The Pashtuns, or Pathans, as some call them, are a people whose story feels like it has been stitched together from the rugged mountains and dusty plains they have called home for centuries. Over 50 million strong today, they are the heartbeat of Afghanistan, making up 42-60% of its roughly 38 million population and the second-biggest ethnic group in Pakistan, clocking in at about 43 million, or 18.24% of its 240 million population, according to Pakistan’s 2024 census. Their historical home sprawl from Afghanistan’s Hindu Kush peaks to Pakistan’s Indus River banks.
History of the Pashtun People
The Pashtun’s origin is shrouded in mystery. One particularly popular story in Pathan history dubs them to be a lost tribe of the Israelites, as a grandson of Israel’s King Saul, tying them to a grand Semitic lineage. Though interesting, this lineage is not backed by hard evidence and is more mythological than empirical. Olaf Caroe, who wrote The Pathans back in 1958, produced a more academic lineage. He believes they are more likely tied to eastern Iranian tribes who rolled into the region around 1000 BCE. Science backs this up: studies in the European Journal of Human Genetics (2012) show that over 50% of Pashtuns carry R1a1a*-M198 marker, linking them to Central Asia and West Eurasia, not so much South Asia.
Afghan Historian Abdul Hai Habibi throws another angle into the mix, suggesting they are a mash-up of old East Iranian groups, like the Pakhtas from the Rigveda (circa 1700 BCE), blended with later waves like the Kushans and Hephthalites. “They started as a bunch of East-Iranian tribes that glued together into what we know as Pashtun,” says Yu. V. Gankovsky in The Peoples of Pakistan (1971). This all started around the mid-first millennium CE after the Hephthalites fizzled out. Their language, Pashto, with its Eastern Iranian influence, is like a fingerprint proving they are distinct from the Turkic and Indic crowds nearby.
Pashtun Culture
A major cultural cornerstone of the Pashtun people is their adherence to Pashtunwali, an ancient pre-Islamic tribal code that’s more a way of life than a rulebook. It emphasises hospitality, a fierce sense of justice, abundant courage, always protecting one’s honour, and seeking revenge for those who wronged you. This code goes back to at least 200 BCE, long before Islam swept in between the 7th and 11th centuries, and it is still kicking, woven right into their faith.
They’re split into countless tribes, such as the Durrani and Ghilzai in Afghanistan and the Yusufzai and Afridi in Pakistan, each with its own land and influence.
Prior to the arrival of Islam, the region Pashtun called home saw many rulers, most famously the Achaemenids in the 6th century and then the Macedonian Army under the tutelage of Alexander the Great. After the conversion of the Pashtun tribes to Islam, Afghanistan became a staging ground for subsequent invasions into Northern India. These conquests would be instrumental in converting the regions of modern-day Pakistan and Bangladesh to Islam and promoting Islamic rule and influence over the Indian subcontinent.
The Khalji dynasty (1290–1320) was started by Jalaluddin Khalji, a tough Pashtun from Afghanistan’s Ghilzai tribe. He grabbed Delhi’s throne in 1290, but his nephew, Alauddin Khalji (r. 1296-1316), turned it up. Alauddin smashed Mongol invaders, repelling five raids between 1297 and 1306, conquered Gujarat, Rajasthan, and South India, and ruled over 11 million subjects by some counts (Medieval India, Satish Chandra, 1999). His tax hikes and market controls were brutal but kept the kingdom running.
Fast-forward to the Lodi dynasty (1451-1526), the last Pashtun conqueror in Delhi. Bahlul Lodi, a trader-turned-warrior from the Lodi tribe, took power in 1451 with just 12,000 horsemen. His son Sikandar (r. 1489-1517) built cities like Agra and ran a tight ship, while Ibrahim Lodi (r. 1517-1526) faced rebellions and lost it all to Babur’s Mughals at Panipat in 1526. 20,000 Lodis fell to 12,000 Mughals.
The Pashtuns would not be ousted for long. Sher Shah Suri, born in 1486 to a Pashtun family of the Sur tribe in Sasaram (modern Bihar), served the Mughals before turning rebellious, ousting Humayun in 1540 to found the Sur Empire (1540-1556). With just 15,000 troops, he crushed Humayun’s 40,000 at Chausa in 1539, then sealed it at Kannauj in 1540 (Medieval India, Satish Chandra, 1999).
Sher Shah ruled only five years (1540-1545) but packed a punch. He conquered Bengal, Malwa, and Rajasthan, stretching his realm from Punjab to the Bay of Bengal. His real genius? Governance. He built the Grand Trunk Road, over 1,500 miles long, set up 1,700 serais (rest stops), and minted the silver rupiya, India’s first standard coin.
