Pukhtunistan

The Sultanate of Pukhtunkhwa(Pashto: د پښتونخوا سلطنت Urdu: سلطنت پختونخوا Dari: سلطان نشین پختونخوا) is located at the north of Islamic republic of Umardwal and Battganur. The nearest state north of Pukhtunkhwa is the nation of Republic of Bulkh and while Confedrated States of Peshabiwar and Tapakdore lie in the east. It has a population of 85,875,314 per 2035 census and a strong economy of $2.768 trillion GDP(nominal). Pukhtunkhwa additionally manages partial control over territories that form a part of Pukhtunkhwa Overseas Territories(POST). While the country of Pukhtunkhwa may be newly unified, the land of Pukhtunkhwa has a deep history dating back to thousands of years ago to the Middle Paleolithic Era. Archeologists have found the remains of rural communities dating back to almost 50,000 years ago. 5000 years ago Aryans moved into the land destroying all earlier societies. The Aryans brought a nomadic and tribal culture to Pukhtunkhwa and Pukhtun are their descendants. After the Aryans many foreign invaders like Farsiwan, Avitus, Bactrius, Muslim Ghaurids and Indian Muslim Delhi Sultans ruled over Pukhtunkhwa. The region also gave birth to a many dominant dynasties like Marayans, Kushtuns, Shahis, Ghaznavids, Lodhis, Suris and Khattaks that ruled vast regions and brought great prosperity to Pukhtunkhwa.

Modern day Pukhtunkhwa was founded when the great founder Sultan Akor Khan Khattak began his campaign to unite the Pukhtun people into one nation. After the completion of the Great Unification Wars in 2022 the present ruler Sultan Khushal Khan Khattak began to lead the nation along a different path, one of peace and economic development instead of warfare.

Contents

 * 1 History
 * 1.1 Prehistory
 * 1.2 Early History
 * 1.2.1 Farus Era 100BC-129AD
 * 1.2.2 Redonian Era 129-130AD
 * 1.2.3 Bactrian Era 130AD-132AD
 * 1.2.4 Marayan Era 132AD-220AD
 * 1.2.5 Kushtun Era 470AD-725AD
 * 1.3 Islamic Era
 * 1.3.1 Ghaznavids 925-1202AD
 * 1.3.2 Ghaurids 1202-1208AD
 * 1.3.3 Delhi Sultanate 1208-1538AD
 * 1.3.4 Suris 1538-1600AD
 * 1.3.5 Delhi Sultanate 1600-1825AD
 * 1.3.5.1 Concession ports
 * 1.4 Colonial Era 1825-1996AD
 * 1.5 Modern History
 * 1.5.1 Sultan Akor Khan Khattak 1997-2000AD
 * 1.5.2 Sultan Shahbaz Khan Khattak 2000-2018AD
 * 1.5.3 Sultan Khushal Khan Khattak 2018-2027AD
 * 2 Geography
 * 2.1 Geography
 * 2.2 Climate
 * 3 Demographics
 * 3.1 Ethnicity
 * 3.2 Language
 * 3.3 Religion
 * 4 Governance
 * 5 Economy
 * 6 Education
 * 7 Health
 * 8 Culture

Prehistory
Archeological Sites reveal that civilization existed as early as 5000 years ago, and even more recent findings are beginning to indicate that the history of civilization may even be older than that. Archeologists have found the remains of rural communities dating back to almost 50,000 years ago. They were mostly farming communities one of the earliest in the world. Urban communities are thought to have existed as early as 5000-6000 years ago. Sindh Valley Civilization is the oldest civilization in the region and is suspected to have held the region of Pukhtunkhwa up till the arrival of the first Aryan invaders nearly 5000 years ago. After the coming of the Aryans 5000 years ago a nomadic lifestyle took hold with most of them herdsmen grazing their sheep. Linguistic studies of the language of Pushto reveal that Pushtun have descended from the Aryan tribes due to notable similarities between the the Aryan languages Persian and Sanskrit but with notable differences as well that prevent it from being categorized as a sub language of one or both languages. Unlike the agricultural Sindh Valley Civilization, the Aryans were a nomadic people thus lacking unity and a central ruler. They were mostly highwaymen or mercenaries. The tough mountainous region gave them a strength of will and a strong body ideal for battle and warfare. For this region most invaders chose Pukhtunkhwa as a first stop on their way to conquest of the region. The fact remains though that any invader that went through this region either stayed in the new conquered land or sought a different route for the return journey. The reason for this most historians agree is the nature of the tribes. They were a mountain people and they knew every rock and crevice in the mountains and fought using guerilla tactics, ideal in the mountainous terrain. An invading force could travel the land quickly and react to any tactics and many times the tribes would offer their own services as soldiers in the invading force in order to claim loot from rich cities for themselves, but an army burdened with treasure or trying to claim the land as their own was a different matter. It saw the full martial prowess of the tribes and would be wiped out completely.

