became the "Mother of Afghan Nationalism" after gaining authority through her poetry and adhering to Pashtunwali. She used the Pashtunwali law to unite Pashtun tribes against the
Safavids
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
. Her cause was picked up in the early 18th century by Zarghona Anaa, the mother of Ahmad Shah Durrani.
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, mobilising 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 (; ar, شريعة, sharīʿa ) is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition. It is derived from the religious precepts of Islam and is based on the sacred scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran and the ...
. 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, famously appeared ...
'' (Sharbat Gula) depicted on the June 1985 cover of ''
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'' magazine.
Modern social reform for Pashtun women began in the early 20th century, when Queen
Soraya Tarzi
Soraya Tarzi (Pashto/Dari: ملکه ثريا; November 24, 1899 – April 20, 1968) was the first queen consort of Afghanistan as the wife of King Amanullah Khan. She played a major part in the modernization reforms of Amanullah Khan, particula ...
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 Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...
's reign in 1929. In 1942,
Madhubala
Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...
(Mumtaz Jehan), the
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
of India, entered the
Bollywood
Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...
film industry. Bollywood blockbusters of the 1970s and 1980s starred
Parveen Babi
Parveen Babi (4 April 1954 – 20 January 2005) was an Indian actress and model. Recognized for her roles in Hindi films throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, Babi was known for her "glamorous" acting style, and was one of the highest-paid ...
, 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. Mainly working in the Hindi film industry, she has also appeared in Punjabi, Telugu and Tamil films.
Khan made her Bollywood debut in 2010 playing a pr ...
, continue to work in the industry.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
remained an important issue during the 1970s, as feminist leader
Meena Keshwar Kamal
Meena Keshwar Kamal (Pashto language, Pashto/ fa, مینا کشور کمال; 27 February 1956 – 4 February 1987), commonly known as Meena, was an Afghan revolutionary political activist, feminist, women's rights activist and founder of Revolu ...
campaigned for
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and 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 centuries. In some countries, ...
and founded the
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) (Persian:جمعیت انقلابی زنان افغانستان, ''Jamiʿat-e Enqelābi-ye Zanān-e Afghānestān'', Pashto:د افغانستان د ښڅو انقلابی جمعیت) ...
(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 organisations 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."
Despite obstacles, many Pashtun women have begun a process of slow change. A rich oral tradition and resurgence of poetry has inspired many Pashtun women seeking to learn to read and write. 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 in 2003. As the first Afghan woman to participate in an international beauty pageant since 1974, her appearance in ...
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.
Nigar Johar
Lieutenant General Nigar Johar Khan ( ur, ) is a 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-genera ...
is a
three-star general Military star ranking is military terminology, used 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 the lowest ranking general or flag ...
in the Pakistan Army.
Khatol Mohammadzai
Khatool Mohammadzai ( ps, خاتول محمدزی; born c. 1966) is an Afghan brigadier general who served in the Afghan National Army. She was first commissioned in the military of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan during the 1980s, when ...
served as
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
in the Afghan 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 directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
in the
Pakistan Air Force
, "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional)
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = ...
. Some other notable Pashtun women include
Aisha Uqbah Malik
Aisha Uqbah Malik (born 27 September 1982), also known by her name Aisha Khan, is a Pakistani former television and Actor, film actress. Her prominent roles include Mahgul from ''Khuda Mera Bhi Hai'', Noor from ''Noor-e-Zindagi'' and Jeena fr ...
,
Armeena Khan
Armeena Rana Khan ( ur, ) is a Pakistani Canadian film and television actress and model. One of Pakistan's most popular actresses, she has received a Lux Style Award, a Hum Award and a Nigar Award nomination. Most of her television series in ...
,
Fauzia Gailani
Fauzia Gailani was elected to represent Herat Province in Afghanistan's Wolesi Jirga, the lower house of its National Legislature, in 2005.
She won almost 16,885 votes, more than any other candidate in Herat.
Prior to her election Fauzia, a mot ...
