Their modern past began with the rise of Ahmad Shah Durani imperium

1747. Their history is very old and famous for their bravery and specialty

in their culture and conduct by cods of honor that is called PASHTUNWALI.

They are known more by their culture and language. and tribal way of living

as groups.

Beside other group they were the most that fought Russian Communists

and British Empire and their bravery goes back in Alexander the great time

that pushed him out of the areas of Pashtuns.

The total population of the group is estimated today to be about 70 million

in the world, but most Pashtuns live in southern and eastern Afghanistan and

western Pakistan.

Some Pashtun populations live in India and Iran, and some refugee

workers live in the Arabian Peninsula. The census for Pashtuns in Afghanistan

remains uncertain because a big percentage of them still live in Pakistan.

Pashtuns are called the back bone of Afghanistan and their mainland is

Afghanistan, which was divided by British colonial forces in 1893. Ethnically

and nationally, Pashtuns are called Afghans. Pashtun and Afghan have the same

meaning. Pashtuns lived with the instability of war for the last more than two

decades, especially the ethnic wars that hurt them the most. They sacrificed a

lot of blood. Pashtuns have always loved other Afghans and would stand for

any person, from any ethnic group, who could bring peace and tranquility to

the country. They showed this in the jihad’s time, when they followed other

ethnic leader such as Rabani, Gailani and Mujadedi. They look at others from

Tajik, Hazara, Turkman and Uzbek as brothers, and that since of brother hood

110 Alia Rawi Akbar

hurt them because they always kept quit in offensive way against political attack

of others as majority. they only were in defense situation, because in cold war

northern alliance people attacked all Pashtun in the fight every where, and this

attitude still continues.

Pashtuns lived in what is today called Afghanistan, which has lost some

land to Russia and some to India-British, that land became part of Pakistan in

the last century. These people are culturally conservative in general, from 3,000

years ago until today, and have their own culture besides the ones they’ve

adopted from different historical movements.

By some documents and historical opinions, these people were Buddhists

until they adopted Islam. They live in a feudal system, yet and they are most

spiritual Muslims with honorable attitudes in their social, daily lives. They are

almost sixty-two percent include twelve percent Farsi talker Pashtuns in

Afghanistan. There are 18.8 million of them in Afghanistan, about thirty five

million in Pakistan as second largest tribe, and five million are refugees from

the war with Russia. There are a total of almost fifty five millions Pahstun in

Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The Pashtuns affect Afghanistan’s destiny in both wartime and peacetime.

They are ready to fight the enemy, and have always sacrificed a lot for their

land and honor. They have been called most for national wars, and they have

stood on the front lines. Their women were even involved, beside their

husbands, fathers and brothers, against foreign enemy. In the seventh century

AC; Pashtuns had to fight three times in ninety years. They fought against the

Arabs and sacrificed much because of a religious conversion; they accepted

the new, peaceful religion of Islam in the end. Those ninety years of fighting

with the Arabs was the bloodiest chapter in Pashtun history.

During those years, the Arabs settled in Afghanistan to spread their religion

further and change the entire culture to Islam. But the Pashtuns kept their

old tribal culture and tradition with its principals and codes from thousands

years before. This had been their way of life all along, throughout history, even

when there had been other religions—for example, idolatry, Zoroastrianism,

Buddhism and Islam. But the evidence shows that for many years, most had

been Buddhist before Islam, and there is no remnant of Zoroastrianism or

idolatry.

Pashtuns still live in a pure culture and use assemblies by the name of Loya

Jerga and warra Jerga (big assembly or national assembly and small assembly)

for tribal and national events, like solving a problem or making a decisions

between people and tribes. They also use them for national matters such as

appointing a king or a head of the tribes, impeachment, or waging national

wars against common enemies. They handle social life by codes that are

respected and accepted. In fact, their task—Pashtunwali—has been established.

These tribal codes or principles are for the cases of losing honor or

belonging to others, the Pashtuns get together and order the assembly (Jerga)

about it in their places, and accept the assembly’s decision. This kind of

assembly has been adopted by non-Pashtuns in the country, too, because it is

so advanced. It works like Senate or Parliament and Congress in other worlds.

The difference is that the assemblies or jergas play a big role in every level

of society and country. Assembly members must obey the cultural rules. They

are chosen by the government in Jerga as elders in (meshrano jerga) and

chosen by people in (Wolosi Jergas) . They work like the House of Representatives

on big issues like constitution war and other events that I mentioned

earlier.

