Editing Pashtuns (section)

== Modern era ==
{{See also|Pashtun nationalism}}
[[File:Sher Ali Khan and company of Afghanistan in 1869.jpg|thumb|[[List of monarchs of Afghanistan|Afghan Amir]] [[Sher Ali Khan]] (in the center with his son) and his delegation in [[Ambala]], near [[Lahore]], in 1869|left]]
Their modern past stretches back to the [[Delhi Sultanate]] ([[Khalji dynasty|Khalji]] and [[Lodi dynasty]]), the [[Hotak dynasty]] and the [[Durrani Empire]]. The Hotak rulers rebelled against the [[Safavids]] and seized control over much of Persia from 1722 to 1729.<ref name="Browne">{{Cite web|url=http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D90001014%26ct%3D29|title=A Literary History of Persia, Volume 4: Modern Times (1500–1924), Chapter IV. An Outline Of The History Of Persia During The Last Two Centuries (A.D. 1722–1922)|author=Edward G. Browne, M.A., M.B.|location=London|publisher=[[Packard Humanities Institute]]|access-date=9 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726142425/http://persian.packhum.org/persian/main?url=pf%3Ffile%3D90001014&ct=29|archive-date=26 July 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> This was followed by the conquests of [[Ahmad Shah Durrani]] who was a former high-ranking military commander under [[Nader Shah]] and founder of the Durrani Empire, which covered most of what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan, [[Kashmir region|Kashmir]], [[Punjab, India|Indian Punjab]], as well as the [[Quhistan|Kohistan]] and [[Khorasan province|Khorasan]] provinces of Iran.<ref name="Last-Afghan-empire">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/7798/Afghanistan/21392/Last-Afghan-empire|title=Last Afghan empire|author=[[Louis Dupree (professor)|Louis Dupree]], [[Nancy Hatch Dupree]]|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=10 September 2010|display-authors=etal}}</ref> After the decline of the [[Durrani dynasty]] in the first half of the 19th century under [[Shuja Shah Durrani]], the [[Barakzai dynasty]] took control of the empire. Specifically, the [[Mohamedzai]]s held Afghanistan's monarchy from around 1826 to the end of [[Mohammed Zahir Shah|Zahir Shah]]'s reign in 1973.

During the so-called "[[The Great Game|Great Game]]" of the 19th century, rivalry between the [[British Empire|British]] and [[Russian Empire|Russian]] empires was useful to the Pashtuns of Afghanistan in resisting foreign control and retaining a degree of autonomy (see the [[Siege of Malakand]]). However, during the reign of [[Abdur Rahman Khan]] (1880–1901), [[Pashtunistan|Pashtun regions]] were [[politically]] divided by the [[Durand Line]] – areas that would become western Pakistan fell within British India as a result of the border.
[[File:Abdul Ghaffar Khan and Gandhi in 1940.jpg|thumb|Leader of the [[Nonviolence|non-violent]] [[Khudai Khidmatgar]], also referred to as "the Red shirts" movement, [[Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan|Bacha Khan]], standing with [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi|Mohandas Gandhi]]]]
In the 20th century, many politically active Pashtun leaders living under British rule of undivided India supported [[Indian independence movement|Indian independence]], including [[Ashfaqulla Khan]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Thakurta|first=R.N. Guha|title=The Contemporary, Volume 22|year=1978|publisher=National Galvanizing Pvt. Limited}}</ref><ref name="Rajesh">{{cite book|last=Rajesh|first=K. Guru|title=Sarfarosh: A Naadi Exposition of the Lives of Indian Revolutionaries|publisher=Notion Press|isbn=9789352061730|page=524|quote=Ashfaqullah's father, Shafeequlla Khan, was a member of a Pathan military family.}}</ref> [[Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai]], [[Ajmal Khattak]], [[Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan|Bacha Khan]] and his son [[Khan Abdul Wali Khan|Wali Khan]] (both members of the [[Khudai Khidmatgar]]), and were inspired by [[Mohandas Gandhi]]'s [[nonviolence|non-violent]] method of resistance.