,
Ghazala Javed
Ghazala Javed ( ps, ; 1 January 1988 – 18 June 2012) was a Pashtun playback singer from Swat Valley, Pakistan. She began singing since 2004 and was "popular with young, progressive ethnic Pashtun people, Pashtuns in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Her mus ...
,
Gulalai Ismail
Gulalai Ismail ( ps, ; ur, گلالئی اسماعیل) is a Pashtun human rights activist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. She is the chairperson of Aware Girls, a global ambassador for Humanists International, and a leading member of the ...
,
Gul Panra
Minhaz, known professionally as Gul Panra ( ps, ; sometimes spelled Gulpanra), is a Pakistani Pashto language, Pashto folk singer and Concert tour, touring artist. Her Concert, live concerts include United Kingdom and Afghanistan.
In 2015, she ...
,
Humaira Begum
Humaira Begum ( fa, حميرا بیگم; 24 July 1918 – 26 June 2002) was the wife and first cousin of King Mohammed Zahir Shah and the last queen consort of Afghanistan.
Marriage
Humaira Begum was the daughter of ''Sardar'' Ahmad Shah Kha ...
,
Laila Khan
Laila Khan (born Reshma Patel; 1978 30 January 2011) was a Bollywood actress, best known for her role opposite Rajesh Khanna in the 2008 movie '' Wafa: A Deadly Love Story'' and she also starred in ''Faraar'' (2011). She was allegedly married ...
,
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
,
Naghma
, background = solo_singer
, image = Naghma 2010-3.jpgborder
, caption = Naghma singing during the 2010 Nowruz celebration at Fairplex in Pomona, California
, birth_name = Shaperei (''Fairy'')
, birth_date ...
,
Najiba Faiz
Najiba Faiz (Pashto: نجیبه فېض) born 1 August 1988, is an Afghan-born Pakistani television host, television and film actress, known for playing variety of notable characters in films and in television mostly in Pakistan and Afghanistan. ...
,
Nilofar Bakhtiar
Nilofar Bakhtiar ( ur, نیلوفر بختیار ) (born 9 September 1957) is a public official in Pakistan. She was Federal Minister for Tourism in Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz's cabinet until a scandal forced her to resign. She remains a senat ...
,
Sana Safi
Sana Safi (ثنا ساپۍ - born 1989) is an Afghan broadcast journalist, currently working for BBC World News, BBC World Service
Early life
Sana Safi was born in Kabul and brought up in Kandahar, Helmand Province, Helmand, in Nangarhar Provinc ...
,
Shinkai Karokhail
Shinkai Zahine Karokhail ( ps, شينکۍ ذهين کړوخېل) is an Afghan politician and rights activist, focusing mainly on the political representation of women and the protection of vulnerable children. She was the Afghan ambassador to Cana ...
,
Shukria Barakzai
Shukria Barakzai ( ps, شکريه بارکزۍ) is an Afghan politician, journalist and a prominent Muslim feminist. She was the Ambassador of Afghanistan to Norway. She is a recipient of the International Editor of the Year Award.
Early life ...
Tabassum Adnan
Tabassum Adnan (Urdu: تبسم عدنان) (born 1977) is a Pakistani women's rights activist from the Swat Valley. She won the U.S. State Department's 2015 International Women of Courage Award for her efforts in seeking justice for Pakistani wom ...
,
Zartaj Gul
Zartaj Gul (Pashto, ur, ) is a Pakistani politician who served as Minister of State for Climate Change, in Imran Khan ministry between 5 October 2018 and 10 April 2022 after Imran Khan was ousted by No-confidence motion against Imran Khan. She ...
and
Zeenat Karzai
Zeenat Quraishi Karzai (born 1970) is the wife of former President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai and was the First Lady of Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. Originally from the city of Kandahar, she moved to Kabul, where she lived at the Arg (the Pre ...
.
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 Afghanistan and Pakistan, some have been kept away from ballot boxes by males. Another tradition that persists is
swara
Svara or swara (Devanagari: स्वर, generally pronounced as ''swar'') is a Sanskrit word that connotes simultaneously a breath, a vowel, the sound of a musical note corresponding to its name, and the successive steps of the octave or '' ...
