ABOUT
PasHtuns

mORE InformaTION

An ANTHROPOLOGICAL SUMMARY:

The 65 million Pashtun (also spelled Pushtun, Pakhtun, Pashtoon, and Pathan) have been called the largest Muslim tribal society in the world. There are an estimated 350 separate Pashtun tribes, which can be divided into four major confederacies or groups of tribes with a common ancestry or location. Affiliated tribes may share similar dialects. Each Pashtun, then, is a member of a tribe, which is part of a confederacy, within the larger Pashtun ethnic group.

Pashtuns live primarily in Afghanistan (13 million) and Pakistan (29 million), including at least 2 million in Peshawar, the provincial capital of KP, and 5 million in the mega-city of Karachi, Pakistan—the largest concentration. There is also a significant Pashtun diaspora (Afghan and Pakistani) in the Arab Gulf (UAE) and many Western Countries.

Spread over a vast geographical area and riven by socio-economic, political, tribal, and linguistic (dialectical) differences, Pashtuns, nevertheless share a unique sense of ethnic identity. Pashtun identity is based on four core elements: Heritage (descent from a common ancestor); Islam (99.9% Muslim); the Pashtunwali Code of Honor (“The Way of the Pashtun”); and to some extent, Language (Pakhtu or Pashto). Taken together, their common lineage, Islamic faith, and honor code provide Pashtuns with a strong sense of identity and ethnic loyalty.

Pashtuns often feature in news bulletins because of their links with the Taliban, militancy and conservative Islam. Popular literature abounds with stories of oppressed, veiled women, restricted to their homes. The Pashtuns have been stereotyped by outsiders and other people groups as fierce warriors, unruly, uncouth, whose lack of education is expressed in their treatment of women and their violence to anyone who insults their honor and their faith. However, many would consider themselves to be peacemakers, as their jirga (council of elders) system and other customs facilitate peace between warring factions on a local, as well as national, level. A Pashtun will describe himself as a protector of women and “a man of peace until my honor is touched.”

Among the Pashtun, personal and corporate honor is held in the highest esteem. The Pashtuns’ honor is enshrined in a code of conduct called Pashtunwali (“The Way of the Pashtun”). The honor code covers every area of social behavior for men, women, and children.

The core value of Pashtunwali is ghairat, a notion of “honor” in which autonomy, pride, zeal, courage, manliness, self-definition, and self-determination are all wrapped up together—the ethos or spirit of a true Pashtun! Women are the holders of honor, which they express through loyalty and modesty. This strong sense of identity leads many Pashtuns to say that they are Pashtun first and Muslims second. This is especially true when there is a conflict between what religion requires and what they need to do as a Pashtun when honor is challenged. In the wisdom of their own Pashto proverbs, “A true Pashtun says, ‘May I lose my faith, but may I never lose my honor!’” “A Pashtun will throw himself in the fire (even the fire of hell!) for the sake of his honor!” Thus, both Islam and honor are moral authorities for behavior, decision-making, and daily life.

Early Missions:

There have been efforts to reach the Pashtun since 1818, when William Carey translated parts of the Old Testament into Pakhto, based on interaction with Pashtun traders who caravanned (and settled) across north India and beyond. In South Asia, the name “Pashtun/Pakhtun” was anglicized to “Pathan.” Today, the 11 million Pashtun in India, Bangladesh, and throughout South Asia are often referred to as “Pathan.”

The first intentional mission to the Pashtun was launched by the Church Missionary Society in Peshawar, Pakistan (then northwest India) in 1853. This was followed by over 150 years of faithful witness, through mission hospitals, schools, colleges, literature, friendship evangelism, and other forms of witness by national Pakistani (Punjabi) Christians and expatriate missionaries. Despite this record and the slow but growing number of scattered Pashtun believers, a vibrant, indigenous, disciple-making movement has yet to take root and spread.

The blood of the martyrs, their sacrifice, prayers, and tears, cry out, “How long, O Lord?” Pray for Pashtun from every single tribe to sit at the table with Christ in His Kingdom!

(All information sourced from an excerpt by LNB. PASHTUN. 7 Nov. 2019.)