The Burusho of Pakistan

The Burusho of Pakistan, numbering approximately 149,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic community of Pakistan, North Gilgit District areas, Hunza-Nagar and Yasin areas; scattered in Gilgit, Kashmir, and various cities. They are an Indigenous people, in the Kashmiri people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Islam - Shia Imami Ismaili. They primarily speak Burushaski.

Burusho in Pakistan photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Wasiasuhail - Wikimedia Wasiasuhail - Wikimedia Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Pakistan
People Cluster: Kashmiri
Primary Language(s): Burushaski (bsk)
Primary Religion(s): Islam - Shia Imami Ismaili
Population: 149,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG006338
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Burusho 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: Islam - Shia Imami Ismaili
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Islam - Shia Imami Ismail… Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Burushaski
Language Family: Language isolate

%
Burushaski Speakers

Media Resources in Burushaski:

Films:

Bible Resources in Burushaski:

Or check out the Burushaski bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Burusho

The Burusho are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Burusho

The Burusho 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.

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

Next steps for the Burusho

The Burusho are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Burusho of Pakistan

We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
readRomans 6:4

Pray that those who need to surrender their lives to Christ will confess their sins and trust in Him, being united with Him in His death and resurrection, walking in newness of life.

So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.
readRomans 9:16

Pray that the merciful God who is at work in people's hearts will advance His gospel among them.

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.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
readMatthew 28:19-20

Ask God to bring people among this group to faith in Jesus who will be obedient to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey all that Christ has commanded.

Burusho (ROP3 - 101787) reported in the following countries:

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 Definitions page.

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