Farus Era 100BC-129AD
The first historical reference to the lands known as Pukhtunkhwa can be found in the historical records of the historians of Farus(Umardwal). When the founder of the ancient Persian empire the emperor Dara(Darius) began his expansions one the the earlier acquisitions was a province to the north-east known as Khorasan. The provincial capitol was a city called Kandahar, this is believed to be the same Kandahar city which is the provincial capitol of Kandahar province in the western part of Pukhtunkhwa. Later conquests would concentrate in the west so not much else is recorded about it. We know that Khorasan is a reference to Pukhtunkhwa because the location and geographical description of Khorasan is the same as Pukhtunkhwa.

Redonian Era 129-130AD
We dont know for how long the Farsiwan(Umardwal|Umardi People) held Pukhtunkhwa after the conquest of the land by Dara since there is no historical reference to Pukhtunkhwa after that in the historical records of Farus. We do know however that by the time the Redonian Raids reached the land Pukhtunkhwa was the same lawless tribal land as before the coming of Dara. The Redonian historian Hadrian who recorded the exploits of the the Great King Iskander records that in the year 129 AD the armies of Iskander landed on the shores of Pukhtunkhwa. They captured the port city of Gulbandar moving through Kandahar they reached Kabul where they established the capitol for the subjugation of the region. His records show that they conquered the lands very easily and met little resistance but their years of experience could not have prepared them for the hell they were about to face. In the words of Hadrian "They are like dry leather. Press down one place and another rises". This is what happened to Iskander and his armies. They conquered the land relatively easy because the Pushtun tribes did not fight the large army head-on but instead used the terrain to their advantage by waging guerilla warfare. They would hit supply lines and key positions where the Redonian army presence was low, looting anything they could carry and disappear in the mountains like smoke before the main armies of Iskander could reach them. Iskander spent the next few months bogged down in mostly barren lands running from one place to the next, trying to keep his supply lines open and the region under his control. Finally tired and weary he decided to move his armies south of the Hind Kush mountains and away from Pukhtunkhwa. He found his rewards there. Hearing of Iskander's plan to conquer the south many of the tribes flocked to his banner offering support and manpower to conquer the golden bird to the south-east, Battganur. Leading the combined armies of Redonia and Pukhtunkhwa Iskander marched south. After defeating Porus at the battle of Jehlum he gained immense wealth from the rich king of Punjab. The Hekuvian armies boarded ships from the southern ports laden with treasure never to return to Pukhtunkhwa. Some of the tribesmen settled in Punjab while the rest returned to Pukhtunkhwa rich men. Some historians speculate that the reason Iskander did not return to Pukhtunkhwa was because he did not dare to travel the same route laden with treasure. The fact is though that he left behind his ships, his garrison, weapons and maps at Pukhtunkhwa never reclaiming them. Some historian also speculate that the reason he left active duty was also because he was too tired and weary to continue.