Even after the Mughals bested Suri, the Pashtuns remained fiercely independent. In the late 1580s, Mughal Emperor Akbar had a real mess on his hands trying to wrangle the Pashtun tribes along India’s northwest frontier, a stretch he desperately needed to lock down. The Yusufzais, Pashtuns who inhabited the regions from Swat and Buner, weren’t content with Mughal rule. They’d always valued their independence, so conflicts with imperial powers were bound to take place.
Take 1586, the Battle of Malandari Pass, where about 8,000 Mughal troops, led by Zain Khan Koka and Birbal, marched in hoping to quell the rebellion. The Yusufzai Confederacy, led by Kalu Khan Yusufzai, used the hills like a weapon. They hit hard with guerrilla tricks and quick strikes and disappeared into the rocks, turning the Battle of Malandari Pass into a Mughal nightmare. Birbal, along with the entire invading army, was annihilated.
Many other attempts were made, but they were fraught with failure, leading Akbar to handle the situation with diplomacy when he married a Yusufzai noblewoman around 1590.
Another major rebellion against the Mughals was led by the legendary warrior-poet Khushal Khan Khattak. He was more than a poet; he was a Pashtun chief who turned against the Mughals with fire in his heart. Born in Akora Khattak, he became the Khattak tribe’s chief on January 4, 1641, after his father, Shahbaz Khan, died. Shah Jahan confirmed his role, and Khushal served loyally, joining the 1645 Badakhshan campaign and guarding the Peshawar-Attock road with honour. However, in 1658, everything changed. On April 13, Aurangzeb, newly crowned and wary of Khushal’s influence, had him arrested and locked in Gwalior Fortress until January 1664. After a stint in Delhi’s Mountain prison, he returned home in the spring of 1668, bitter and betrayed.
The rebellion ignited in 1672. On February 17, Mughal troops under Amir Khan harassed Safi women in Kunar, sparking outrage. Khushal, now 59, allied with Aimal Khan Mohmand and Darya Khan Afridi. On April 22, they ambushed Amir Khan’s 40,000-strong force at Ali Masjid in the Khyber Pass. Only four survived. Khushal’s poetry roared defiance: “My sword I girt upon my thigh / To guard our nation’s ancient fame.”
By 1674, Aurangzeb camped at Attock, desperate to reclaim the Grand Trunk Road. However, Maharaja Jaswant Singh struck back, and by late 1675, Darya and Aimal fell, Khushal’s son Behram turned traitor, and Mughal bribes,12 lakh rupees yearly, split the tribes. On January 3, 1676, Khushal handed leadership to his son Ashraf and retreated to Tirah.
When he died in 1689, he demanded that no Mughal dust touch his grave, a poet’s final rebellion that echoed beyond his time.
Now, jump ahead to the 1700s, and you have got Ahmad Shah Abdali (1722-1772), or Durrani, as he would later be called, doing something even bigger. Born in Multan to the Sadozai clan, he had been a top gun under Persia’s Nadir Shah. When Nadir was assassinated in 1747, Abdali grabbed Kandahar and pulled the Pashtun tribes, Durrani, Ghilzai, and others, into one tight unit. His Durrani Empire stretched over 2.5 million square kilometres, swallowing up modern Afghanistan, Pakistan, bits of Iran, and northwest India. Second only to the Ottomans among all the Muslim states.
Abdali was a whirlwind. He made nine trips into India from 1748 to 1767, thrashing Delhi in 1757 and crushing the Marathas at Panipat in 1761 with 40,000 Pashtun riders against 70,000. This victory, costing 20,000 Maratha lives, secured Mughal tribute and cemented Pashtun dominance in the region. His success hinged on Pashtun martial traditions, mobility, loyalty, and tribal cohesion, transforming them into a disciplined imperial machine.
Pashtuns of Afghanistan
Beyond conquest, Abdali fostered Pashtun’s identity. Proclaimed “Father of Afghanistan,” he established Kabul as a capital, blending Pashtunwali’s tribal code with Islamic governance. After he died in 1772, the empire fragmented, yet his Durrani successors ruled the Emirate of Afghanistan until 1926.
With the gradual encroachment of British colonizers, rule over India became difficult. The Pashtuns were slowly relegated back to Afghanistan, given a string of Sikh victories, but all the old powers swiftly fell to the iron of the East India Company. In 1842, the British attempted to subdue Afghanistan in the First-Anglo-Afghan War but faced a devasting defeat, unprepared for the land’s rugged terrain. Subsequent battles concurred, and the outcome was complete independence for Afghanistan with the condition of honouring the Durand Line.
