Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Abdul Rahim Wardak, the Defense Minister of Afghanistan since 2004. From left to right: Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, and Abdullah Abdullah. Afghan Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal and Education Minister Ghulam Farooq Wardak during a joint US-Afghan letter signing in 2011. Zalmai Rassoul, Asadullah Khalid, Daud Shah Saba and Hedayat Amin Arsala Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan standing with other Indian celebrities (Anushka Sharma and Vidya Balan) at the 2011 Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards ceremony in Mumbai, India. The Pashtuns in Afghanistan resisted British designs upon their territory and kept the Russians at bay during the so-called Great Game. By playing the two super powers against each other, Afghanistan remained an independent sovereign state and maintained some autonomy (see the Siege of Malakand). But during the reign of Abdur Rahman Khan (1880–1901), Pashtun regions were politically divided by the Durand Line, and what is today western Pakistan was claimed by British in 1893. In the 20th century, many politically active Pashtun leaders living under British rule of undivided India supported Indian independence, including Ashfaqulla Khan,[64] Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, Ajmal Khattak, Bacha Khan and his son Wali Khan (both members of the Khudai Khidmatgar, popularly referred to as the Surkh posh or the Red shirts), and were inspired by Mohandas Gandhis non-violent method of resistance.[65][66] Some Pashtuns also worked in the Muslim League to fight for an independent Pakistan, including Yusuf Khattak and Abdur Rab Nishtar who was a close associate of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.[67] The Pashtuns of Afghanistan attained complete independence from British political intervention during the reign of King Amanullah Khan, following the 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 President Daoud Khan seized control of Afghanistan from his cousin Zahir Shah in 1973, which opened doors for a proxy war by neighbors and the rise of Marxism. In April 1978, Daoud Khan was assassinted along with his family and relatives. Mujahideen commanders began being recruited in neighboring Pakistan for a guerrilla warfare against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. After the Iranian Revolution, deaths of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Nur Muhammad Taraki, the Soviet Union invaded its southern neighbor Afghanistan in December 1979 to help the Afghan government defeat a nationwide insurgency. The mujahideen were funded by the United States, Saudi Arabia and others, and included some Pashtun commanders such as Mullah Omar, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jalaluddin Haqqani, who are currently waging an insurgency against the Islamic republic of Afghanistan and the US-led NATO forces. In the meantime, millions of Pashtuns fled their native land to live among other Afghan diaspora in Pakistan and Iran, and from there tens of thousands proceeded to North America, the European Union, the Middle East, Australia and other parts of the world. Some of those who immigrated to the United States are involved in running restaurants, including Kennedy Fried Chicken which are owned by Pashtuns from Afghanistan and Pakistan. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), they are usually involved in running new and used car dealers as well as limo and taxi companies.[68] In the late 1990s, Pashtuns became known for being the primary ethnic group that comprised the Taliban, which was a religious government based on Islamic sharia law formed to end the civil war.[69] On the other hand, the Taliban opposition also included Pashtuns. Among them were Abdul Qadir and his brother Abdul Haq, Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, Gul Agha Sherzai, the Karzais, Abdullah Abdullah, Asadullah Khalid and many others. The Taliban were ousted in late 2001 during the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom and replaced with the current Karzai administration, which is dominated by Pashtun ministers.