Pakistan is anethnically andlinguistically diverse country.[2][3] The major Pakistaniethnolinguistic groups includePunjabis,Pashtuns,Sindhis,Saraikis,Muhajirs,Baloch,Hindkowans,Brahuis, andMeos[4][note 1] as well asShinas,Baltis,Kashmiris,Paharis,Kho,Indus Kohistanis,Torwalis,Gawris,Hazaras,Burusho,Wakhis,Kalash,Siddis,Uzbeks,Nuristanis,Pamiris and various other smaller minorities.[6][7]
Pakistan's census does not include the 1.4 millioncitizens of Afghanistan who are temporarily residing inPakistan.[8][9][10] The majority of them were born in Pakistan within the last four decades and mostly belong to thePashtun ethnic group. They also includeTajiks,Uzbeks and others.[11]
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Following ethnic groups have a population of at least 1 million as per the2023 national census.
Punjabis are anIndo-Aryanethnolinguistic group native to thePunjab region between India and Pakistan. They are the largest ethnic group of Pakistan.Punjabi Muslims are thethird-largest Islam-adheringMuslim ethnicity in the world, globally,[12] afterArabs[13] andBengalis.[14]
Traditionally, Punjabi identity is primarily linguistic, geographical and cultural. Its identity is independent of historical origin or religion and refers to those who reside in the Punjab region or associate with its population and those who consider thePunjabi language and itsdialects as their mother tongue.[15][16]Integration andassimilation are important parts ofPunjabi culture, since Punjabi identity is not based solely on tribal connections.[17]
Pashtuns are anIranic ethnolinguistic group and are Pakistan's second largest ethnicity. They speakPashto as their first language and are divided into multiple tribes such asAfridi,Durrani,Yousafzai andKhattak, which are notably the main Pashtun tribes in Pakistan. They make up an estimated 38 million of Pakistan's total population[18] and are mostly adherent to Sunni Islam.
TheSindhis are anIndo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who speak theSindhi language and are native to theSindh province ofPakistan. Sindhis are predominantlyMuslim, but have a minorityHindu population, making up the largest Hindu minority population in Pakistan.[19] Sindhi Muslim culture is highly influenced bySufi doctrines and principles and some of the popular cultural icons of Sindh areShah Abdul Latif Bhitai,Lal Shahbaz Qalandar,Jhulelal andSachal Sarmast.[20]
TheSaraikis are anIndo-Aryanethnolinguistic group inhabiting parts of central and southeasternPakistan, primarily in the southern part of the Pakistani province ofPunjab.[21] They are mainly found inDerajat, a cultural region of centralPakistan, located in the region where the provinces ofPunjab,Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, andBalochistan meet.[22][23][24]Derajat is bound by theIndus River and theSulaiman Mountains to the west.
Muhajirs (meaning "migrants"), are a collective multiethnic group who emerged through the migration of Indian Muslims from various parts ofIndia toPakistan starting in 1947, as a result of the world's largest mass migration.[25][26] The majority of Muhajirs are settled inSindh mainly inKarachi andHyderabad. Sizable communities of Muhajirs are also present in cities includingLahore,Multan,Islamabad,Mirpur Khas,Sukkur andPeshawar. The term Muhajir is also used for descendants of Muslims who migrated to Pakistan after the 1947 partition of India.[27][28][29] Notable Muhajirs includeLiaquat Ali Khan,Abdul Qadeer Khan,Pervez Musharraf,Hakeem Muhammad Saeed andAbdul Sattar Edhi.[30]
TheBaloch are anIranic ethnolinguistic group, and are principally found in the south of Balochistan province of Pakistan.[31] Despite living in the southeastern side towards theIndian subcontinent for centuries, they are classified as a northwestern Iranian people in accordance totheir language which belongs to the northwestern subgroup ofIranian languages.[32]
According to Dr. Akhtar Baloch,Professor atUniversity of Karachi, the Balochis migrated fromBalochistan during theLittle Ice Age and settled inSindh andPunjab. The Little Ice Age is conventionally defined as a period extending from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries[33][34][35] or alternatively, from 1300[36] to 1850,[37][38][39] although climatologists and historians working with local records no longer expect to agree on either the start or end dates of this period, which varied according to local conditions. According to Professor Baloch, the climate of Balochistan was very cold and the region was uninhabitable during the winter so the Baloch people migrated in waves and settled inSindh andPunjab.[40]