<ref name="Brit-Ghaffar-Khan">{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/232353/Khan-Abdul-Ghaffar-Khan|title=Abdul Ghaffar Khan|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=24 September 2008}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-heroes/abdul-ghaffar-khan.html|title=Abdul Ghaffar Khan|publisher=I Love India|access-date=24 September 2008}}</ref> Many Pashtuns also worked in the [[All India Muslim League|Muslim League]] to fight for an independent Pakistan through non violent resistance, including [[Yusuf Khattak]] and [[Sardar Abdur Rab Nishtar|Abdur Rab Nishtar]] who was a close associate of [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]].<ref name="iloveindia">{{Cite web|url=http://www.pakpost.gov.pk/philately/stamps2003/mohammad_yousaf_khan_khattak.html|title=Mohammad Yousaf Khan Khattak|website=Pakpost.gov.pk|access-date=14 December 2021|archive-date=18 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118020240/http://www.pakpost.gov.pk/philately/stamps2003/mohammad_yousaf_khan_khattak.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The Pashtuns of Afghanistan attained complete independence from British [[Interventionism (politics)|political intervention]] during the reign of [[Amanullah Khan]], following the [[European influence in Afghanistan#Third Anglo-Afghan War and Independence|Third Anglo-Afghan War]]. By the 1950s a popular call for [[Pashtunistan]] began to be heard in Afghanistan and the new state of Pakistan. This led to bad relations between the two nations. The Afghan monarchy ended when [[List of Presidents of Afghanistan|President]] [[Mohammed Daoud Khan|Daoud Khan]] [[1973 Afghan coup d'état|seized control of Afghanistan]] from his cousin [[Zahir Shah]] in 1973 on a [[Pashtun nationalism|Pashtun Nationalist]] agenda, which opened doors for a [[proxy war]] by neighbours. In April 1978, [[Saur Revolution|Daoud Khan was assassinated]] along with his family and relatives in a bloody coup orchestrated by [[Hafizullah Amin]]. [[Afghan mujahideen]] commanders in exile in neighbouring Pakistan began recruiting for a [[guerrilla warfare]] against the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]] – the Marxist government which was also dominated by Pashtun [[Khalq]]ists who held [[Pashtun nationalism|Nationalist]] views including [[Hafizullah Amin]], [[Nur Muhammad Taraki]], General [[Mohammad Aslam Watanjar|Mohammad Aslam Vatanjar]], [[Shahnawaz Tanai]], [[Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy|Mohammad Gulabzoy]] and many more. In 1979, the [[Soviet Union]] intervened in its southern neighbour Afghanistan in order to defeat a rising insurgency. The Afghan mujahideen were funded by the United States, Saudi Arabia, China and others, and included some Pashtun commanders such as [[Abdul Rasul Sayyaf]], [[Gulbuddin Hekmatyar]], [[Jalaluddin Haqqani]], [[Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi]] and [[Mohammad Yunus Khalis]]. In the meantime, millions of Pashtuns joined the [[Afghan diaspora]] in [[Afghans in Pakistan|Pakistan]] and [[Afghans in Iran|Iran]], and from there tens of thousands proceeded to Europe, North America, Oceania and other parts of the world.<ref name="wider.unu.edu">{{cite web|title=Young Afghan refugees and asylum seekers in the UK|url=https://www.wider.unu.edu/publication/young-afghan-refugees-and-asylum-seekers-uk|website=UN university|date=18 June 2018}}</ref> The Afghan government and [[Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan|military]] would remain predominantly Pashtun until the fall of [[Mohammad Najibullah|Mohammad Najibullah's]] [[Republic of Afghanistan (1978-1992)|Republic of Afghanistan]] in April 1992.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ahady|first=Anwar-ul-Haq|date=1995|title=The Decline of the Pashtuns in Afghanistan|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2645419|journal=Asian Survey|volume=35|issue=7|pages=621–634|doi=10.2307/2645419|jstor=2645419|issn=0004-4687}}</ref>
[[File:Secretary Pompeo Meets with the Taliban Negotiation Team (50632321483).jpg|thumb|American diplomat [[Zalmay Khalilzad]] with the [[Taliban]] officials [[Abdul Ghani Baradar]], [[Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai]], [[Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai]] and [[Suhail Shaheen]]]]
[[File:Imran Khan WEF.jpg|thumb|[[Imran Khan]], Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician and former Prime Minister, belongs to the [[Niazi]] tribe.]]