The assemblies have worked together for thousands of years. Pashtun

tribes originally are one big tribe made by small groups that calls also tribes

with one language and one believe in culture; all together still believe in the

codes and principles of Pashtunwali. Even the most modern Pashtun is bound

to them. Most they don’t cheat each other, and they live in peace and togetherness,

they honor their land and family. but generally their tribal system is

unfair towards women destiny

But these people have been cheated a lot by their political leaders, governments

and opponents. They have been trusted in national matters because

they sacrifice more than others and because they are majority, and history is

the witness of that because they are taught like that. During the wars with

England and Russia and the ethnic war, they sacrificed more than others

because they were fighting by tribal order or the orders of their leaders. They

do not act as governments do—like tyrants and despots. Even those tyrants

were either Pashtun or non-Pashtun.

These people are purposely kept in the dark so they don’t know of the

oppressors’ conduct in the country. Still, they live traditionally, as they have

historically, under a feudal system. They have their rich, historical civilization,

but the oppression they have faced throughout history has made those historical

civilizations vanish.

The Pashtuns’ mainland is called Gandhara, which means “the wool of goat

and lambs.” This shows what their business was at the time. The Pashtun name

comes from Pakht or Pasht, which was taken from Paktia, a famous tribal state.

according to documents, and their language is the oldest in history, originating

thousands years before Christ. The Pashtun language comes from Sanskrit, an

ancient Indian language, and their race comes from Arian; Indo-European.

The Pashtun are willing to die for their land; it is their first honor. Their

second honor is their women and families.Pashtuns’ government existed for

more than a thousand years and they have existed on their land for more than

a thousand years as a substantial military force.

After Islam came to Afghanistan, the Pashtuns built their empire in India

and Afghanistan. The common Pashtuns were kept far from city life and businesses

so they could not reach other cultures and developments until in time

war they are ready the way that they were convinced. Simple Islam was working

fine for them besides their own culture, when they were not used for politics.

In the last century, the government did not pay attention to their language or

let that develops, compared to Farsi because Iran had cultural influence on

our Farsi talkers. Thus the Pashtuns did not develop and kept their conservative

ways, so they were ready for more sacrifices by the order of their leaders

in the feudal system. Most of the leaders were bribed by the governments; if

some did not accept it, there was conspiracy and jail. They were distant, like

many in history, in the time of King Zaher Shah and his father, Nader Shah or

before that.

Pashtuns have some poetry and art that shows their civilization, but

government and political leaders did not even try to make them understand

their real history as civilized people. There are many books written about Pashtuns

and their history, culture and civilizations, including The Pashtuns by Sir

Olaf Caroe, Afghanistan by Louise Dupree and PATANS (Pashtuns), by an

Englishman who was the governor of the northwest frontier (Wazirestan).

Pasthuns were always given arms to defend the country under any circumstances.

The government kept them away from corrupt governments in the

feudal system until they were busy with their cultural lifestyle and did not

know about the government’s activities or the outside world. Despotic rulers

further prevented any uprising because they were majority…

Most of them learned in war what has happening to them. In both war and

peace, most they lived decently. They had a sense of responsibility, but some of

the leaders killed them and betrayed them from the time of the king to

Communist time to fundamentalist time.

Common Pashtun people are hard workers. They mostly live in poverty

and lack of comfort, but love their freedom and their land. The common

people are simple and clean-hearted; they have made the history of Afghan

rich. For the past few years, they have been easily lied to by politicians, and I

am not comfortable with that.

I was also upset by the Northern Alliance’s ethnic war, with their propa–

gandas and harassments. These people were always distressed by politicians,

kings, presidents and leaders who were intent on power, especially in the last

century.

In Pashtun culture, there is a code that says that when a person runs to

them from an enemy, they give protection and hospitality to that person. But

the Taliban, as a fundamental Islamic group, cheated the Pashtuns in this

matter politically. Osama knew better about their culture and stayed with the

Taliban as Pashtuns. The Taliban used two cultures for his safety: the Pashtuns

and Islam.

When the Taliban broke Buddha’s biggest statue ,that showed an erase of

Pashtun or Afghan culture from the old times, they wanted to regenerate the

culture of strict Islam among Afghans specially Pashtun’s.

Pashtun or Afghan culture is all about daily activity that is continuously

practiced in all aspects of life. The culture is not an exact entity; it differs from

the main part of culture, which is made up of language, daily conversation,

dialogue, proverb and music. Pashtun’s don’t have any animosity toward any

tribe or people until they realize that they have been betrayed and cheated by

them either personally and nationally. Pashtuns are brave, honest, simple,

straightforward people.

The Northern Alliance’s ethnic media put these people down so much

during the cold and warm wars, but still, they are willing to cooperate in a

peaceful manner.

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