Bactrian Era 130AD-132AD
While not many citizens wanted or dared to migrate to Pukhtunkhwa many of the soldiers in the Redonian army settled in Pukhtunkhwa. One among them was a general of Iskander by the name of General Bactrius. He was an intelligent and cunning man. Using his knowledge of the ships, weapons and war-machines left behind by Avitus he quickly rose to power in Pukhtunkhwa and proclaimed himself Imperator of Pukhtunkhwa. The Redonians flocked to his banner and began calling themselves Bactrians. The modern day tribes of Bakhtar and Afridis claim descent from the bactrians. After the invasion of Iskander the Pukhtun realized the importance of technology in warfare and thus artisans that had migrated to Pukhtunkhwa to seek better fortune were in great demand. The Pukhtun were a hardworking people and quick learners, soon they began to not only copy but improve the technology left behind by Iskander. In the time of Emperor Bactrius Pukhtunkhwa for the first time entered an age of relative peace and had a technology boom. Bactrius was an ambitious man, in fact he was too ambitious. Within a couple of months of his reign he began to expand outward. He started with Battganur going even deeper than Iskander as far as the the south-eastern edge. Slowly after building the best navy in the region he even began raiding and expanding into other continents. But he did it too fast and too soon. He made too many enemies. Countries angry at his raids into their territory and internal disputes became too much and his reign only last 2 years before the Marayans took over.

Marayan Era 132AD-220AD
The Pukhtun are a warrior race and fiercely patriotic so they do not accept foreign rule for long. Bactrius failed to account for this in his plans and so it was that after a mere 2 years he was chased out of Pukhtunkhwa. The Maraya family had long held the regions of Pushkalawati(modern day Peshawar). The young head of the family Chandra Maraya had fought in the armies of Avitus thus had full knowledge about Hekuvian technology and warfare. When Bactrius began his expansionism Chandra saw this as a chance to further his ambitions. A general under Bactrius he first used the armies of Bactrius to defeat the Battganuri rulers leaving only one state, Karlanka. During the time of his father ruler of Pushkalawati and Taxiles they had asked the kings of Battganur to aid them in the battle against Iskander but they refused to aid the Marayans and only Porus answered the call. He remembered their betrayal and taught by his father he raised an army so that no other foreign invader may ever be able to take his homeland. He began his rebellion by uniting the tribes in Pushkalawati and sent messages throughout the land for the Pushtun to rally to his cause. The Battganuri already under his command sent their armies to aid Chandra in his cause. The nationalistic Pashtun tribes rallied behind his banner to chase out Bactrius. When the armies of Chandra reached as far west as the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara Bactrius, focused on dealing with the threats in the west, made a proposal to Chandra Maraya. Bactrius would give half his kingdom, lands to the east of Samarkand and Bukhara that Chandra had conquered, to Chandra making him Emperor of the east and to cement the new alliance Bactrius gave his daughter's hand in marriage to Chandra. Chandra upon taking control of the region did not expand but began to cement his power and focused on improving his military strength and try to build a strong navy that would become feared in the region so that none may dare to attack him. After his death his son Bandiwan Maraya became king and he continued his fathers policies but did not have any achievements that would put him among the great kings. The son of Bandiwan Ashok Maraya on the other hand was a glorious leader and made a name for himself in history that was so great that even the Hindustanis to this day still revere him as a founding father of their nation although that is incorrect he was not an Hindustani. After the death of Bandiwan Maraya rebellions sprang up in all of his territories over the succession. He had 100 sons and while he had made the eldest Sushima as his heir many regions refused to recognize him. Among his sons Ashok was the most powerful and he reclaimed all of the empire, shifted the capitol deeper in his borders to Magda in modern day Battganur. it is a fact though that the name for Pukhtun in Battganur, Pathan, comes from Patana whose name in that time was Magda. Ashok was of a fierce nature, he killed all 99 of his brothers so that none may challenge him again. He also began to expand the borders of his nation delving deep into Battganur until only the Tamil Kingdom to the furthest south remained outside his rule. His unification of Battganur is one of the reasons Indians consider him as the founder of Battganur. After his last conquest, the eastern state of Karlanka, he converted from Hinduism to Buddhism and began to teach the path of peace. One of his achievements was that he was the first king in the region to leave his own personal records. Inscriptions on stone tablets and pillars can be found in all of the ruins of Ashok's cities detailing the activities of that time. The historians of Ashok claim that when he saw the bloodshed at the massacre of Karlanka, Ashok was filled with remorse and decided to mend his ways by following Buddhism and the path of peace that it teaches. Some more recent historians are skeptical of this view claiming that the man that did not feel remorse after killing 99 of his brothers would feel anything at the deaths of people he did not know. They claim that now that Ashok had conquered nearly all of the known world to remove any possible uprisings he chose to spread Buddhism and its message of peace to remove militancy from his lands. Regardless of the reasons it is for this period that he is most revered. He earnestly began improving the infrastructure of his kingdom and started many development works that would make him very popular among the masses. he combined Redonian style and techniques with Battganuri art to create a unique blend that would become the bases for the later Gandaharna Art that spread through the entire region.

