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PEOPLE GROUP PROFILE

The Central Pashtuns of Pakistan

The Central Pashtuns of Pakistan, numbering approximately 2,730,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are an Eastern Iranian ethnolinguistic group indigenous to the Balochistan, Kyber Pakhtunkwa and Punjab provinces of Pakistan. They mostly adhere to Sunni Islam and Central Pashto is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 3.1 Flash-Lite: Pashtun, Central

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Pakistan
People Cluster: Pashtun
Primary Language(s): Central Pashto (pst)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 2,730,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG046640

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Pray for the Central Pashtuns 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.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

99%
%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Central Pashto
Language Family: Indo-European

100%
%
Pashto, Central Speakers

Media Resources in Central Pashto:

Films:

No film resources are listed for this language.

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Central Pashto:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Central Pashto bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Central Pashtuns 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 Central 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

Pray specifically for the Central Pashtuns of Pakistan

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
readMatthew 5:6

Pray for those who are lost to desire righteousness and to be filled with the peace and purpose that only comes from following Jesus.

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.
readMatthew 13:23

Pray that their hearts will have good soil that receives the Word, understands it, and bears fruit for God's kingdom.

Praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
readEphesians 6:18

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be alert and persistent in prayer for all believers, offering their requests with thanksgiving.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
readPsalm 23:6

Ask God to raise up believers who will share the hope that, for those who trust in Christ, goodness and love will follow them all the days of their lives, and they will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Pashtun, Central Across Countries (ROP3 - 106050) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

2 people groups

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress Index ▲LanguageReligion
Central PashtunsPG046640Central PashtunsPakistan2,730,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral PashtoSunni Islam
Central PashtunsPG049304Central PashtunsAfghanistan2,900,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral PashtoSunni Islam

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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