Many high-ranking government officials in the [[Islamic Republic of Afghanistan]] were Pashtuns, including: [[Abdul Rahim Wardak]], [[Abdul Salam Azimi]], [[Anwar ul-Haq Ahady]], [[Amirzai Sangin]], [[Ghulam Farooq Wardak]], [[Hamid Karzai]], [[Mohammad Ishaq Aloko]], [[Omar Zakhilwal]], [[Sher Mohammad Karimi]], [[Zalmay Rasoul]], [[Yousef Pashtun]]. The [[list of current governors of Afghanistan]] also include large percentage of Pashtuns. [[Mullah Yaqoob]] serves as acting Defense Minister, [[Sirajuddin Haqqani]] as acting Interior Minister, [[Amir Khan Muttaqi]] as acting Foreign Minister, [[Gul Agha Ishakzai]] as acting Finance Minister, and [[Hasan Akhund]] as acting Prime Minister. A number of other ministers are also Pashtuns.

The Afghan [[royal family]], which was represented by [[Mohammad Zahir Shah|King Zahir Shah]], are referred to [[Mohammadzai]]s. Other prominent Pashtuns include the 17th-century poets [[Khushal Khan Khattak]] and [[Rahman Baba]], and in contemporary era [[Astronaut#Terminology|Afghan Astronaut]] [[Abdul Ahad Mohmand]], former [[United States Ambassador to the United Nations|U.S. Ambassador]] [[Zalmay Khalilzad]], and [[Ashraf Ghani]] among many others.

Many Pashtuns of Pakistan and India have adopted non-Pashtun cultures, mainly by abandoning Pashto and using languages such as [[Urdu]], [[Punjabi language|Punjabi]], and [[Hindko language|Hindko]].<ref name="Hakala2012">{{cite magazine|last=Hakala|first=Walter N.|url=https://media.nationalgeographic.org/assets/file/asia_8.pdf|title=Languages as a Key to Understanding Afghanistan's Cultures|year=2012|magazine=[[National Geographic]]|access-date=13 March 2018|quote=In the 1980s and '90s, at least three million Afghans—mostly Pashtun—fled to Pakistan, where a substantial number spent several years being exposed to Hindustani-language media, especially Bollywood films and songs, and being educated in Urdu-language schools, both of which contributed to the decline of Dari, even among urban Pashtuns.}}</ref> These include [[Malik Ghulam Muhammad|Ghulam Mohammad]] (first [[Finance Minister of Pakistan|Finance Minister]], from 1947 to 1951, and third [[Governor-General of Pakistan]], from 1951 to 1955),<ref name="express">{{cite web|last=Rahi|first=Arwin|date=25 February 2020|title=Why Afghanistan should leave Pakistani Pashtuns alone|url=https://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/94157/why-afghanistan-should-leave-pakistani-pashtuns-alone/|access-date=26 June 2020|website=The Express Tribune|language=en-US|archive-date=3 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503132315/https://blogs.tribune.com.pk/story/94157/why-afghanistan-should-leave-pakistani-pashtuns-alone/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="pakistanherald">{{cite web|date=23 July 2017|title=Malik Ghulam Muhammad – Governor-General of Pakistan|url=http://www.pakistanherald.com/profile/malik-ghulam-muhammad-1177|access-date=9 August 2020|website=Pakistan Herald|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170723042210/http://www.pakistanherald.com/profile/malik-ghulam-muhammad-1177|archive-date=23 July 2017}}</ref><ref name="samaatv">{{cite web|title=Ex Gov.Gen. Ghulam Muhammad's 54th death anniversary today|url=https://www.samaa.tv/news/2010/08/ex-gov-gen-ghulam-muhammad-s-54th-death-anniversary-today/|access-date=9 August 2020|publisher=Samaa TV|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Kakazai">{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1365402|title=The history of Lahore's Kakayzais|last=Sheikh|first=Majid|date=22 October 2017|newspaper=Dawn|location=Pakistan|access-date=28 February 2018|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Routledge, Kumarasingham">{{cite book|last1=Kumarasingham|first1=H.|date=2016|chapter=Bureaucratic Statism|title=Constitution-making in Asia: Decolonisation and State-Building in the Aftermath of the British Empire|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GwjeCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT160|publisher=Routledge|location=U.S.|edition=1|isbn=978-1-317-24509-4}}</ref> [[Ayub Khan (President of Pakistan)|Ayub Khan]], who was the second [[President of Pakistan]], [[Zakir Husain (politician)|Zakir Husain]] who was the third [[President of India]] and [[Abdul Qadeer Khan]], father of Pakistan's [[Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction|nuclear weapons program]].