The Durand Line was established in 1893 as the international border between the Emirate of Afghanistan and the British Raj by its namesake, Mortimer Durand, a British diplomat, and the Emir of Afghanistan to fix the limit of their respective spheres of influence and improve diplomatic relations and trade. This borderline has been of particular contention for Kabul since its inception.
Pashtuns of Pakistan
However, the Pashtuns in British India would form a distinct identity. In the struggle for independence, they became the frontrunners for establishing the State of Pakistan, with Pashtun statesmen working day and night with Jinnah to make the Pakistani dream come true.
Abdul Ghaffar Khan – Bacha Khan
Though not a traditional ally, Abdul Ghaffar Khan, or Bacha Khan, was a vital Pashtun force in Pakistan’s foundation. Born in 1890 in Utmanzai, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, into the Yusufzai tribe, he founded the Khudai Khidmatgar Movement in 1929, merging it with Congress. His “Red Shirts” spread education and curbed tribal feuds, strengthening Pakistan’s social fabric. In 1948, at a Peshawar Loi Jirga, he gifted Quaid-i-Azam Jinnah tribal items, symbolizing Pashtun pride. Addressing students, he urged fearless criticism and duty to the state. Though they had different political goals, he never disparaged the goal of building an Islamic state for Muslims in British India.
Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar
A more traditionally aligned leader was Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar (1899–1958), who emerged as a towering figure in the Pakistan Movement, embodying the Pashtun spirit of resilience and dedication. Born into the Kakar tribe in Peshawar, he studied at Edwardes College, Punjab University, and Aligarh Muslim University, snagging a law degree. At first, he ran with Congress during the Khilafat Movement (1919–1920), but their tilt against Muslims pushed him away.
By the 1930s, he had found his home in the Muslim League, and that is when he started writing to Jinnah. Take his letter from June 16, 1937, fresh off winning a seat in the NWFP Assembly as an independent; he poured out his heart: “The Muslim masses and youth want complete independence… that they want to take an active part in the movement for the emancipation of their motherland.”
Their bond deepened as the stakes rose. With Congress in power by May 18, 1938, Nishtar wrote about meeting Gandhi during his NWFP visit. “Today every Mussalman of India had admitted the authority of Mr. Jinnah to negotiate with the Congress on behalf of the Mussalmans. Not a dissenting voice has been heard,” he said, pressing Gandhi on a communal settlement.
Fast forward to 1946, with Pakistan on the horizon, and Nishtar’s letters got urgent. On January 9, he begged for Rs. 50,000 for the Frontier League’s election push: “We have exhausted our funds, send it quick!” Then, on March 7, he fumed over Punjab Governor Sir Francis Mudie picking Khizr Hayat Khan as premier, ignoring the Muslim majority’s vote. “This is a challenge to test our mettle,” he warned Jinnah. “If we do not act, they will force a Federation Akhand Hindustan on us.” By June 12, 1947, with the NWFP referendum looming, Nishtar was in Delhi, pleading with Jinnah to press the Viceroy to release jailed League workers and secure petrol for campaigning. “The Ministry may create trouble, and by the time representations are made to the Central Government and a redress is sought, valuable time will be lost,” he wrote.
Amin ul-Hasanat – The Pir of Manki Sharif
Equally vital was Amin ul-Hasanat, the Pir of Manki Sharif (1922–1960), a spiritual and political leader whose efforts decisively tilted the NWFP toward Pakistan. Son of Pir Abdul Rauf, Hasanat inherited a legacy of religious authority among Pashtuns. Joining the Muslim League in 1945, inspired by the 1940 Pakistan Resolution, he mobilized the region’s ulema and masses for Jinnah’s cause.
His most significant contribution came during the 1947 NWFP referendum, which he passionately campaigned for. Organizing a historic ulema meeting in Peshawar in October 1945 and inviting Jinnah to tour the province, Hasanat galvanized Pashtun support, ensuring the NWFP’s inclusion in Pakistan over India. Though he later distanced himself from the League due to ideological differences with local leadership, his early role was indispensable.
Beyond the struggle for independence, Jinnah was said to have a soft spot for the Pashtun people as well: he made multiple visits to Islamia College Peshawar (ICP) in 1936, 1945, and 1948, highlighted his admiration for its stunning domes, lush lawns, and majestic architecture, as well as the students’ pivotal role in the Pakistan Movement. In his 1948 visit as Governor-General, he praised them, saying, “I am happy to address this great Darul Uloom’s students, future builders of Pakistan.” Joining the Khyber Union in 1936 and naming ICP among his property heirs in his 1939 will, his love endured. The Quaid Trust later donated Rs10.81 million, funding the Quaid-i-Azam College of Commerce, Jinnah quarters, Jinnah College for Women, and Takbeer block.