[70] Some of these include: Foreign Minister Zalmay Rasoul, Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak, Finance Minister Omar Zakhilwal, Education Minister Ghulam Farooq Wardak, Commerce Minister Anwar ul-Haq Ahady, Agriculture Minister Mohammad Asef Rahimi and Communication Minister Amirzai Sangin. The list of current governors of Afghanistan, as well as the parliamentarians in the House of the People and House of Elders, include large percentage of Pashtuns. The Chief of staff of the Afghan National Army, Sher Mohammad Karimi, and Commander of the Afghan Air Force, Mohammad Dawran, as well as Chief Justice of Afghanistan Abdul Salam Azimi and Attorney General Mohammad Ishaq Aloko also belong to the Pashtun ethnic group. Several prominent Pashtun families include the Tarzis, Gilanis and the Karzais. They not only played an important role in South Asia but also in Central Asia and the Middle East. Many of the non-Pashtun groups in Afghanistan have adopted the Pashtun culture and use Pashto as a second language. For example, many leaders of non-Pashtun ethnic groups in Afghanistan practice Pashtunwali to some degree and are fluent in Pashto language. This includes non-Pashtun leaders such as Ahmad Shah Massoud, Ismail Khan, Mohammed Fahim, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, Atta Muhammad Nur, Abdul Ali Mazari, Karim Khalili, Husn Banu Ghazanfar, Muhammad Yunus Nawandish, Abdul Karim Brahui, Jamaluddin Badr, and many others. The Afghan royal family, which was represented by King Zahir Shah, belongs to the Mohammadzai tribe of Pashtuns. Other prominent Pashtuns include the 17th-century poets Khushal Khan Khattak and Rahman Baba, and in contemporary era Afghan Astronaut Abdul Ahad Mohmand, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad, Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Ali Ahmad Jalali, Hedayat Amin Arsala and Mirwais Ahmadzai among many others. Many ethnic Pashtuns of Pakistan have adopted non-Pashtun cultures, and learned other languages such as Urdu, Balochi or Hindko. This includes Ayub Khan, Yahya Khan, and Ghulam Ishaq Khan, who attained the Presidency. Ghulam Mohammad became the Governor-General of Pakistan from 1951 to 1955. During the Ayub Khan administration (1959–1969), the capital of Pakistan was shifted from Karachi in Sindh to the new city of Islamabad, which is a separate administrative unit that sits next to Pakhtunkhwa (Pashtun area). Many more held high government posts, such as Army Chiefs Gul Hassan Khan and Abdul Waheed Kakar, Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Rahimuddin Khan and Ehsan ul Haq, Interior Ministers Aftab Ahmad Sherpao and Naseerullah Babar, and so on. Others became famous in sports (i.e. Shahid Afridi, Imran Khan, Jahangir Khan, and Jansher Khan) and literature (i.e. Ghani Khan, Ameer Hamza Shinwari, Munir Niazi, and Omer Tarin). The Awami National Party (ANP) of Pakistan is represented by Asfandyar Wali Khan, grandson of Bacha Khan, while the chairman of the Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PMAP) is Mahmood Khan Achakzai, son of Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai. Pashtuns, especially their females, love watching Indian films and dramas.[71] It is not only due to cultural similarities but also because of the fact that many of the Bollywood film stars in India trace their roots or are connected to this ethnic group, some of the most notable ones are Madhubala, Kader Khan, Sharukh Khan, Dilip Kumar, Feroz Khan,[72] Salman Khan, Fardeen Khan, Sohail Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Zarine Khan. In addition, one of Indias former presidents, Zakir Hussain, belonged to the Afridi tribe. He came from an upper middle class Pashtun family that had settled in Farrukhabad.[73][74][75] Mohammad Yunus, Indias former ambassador to Algeria and advisor to Indira Gandhi, is of Pashtun origin and related to the legendary Bacha Khan.[76][77][78][79] Genetics The haplogroup R1a (Y-DNA) is found at a frequency of 51.02% among the Pashtun people. Paragroup Q-M242 (xMEH2,xM378) (of Haplogroup Q-M242 (Y-DNA)) was found at 16.3% in Pashtuns.[80] Haplogroup Q-M242 is also found at a frequency of more than 50% in the Pashtuns in the Afghan capital of Kabul.[81] According to a 2012 study: MDS and Barrier analysis have identified a significant affinity between Pashtun, Tajik, North Indian, and West Indian populations, creating an Afghan-Indian population structure that excludes the Hazaras, Uzbeks, and the South Indian Dravidian speakers. In addition, gene flow to Afghanistan from India marked by Indian lineages, L-M20, H-M69, and R2a-M124, also seems to mostly involve Pashtuns and Tajiks. This genetic affinity and gene flow suggests interactions that could have existed since at least the establishment of the regions first civilizations at the Indus Valley and the Bactria-Margiana Archaeological Complex. The abstract states:our results that all current Afghans largely share a heritage derived from a common unstructured ancestral population that could have emerged during the Neolithic revolution and the formation of the first farming communities. Our results also indicate that inter-Afghan differentiation started during the Bronze Age, probably driven by the formation of the first civilizations in the region.