Many more held high government posts, such as [[Asfandyar Wali Khan]], [[Mahmood Khan Achakzai]], [[Sirajul Haq]], and [[Aftab Ahmad Sherpao]], who are presidents of their respective political parties in Pakistan. Others became famous in sports (e.g., [[Imran Khan]], [[Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi]], [[Younis Khan]], [[Shahid Afridi]], [[Irfan Pathan]], [[Jahangir Khan]], [[Jansher Khan]], [[Hashim Khan]], [[Rashid Khan (cricketer)|Rashid Khan]], [[Shaheen Afridi]], [[Naseem Shah (cricketer)|Naseem Shah]], [[Misbah-ul-Haq|Misbah Ul Haq]], [[Mujeeb Ur Rahman]] and [[Mohammad Wasim (cricketer, born 2001)|Mohammad Wasim]]) and literature (e.g., [[Khan Abdul Ghani Khan|Ghani Khan]], [[Hamza Shinwari]], and [[Kabir Stori]]). [[Malala Yousafzai]], who became the youngest [[Nobel Peace Prize]] recipient in [[2014 Nobel Peace Prize|2014]], is a Pakistani Pashtun. Pashtuns are considered to be well-integrated in the Pakistani society, and as per a 2009 [[Pew Research Center]] report 92% of the Pashtuns identified with their Pakistani identity before their ethnic Pashtun identity.<ref>[[Pew Research Center]]. (2009, August 13). ''[https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2009/08/13/chapter-2-religion-law-and-society/ Chapter 2. Religion, Law, and Society]''. Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. [https://web.archive.org/web/20250512155333/https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2009/08/13/chapter-2-religion-law-and-society/ Archived] May 12, 2025.

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Many of the [[Bollywood]] film stars in India have Pashtun ancestry; some of the most notable ones are [[Aamir Khan]], [[Shah Rukh Khan|Shahrukh Khan]], [[Salman Khan]], [[Feroz Khan (Indian actor)|Feroz Khan]], [[Madhubala]], [[Kader Khan]], [[Saif Ali Khan]], [[Soha Ali Khan]], [[Sara Ali Khan]], and [[Zarine Khan]].<ref name="Devasher2022"/><ref name="pathan"/> In addition, one of India's former presidents, [[Zakir Husain]], belonged to the [[Afridi (Pashtun)|Afridi]] tribe.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Famous Indians of the 21st century|last1=Sharma|first1=Vishwamitra|year=2007|publisher=Pustak Mahal|isbn=978-81-223-0829-7|page=60|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jx1XJp6wOFAC&pg=PA60|access-date=18 September 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Dr. Zakir Hussain, quest for truth (by Ziāʼulḥasan Fārūqī)|last1=Fārūqī|first1=Z̤iāʼulḥasan|year=1999|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=81-7648-056-8|page=8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uzNnwUasQ3wC&pg=PA8}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Educational thought|last1=Johri|first1=P.K|year=1999|publisher=Anmol Publications PVT. LTD|isbn=81-261-2175-0|page=267|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dAYxGg0w8xMC&pg=PA267}}</ref> [[Mohammad Yunus (diplomat)|Mohammad Yunus]], India's former ambassador to Algeria and advisor to [[Indira Gandhi]], is of Pashtun origin and related to the legendary Bacha Khan.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2003/05/26/stories/2003052600431000.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030703101955/http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/2003/05/26/stories/2003052600431000.