Pashtun Dilazak

In the eleventh century, the Dilazaks crossed the Khyber Pass from eastern Afghanistan and the Bajaur region, occupying the Peshawar valley then inhabited by local peoples. For generations they became the dominant Pashtun power between Nangarhar and Hazara, and one of their chiefs even allied with Mahmud of Ghazni on a military expedition.

The situation changed in the sixteenth century, when the Yusufzais, expelled from Kabul, sought refuge among the Dilazaks and later turned against them. Defeated at the battle of Katlang, the Dilazaks were pushed beyond the Indus River, losing control of the land that had once been theirs.

Today the Dilazaks live mainly from agriculture and local labor, far removed from the time when they ruled vast territories. They are scattered across the cities and villages of Peshawar, Haripur and the Chach region, where they have mixed with other ethnic groups and, in some cases, traded Pashto for Hindko in daily life. Some farm the family land, while others seek wage jobs in neighboring towns to support their households.

Even scattered, many still live by Pashtunwali, the Pashtun code of honor, hospitality and conflict resolution led by family elders. A given word, welcome to a guest and the defense of the clan’s honor continue to shape decisions that go far beyond religion.

Practically all Dilazaks are Sunni Muslims, and Islam is lived as an inseparable part of being Pashtun. Prayer, fasting and life around the mosque are interwoven with Pashtunwali, the tribe’s code of honor, so that abandoning the faith is understood as abandoning one’s own family and clan.

Local religious leaders play a central role in community life, guiding everything from land disputes to family decisions and marriages. This fusion of religion, honor code and ethnic identity makes personal faith almost inseparable from belonging to the group, leaving little room for individual choices in matters of belief.

Among the Dilazaks of Pakistan, who speak mainly Central Pashto, a New Testament and Bible portions have already been translated, but the complete Bible has not yet reached this language, and few have even had contact with what has already been translated. Among those living in India who speak Urdu, the complete Bible has long been available, though this does not mean Dilazak families know it or have it in hand.

For a Dilazak, being Pashtun means being Muslim, and this dual identity, reinforced by Pashtunwali, makes conversion seen as a betrayal of family and clan, not merely a change of religion. The people’s dispersion, today a minority in lands they once ruled and often absorbed by other linguistic groups, makes it even harder for anyone to recognize them as a distinct people to be reached, leaving them practically invisible even among Pashtuns themselves.

Many Dilazaks today experience seeing their language and history dissolve in the face of larger neighboring peoples, which heightens the need for dignity and recognition as a people with its own identity. Spiritually, they need God’s Word in a language and manner that truly reaches the Pashtun heart, and brothers and sisters who will walk alongside anyone who one day decides to follow Jesus amid a family and clan that may not understand that choice.