Kushtun Era 470AD-725AD
After the death of Ashok most of the regions of Pukhtunkhwa fell under the rule of local Bactrian, Farsiwan or Pushtun rulers. Nothing much is recorded about them we only know of them through archeological remains left behind. The Marayan would rule India for 50 years after the death of Ashok but neither they nor anyone after them bothered or dared to conquer Pukhtunkhwa. It wasn't until the invasion of the Kushtun family from the north-western seas that Pukhtunkhwa would unite again. The Kushtun family were a clan displaced by some dispute in a foreign country and so they came to Pukhtunkhwa. Taking advantage of the local rivalries they swept through the region establishing the Kushtun dynasty. Their founder and the first Kushtun king was named Kadaja Khadrishgan and he established Pushkalawati as his capitol. They were the wealthiest dynasty to rule Pukhtunkhwa, preferring trade to warfare. Using the location of Pukhtunkhwa along the Silk route connecting East and West the Kushtuns established a vast trade network. To the west this network extended as far as Kiravia and to east in nearly all of Punth and even it is said as far as the modern realm of Varshan. Some say they were the first explorers to discover Punth but that is a controversial theory with no proof as of yet. Regardless it is true that would use exotic resources of unknown origin in their trade deals with the rest of the known civilizations. Unlike Ashok they did not leave much historical records so most of their history is based on archeological finds and records of other countries that mention them. They were rich and great patrons of Art. The combined the artistic techniques in Architecture, Sculpting and Painting, learned from various civilization around the world, with local Pukhtun, Bactrian and Battganuri legends to create a unique culture and style referred to now by the name of Gandaharna Art. Gandaharna was the Hindustani name for Pushkalawati and Taxiles region. The greatest of the Kushtun kings was Kanshika Khadrishgan. The Kushtun also adopted the local Buddhist religion and are claimed to be the main reason for its spread around the world. The Gandaharna Art is also dominated by Buddhist religious art. They were the first to create a statue of Buddha. Often great power also gives birth to great jealousy. In 725 AD the Kushtum empire was destroyed by a mix of external and internal threats. An array of forces, chief among which were the Kabul Shahis and the Ghaznavids, removed the Kushtuns from power and the remaining Kushtuns fled overseas. After the demise of the Kushtuns, Pukhtunkhwa once again entered an age of tribal rivalries. The Kabul Shahis proclaimed themselves the lords of Pukhtunkhwa but they did not control much land beyond Kabul. Chief among their rivals were the Ghaznavids.

