Pashtuns (Pashto: پښتون Paṣ̌tun, Pax̌tun, also rendered as Pushtuns, Pakhtuns, Pukhtuns) or Pathans (Urdu: پٹھان, Hindi: पठान Paṭhān), also known as ethnic Afghans (Persian: افغان), are an Eastern Iranian ethnic group with populations primarily in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, which includes Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Balochistan.[11] The Pashtuns are typically characterized by their usage of the Pashto language and practice of Pashtunwali, a traditional set of ethics guiding individual and communal conduct. Their origins are unclear but historians have come across references to various ancient peoples called Paktha (Pactyans) between the 2nd and the 1st millennium BC,[12][13][14] who may be the early ancestors of Pashtuns. Since the 3rd century AD and onward, they are mostly referred to by the ethnonym "Afghan".[15][16][17][18].
Often characterized as a warrior and martial race, they have a tumultuous past, especially after their conversion to the faith of Islam. Their turbulent history is spread amongst various countries of South, Central and West Asia, centered around the medieval state of Afghanistan, which has been their traditional seat of power. During the Delhi Sultanate era, many Pashtun emperors (sultans) ruled the Indian subcontinent. Other Pashtuns defeated the Safavid Persians and the Mughal Empire[19] before obtaining an independent state in the early-18th century, which began with a successful revolution by the Hotaki dynasty followed by conquests by Ahmad Shah Durrani.[20] Pashtuns played a vital role during the Great Game from the 19th century to the 20th century as they were caught between the imperialist designs of the British and Russian empires. For over 300 years, they reigned as the dominant ethnic group in Afghanistan with nearly all rulers being Pashtun. More recently, the Pashtuns gained global attention during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and with the rise of the Taliban, since they are the main ethnic contingent in the movement. Pashtuns are also an important community in Pakistan, where they have attained the presidency and high positions in the military, and are the second-largest ethnic group in that country.
The Pashtuns are the world's largest (patriarchal) segmentary lineage ethnic group. According to Ethnologue, the total population of the group is estimated to be around 50 million[1] but an accurate count remains elusive due to the lack of an official census in Afghanistan since 1979. Estimates of the number of Pashtun tribes and clans range from about 350 to over 400.[19][21]
Map of Afghanistan and Pakistan showing the predominant Pashtun areas in green color.The vast majority of Pashtuns are found between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan. Additional Pashtun communities are located in western and northern Afghanistan, the Gilgit-Baltistan region and northern Punjab province of Pakistan, as well as in the Khorasan province of Iran. There are also sizable communities in India, which are of largely putative ancestry.[8][22] Smaller Pashtun communities are found in the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, Europe and the Americas, particularly in North America.
Important metropolitan centers of Pashtun culture include Kandahar, Quetta, Peshawar, Jalalabad, Kunduz and Swat. Kabul and Ghazni are home to around 25% Pashtun population while Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif each has at least 10%.[23] With as high as 7 million by some estimates, the city of Karachi in Pakistan may have the largest concentration of urban Pashtuns in the world.[24][25] In addition, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Lahore also have sizable Pashtun populations.[26]
Pashtuns comprise roughly 15.42% of Pakistan's 174 million population.[2] In Afghanistan, they make up an estimated 42% of the 29 million population according to the CIA World Factbook.[27] Some sources give 50-60%[28][29][30][31][32][33] because the exact figure remains uncertain in Afghanistan, and are affected by the 1.7 million Afghan refugees that remain in Pakistan a majority of which are Pashtuns.[34] Another 937,600 Afghans live in Iran according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).[35] A cumulative population assessment suggests a total of around 49 million individuals all across the world.[1]
There are many conflicting theories about the origin of Pashtuns, some modern and others archaic, both among historians and the Pashtuns themselves. According to most historians and experts, the true origin of the Pashtuns is some what unclear.[40]
Often characterized as a warrior and martial race, they have a tumultuous past, especially after their conversion to the faith of Islam. Their turbulent history is spread amongst various countries of South, Central and West Asia, centered around the medieval state of Afghanistan, which has been their traditional seat of power. During the Delhi Sultanate era, many Pashtun emperors (sultans) ruled the Indian subcontinent. Other Pashtuns defeated the Safavid Persians and the Mughal Empire[19] before obtaining an independent state in the early-18th century, which began with a successful revolution by the Hotaki dynasty followed by conquests by Ahmad Shah Durrani.[20] Pashtuns played a vital role during the Great Game from the 19th century to the 20th century as they were caught between the imperialist designs of the British and Russian empires. For over 300 years, they reigned as the dominant ethnic group in Afghanistan with nearly all rulers being Pashtun. More recently, the Pashtuns gained global attention during the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan and with the rise of the Taliban, since they are the main ethnic contingent in the movement. Pashtuns are also an important community in Pakistan, where they have attained the presidency and high positions in the military, and are the second-largest ethnic group in that country.
The Pashtuns are the world's largest (patriarchal) segmentary lineage ethnic group. According to Ethnologue, the total population of the group is estimated to be around 50 million[1] but an accurate count remains elusive due to the lack of an official census in Afghanistan since 1979. Estimates of the number of Pashtun tribes and clans range from about 350 to over 400.[19][21]
Contents[hide] |
[edit] Geographic distribution
Main article: Pashtun diaspora
Further information: Demography of Afghanistan and Demographics of Pakistan
Important metropolitan centers of Pashtun culture include Kandahar, Quetta, Peshawar, Jalalabad, Kunduz and Swat. Kabul and Ghazni are home to around 25% Pashtun population while Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif each has at least 10%.[23] With as high as 7 million by some estimates, the city of Karachi in Pakistan may have the largest concentration of urban Pashtuns in the world.[24][25] In addition, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Lahore also have sizable Pashtun populations.[26]
Pashtuns comprise roughly 15.42% of Pakistan's 174 million population.[2] In Afghanistan, they make up an estimated 42% of the 29 million population according to the CIA World Factbook.[27] Some sources give 50-60%[28][29][30][31][32][33] because the exact figure remains uncertain in Afghanistan, and are affected by the 1.7 million Afghan refugees that remain in Pakistan a majority of which are Pashtuns.[34] Another 937,600 Afghans live in Iran according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).[35] A cumulative population assessment suggests a total of around 49 million individuals all across the world.[1]
[edit] History and origins
 Part of a series onPashtuns Kingdoms (Lodi · Suri Hotaki · Durrani) Afghanistan · Pakistan Pashtunistan · Pakhtunkhwa Pashtunization  |
Further information: History of Afghanistan and History of Pakistan
The history of the Pashtun people is ancient and much of it is not fully researched. Since the 2nd millennium BC, cities in the region now inhabited by Pashtuns have seen invasions and migrations, including by Ancient Iranian peoples, the Median and Persian empires of antiquity, Greeks, Mauryas, Kushans, Hephthalites, Sassanids, Arab Muslims, Turks, Mongols, and others. In recent age, people of the Western world have explored the area as well.[36][37][38][39]There are many conflicting theories about the origin of Pashtuns, some modern and others archaic, both among historians and the Pashtuns themselves. According to most historians and experts, the true origin of the Pashtuns is some what unclear.[40]
Looking for the origin of Pashtuns and the Afghans is something like exploring the source of the Amazon. Is there one specific beginning? And are the Pashtuns originally identical with the Afghans? Although the Pashtuns nowadays constitute a clear ethnic group with their own language and culture, there is no evidence whatsoever that all modern Pashtuns share the same ethnic origin. In fact it is highly unlikely.[42]
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