(a form of
child marriage
Child marriage is a marriage or similar union, formal or informal, between a child under a certain age – typically 18 years – and an adult or another child.
*
*
*
* The vast majority of child marriages are between a female child and a ma ...
), which was declared illegal in Pakistan in 2000 but continues in some parts. Substantial work remains for Pashtun women to gain equal rights with men, who remain disproportionately dominant in most aspects of Pashtun society. Human rights organisations continue to struggle for greater women's rights, such as the
Afghan Women's Network
The Afghan Women's Network (AWN) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) which was created in 1996 by Afghan women following the World Conference on Women in Beijing and works to "empower women and ensure their equal participation in Afghan socie ...
and the
Aurat Foundation
Aurat Foundation, founded in 1986, is a women's rights organization based in Islamabad, Pakistan. Its co-founders were Nigar Ahmed and Shahla Zia. Aurat Foundation lobbies and advocates for women. It also holds demonstrations and public awareness ...
in Pakistan which aims to protect women from
domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
.
Notable people
*
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
, founder of the
Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...
. Defeated the
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Shi ...
Timur Shah Durrani
Timur Shah Durrani (; prs, ;), also known as Timur Shah Abdali or Taimur Shah Abdali (December 1746 – May 20, 1793) was the second ruler of the Afghan Durrani Empire, from November 1772 until his death in 1793. An ethnic Pashtun, he was the se ...
, second ruler of the
Durrani Empire
The Durrani Empire ( ps, د درانيانو ټولواکمني; fa, امپراتوری درانیان) or the Afghan Empire ( ps, د افغانان ټولواکمني, label=none; fa, امپراتوری افغان, label=none), also know ...
Mirwais Hotak
Mir Ways ibn Shah 'Alam, also known as Mirwais Khan Hotak (Pashto/Dari: ) (1673–1715) was an Afghan ruler from the Ghilji tribe of Kandahar, Afghanistan, and the founder of the Hotak dynasty.
In 1709, after overthrowing and assassinating Geor ...
, revolted against
Safavid Iran
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
and established the
Hotak dynasty
The Hotak dynasty ( ps, fa, ) 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 revolution against t ...
.
*
Mahmud Hotak
Shāh Mahmūd Hotak, (Pashto/Dari: ), also known as Shāh Mahmūd Ghiljī () (lived 1697 – April 22, 1725), was an Afghan ruler of the Hotak dynasty who overthrew the heavily declined Safavid dynasty to briefly become the king of Persia from 1 ...
, second ruler of the
Hotaki dynasty
The Hotak dynasty ( ps, fa, ) 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 revolution against t ...
and
Shah of Persia
Iranian monarchism is the advocacy of restoring the monarchy in Iran, which was abolished after the 1979 Revolution.
Historical background
Iran first became a constitutional monarchy in 1906, but underwent a period of autocracy during the years ...
Azad Shah Afghan
Azād Khān Afghān (Persian, ps, آزاد خان افغان), 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. ( ...
, military commander famous for conquering parts of Central and
Western Iran
Western Iran consists of Armenian Highlands, Northern Zagros and the rich agricultural area of the Khuzestan Plain in the south.
It includes the provinces of Kordestan, Kermanshah, Ilam, Hamadan and Lorestan. Some references also count West ...
, as well as
Kurdistan
Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, Kurdish la ...
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai (; Pashto/ fa, حامد کرزی, , ; born 24 December 1957) is an Afghan statesman who served as the fourth president of Afghanistan from July 2002 to September 2014, including as the first elected president of the Islamic Repub ...
, head of the
Popalzai
Popalzai or Popalzay ( ps, پوپلزی), 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 ...
tribe and served as
President of Afghanistan
The president of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was constitutionally the head of state and head of government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021) and Commander-in-Chief of the Afghan Armed Forces.
On 15 August 2021, as t ...
from 22 December 2001 to 29 September 2014.
*
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani
Mohammad Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai (born 19 May 1949) is an Afghan politician, academic, and economist who served as the president of Afghanistan from September 2014 until August 2021, when his government was overthrown by the Taliban.
Born in L ...
, the previous president Islamic republic of Afghanistan.
