Pashayi people
Pashai girl in traditional clothing | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| Approx. 400,000 (disputed between 600,000 and 1 million) | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Laghman, Kapisa, Nangarhar and northeast Kabul, Panjshir | |
| Languages | |
| Pashayi languages Pashto and Persian also spoken as second languages | |
| Religion | |
| Majority: Sunni Islam Minority: Nizari Ismailism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Other Indo-Aryan peoples, Kalash, Nuristani |
The Pashayi or Pashai, formerly known as the Alina, (/pəˈʃaɪ/; Pashayi: پشهای, romanised: Paṣhəy) are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group living primarily in eastern Afghanistan. They are mainly concentrated in the northern parts of Laghman and Nangarhar, also parts of Kunar, Kapisa, Parwan, Nuristan, and a bit of Panjshir. Many Pashai are bilingual in Pashto and sometimes trilingual with Persian as a third language. Some of the Pashayi have been assimilated by Pashtuns, whereas those in Panjshir and Parwan, have been assimilated by Tajiks.