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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

My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
readPsalm 73:26

Pray that those who are lost and struggling to find hope will find their strength and hope in God, recognizing Him as their portion and deliverer forever.

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.’ In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
readJob 1:20-22

Pray that those who mourn will worship God in the midst of their suffering and loss, recognizing He is the source of all good things and that He is worthy of their praise and trust.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
readHebrew 4:16

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will boldly draw near to God as they approach Him in prayer, receive His mercy, and find grace for help in their time of need.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe."
readJohn 6:35-36

Praise God for the things such as bread that He has provided as natural conversation bridges to the gospel. Pray that believers will use any bridges He provides to share the gospel with those who do not yet know the good news.

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 PashtunsPG049304Central PashtunsAfghanistan2,900,000Engaged yet UnreachedCentral PashtoSunni Islam
Central PashtunsPG046640Central PashtunsPakistan2,730,000Engaged 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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