*
Mohammad Najibullah
Mohammad Najibullah Ahmadzai (Pashto/ prs, محمد نجیبالله احمدزی, ; 6 August 1947 – 27 September 1996), commonly known as Dr. Najib, was an Afghan politician who served as the General Secretary of the People's Democratic Par ...
, Afghan politician
*
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar ( ps, ګلب الدين حكمتيار; born 1 August 1949) is an Afghan politician, former mujahideen leader and drug trafficker. He is the founder and current leader of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin political party, so calle ...
*
Hafizullah Amin
Hafizullah Amin (Pashto/ prs, حفيظ الله امين; 1 August 192927 December 1979) was an Afghan communist revolutionary, politician and teacher. He organized the Saur Revolution of 1978 and co-founded the Democratic Republic of Afghanist ...
*
Mohammed Daoud Khan
Mohammed Daoud Khan ( ps, ), also romanized as Daud Khan or Dawood Khan (18 July 1909 – 28 April 1978), was an Afghan politician and general who served as prime minister of Afghanistan from 1953 to 1963 and, as leader of the 1973 Afghan coup ...
*
Mohammed Zahir Shah
Mohammed Zahir Shah (Pashto/Dari: , 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. Serving for 40 years, Zahir was the longest-serving ruler of Afghanistan s ...
*
Ayub Khan
Ayub Khan is a compound masculine name; Ayub is the Arabic version of the name of the Biblical figure Job, while Khan or Khaan is taken from the title used first by the Mongol rulers and then, in particular, their Islamic and Persian-influenced s ...
(Hindko Speaker)
*
Yahya Khan
General Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan , (Urdu: ; 4 February 1917 – 10 August 1980); commonly known as Yahya Khan, was a Pakistani military general who served as the third President of Pakistan and Chief Martial Law Administrator following his pr ...
*
Amanullah Khan
Ghazi Amanullah Khan (Pashto and Dari: ; 1 June 1892 – 25 April 1960) was the sovereign of Afghanistan from 1919, first as Emir and after 1926 as King, until his abdication in 1929. After the end of the Third Anglo-Afghan War in August 1919, ...
*
Shaheen Afridi
Shaheen Shah Afridi (Urdu, Pashto: ; born 6 April 2000) is a Pakistani professional cricketer who plays as a fast bowler for the Pakistan national cricket team.
Early life and career
Afridi belongs to the Afridi, Zakhakhel Afridi tribe of the Pa ...
, Pakistani cricketer.
*
Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan Arman ( ps, ; born 20 September 1998) is an Afghan international cricketer and a former captain of the national team. In franchise leagues, he plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide Strikers in Austra ...
, Afghan cricketer.
*
Khalilullah Khalili
Khalilullah Khalili (1907 – 1987; Pashto/ fa, خلیلالله خلیلی - ''Ḫalīlallāḥ Ḫalīlī''; alternative spellings: ''Khalilollah'', ''Khalil Ullah'') was Afghanistan's foremost 20th century poet as well as a noted historian, ...
, Pashtun poet of the
Persian language
Persian (), also known by its endonym Farsi (, ', ), is a Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian subdivision of the Indo-European languages. Persian is a pluricentric language predominantly spoken and ...
.
*
Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری)
(1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان)
, was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
, founder and
16th century
The 16th century begins with the Julian year 1501 ( MDI) and ends with either the Julian or the Gregorian year 1600 ( MDC) (depending on the reckoning used; the Gregorian calendar introduced a lapse of 10 days in October 1582).
The 16th cent ...
ruler of the
Sur Empire
The Sur Empire ( ps, د سرو امپراتورۍ, dë sru amparāturəi; fa, امپراطوری سور, emperâturi sur) was an Afghan dynasty which ruled a large territory in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent for nearly 16 year ...
. Defeated the
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire was an early-modern empire that controlled much of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries. Quote: "Although the first two Timurid emperors and many of their noblemen were recent migrants to the subcontinent, the d ...
at the
Battle of Chausa
The Battle of Chausa was a notable military engagement between the Mughal Emperor, Humayun, and the Afghan warlord, Sher Shah Suri. It was fought on 26 June 1539 at Chausa, 10 miles southwest of Buxar in modern-day Bihar, India. Sher Shah Suri wa ...
