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People group profile · PG024585

The Northern Pashtuns of Turkiye

The Northern Pashtuns of Turkiye, numbering about 6,700 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Eastern Iranian ethnolinguistic group indigenous to southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan.

They are a diaspora people in the Pashtun people cluster of the Persian-Median Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam, and they primarily speak Northern Pashto.

Pray for the Northern PashtunsPrint profile

AI-generated illustration representing the Northern Pashtuns people
AI-generated illustration, not a photograph. Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Pashtun

Fast facts

Country
Turkiye
Population
6,700
Affinity group
Central Asian Peoples
People cluster
Pashtun
Primary language
Northern Pashto (pbu)
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
Western Asia, Asia

Where they live

Gospel status

The Northern 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 No
  • Church planting in the last two years No Churches Planted

Next steps for the Northern 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

95% adherents

Primary language

Northern Pashto · Indo-European family

90% speak Northern Pashto

Gospel resources in Northern Pashto

  • Bible available
  • JESUS Film available
  • Radio programs not available
  • Gospel recordings available
  • Audio resources available
  • Bible stories not available

Films

Bibles

Find more at the JESUS Film Project, Bible.com and Faith Comes by Hearing.

Pray for the Northern Pashtuns

  1. John 17:3. Pray that many will come to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent.
  2. Psalm 27:1. Pray that new believers will be strengthened in the face of persecution, with the Lord as their stronghold.
  3. Romans 12:4–5. Pray that believers from many cultures will work together as one body so that the church is built up.
  4. Revelation 7:9. Pray for the day when people from this group stand before the throne with every nation, tribe, people and language.

Download a prayer guide

Pashtun, Northern in other countries

The same people (ROP3 107909) is reported in 5 other countries.

People groupCountryPopulationStatus
Northern PashtunsPakistan19,220,000Engaged yet Unreached
Eastern PashtunsAfghanistan2,810,000Engaged yet Unreached
Northern PashtunsUnited Arab Emirates662,000Engaged yet Unreached
Northern PashtunsCanada33,500Engaged yet Unreached
Northern PashtunsUnited States25,000Engaged yet Unreached

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