Who the Southern Pashtun are
The Pashtun straddle the Afghanistan–Pakistan border and are one of the largest tribal societies on earth. Life is ordered by Pashtunwali, a code of honour, hospitality and revenge that predates Islam and is often held more tightly than it. To leave the faith is to break the code, and the consequences fall on the whole family.
Pashto Scripture exists in audio and portions, which matters in a community where literacy is low and oral transmission is everything. Most Pashtun who come to Christ do so outside the tribal areas — in the diaspora, among refugees, or through radio and phone — and then face the question of whether they can ever go home.
Signs of hope
Audio Scripture in Pashto reaching an oral culture, and a Pashtun diaspora across Pakistan, the Gulf, Europe and North America where the Gospel is free.
The honest difficulty
An honour code that makes conversion a family matter, ongoing conflict, and almost no safe place to gather inside the tribal areas.
What "Frontier" means
Fewer than 1 in 1,000 follow Jesus, and there is no indigenous movement large enough to grow on its own. Most people in this group will never meet a Christian.
This describes access to the Gospel, not the worth of a people or the sincerity of anyone's faith.
How to pray for the Southern Pashtun
Take one of these for a week rather than all of them for a day.
- Pray for Pashtun believers, who very often cannot go home.
- Thank God for Pashto audio Scripture reaching an oral culture.
- Ask God to work through Pashtun refugee communities in Pakistan, Europe and North America.
- Pray for peace across the Afghanistan–Pakistan borderlands.
Where the Southern Pashtun live
Each nation profile carries church size, unreached peoples, what is going well, what is hard, and four prayer points.
Questions people ask about the Southern Pashtun
Who are the Southern Pashtun people?
The Southern Pashtun (also called Pathan, Pakhtun) are a people group of roughly 16 million, living mainly in Afghanistan, Pakistan. They speak Pashto and are predominantly Islam (Sunni). A people defined by a code of honour that makes following Jesus cost almost everything. Population figures for people groups vary considerably by source and by how a group is defined.
Are the Southern Pashtun an unreached people group?
The Southern Pashtun are classified as frontier. Fewer than 1 in 1,000 follow Jesus, and there is no indigenous movement large enough to grow on its own. Most people in this group will never meet a Christian. Scripture status: New Testament and portions; audio Scripture available.
How can I pray for the Southern Pashtun?
Pray for Pashtun believers, who very often cannot go home. Thank God for Pashto audio Scripture reaching an oral culture. Take one of these for a week rather than all of them for a day.