.
*
Rahman Baba
Abdur Rahmān Momand ( ps, عبدالرحمان بابا; 1632–1706) or Rahmān Bābā ( ps, رحمان بابا), was a renowned Pashtun Sufi Dervish and poet from Momand Agency in Peshawar during the Mughal era. He, along with his contemp ...
, Pashto
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
and
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
Dervish
Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from fa, درویش, ''Darvīsh'') in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity
A fraternity (from Latin language, Latin ''wiktionary:frater, frater'': "brother (Christian), brother"; whence, ...
.
*
Bahlul Lodi
Bahlul Khan Lodi (12 July 1489) was the chief of the Pashtun Lodi tribe. Founder of the Lodi dynasty from the Delhi Sultanate upon the abdication of the last claimant from the previous Sayyid rule. Bahlul became sultan of the dynasty on 19 A ...
, founder and
15th century
The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian dates from 1 January 1401 ( MCDI) to 31 December 1500 ( MD).
In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period.
M ...
ruler of the
Lodi dynasty
The Lodi dynasty ( ps, لودي سلسله; fa, سلسله لودی) was an Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when he ...
.
*
Sikandar Lodi
Sikandar Khan Lodi (died 21 November 1517), born Nizam Khan, was a Pashtun Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate between 1489 and 1517. He became ruler of the Lodi dynasty after the death of his father Bahlul Khan Lodi in July 1489. The second and most ...
, Sultan of the
Lodi dynasty
The Lodi dynasty ( ps, لودي سلسله; fa, سلسله لودی) was an Afghan dynasty that ruled the Delhi Sultanate from 1451 to 1526. It was the fifth and final dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate, and was founded by Bahlul Khan Lodi when he ...
. He gained control of
Bihar
Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...
and founded the modern city of
Agra
Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is ...
.
*
Ibrahim Lodi
Ibrahim Khan Lodi (or Lodhi) (Pashto: ابراهیم خان لودي), (1480 – 21 April 1526) was the last Sultan of the Delhi Sultanate, who became Sultan in 1517 after the death of his father Sikandar Khan Lodi. He was the last ruler of th ...
, last Sultan of the
Delhi Sultanate
The Delhi Sultanate was an Islamic empire based in Delhi that stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206–1526).
.
*
Abdul Ahad Momand
Abdul Ahad Momand (; born 1959) is a Afghan-German and former Afghan Air Force aviator who became the first, and currently only, Afghan citizen to journey to outer space.
He became one of Soyuz TM-6 crew members and spent nine days aboard the ...
, first Afghan cosmonaut, made
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
the 4th language spoken in space
*
Khushal Khan Khattak
Khošāl Khān Khaṭak (1613 – 25 February 1689; Pashto: خوشال خان خټک), also known as Khushal Baba ( ps, خوشال بابا), was a Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them fr ...
, warrior and
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
.
*
Madhubala
Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...
, Indian actress of Pashtun descent. Famous for her portrayal of
Anarkali
Anarkali () was a legendary woman said to be loved by the 16th-century Mughal Prince Salim, who later became Emperor Jahangir. According to some accounts, Anarkali was the nickname of the courtesan Nadira Begum or Sharf-un-Nisa, though scho ...
in the 1960 film ''
Mughal-e-Azam
''Mughal-e-Azam'' () is a 1960 Indian epic historical drama film produced and directed by K. Asif. Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between Mughal Prince Salim (who went on ...
Nazo Tokhi
Nāzo Tokhī (نازو توخۍ), commonly known as Nāzo Anā ( ps, نازو انا, "Nazo the grandmother"), was an Afghan poetess and a writer in the Pashto language. Mother of the famous early-18th century Afghan king Mirwais Hotak, she grew ...
