They Are the Highest Ethnicity on the Social Ladder and Dominate Governmental Bodies

Pashtuns:

• Pashtuns are the majority ethnic group in Afghanistan, about 42% thereby constituting just under half of the population

• They are the highest ethnicity on the social ladder and dominate governmental bodies

• Pashtu is their native language

• They consist mainly of Sunni Muslims

(http://www.amnestyusa.org/sites/default/files/kiterunnerhigh_0.pdf)

Pashtuns (Pashto: پښتانه paṣtāná, Pax̌tun, also rendered as Pushtuns, Pakhtuns, Pukhtuns), also known as ethnic Afghans (Persian: افغان) or Pathans (Urdu: پٹھان, Hindi: पठान Paṭhān), are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan. The Pashtuns are typically characterised by their usage of the Pashto language and practice of Pashtunwali, which is 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,who may be the early ancestors of Pashtuns. Since the 3rd century AD and onward, they have been referred to by the ethnonym "Afghan".

Often characterized as a warrior and martial race, their history is spread amongst various countries of South, Central and Western Asia, centred around medieval Afghanistan, which has been their traditional seat of power. During the Delhi Sultanate era, the Pashtun Lodhi dynasty replaced the Turkic kingdoms as the ruling dynasty in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, including today's Afghanistan, Pakistan and North India. Pashtuns fought the Safavid Empire and the Mughal Empire before obtaining an independent state in the early-18th century, which began with a successful revolution by the Mirwais Hotak followed by conquests by Ahmad Shah Durrani. 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.

Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan; for over 300 years, they have reigned as the dominant ethno-linguistic group, 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, which has the largest Pashtun population and where they constitute the second-largest ethnic group, having attained presidency and high positions in the armed forces.

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 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.

(Wikepedia.org)

Who are the Pashtun?

With a population of at least 50 million, the Pashtun people are Afghanistan's largest ethnic group, and are also the second-largest ethnicity in Pakistan. Pashtuns are united by the Pashto language, which is a member of the Indo-Iranian language family, although many also speak Dari (Persian) or Urdu.

One important aspect of tradition Pashtun culture is the code of Pashtunwali or Pathanwali, which sets out standards for individual and communal behavior. This code may date back to at least the second century BCE, although undoubtedly it has undergone some modifications in the past two thousand years. Some of the principles of Pashtunwali include hospitality, justice, courage, loyalty and honoring women.

Interestingly, the Pashtuns do not have a single origin myth. Since DNA evidence shows that Central Asia was among the first places peopled after humans left Africa, the ancestors of the Pashtuns may have been in the area for an incredibly long time - so long that they no longer even tell stories of having come from someplace else. The Hindu origin story, the Rigveda, which was created as early as 1700 BCE, mentions a people called the Paktha who lived in what is now Afghanistan. It seems likely that the Pashtun have been in the area for at least 4,000 years, then, and probably far longer.

Most Pashtuns today are Sunni Muslims, although a small minority are Shi'a. As a result, some aspects of Pashtunwali seem to derive from Muslim law, which was introduced long after the code first developed. For example, one important concept in Pashtunwali is the worship of a single god, Allah.

(http://asianhistory.about.com/od/glossaryps/g/Who-Are-The-Pashtun.htm)

Origins of the Afghans (Pashtuns)

By: Ali Maisam Nazary

The Afghans a.k.a Pashtuns are people that live in modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan... Little is known about where these people and their ancestors originated from. However, months of research has revealed that “Afghans” was not a description of an ethnicity or a nation. Instead, the concept of “Afghans” was the result of an alliance between various tribes that spoke Pashto. We have categorized Pashtuns in three groups: Durranis/Abdalis who live in modern day Afghanistan; Ghilzais who are descendants of Sher Khan Suri, and the Karlanris who are eastern tribes like Afridis, Bangash, Waziris, etc. Each category has its own story and has its own origins.

The original tribes of Gandahara Valley (Peshawar) were called Karlanris. They were tribes which spoke the first dialect of Pashto. The next group is the Ghilzais. The Ghilzai Tribe is the biggest Afghan tribe. They live mostly between the Durand Line and speak Pakhtu which is similar to Pashto. The Ghilzais are the archrivals of the Durranis another Afghan tribe.

The last Afghan group is the Abdalis or the Durranis. The Abdalis were actually from the Suleiman Mountains and they started migrating to southern Afghanistan around the 17th and 18th centuries. They were called Abdalis until Ahmad Khan Abdali changed it to Durrani because Nadir Afshar called him Dur e Durran which means Pearl of Pearls in Parsi. The Abdalis have been ruling Afghanistan from 1747 to 1978 when Daud Khan was overthrown in the Saur Revolution. Today, most of them are Persianized and don’t know a single word of Pashto.