People group profile · PG024009
The Southern Pashtuns of Afghanistan
The Southern Pashtuns of Afghanistan, numbering about 13,760,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Eastern Iranian ethnolinguistic group indigenous to southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan.
They are an indigenous people in the Pashtun people cluster of the Persian-Median Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Southern Pashto.
Fast facts
- Country
- Afghanistan
- Population
- 13,760,000
- Affinity group
- Central Asian Peoples
- People cluster
- Pashtun
- Primary language
- Southern Pashto (pbt)
- Primary religion
- Sunni Islam
- Strategic Progress Index
- Engaged yet Unreached
- Evangelical
- Less than 2%
- GSEC
- Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
- Lostness priority
- Frontier Unreached People Group
- Region
- Southern Asia, Asia
- Location
- Badghis, Farah, Helmand, Herat, Kandahar, Nimroz, Uruzgan, and Zabul provinces
Where they live
Gospel status
The Southern Pashtuns 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 Yes
- Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted
Next steps for the Southern Pashtuns
- 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
Southern Pashto · Indo-European family
100% speak Southern Pashto
Gospel resources in Southern Pashto
- Bible available, published 2019
- JESUS Film available
- Radio programs available
- Gospel recordings available
- Audio resources available
- Bible stories not available
Films
Bibles
- 2021 The Pakistan Bible Society · video, audio
Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.
Pray for the Southern Pashtuns
- John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
- 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.
Pashtun, Southern in other countries
The same people (ROP3 109502) is reported in 2 other countries.
| People group | Country | Population | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southern Pashtuns | Pakistan | 2,355,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
| Southern Pashtuns | United Kingdom | 5,000 | Engaged yet Unreached |
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