The Shaikh (Punjabi) of Pakistan

The Shaikh (Punjabi) of Pakistan, numbering approximately 1,775,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are described as a large socio-religious community of India. Shaiks are Muslim communities who claim descent from Arab settlers or early Islamic migrants or traders and who adopted the title "Shaikh" as a mark of status or identity They are an Indigenous people, with Shaikh as their ethnic/kinship group and are in the Shaikh people cluster of the South Asian Peoples. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Punjabi, Western.

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

Fast Facts*:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Pakistan
People Cluster: Shaikh
Primary Language(s): Punjabi, Western (pnb)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,775,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046189

Pray for the Shaikh (Punjabi) 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

100%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Punjabi, Western
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Punjabi, Western Speakers

Media Resources in Punjabi, Western:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Bible Resources in Punjabi, Western:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Punjabi, Western bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Shaikh (Punjabi) 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 Shaikh (Punjabi):
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 Shaikh (Punjabi) of Pakistan

That they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.
readActs 17:27

Pray that those who don't yet know Christ will search diligently for God and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
readJames 4:4

Pray that the lost will be convicted of their friendship with the world, which is hostility toward God, and that they will turn from their sin and embrace the grace and mercy of God through Christ Jesus.

And many nations shall join themselves to the LORD in that day, and shall be my people. And I will dwell in your midst, and you shall know that the LORD of hosts has sent me to you.
readZechariah 2:11

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a heart that longs to see all people from all parts of the world worshiping Jesus as He deserves.

"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."
readJohn 7:38

Ask God to raise up believers and sustain them as they cross cultures to share hope with those who need it. Pray that many might come to know Christ and that streams of living water will flow from their hearts so they will never thirst again.

Shaikh (Panjabi) Across Countries (ROP3 - 116701) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

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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