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 July 2003|title=To Islamabad and the Frontier|access-date=1 August 2007|location=Chennai, India|date=26 May 2003|work=The Hindu|quote=Ruled now by parties of the religious right, the Frontier province emerges soon after one proceeds westwards from Islamabad. I was lucky to find Ajmal Khan Khattak in his humble home in Akora Khattak, beyond the Indus. Once Badshah Khan's young lieutenant, Mr. Khattak spent years with him in Afghanistan and offered a host of memories. And I was able to meet Badshah Khan's surviving children, Wali Khan, the famous political figure of the NWFP, and his half-sister, Mehr Taj, whose husband Yahya Jan, a schoolmaster who became a Minister in the Frontier, was the brother of the late Mohammed Yunus, who had made India his home.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Commonwealth and Nehru|last1=Darbari|first1=Raj|year=1983|publisher=Vision Books|isbn=81-261-2175-0|page=28}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Pathan unarmed: opposition & memory in the North West Frontier (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)|quote=He was visiting his cousin Mohammed Yunus, a Pathan who had chosen to move to Delhi at Partition and become a well-known figure in the Congress regime.|publisher=James Currey}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopædia of Muslim Biography|quote=Mohammad Yunus is belong to a rich and distinguished Pathan family and son of Haji Ghulam Samdani (1827–1926).|publisher=A.P.H. Pub. Corp.}}</ref>

In the late 1990s, Pashtuns were the primary ethnic group in the ruling regime i.e. [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]] (Taliban regime).<ref>{{Cite web|last=Watkins|first=Andrew|date=17 August 2022|title=One Year Later: Taliban Reprise Repressive Rule, but Struggle to Build a State|url=https://www.usip.org/publications/2022/08/one-year-later-taliban-reprise-repressive-rule-struggle-build-state|access-date=27 February 2023|website=United States Institute of Peace}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="BBC Taliban">{{cite web|last=Cruickshank|first=Dan|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/recent/sept_11/afghan_culture_03.shtml|title=Afghanistan: At the Crossroads of Ancient Civilisations|publisher=BBC|access-date=10 October 2006}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=July 2021}} The [[Northern Alliance]] that was fighting against the Taliban also included a number of Pashtuns. Among them were [[Abdullah Abdullah]], [[Abdul Qadir (Afghan leader)|Abdul Qadir]] and his brother [[Abdul Haq (Afghan leader)|Abdul Haq]], [[Abdul Rasul Sayyaf]], [[Asadullah Khalid]], [[Hamid Karzai]] and [[Gul Agha Sherzai]]. The Taliban regime was ousted in late 2001 during the US-led [[Operation Enduring Freedom|War in Afghanistan]] and replaced by the [[Presidency of Hamid Karzai|Karzai administration]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scis.org/SA_L2_A4_teacher_resource_2_10_p115.pdf|title=Afghan Government 2009|work=scis.org|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728004043/http://www.scis.org/SA_L2_A4_teacher_resource_2_10_p115.pdf|archive-date=28 July 2011}}</ref> This was followed by the Ghani administration and the reconquest of Afghanistan by the Taliban (Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan).

The long wars in Afghanistan have led to Pashtuns gaining a reputation for being exceptional fighters.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.khaama.com/leaving-afghanistans-bagarm-airfield-was-a-grave-military-mistake-trump/|title=Leaving Afghanistan's 'Bagarm Airfield' Was a Grave Military Mistake: Trump|publisher=Khaama Press|date=29 January 2023|access-date=29 January 2023}}</ref> Some activists and intellectuals are trying to rebuild Pashtun intellectualism and its pre-war culture.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.macleans.ca/news/world/redeeming-the-pashtun-the-ultimate-warriors/|title=Redeeming the Pashtun, the ultimate warriors|website=Macleans.ca|access-date=14 December 2021}}</ref>