, Afghan
poetess
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
and
writer
A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
in the
Pashto language
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
. Mother of the 18th century
Afghan
Afghan may refer to:
*Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia
*Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity
** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...
King
Mirwais Hotak
Mir Ways ibn Shah 'Alam, also known as Mirwais Khan Hotak (Pashto/Dari: ) (1673–1715) was an Afghan ruler from the Ghilji tribe of Kandahar, Afghanistan, and the founder of the Hotak dynasty.
In 1709, after overthrowing and assassinating Geor ...
.
*
Wazir Akbar Khan
Wazīr Akbar Khān (Pashto/Dari: ; 1816-1847), born Mohammad Akbar Khān () and also known as Amīr Akbar Khān (), was an Afghan prince, general, emir for a year, and finally wazir/heir apparent to Dost Mohammad Khan until his death in 1847. ...
, Afghan prince, general and emir. Famous for his role in the
First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War ( fa, جنگ اول افغان و انگلیس) was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Afghanistan, Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking si ...
Abdul Ghafoor Breshna
Abdul Ghafoor Breshna (Pashto: عبدالغفور بريښنا) (10 April 1907 – 4 January 1974) was an Afghan painter, music composer, poet, and film director. He is regarded as one of the country's most talented artists. He also composed ...
,
painter
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
,
music composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and Defi ...
,
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
and
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...
. Breshna is regarded as one of Afghanistan's most talented artists. He is the artist behind the painting 1747 coronation of
Ahmad Shah Durrani
Ahmad Shāh Durrānī ( ps, احمد شاه دراني; prs, احمد شاه درانی), also known as Ahmad Shāh Abdālī (), was the founder of the Durrani Empire and is regarded as the founder of the modern Afghanistan. In July 1747, Ahm ...
, sketch of
Sher Shah Suri
Sher Shah Suri ( ps, شیرشاه سوری)
(1472, or 1486 – 22 May 1545), born Farīd Khān ( ps, فرید خان)
, was the founder of the Sur Empire in India, with its capital in Sasaram in modern-day Bihar. He standardized the silver coin ...
and the Afghan national anthem of the
Republic of Afghanistan
A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
.
*
Malalai of Maiwand
Malalai of Maiwand ( ps, د ميوند ملالۍ), also known as Malala ( ps, links=no, ملاله), or Malalai Anna ( ps, links=no, ملالۍ انا, meaning ''Malalai the "Grandmother"'') is a national folk hero of Afghanistan who rallied ...
, national
folk hero
A folk hero or national hero is a type of hero – real, fictional or mythological – with their name, personality and deeds embedded in the popular consciousness of a people, mentioned frequently in folk songs, folk tales and other folklore; an ...
of
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. Rallied Pashtun fighters to defeat 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.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
during the
Second Anglo-Afghan war
The Second Anglo-Afghan War (Dari: جنگ دوم افغان و انگلیس, ps, د افغان-انګرېز دويمه جګړه) was a military conflict fought between the British Raj and the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1878 to 1880, when the l ...
.
*
Pir Roshan
Bāyazīd Khān Ansārī Pīr Rōshān ( ps, ) or Pīr Rōkhān (1525–1585) was an Afghan warrior, poet, Sufi, and revolutionary leader. He wrote mostly in Pashto, but also in Persian, Hindustani, and Arabic, while he also spoke Ormuri. He ...
, warrior,
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
,
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
and revolutionary leader. Created the first known
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
Hamza Shinwari
Ameer Hamza ( ps, امیرحمزه), commonly known as Hamza Baba (), was a prominent Pashto-language poet. His books are taught on master levels in University of Peshawar. At least 5 scholars did their PH.D research thesis on him. He is consid ...
, prominent
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
poet. He is considered a bridge between classic Pashto literature and modern literature.
*
Abdul Ghani Khan
, image = Khan Abdul Ghani Khan 1940s.jpg
, image_size = 250px
, caption = Khan in the 1940s
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Hashtnagar, North-West Frontier Province, British India, now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
, death_date =
, deat ...
, philosopher, poet, eartist, writer and politician.
*
Ahmad Zahir
Ahmad Zahir (Dari/Pashto: ; 14 June 1946 – 14 June 1979) was an Afghan singer, songwriter and composer. Dubbed the "Elvis of Afghanistan", he is widely considered the all-time greatest singer of Afghanistan. The majority of his songs were sung ...