Ghaznavids 925-1202AD
After the end of the Kushtun dynasty the Kabul Shahis proclaimed lordship over the entire Pukhtunkhwa but many tribes rebelled and refused to acknowledge their rule. Chief among the rivals of the Shahis were the Ghaznavids. Then in 842AD Islam first began to spread in Pukhtunkhwa and in the next few years became the dominant religion in the land. The Shahis refused the call for Islam but the Ghaznzvids accepted, due to which the Ghaznavids gained power and popularity throughout the land. They also swore allegiance to the Oduniyyad Caliphate. In 923AD after finally becoming confident enough to unite Pukhtunkhwa Mahamud Ghazni son of Subugtagin of Ghazni luanched his campaign from their ancestral home in Ghazni. Islam spread through the region like wildfire and from the start the Pukhtun had shown quite a fierce devotion to the religion, partly because it was very similar to the Pukhtun culture at that point. Using that devotion and the unwillingness of the Shahis to accept Islam, Subugtagin of Ghazni first began to rally the Pukhtun to his cause in 875AD. The Shahis realizing his plans decided to crush Subuktagin once and for all, thus they invaded Ghazni in 880AD. Subugtagin gave the invading Shahis a crushing defeat. This feat increased his reputation among the Pukhtun as a capable leader and more people began to rally to his banner. Subugtagin slowly began to absorb the surrounding tribes into his army but never made a move against the Shahis in Kabul. In 923AD Mahmud son of Subugtagin of Ghazni started to move against the Kabul Shahis. In 924AD at the battle of Kabul he defeated the Shahis and forced them to retreat towards Hindustan, while Mahmud moved north-east to take the lands around Peshawar. In 925AD Mahmud defeated the Shahis at the battle of Chach and united Pukhtunkhwa proclaiming himself Sultan of the land. He then launched an offensive against the Hindustani leaders that gave support to the Shahis at Chach. In 926AD he had conquered Delhi and established tributary states in Battganur. The Battganuri would rebel after a couple of years forcing him to once again raid Battganur. All total he raided Delhi 17 times during his life and each time bringing home riches that made his reign the golden age of the Ghaznavids. His sons and grandsons on the other hand began fighting each other causing the collapse of the empire until finally the were conquered by the Shahabuddin Muhammad Ghauri.

Ghaurids 1202-1208AD
Ghauri establishes his dynasty with Delhi in Battganur as his capitol. Modern day Bulkh seperates into its own autonomous region. Local lords rebel and form thier own pirate groups and smuggling rings. They also engage in trade with anyone willing.

Delhi Sultanate 1208-1538AD
Pukhtunkhwa further fractures into tribal regions as the sway of rulers from Dehli weakens. The Pukhtunkhwa undergrounds spreads across the globe. They also started exporting slave labor in form of Kharkaars. They would establish relations with powerful figures across the globe and offer their services as mercs to the highest bidder.

Suris 1538-1600AD
From the easternmost province of Battganur a Pukhtun ruler by the name of Sher Shah Suri emerges and tries to unify the countries of Battganur and Pukhtunkhwa but he is unable to conquer modern day Bulkh. He brings reforms to the country and starts great development projects. After his death the kingdom again fractures into kingdom of Battganur and the tribal lands of Pukhtunkhwa.

Delhi Sultanate 1600-1825AD
The kingdom of Battganur again tries and fails to assert its rule on Pukhtunkhwa. Umardi kings also try to conquer Pukhtukhwa and Battganur but only manage to hold on to the western parts. Abdali dynasty from modern day Bulkh take control of northern Pukhtunkhwa while Battganur controls eastern Pukhtunkhwa through proxies. The Pukhtunkhwa underground reaches maturity with island bases across the globe. Tribal leaders engage in trade, smuggling, piracy, export of slave labor and fight in foreign wars as mercs. Tribes begin to develop weapons and technology and tribal rivalries boost scientific advancements.

Concession ports
In the 17th through 19th century the Derian Protestants forced out of the Holy Levantine Empire by their loss of the Great Confessional War led to an explosion of colonization in Audonia and Punth facilitated by the Dukes of Bourgondi. These colonists were sponsored by the Ularien Trading Company who sought to turn the continents of Audonia and Punth into their personal trade zones. Their armies and agents begged, bartered, and stole all across both of the continents to gain any advantage but they met stalwart resistance in the Delhi Sultanate. Their attempts to conquer the coastal areas were rebuffed by the vassal states of the Sultanate, their attempts to gain lands through treaties were halted by a strong singular guiding hand of the sultans, their attempts to steal lands through the Doctrine of Lapse was not successful as the Sultans banned the giving of lands to Occidentals. With the exception of four concession ports, the Delhi Sultanate, its vassals, and proxies, were among few of the peoples of Audonia and Punth who successfully resisted the onslaught of Occidental colonization in the early modern period.