[82] Pashtuns defined Indigenous people of the Pashtunistan region Among historians, anthropologists, and the Pashtuns themselves, there is some debate as to who exactly qualifies as a Pashtun. The most prominent views are: Pashtuns are predominantly an Eastern Iranian people, who use Pashto as their first language, and live in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This is the generally accepted academic view.[39] They are Sunni Muslims who follow Pashtunwali.[83] In accordance with the legend of Qais Abdur Rashid, the figure traditionally regarded as their progenitor, Pashtuns are those whose related patrilineal descent may be traced back to legendary times. These three definitions may be described as the ethno-linguistic definition, the religious-cultural definition, and the patrilineal definition, respectively. Ethnic definition The ethno-linguistic definition is the most prominent and accepted view as to who is and is not a Pashtun.[84] Generally, this most common view holds that Pashtuns are defined within the parameters of having mainly eastern Iranian ethnic origins, sharing a common language, culture and history, living in relatively close geographic proximity to each other, and acknowledging each other as kinsmen. Thus, tribes that speak disparate yet mutually intelligible dialects of Pashto acknowledge each other as ethnic Pashtuns and even subscribe to certain dialects as proper, such as the Pukhto spoken by the Yousafzai in Peshawar and the Pashto spoken by the Durrani in Kandahar. These criteria tend to be used by most Pashtuns in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Cultural definition The religious and cultural definition requires Pashtuns to be Muslim and adhere to Pashtunwali codes.[85] This is the most prevalent view among orthodox and conservative tribesmen, who refuse to recognise any non-Muslim as a Pashtun. Pashtun intellectuals and academics, however, tend to be more flexible and sometimes define who is Pashtun based on other criteria. Pashtun society is not homogenous by religion: the overwhelming majority of them are Sunni, with a tiny Shia community (the Turi and partially the Bangash tribe) in the Kurram and Orakzai agencies of FATA, Pakistan. Pakistani Jews and Afghan Jews, once numbering in the thousands, have largely relocated to Israel and the United States.[86] Ancestral definition Main article: Pashtun diaspora Further information: Pathans of Bihar, Pathans of Gujarat, Pathans of Kashmir, Pathans of Punjab, Pathans of Rajasthan, Pathans of Sindh, and Pathans of Uttar Pradesh Ayub Khan, President of Pakistan from 1958 to 1969. The patrilineal definition is based on an important orthodox law of Pashtunwali which mainly requires that only those who have a Pashtun father are Pashtun. This law has maintained the tradition of exclusively patriarchal tribal lineage. This definition places less emphasis on what language one speaks, such as Pashto, Persian, Hindko, Urdu or English. There are various communities who claim Pashtun origin but are largely found among other ethnic groups in the south and central Asian region who generally do not speak the Pashto language. These communities are often considered overlapping groups or are simply assigned to the ethno-linguistic group that corresponds to their geographic location and mother tongue. They include some who usually speak Dari (Persian), Urdu, Hindi and English rather than Pashto. Claimants of Pashtun heritage in South Asia have mixed with local Muslim populations and are referred to as Pathan, the Hindustani form of Pashtun.[87][88] These communities are usually partial Pashtun, to varying degrees, and often trace their Pashtun ancestry through a paternal lineage. The Pathans in India have lost both the language and presumably many of the ways of their ancestors, but trace their fathers ethnic heritage to the Pashtun tribes. Small number of Pashtuns have adopted Hindko, Seraiki and other local Pakistani languages. These languages are often found in areas such as Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Peshawar, Mardan, Attock, Multan and Dera Ismail Khan. After migration or establishing contacts in these areas, Pashtuns began adding new languages to their existing Pashto.[89] This group of people are bilingual in Hindko and Pashto, as well as Urdu and English in many cases. They are a large minority in major cities such as Peshawar, Kohat, Mardan, and Dera Ismail Khan, including in the mixed districts of Haripur, Abbottabad and Attock. Some Indians claim descent from ethnic Afghan soldiers who settled in India by marrying local women during the Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent.[25] No specific population figures exist, as claimants of ethnic Afghan (Pashtun) descent are spread throughout the country. Notably, the Rohillas, after their defeat by the British, are known to have settled in parts of North India and intermarried with local ethnic groups. They are believed to have been bilingual in Pashto and Urdu until the mid-19th century. Some Urdu-speaking Muslims (Muhajir people) claiming descent from Pashtuns began moving to Pakistan after independence in 1947. In Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan), an unknown number of ethnic Pashtuns (together with at the later stage numbers of Iranian-speakers, these often secondary migrants from north India) settled among Bengalis from the 12th century to mid 18th century. These ethnic Afghans assimilated into Bengali culture, and intermarried with native Bengali Muslims to provide a component of the modern Bengali Muslim meme and biological identity, most prominently among the older wealthy classes of Bangladeshi Muslims. Historical structures built by Afghan descendants can still be found there. For example, the mosque of Musa Khan still remains intact in Bangladesh. He was an ethnic Pashtun and a descendant of the great Suleiman Khan, who was born in the Suleiman Mountains but moved to Bengal.[citation needed] During the 19th century, when the British were accepting peasants from British India as indentured servants to work in the Caribbean, South Africa and other far away places, some Pashtuns from areas constituting Afghanistan and modern-day Pakistan were sent to places as far as Trinidad, Surinam, Guyana, and Fiji, to work with other Indians on the sugarcane fields and perform manual labour.[90] Many of these immigrants stayed there and formed unique communities of their own. Some of them assimilated with the other South Asian Muslim nationalities to form a common Indian Muslim community in tandem with the larger Indian community, losing their distinctive heritage. Their descendants mostly speak English and other local languages. Some ethnic Afghans travelled to as far away as Australia during the same, see Afghan (Australia). Culture Main article: Pashtun culture See also: Pashtun cuisine and Pashtun dress Jamaluddin Badar, Lutfullah Mashal, Gul Agha Sherzai, and Fazlullah Wahidi discussing security related matters while serving as governors in the Pashtun dominated areas. Pashtun culture is mostly based on Pashtunwali and the usage of the Pashto language. Pre-Islamic traditions, dating back to Alexanders defeat of the Persian Empire in 330 BC, possibly survived in the form of traditional dances, while literary styles and music reflect influence from the Persian tradition and regional musical instruments fused with localised variants and interpretation. Pashtun culture is a unique blend of native customs with some influences from South and Western Asia. Like other Muslims, Pashtuns celebrate Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr. Some also celebrate Nouruz, which is the Persian new year dating to pre-Islamic period. Pashtunwali Main article: Pashtunwali Pashtunwali (or Pakhtunwali) refers to an ancient self-governing tribal system that regulates nearly all aspects of Pashtun life ranging from community to personal level. Numerous intricate tenets of Pashtunwali influence Pashtun social behaviour. One of the better known tenets is Melmastia, hospitality and asylum to all guests seeking help. Perceived injustice calls for Badal, swift revenge. A popular Pashtun saying, Revenge is a dish best served cold, was borrowed by the British and popularised in the West.[91] Males are expected to protect Zan, Zar, Zameen (females, gold and land). Many aspects promote peaceful co-existence, such as Nanawati, the humble admission of guilt for a wrong committed, which should result in automatic forgiveness from the wronged party. These and other basic precepts of Pashtunwali continue to be followed by many Pashtuns, especially in rural areas. A prominent institution of the Pashtun people is the intricate system of tribes. The Pashtuns remain a predominantly tribal people, but the worldwide trend of urbanisation has begun to alter Pashtun society as cities such as Kandahar, Peshawar, Quetta and Kabul have grown rapidly due to the influx of rural Pashtuns. Despite this trend of urbanisation, many people still identify themselves with various clans. The tribal system has several levels of organisation: the tribe, tabar, is divided into kinship groups called khels, in turn divided into smaller groups (pllarina or plarganey), each consisting of several extended families called kahols.