Hindkowans, also known as the Hindki,[41][42] is a contemporary designation for speakers ofHindko dialects ofWestern Punjabi, primarily living in theHazara region of northern Pakistan.[43][44] The origins of the term refer merely to the speakers of Indo-Aryan languages rather than to any particularethnic group.[43] However, theHindko-speaking community belonging to theHazara region of northern Pakistan are recognised collectively asHazarewal.[45]
TheBrahui,Brahvi orBrohi, are an ethnic group principally found inBalochistan, Pakistan. They speak theBrahui language, which belongs to theDravidian language family, although ethnically they tend to identify asBaloch.[46][47]
They are a small minority group inAfghanistan, where they are native, but they are also found in their diaspora inWest Asian states.[48] They mainly occupy the area in Balochistan fromBolan Pass through the Bolan Hills to Ras Muari (Cape Monze) on the sea, separating theBaloch people living to the east and west.[49][50] The Brahuis are almost entirelySunniMuslims.[51]
Meo, also spelledMayo or occasionally,Mewati, are a Muslim ethnic group originating from theMewat region of north-western India.[52][53] During thePartition of India, several Meo were displaced from Alwar and Bharatpur districts in India, mostly settling in Pakistani districts ofSialkot,Lahore,Karachi,Narowal,Dera Ghazi Khan,Sheikhupura,Gujranwala,Multan,Haiderabad andKasur, among others.[54]
Followingethnolinguistic groups have a population of atleast one hundred thousand (100,000), but were not enumerated separately in the 2023 census:
Punjabi 44.7%, Pashtun 15.4%, Sindhi 14.1%, Saraiki 8.4%, Muhajirs 7.6%, Baloch 3.6%, other 6.3%
Punjab's diversity of dialects, Saraiki and Pothohari contrasting with the heartland Punjabi, was striking at the time of independence. Since then, the increased mobility of the population and the absorption of refugees from India have stimulated homogenizing tendencies both linguistically and ethnically. NWFP, although symbolically a Pashtoon is also a province of many ethnicities and languages, for example, Hindku-speaking people inhabit the Peshawar Valley and Hazara district, and Saraiki speakers are found in the Derajats.
The term Hindki is often used to refer to a speaker of the Hindko language (Shackle 1980: 482), but in popular usage it may refer to the language as well. In older literature it was frequently used for the language--for example, in the Imperial Gazetteer of NWFP, which regularly calls it Hindki (1905: 130, 172, 186 ff.).
The termHindki is often used to refer to a speaker of the Hindko language (Shackle 1980: 482), but in popular usage it may refer to the language as well.
The termHindko as used in Pakistan refers to speakers of Indo-Aryan languages who live among the primarily Iranian Pashtuns of the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP). The origins of the term refer merely to "Indian speaking" rather than to any particular ethnic group.
Shackle suggests Hindko simply means "Indian language' and describes it as a "collective label for the variety of Indo-Aryan dialects either alongside or in vicinity of Pushto in the northwest of the country'. Hindko is the most significant linguistic minority in the NWFP, represented in nearly one-fifth (18.7%) of the province's total households. ... The Influence of Pushto on Hazara appears to have become more pronounced, due in part to an Influx of Pashtuns replacing the Hindko-speaking Sikhs and Hindus who formerly held key trading positions and who departed at independence.
The main habitat of Brahui tribesmen, as well as the main area where theBrahui language is spoken, extends continuously over a narrow north-south belt in Pakistan from north of Quetta southwards through Mastung and Kalat (including Nushki to the west) as far south as Las Bela, just inland from the sea coast.
BRAHUI (Brāhūī, Brāhōī), the name of a tribal group living principally in Pakistani Baluchistan and of a Dravidian language spoken mainly by Brahui tribesmen.
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