On the northern coast of the Delhi Sultanate, the Ularien Trading Company, on behalf of the Duchy of Bourgondi, gained a concession port at INSERT PORT NAME HERE, in close proximity to its Bulkawa, in 1658. The port was crucial to the slave, spice and textile trade. Thousands of Bergendii moved into the port and its environs. It become a popular stop over point for sailors in the midst of the numerous Bible commonwealths being established by the expelled Protestants of Levantia. The comparative "lawlessness" of INSERT PORT NAME HERE made it a rich, diverse, and vibrant port of call. The Ularien Trading Company gained a second concession port in 1725, on the southern coast of the Sultanate.

Duchy of Marialanus

Principality of Faramount

Colonial Era 1825-1996AD
As tribal leaders gain power they free themselves from Umardi and Battganuri influence but still would sell cities as colonies to foreign powers. The Seven Seas Alliance is formed by Khattaks to protect tribal trading interests. All parties to the alliance are forbidden from engaging in piracy acts against trading vessels protected by the SSA. Tribal rivalries become more intense and money from foreign contracts gave enormous boost to tribal economy. Although the country itself did not become the battleground for the Great Wars they offered their services to all factions.

Geography
The 11,249,751.92 square km Geography of Pukhtunkhwa is dominated by mountainous regions with lush green region to the east and becoming increasingly more dry westward. The three main mountain ranges of Pukhtunkhwa are the Karakrum ranges extending 1200 km from the south eastern border to the north upto Hasanabdal city, the lower Himalyas starting from the west of Karakrum and extending 1000 km to the north west and The Hind Kush offshoot starting from the lower Himalyas and extending the western sea along the southern border of Pukhtunkhwa. Other ranges include Salt Ranges, Margalla Hills and Koh-e-Sulaimani Ranges. The Karakrum ranges include some of the worlds tallest peaks like the Karakrum2(K2) and Nanga Parbat. The two main rivers of Pukhtunkhwa are the river Sindh and the river Amun. The river Sindh starts between the southern most parts of the Karakrum ranges and lower Himalyas, running almost parallel to the mountain ranges it passes within 50 km east of Peshawar before entering the sea near Attock port. Along the way the rivers Chitral, Swat, Kaghan, Dhor, Khurram and Kabul join with Sindh in that order. The Amun river is formed when 100 km along the Hind Kush range the rivers Hilmand and Kash join together. They are further joined various rivers along the way to the western shore, most prominent of which are Arghandab, Harirud, Murghab and Balkh. In the middle of the two river basins along the north-western coast is the 41,325 square km rock dessert, Kandahar. The green pine forests, serene lacks and snowy mountains in the valleys along the Karakrum and Himalya ranges make a popular tourist destination especially during spring and summer.

Climate
The climate of Pukhtunkhwa varies from region to region. The north western portion contains the hottest areas in Pukhtunkhwa with low rainfall especially the Kandahar desert 45°C(113°F). The valleys in the mountains to the south west are the coldest areas in Pukhtunkhwa and with some areas considered to be the coldest among the world, Skardu at -24°C(-11.2°F). The general climate in most places of Pukhtunkhwa is dry with low rainfall thus large swaths of land are grasslands not suited for agriculture. There are two monsoon seasons, summer monsoon and winter monsoon. Clouds are unable to pass the southern mountains of the Karakrum ranges thus the monsoon(part of which also enters Hindustan to the south) enters Pukhtunkhwa near the Provinces of Taxila and Hazara. The rains then travel south mostly along the Sindh river basin with little rainfall occurring in western regions. The winter monsoon enters from the north west but it is smaller in size with less rainfall, thus overall the western Pukhtunkhwa receives low annual rainfall.

Ethnicity
With a long history of invading and being invaded many ethnic groups call Pukhtunkhwa home. The largest ethnic group is the Pushtun that claim descent from the ancient Aryan invaders. Over the years many other ethnic groups like Persian, Hekuvian, Arabs and Turks have assimilated with various tribes thus making an accurate estimate of Pukhtun origin difficult. During later years many other groups also migrated to this land in hopes of finding better fortunes or displaced by disturbances in their home country. The latest arrivals are the Punjabi, who cam her nearly 300 years ago. Other major groups include Uzbek, Tajik, Hazara, Aimaq, Turkmen and Baloch. Minor gorups like the Arab, Hukuvians, Nuristani, Pashayi, Brahui, Pamiri, Gurjar, Khowar and Kohistani etc have also settled in Pukhtunkwa and now call this land their home.

