Nuristanis
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 125,000–300,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Nuristan, Kunar, Afghanistan Chitral, Pakistan | |
| Languages | |
| Nuristani languages, Pashto, serving as the lingua franca and widely understood as a second language | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Kalash, Kho, Pashayi |
The Nuristanis are an Indo-Iranian ethnic group native to the Nuristan Province (formerly Kafiristan) of northeastern Afghanistan and Chitral District of northwestern Pakistan. Their languages comprise the Nuristani branch of Indo-Iranian languages.
In the mid-1890s, after the establishment of the Durand Line when Afghanistan and the British Indian Empire reached an agreement regarding the Indo-Afghan border as the region of Kafiristan became part of the Great Game and for a period of time, Emir Abdur Rahman Khan conducted a military campaign to secure the eastern regions and followed up his conquest by imposition of Islam; the region thenceforth being known as Nuristan, the "Land of Light". Before their conversion, the Nuristanis practised an Indo-Iranian (Vedic- or Hindu-like) religion. Non-Muslim religious practices endure in Nuristan today to some degree as folk customs. In their native rural areas, they are often farmers, herders, and dairymen.
The Nuristan region has been a prominent location for war, which has led to the death of many indigenous Nuristanis. Nuristan has also received abundance of settlers from the surrounding Afghan regions due to the borderline vacant location.