People group profile · PG006411
The Turvali of Pakistan
The Turvali of Pakistan, numbering about 137,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Indo-Aryan people among Swat's earliest natives, displaced north into Torwal by the Yousafzai Pashtun conquest in the early sixteenth century, their language the closest living relative of ancient Gandhari, first documented by Aurel Stein in 1925.
They are an indigenous people in the Kashmiri people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Torwali.
Fast facts
- Country
- Pakistan
- Population
- 137,000
- Affinity group
- South Asian Peoples
- People cluster
- Kashmiri
- Primary language
- Torwali (trw)
- Primary religion
- Sunni Islam
- Strategic Progress Index
- Engaged yet Unreached
- Evangelical
- No Known Evangelicals
- GSEC
- Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
- Lostness priority
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- Southern Asia, Asia
- Location
- Swat Kohistan: both sides of Swat River, beyond Madyan north to Asrit (between Mankjal and Peshmal); Chail Valley east of Madyan
Where they live
Gospel status
The Turvali are Engaged yet Unreached, which means fewer than 2% are evangelical Christians, but there are sustained efforts to establish self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. In GSEC terms, this people group is less than 2% evangelical, some evangelical resources are available, but there has been no active church planting among them within the past two years.
- Congregations exist No
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Turvali
- Continue prayer and fasting for this group
- Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
- Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people
Primary religion
Sunni Islam · Islam
100% adherents
Primary language
Torwali · Indo-European family
64% speak Torwali
Gospel resources in Torwali
- Bible available, published 2021
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs not available
- Gospel recordings not available
- Audio resources not available
- Bible stories available
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Turvali
- Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
- Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
- Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.
- John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
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