The Punjabi Pahari of Pakistan

The Punjabi Pahari of Pakistan, numbering approximately 3,725,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a north‑Punjabi ethnolinguistic group of Pakistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir, defined primarily by the Pahari–Pothwari language continuum and a shared “pahārī” (mountainous) culture Pahari-Pothwari, Pahari-Potwari They are an Indigenous people, with Pahari-Potwari as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Punjabi people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Pahari-Potwari.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash: Punjabi Pahari

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Pakistan
People Cluster: Punjabi
Primary Language(s): Pahari-Potwari (phr)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 3,725,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006393

Pray for the Punjabi Pahari of Pakistan

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

90%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Pahari-Potwari
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Pahari-Potwari Speakers

Media Resources in Pahari-Potwari:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Bible Resources in Pahari-Potwari:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Pahari-Potwari bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Punjabi Pahari are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Punjabi Pahari:
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

Pray specifically for the Punjabi Pahari of Pakistan

I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,' and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.
readPsalm 32:5

Pray those who are lost will realize their sin, confess their iniquity, and grow in their understanding of salvation through faith in Christ alone.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
readJohn 3:16

Pray that the lost will seek God and learn that they have a heavenly Father who loves them and wants them to live eternally with Him.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
readGalatians 3:28

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be united in Christ across all differences of ethnicity, social status, and gender.

The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
readActs 17:30

Pray that those God sends to cross cultures will boldly and lovingly declare that God commands all people everywhere to repent.

Pahari-Potwari Across Countries (ROP3 - 117353) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

*Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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