Pashtuns

This page is for the pair with the topic: Pashtun ethnic group (include info on Sunni)

OVERVIEW The Pashtun ethnic group is from the historical area of southeast Afghanistan and northwest Pakistan. They comprise between 40 and 60 percent of the population of Afghanistan, with about 12 million Pashtuns in the country. The figure is complicated by the lack of a reliable census and 1.7 million refugees of Pashtun descent in Pakistan. They also make up over 15% of Pakistan's population, with 28.8 million people. The single city with the most Pashtuns is Karachi, the largest city in Pakistan, with approximately 7 million Pashtuns living there.

Pashtuns are tribally organized. They are divided in tribal and sub-tribal groups, to which they remain very loyal. They mainly speak the language of Pashtu or Pashto (the second official language) although some residing in Kabul and other urban areas speak Dari. The tribal divisions are one of the main sources of conflict among Pashtuns. Most Pashtuns make their living off of animal husbandry and agriculture. They also do some trading and commercial enterprises.

In Afghanistan, Pashtuns have settled there in a large semi-circular area following the Afghan border. Small groups of Pashtuns live scattered among other ethnic groups, especially in the northern regions and in the western interior due to the resettlement policies of Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, who ruled Afghanistan from 1880 to 1901.

Pashtuns are generally Sunni Muslims. Sunni (Sunnah) is the largest branch of Islam, in opposition to Shi'a, practiced by the Iranians and Hazaras.

Sunni Muslims make up 85% of Muslims all over the world. Sunni Muslims counter that there is no basis in Islam for a hereditary privileged class of spiritual leaders, and certainly no basis for the veneration or intercession of saints. Sunni Muslims contend that leadership of the community is not a birthright, but a trust that is earned and which may be given or taken away by the https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html

http://www.cal.org/co/afghan/apeop.html

http://www.about-afghanistan.com/pashtun-people.html