, dubbed the "
Elvis
Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
of Afghanistan", Ahmad Zahir is considered to be the best singer in Afghanistan's history. Most of his songs are in
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 ...
, albeit he also made many songs in
Pashto
Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani ().
Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...
,
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
Mirza Mazhar Jan-e-Janaan
Mirzā Mazhar Jān-i Jānān ( ur, ), also known by his laqab Shamsuddīn Habībullāh (1699–1781), was a renowned Hanafi Maturidi Naqshbandī Sufi poet of Delhi, distinguished as one of the "four pillars of Urdu poetry."And Muhammad is Hi ...
, renowned
Hanafi
The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named aft ...
Maturidi
Māturīdī theology or Māturīdism ( ar, الماتريدية: ''al-Māturīdiyyah'') is one of the main Sunnī schools of Islamic theology, founded by the Persian Muslim scholar, Ḥanafī jurist, reformer (''Mujaddid''), and scholastic th ...
Naqshbandi
The Naqshbandi ( fa, نقشبندی)), Neqshebendi ( ku, نهقشهبهندی), and Nakşibendi (in Turkish) is a major Sunni order of Sufism. Its name is derived from Baha-ud-Din Naqshband Bukhari. Naqshbandi masters trace their ...
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
poet, distinguished as one of the "four pillars of
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second Pak ...
, female education activist, awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize at age 17, the first Pashtun to receive a Nobel Prize.
See also
*
Pashtun culture
Pashtun culture ( ps, پښتون کلتور ) is based on Pashtunwali, as well as speaking of the Pashto language and wearing Pashtun dress. Culture is native to the native Pashtun belt of Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Pashtunwali and Islam are the t ...
*
List of Pashtun empires and dynasties
The following is an incomplete list of Pashtun or Afghan empires and dynasties. It includes states, princely states, empires and dynasties in the region of Central and South Asia which were founded by rulers of Pashtun ancestry. The Pashtuns, a ...
* Pashto literature and poetry
*
Pashtun diaspora
The Pashtun diaspora comprises all ethnic Pashtuns and their descendants who are living outside of their traditional homeland of Pashtunistan, a historic region that is today situated over parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan. While Pashtunistan ...
* Pashtun tribes
*
Pashtun nationalism
Pashtun nationalism ( ps, پښتون ملتپالنه) generally refers to the idea that Pashtuns must always be united to preserve their culture and defend their homeland against any oppressor. It propagates the view that Muslims are not a nation ...
*
Pashtunistan
Pashtunistan ( ps, پښتونستان, lit=land of the Pashtuns) is a historical region in Central Asia and South Asia, inhabited by the indigenous Pashtuns, Pashtun people of Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto ...
*
Pashtunization
Pashtunization ( ps, پښتون جوړونه), also called Pathanization, is a process of cultural or linguistic change in which someone or something non-Pashtun becomes acculturated to Pashtun influence. Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group ...
* Pashtun colonization of northern Afghanistan
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'' and ''Ethnologue''.
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.
* Akbar S. Ahmed, 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 (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. .
*
* Olaf Caroe, Caroe, Olaf. 1984. ''The Pathans: 500 B.C.-A.D. 1957'' (Oxford in Asia Historical Reprints). Oxford University Press. .
* Ahmad Hasan Dani, Dani, Ahmad Hasan. 1985. "Peshawar: Historic city of the Frontier." Sang-e-Meel Publications (1995). .
* Docherty, Paddy. The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion: A History of Invasion and Empire. 2007. Faber and Faber. The Khyber Pass: A History of Empire and Invasion * Louis Dupree (professor), 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
*
* Abdul Hai Habibi, Habibi, Abdul Hai. 2003. "Afghanistan: An Abridged History." Fenestra Books. .
* Hopkirk, Peter. 1984. "The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia" Kodansha Globe; Reprint edition. .
* James W. Spain, 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 Afghanistan
Ethnic groups in India
Iranian ethnic groups
Ethnic groups divided by international borders
Pashtun people
Ethnic groups in South Asia