Who are the Pashtun People and What Language Do They Speak?
The Pashtun people are found primarily in Afghanistan and in northwestern Pakistan. Pashtuns are also referred to as Pushtuns, Pakhtuns, Pukhtuns, and Pathans,
The primary ethnic characteristic is the use of the Pashto language and according to the Center for Applied Linguistics, the observance of Pashtunwali, set of ethnics and communal conduct.
The Pashtun people are one of the principle Afghan people groups, and in fact as Abdul Hai Habibbi notes, from the 2rd century of the common era have been referred to as Afghans.
While there are a variety of languages spoken in Afghanistan, Pashto, which is also known as Pushtu, is one of the two major languages. Pashto is spoken primarily in Afghanistan and western Pakistan. The number of Pashto-speakers is estimated to be 30-40 million, and as defined in the Constitution of Afghanistan, Pashto is an official and national language of the country.
Pashto or Pushtu is the language of the Pashtun tribe. They are indigenous inhabitants of Afghanistan. Pashto is an Iranian language and part of the Indo European family.
Pashto is spoken by about 15 million people in Afghanistan and another 20 million speakers live neighboring Pakistan, in the North-West Frontier Province.
Outside of Afghanistan and the NorthWest region of Pakistan, there are various smaller communities found throughout the region. Some are found in the Sindh region (Karachi, Hyderabad). Other smaller communities of Pashto speakers also exist in northeastern Iran.
Communities of Pashto speakers also exist in India, particularly in Muslim districts in Uttar Pradesh as well as in in certain sections of the Kashmir valley.
