The Waziri Pashtuns of Pakistan

The Waziri Pashtuns of Pakistan, numbering approximately 1,015,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a Karlani Pashtun tribal population of Waziristan and the Afghanistan-Pakistan frontier. Traditionally organized through patrilineal clans and tribal councils, they combined pastoralism, mountain agriculture, and strong adherence to Pashtunwali. 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: Waziri Pashtun

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Persian-Median Peoples
Country: Pakistan
People Cluster: Pashtun
Primary Language(s): Central Pashto (pst)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 1,015,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG049305

Pray for the Waziri 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.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

—
%
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.

Bible Resources in Central Pashto:

No Bible resources are listed for this language.

Or check out the Central Pashto bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Waziri 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 Waziri 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 Waziri Pashtuns of Pakistan

For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
readRomans 5:7-8

Pray for the many who don't yet understand the hope of the gospel, and pray that God will reveal to them that while they were in darkness, Christ died for them.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.
readPsalm 1:1-2

Pray that God will call out many sons and daughters from among them and give them a deep love for His Word.

For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
readActs 17:23

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will have a deep desire to know God more fully and to make Him known in creative ways to others who are still searching for truth.

Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
readActs 17:29

Pray that God will send out laborers to tell people of the one true God and, as the good news is shared, bring about repentance and belief as they turn from idols and follow Jesus.

Waziri Across Countries (ROP3 - 117151) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

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