[92] Pashtun tribes are divided into four greater tribal groups: Sarbans, Batians, Ghurghusht and Karlans. Another prominent Pashtun institution is the loya jirga or grand council of elected elders. Most decisions in tribal life are made by members of the jirga, which has been the main institution of authority that the largely egalitarian Pashtuns willingly acknowledge as a viable governing body.[93] Pashto literature and poetry Main article: Pashto literature and poetry Mahmud Tarzi, son of Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi, became the pioneer of Afghan journalism. The majority of Pashtuns use Pashto as their native tongue, believed to belong to the Indo-Iranian language family,[19] and is spoken by up to 60 million people.[94][95] It is written in the Pashto-Arabic script and is divided into two main dialects, the southern Pashto and the northern Pukhto. The language has ancient origins and bears similarities to extinct languages such as Avestan and Bactrian.[96] Its closest modern relatives may include Pamir languages, such as Shughni and Wakhi, and Ossetic.[citation needed] Pashto may have ancient legacy of borrowing vocabulary from neighbouring languages including such as Persian and Vedic Sanskrit. Modern borrowings come primarily from the English language.[97] Fluency in Pashto is often the main determinant of group acceptance as to who is considered a Pashtun. Pashtun nationalism emerged following the rise of Pashto poetry that linked language and ethnic identity. Pashto has national status in Afghanistan and regional status in neighboring Pakistan. In addition to their native tongue, many Pashtuns are fluent in Urdu, Dari (Persian), and English. Throughout their history, poets, prophets, kings and warriors have been among the most revered members of Pashtun society. Early written records of Pashto began to appear around the 16th century. The earliest describes Sheikh Malis conquest of Swat.[98] Pir Roshan is believed to have written a number of Pashto books while fighting with the Mughals. Pashtun scholars such as Abdul Hai Habibi and others believe that the earliest Pashto work dates back to Amir Kror Suri, and they use the writings found in Pata Khazana as proof. Amir Kror Suri, son of Amir Polad Suri, was an 8th-century folk hero and king from the Ghor region in Afghanistan.[99][100] However, this is disputed by several European experts due to lack of strong evidence. The advent of poetry helped transition Pashto to the modern period. Pashto literature gained significant prominence in the 20th century, with poetry by Ameer Hamza Shinwari who developed Pashto Ghazals.[101] In 1919, during the expanding of mass media, Mahmud Tarzi published Seraj-al-Akhbar, which became the first Pashto newspaper in Afghanistan. In 1977, Khan Roshan Khan wrote Tawarikh-e-Hafiz Rehmatkhani which contains the family trees and Pashtun tribal names. Some notable poets include Khushal Khan Khattak, Afzal Khan Khattak, Ajmal Khattak, Pareshan Khattak, Rahman Baba, Nazo Anaa, Ahmad Shah Durrani, Timur Shah Durrani, Shuja Shah Durrani, Ghulam Muhammad Tarzi, and Ghani Khan.[102][103] Recently, Pashto literature has received increased patronage, but many Pashtuns continue to rely on oral tradition due to relatively low literacy rates and education. Pashtun males continue to meet at Hujras, to listen and relate various oral tales of valor and history. Despite the general male dominance of Pashto oral story-telling, Pashtun society is also marked by some matriarchal tendencies.[104] Folktales involving reverence for Pashtun mothers and matriarchs are common and are passed down from parent to child, as is most Pashtun heritage, through a rich oral tradition that has survived the ravages of time. Media and arts Further information: Pashto media, Pashto music, and Pollywood Pashto media outlets play a major role in the everyday life of Pashtuns. A number of Pashto TV channels are available in the Pashtun regions, which also broadcast internationally. One of the leading ones is the Pakistan-based AVT Khyber, which helps promote Pashtun culture with their daily programs. Pashtuns around the world are informed about issues in their region and amused with their entertaining shows, such as the show with Amanullah Kaker which is based on educating viewers by using messages in Pashto poetry.