The Pashtuns also fought for Pakistan from day one; when it came to freeing Kashmir, the Pashtuns were the muscle in 1947. After partition, tribal warriors, mostly Pashtuns from Waziristan and Swat, stormed into Jammu and Kashmir, sparked by Maharaja Hari Singh’s tilt toward India. On October 22, they hit Muzaffarabad with 2,000 fighters, scattering a 500-strong state army. They pushed to Baramulla, looting and fighting, until India airlifted troops to Srinagar. Without those Pashtun bands, Azad Jammu and Kashmir might still be under Indian control.
Ayub Khan
Today, the Pashtuns dominate many important fields in Pakistan. Take Ayub Khan (1958–1969), Pakistan’s first military ruler from the Tareen tribe. He did not just seize power. He reshaped the country with economic reforms and infrastructure projects, laying a foundation for modernization.
Ghulam Ishaq Khan
Then there is Ghulam Ishaq Khan (1988–1993), a Bannu-born bureaucrat who climbed from the Senate to the presidency. His tenure was stormy, marked by the dismissal of Benazir Bhutto’s government in 1990, a bold move that stirred Pakistan’s fragile democracy. Before his presidency, Ghulam Ishaq Khan wielded influence as Finance Secretary and Federal Board of Revenue Chairman, a testament to Pashtun’s administrative prowess.
Imran Khan
Imran Khan (2018–2022) brought a fresh Pashtun voice to the Prime Minister’s office. He founded Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and championed anti-corruption and social welfare, blending his cricketing fame with political zeal.
More Influential Personalities in Pathan History
As Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Inspector General, Nasir Durrani revolutionized policing and counterterrorism, while Safwat Ghayur, Frontier Constabulary Commandant, gave his life, fighting terror in 2010, a Pashtun hero to the end.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Arbab Jehangir Khan (1985–1988) and Ameer Haider Khan Hoti (2008–2013) shone as Chief Ministers. Jehangir steadied regional politics.
Justice Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan, Chief Justice of Peshawar High Court (2004–2009) and later Federal Shariat Court Chairman, embodied Pashtun integrity, strengthening judicial oversight with a steady hand.
Abdul Ghani Khan (1914-1996). Ghaffar’s son wrote philosophical Pashto gems like The Pathan, blending wit and depth. Hamza Baba (1907-1994) crafted 20,000+ romantic ghazals, earning Sitara-e-Imtiaz in 1982.
Badar Munir, a 1970s-80s Pashto film icon, starred in over 400 movies. Think Yousuf Khan Sher Bano (1970), a rugged draw for millions. Jamal Shah (b. 1956), Quetta-born, acted in 30+ dramas, directed Revenge of the Worthless (2016), and ran the National Council of the Arts (2013-2017).
In Pakistan’s favourite sport, Shahid Afridi, who smashed 351 sixes in 398 ODIs, snagged the 2009 T20 World Cup with 11 wickets and holds a 37-ball century record (1996).
Younis Khan from Mardan piled up 10,099 Test runs (34 centuries, avg. 52.05), captaining to 2009 glory.
Misbah-ul-Haq, Mianwali Pashtun, scored 5,222 Test runs, winning 26 of 56 Tests as captain.
Umar Gul from Peshawar took 85 T20 wickets, Pakistan’s best, while Imam-ul-Haq hit 3,000 ODI runs (avg. 50) by 2023.
Presence in Armed Forces
Pashtuns have long dominated Pakistan’s military elite, being the second most dominant ethnic group in the institution after Punjabis. Air Marshal Asghar Khan (1957–1965), the first native Pakistan Air Force chief, modernized the skies before diving into politics with Tehreek-e-Istiqlal. Air Marshal Hakeemullah Khan Durrani bolstered air defences as Chief of Air Staff. General Abdul Waheed Kakar (1993–1996) steadied the nation as Army Chief during the 1990s political chaos, mediating crises with a cool head.
In the military, we also have heroes such as Lt. Col. Sher Khan Shaheed (1970-1999), a Yusafzai Pashtun who died in the 1999 Kargil War, holding Tiger Hill against 300 Indian troops, posthumously awarded Nishan-e-Haider after killing 30+ combatants, halting their advance single-handedly for hours.
From poets who sang defiance to cricketers who smashed records, actors who captivated, and soldiers who bled, Pashtuns have carved Pakistan’s story with sweat and steel. They have left an indelible mark not only in Afghanistan and Pakistan but across the world. They have produced great businessmen, cricketers, athletes, and more, making significant progress globally.
If you want to submit your articles, research papers, and book reviews, please check the Submissions page.
The views and opinions expressed in this article/paper are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of Paradigm Shift.
The author is studying Economics at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) with a keen interest in financial affairs, international relations, and geo-politics.