In order to identify themselves from the ethnic Pushtun different ethnic groups add a second demonym before the official demonym e.g the Tajik use the demonym Tajik Pushtun/Pukhtun.

Language
Due to the presence of many ethnic groups in Pukhtunkhwa, it is linguistically a very rich country. Most of the population is bilingual due to interactions between the different groups and the need to understand each other to coexist. The official languages are Pashto, Dari and Urdu, which are also the national languages of Pukhtunkhwa. Other than this various other languages are also spoken in Pukhtunkhwa these include Hindko and Saraiki dialects of Punjabi language, Uzbek, Turkmen, Arabic, Balochi, Pashayi, Nuristani languages (Ashkunu, Kamkata-viri, Vasi-vari, Tregami, and Kalasha-ala), Pamiri (Shughni, Munji, Ishkashimi, and Wakhi), Brahui, Khowar, Classical Latin, Kohistani, and Kyrgyz. These languages are officially recognized as regional languages and are official languages in regions where they are in majority.

The people of Pukhtunkhwa are bilingual and other than the regional language speak one or more national language. Once again the division is mostly along the lines of ethnic groups. Most ethnic groups use one national language although some people from that group may speak another national language as well. For example Pushtun speak Pashto but some also speak Dari or Urdu or both. The distribution of ethnic groups according to the national language they prefer to speak is given in the table below.

Religion
Nearly 98-99% of the Pushtun population follows Islam. 90% among them are from the Sunni branch of Islam while 9% are Shia. Until the 1890s, the region around Nuristan was known as Kafiristan (land of the kafirs) because of its non-Muslim inhabitants, the Nuristanis, an ethnically distinct people whose religious practices included animism, polytheism, and shamanism. Many of the Kalasha of Southern Chitral also still retain their ancient Animist/Shamanist religion. Thousands of Pukhtun Sikhs and Hindus are also found in the major cities especially near the south-eastern border. There are also small communities of Christians and Jews near the western coast.

Governance
The Jirga is an ancient system used by the Pashtun for as long as they can remember. In the beginning the family leaders would decide for their family but as society grew and families interacted with each other a system was needed to settle disputes. The system that was decided upon was the Jirga. The Jirga is a group of elders, leaders and experienced men selected from all the families living within the village. They would sit in a circle, everyone was equal and there was no single leader among them, thus each family had equal representation and no one could force a decision upon the Jirga. As required the Jirga would call upon expert in a particular field to give their opinion before the Jirga. In rare cases a Jirga may appoint a person to act as the representative of the Jirga but that person is answerable to the Jirga. Every region had their own Jirga, every tribe elected members of the Jirga from among the tribe and so on. The Jirga acted as both the Legislative and Judiciary for the Pashtun people. A Malik or Khan of the tribe may put his problems before the Jirga to ask for advice but he cannot ignore or remove the Jirga members. For issues or disputes between two tribes a joint session of the Jirgas of both the tribes would be called to solve it. After the unification of Pukhtunkhwa the need arose to decide who would lead the new country. A loya Jirga (Great Jirga) was called and all the Jirga members from across the country were invited to join. By unanimous decision the seat of the Sultan was given to Sultan Khushal Khan Khattak for services rendered for the country. A Shahi Jirga was also elected by the people to act as both the parliament and the supreme court. Authority over the departments of Defense and Foreign Affairs was given to the Sultan while all others departments fell under the jurisdiction of the Jirga. The Shahi Jirga had absolute authority and the Sultan was obligated to listen to their advice. The Sultan could oversee the proceedings of the Jirga but could not reject a decision by the Jirga. The Jirga could give advice to the Sultan on matters of defense and foreign affairs and if not satisfied with the decisions could strip the monarch of authority over the departments. The Jirga could not remove a monarch already in power but the obligation of selection of the next monarch was one of the powers given to the Jirga. The new monarch would then also have authority over departments of defense and foreign affairs.

Economy
List of Companies in Pukhtunkhwa