[105] Others are Shamshad TV, Radio Television Afghanistan, and Lemar TV, which has a special childrens show called Baghch-e-Simsim that is based on the American Sesame Street. International news sources that provide Pashto programs include BBC and Voice of America. Khattak dance involves running and whirling, it is mainly performed in and around the Peshawar area of Pakistan. Farhad Darya, one of many Pashto music singers. Other modern Pashtun media include an established Pashto-language film and television industry that is based in Pakistan. Producers based in Peshawar have created Pashto-language films since the 1970s. Pashto films were once popular, but have declined both commercially and critically in recent years. Past films such as Yusuf Khan Sherbano dealt with serious subject matter, traditional stories, and legends. Pashtun lifestyle and issues have been raised by Western and Pashtun expatriate film-makers in recent years. One such film is In This World by British film-maker Michael Winterbottom,[106] which chronicles the struggles of two Afghan youths who leave their refugee camps in Pakistan and try to move to the United Kingdom in search of a better life. Another is the British mini-series Traffik, re-made as the American film Traffic, which featured a Pashtun man (played by Jamal Shah) struggling to survive in a world with few opportunities outside the drug trade.[107] The Kite Runner is a Hollywood film based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Khaled Hosseini, which narrates the story of Amir, a well-to-do Pashtun boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, who is tormented by the guilt of abandoning his friend Hassan, the son of his fathers Hazara servant. Pashtun performers remain avid participants in various physical forms of expression including dance, sword fighting, and other physical feats. Perhaps the most common form of artistic expression can be seen in the various forms of Pashtun dances. One of the most prominent dances is Attan, which has ancient roots. A rigorous exercise, Attan is performed as musicians play various native instruments including the dhol (drums), tablas (percussions), rubab (a bowed string instrument), and toola (wooden flute). With a rapid circular motion, dancers perform until no one is left dancing, similar to Sufi whirling dervishes. Numerous other dances are affiliated with various tribes notably from Pakistan including the Khattak Wal Atanrh (eponymously named after the Khattak tribe), Mahsood Wal Atanrh (which, in modern times, involves the juggling of loaded rifles), and Waziro Atanrh among others. A sub-type of the Khattak Wal Atanrh known as the Braghoni involves the use of up to three swords and requires great skill. Young women and girls often entertain at weddings with the Tumbal (tambourine). Traditional Pashtun music has ties to Klasik (traditional Afghan music heavily inspired by Hindustani classical music), Iranian musical traditions, and other various forms found in South Asia. Popular forms include the ghazal (sung poetry) and Sufi qawwali music. Themes revolve around love and religious introspection. Modern Pashto music is centred around the city of Peshawar, and tends to combine indigenous techniques and instruments with Iranian-inspired Persian music and Indian Filmi music prominent in Bollywood. Some well known Pashto singers include Nashenas, Ubaidullah Jan, Sardar Ali Takkar, Naghma, Rahim Shah, Farhad Darya, Nazia Iqbal, Ghazala Javed, and a number of others. Sports Further information: Sport in Afghanistan and Sport in Pakistan Imran Khan won the 1992 Cricket World Cup for Pakistan, made it to the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame in 2009 and is currently involved in Politics of Pakistan. One of the most popular sports among Pashtuns is cricket, which was introduced to South Asia during the early 18th century with the arrival of the British. Many Pashtuns have become prominent international cricketers in the Pakistan National Cricket Team for the last several decades, for example Imran Khan, Shahid Afridi, Majid Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Gul, Junaid Khan and Younis Khan. It has spread from Pakistan into Afghanistan in recent years, with many stadiums being built there. The Afghanistan national cricket team is dominated by Pashtun players. The two Indian brothers Yusuf Pathan and Irfan Pathan have Pashtun ancestry.[108] Australian cricketer Fawad Ahmed is of Pakistani Pashtun origin who has played for the Australian national team.[109] Football (soccer) is also one of the most popular sports among Pashtuns. The current captain of Pakistan national football team, Muhammad Essa, is an ethnic Pashtun from the Balochistan province, who previously played for the Afghan Football Club based in Chaman, Balochistan. Another top player from the same area was Abdul Wahid Durrani, who scored 15 international goals in 13 games and became the captain of the team. The Afghanistan national football team consists of Pashtun players too, including the current captain Djelaludin Sharityar. The Afghan national sport Buzkashi is also popular among Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Balochistan, played on horseback by two teams that use their skills to grab the carcass of a headless goat and then get it clear of the other players and pitch it across a goal line.