Afghan

People who are natives to or inhabitants of Afghanistan. The dominant group, particularly in Kabul, are the Pathans. The Tajiks, a smaller ethnic group, are predominantly traders and farmers in the province of Herat and around Kabul. The Hazaras, another farming group, are found in the southern mountain ranges of the Hindu Kush. The Uzbeks and Turkomen are farmers and speak Altaic-family languages. The smallest Altaic minority are the Kirghiz, who live in the Pamir. Baluchi nomads live in the south, and Nuristani farmers live in the mountains of the northeast.

The Tajiks were traditionally sedentary cereal cultivators and traders and were the original inhabitants of Afghanistan. Most Pathans are also farmers although some are nomadic. The Hazaras are traditionally nomadic herdsmen who came from Mongolia. They speak languages belonging to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European family. The majority of the population are Sunni Muslims, the most recent converts being the Nuristanis.

In response to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan 1979, the Pathans, Tajiks, Turkomen, Hazara, Uzbek and other ethnic groups mounted a rebellion of Mujahedin (fighters in a holy war or jihad). The Mujahedin were militarily uncoordinated and allied on a political and ethnic basis. By 1980 approximately one million Afghans had fled to Pakistan.