[110] Other traditional sports include naiza baazi, which involves horsemen who compete in spear throwing. Makha is a traditional archery sport in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, played with a long arrow (gheshai) having a saucer shaped metallic plate at its distal end, and a long bow. The archers attempt to hit a small white wooden target surrounded by a circular ring. Another favourite game of the Pashtuns in Balochistan is yanda, mainly in and around Pishin. In recent decades Hayatullah Khan Durrani, Pride of Performance caving legend from Quetta, has been promoting mountaineering, rock climbing and caving in Balochistan. Squash is a sport in which Peshawar Pashtuns excelled, and Jahangir Khan and Jansher Khan, former world champions of squash, and are listed in Guinness World Records. They are considered to be the greatest professional squash players of all time. Although now retired, they are engaged in promoting the sport through the Pakistan Squash Federation.[111] They both originally belong to Neway Kelay, Peshawar. Neway Kelay also produced other world champions of Pashtun origin: Hashim Khan, Roshan Khan, Azam Khan, Mo Khan and Qamar Zaman.[112] Snooker and billiards are played by young Pashtun men, mainly in urban areas where snooker clubs are found. Several prominent international recognised snooker players are from the Pashtun area, including Saleh Mohammed. Childrens games include a form of marbles called buzul-bazi, which is played with the knucklebones of sheep. Although traditionally very less involved in sports than boys, young Pashtun girls often play volleyball, basketball, football, and cricket, especially in urban areas. Maria Toorpakai Wazir is the first female Pashtun squash player. Other sports popular among Pashtuns may include polo, field hockey, volleyball, handball, basketball, golf, track and field, bodybuilding, weightlifting, wrestling (pehlwani), kayaking, horse racing, martial arts, boxing, skateboarding, bowling and chess. Religion Main articles: Islam in Afghanistan and Islam in Pakistan The Friday Mosque in Kandahar. Adjacent to it is the Shrine of the Cloak and the tomb of Ahmad Shah Durrani, the 18th century Pashtun conqueror who became the founding father of Afghanistan. The overwhelming majority of Pashtuns follow Sunni Islam, belonging to the Hanafi school of thought. Tiny Shia communities of Pashtuns exist in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) of Pakistan and in neighbouring northeastern section of Paktia province of Afghanistan. The Shias belong to the Turi tribe while the Bangash tribe is approximately 50% Shia and the rest Sunni, who live mainly in Kohat and the Orakzai Agency of FATA, Pakistan. In addition, there may be small number of Ahmadis in Pakistan. Studies conducted among the Ghilzai reveal strong links between tribal affiliation and membership in the larger ummah (Islamic community). Afghan historians believe that most Pashtuns are descendants of Qais Abdur Rashid, who is purported to have been an early convert to Islam and thus bequeathed the faith to the early Pashtun population.[20][55][113] The legend says that after Qais heard of the new religion of Islam, he travelled to meet Muhammad in Medina and returned to Afghanistan as a Muslim. He purportedly had four children: Sarban, Batan, Ghourghusht and Karlan. Before the Islamization of their territory, the Pashtuns likely followed various religions. Some may have been Buddhists while others Zoroastians, worshippers of the sun and other deities, with some probably being animists, shamanists, Hindus and Jews. However, there is no conclusive evidence to these theories other than the fact that these were the religions practiced by the people in this region before the arrival of Islam in the 7th century. Men doing Islamic salat (praying) outside in the open in the Kunar Province of Afghanistan, which is how many Pashtuns from rural areas pray. A legacy of Sufi activity may be found in some Pashtun regions, especially in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa area, as evident in songs and dances. Many Pashtuns are prominent Ulema, Islamic scholars, such as Muhammad Muhsin Khan who has helped translate the Noble Quran, Sahih Al-Bukhari and many other books to the English language.[114] Jamal-al-Din al-Afghani was a 19th-century Islamic ideologist and one of the founders of Islamic modernism. Although his ethnicity is disputed by some, he is widely accepted in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region as well as in the Arab world, as a Pashtun from the
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