Peshawari people

Peshawaris, also known as Peshoris (Hindko: پشوری) and Kharay (Pashto: خارے, romanized: Xāryān, lit. 'city dwellers'), are the indigenous urban Hindko-speaking community originating from and native to the city of Peshawar, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The dialect of Hindko spoken in the Peshawari households is known as the Peshori Hindko, or simply Peshori, which also serves as the standardized literary dialect of the Hindko language.

Sample of conversational Peshawari Hindko (Peshori) spoken by Peshawaris in Oxford, UK.

Peshoris have inhabited Peshawar for thousands of years, and formed a majority in the city until the 1960s. Today, they are a minority ethnic group mostly confined to the historic Walled City (Androon Shehr), owing to the rural-to-urban migration of rural Pashtuns into the city, linguistic shift to Pashto and Urdu as well as the influx of Afghan refugees following the Soviet-Afghan War, among other factors. They constitute 5.5% of the urban population of Peshawar, or around 105,000 people (this number only reflects the fraction of total city population that speaks Hindko as first language, thus neglecting a significant fragment of Peshoris, especially youth members - which has shifted to Urdu as the primary tongue, leading to an overall underestimation), according to the 2023 Census of Pakistan.

Culture

Similar to the widely recognised Pashtunwali tradition or tribal code of honor of Pashtuns, the Peshoris adhere to an urban cultural code known as Peshoritop (Hindko: پشوری پن), which encapsulates their distinct identity and social practices. This code, rooted in the traditions of Peshawar, emphasizes four key principles:

Storytelling
Hospitality
Self-esteem
Hyper-social Community Structure

References

1 2 3 4 Ali, Furqan; Ali, Fammaz (1 January 2025). "Indigenous Peshawaris: A Saga Of Cultural Diminishment". The Friday Times. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
↑ Jones, Adele M. E. (1993). Educational Planning in a Frontier Zone: Dependence, Domination, and Legitimacy. Avebury. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-85628-494-3. Hindko, commonly spoken by Peshawaris, who strictly speaking are not considered Pukhtuns by those in neighbouring districts.
↑ Dani, Ahmad Hasan (1995). Peshawar: Historic City of the Frontier. Sang-e-Meel Publications. p. 12. ISBN 978-969-35-0554-2. The Afghan migration to the city of Peshawar has completely changed the character of the city. Peshawar, which was regarded as a 'Khar' (city) - a home of town dwellers engaged in trade and business - by the rurally oriented Pathans, is no longer the same today. The Pathans, or rather the Afghans, have made Peshawar as their own city. The Hindko language, which was the common lingua franca of the Peshawaris, as it was the language of the business class, has almost lost its place. Pashto has now become more dominant and so has increased the number of Pathans in the city.
↑ Nadiem, Ihsan H. (2007). Peshawar: Heritage, History, Monuments. Sang-e-Meel Publications. p. 15. ISBN 978-969-35-1971-6. ...the Hindko or Peshawari-speaking populace (also known as Khaari–urban) in the city.
1 2 Alimia, Sanaa (2022). Refugee Cities: How Afghans Changed Urban Pakistan. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-5128-2279-3. Its most "authentic" dwellers are assumed to be the Hindko population, which has lived there since 539 BCE, as well as other regional traders including Pashtuns, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and others.
↑ Shackle, Christopher (1980). "Hindko in Kohat and Peshawar". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 43 (3): 482–510. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00137401. ISSN 0041-977X. S2CID 129436200.
1 2 Hussain, Dr. Sayed Amjad (9 August 2024). "Story of a Map of Peshawar". The Friday Times. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
↑ "Languages". Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Official Web Portal. Retrieved 21 August 2025. Hindko, (a Punjabi dialect) is spoken in the majority in Hazara Division and also in the central old city areas of Nowshera, Kohat, and Peshawar city.
↑ Appadurai, Arjun; Korom, Frank J.; Mills, Margaret Ann (1994). Gender, Genre, and Power in South Asian Expressive Traditions. Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House. p. 307. ISBN 978-81-208-1178-2.
1 2 3 Ali, Furqan; Ali, Fammaz (1 March 2025). "Indigenous Peshawaris And The Code Of Peshoritop". The Friday Times. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
↑ "Language Shift and Maintenance: The Case Study of Hindko Community in Peshawar, Pakistan". ResearchGate.
↑ "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 11" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.
↑ Anil Kapoor says he's from Peshawar.BBC Urdu. YouTube. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
↑ "Commencement Speaker 2020". The University of Toledo. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
↑ "Prof. Dr. Muhammad Rehman". RMI. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
↑ Ambassador Abdul Basit: Pakistan has not developed expertise in any field. YouTube. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
↑ Maimuna Raza Naqvi (3 December 2016). "Syed Shafaat Ali mimics Pakistan's most famous politicians (and gets threats for it too)". Images (Dawn Group of Newspapers). Retrieved 21 November 2025.
↑ "Peshawar loses last preserver of pottery art". Dawn. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
↑ "Ahmad, Khalid (1999). The House Of Patras".
↑ "Ahmad Ali Saaien". Gandhara Hindko Academy Peshawar. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
↑ "Yousufzai, Rahimullah (2016). Haji Adeel was a gentleman with strong political convictions". 20 November 2016.
↑ "Amir, Intikhab (2013). A fortress under assault". 26 April 2013.
↑ "Iqbal Zafar Jhagra". Dawn. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
↑ "Senior lawyer Qazi Anwar dissociates from PTI". Business Recorder. 15 December 2025. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
↑ "Independent candidate Malik Tariq Awan wins PK-82 election". APP. 9 February 2025. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
↑ "PTI activist in Peshawar served notice for contesting polls against party nominee". Dawn. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
1 2 Sardar, Ziauddin; Yassin-Kassab, Robin (2012). Pakistan?. Oxford University Press. p. 71. ISBN 9781849042239.
↑ Parekh, Rauf (6 July 2015). "Literary Notes: Khatir Ghaznavi — a jewel in the crown of literature". Dawn. Retrieved 25 August 2025.
↑ Baruah, Ayushman (26 November 2020). "FC Kohli, doyen of Indian IT, dies". Mint (newspaper). Retrieved 31 August 2025.
↑ "Tributes paid to Maulana Popalzai". Dawn. 11 June 2005. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
↑ Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. (2021). Oral History Series: Anil K. Chopra. https://eeri.org/images/oralhistory/EERI-OH-Chopra-2021-ebook-edition.pdf
↑ Yusufzai, Rahimullah (18 November 2016). "Erdogan revives memory of Abdur Rehman Peshawari". The News. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
↑ Kassim, Husain (2006). "Yahya Khan, Aga Muhammad". In Leonard, Thomas M. (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Developing World. Vol. 3. Routledge. p. 1745. ISBN 978-0-4159-7664-0. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
↑ Raza, Syed Irfan (9 May 2024). "Rubina Khalid appointed BISP chairperson". Dawn. Retrieved 31 August 2025.
↑ "Worldly Marxism: Rethinking Revolution from Pakistan's Peripheries". Pakistan Monthly Review. 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
↑ "Profile". Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024.
↑ Sirajuddin (17 January 2022). "Veteran actor Rashid Naz passes away at 73". Images (Dawn Group of Newspapers). Retrieved 11 September 2025.
↑ Ahmad, Aftab. "Peshawar's contribution to subcontinent's cinema highlighted". The News International. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013.
↑ Shinwari, Sher Alam (19 November 2006). "Hot Seat". Dawn Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 July 2007.
↑ "Famous TV actor Iftikhar Qaisar passes away". Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
↑ "Vinod Khanna had roots in Peshawar". Dawn. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
↑ "Judge Khalida Rachid Khan". ICTR Basic Documents and Case Law. ICTR. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
↑ "Singer Mahjabeen Qazalbash passes away". Business Recorder. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
↑ "Partition brought Moti Mahal, a landmark in India's culinary history, to central Delhi". Sunday Guardian Live. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
↑ "Partition brought Moti Mahal, a landmark in India's culinary history, to central Delhi". Sunday Guardian Live. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
↑ "Senior writer's work termed source of inspiration for budding literati". Dawn. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
↑ "Death of Umar Daraz termed another loss to art & culture". The News. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2025.
↑ Who's who, Vol 13. Lok Sabha. 1962. p. 237.
↑ "First woman to read news bulletin in Hindi on BBC passes away". The Telegraph. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
↑ "The Story of Bhagat Ram Talwar, The Indian Spy Who Fooled The Nazis During World War II". The Better India. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2025.

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[:0-1] 1 2 3 4 Ali, Furqan; Ali, Fammaz (1 January 2025). "Indigenous Peshawaris: A Saga Of Cultural Diminishment". The Friday Times. Retrieved 21 August 2025.

[2] Jones, Adele M. E. (1993). Educational Planning in a Frontier Zone: Dependence, Domination, and Legitimacy. Avebury. p. 45. ISBN 978-1-85628-494-3. Hindko, commonly spoken by Peshawaris, who strictly speaking are not considered Pukhtuns by those in neighbouring districts.

[3] Dani, Ahmad Hasan (1995). Peshawar: Historic City of the Frontier. Sang-e-Meel Publications. p. 12. ISBN 978-969-35-0554-2. The Afghan migration to the city of Peshawar has completely changed the character of the city. Peshawar, which was regarded as a 'Khar' (city) - a home of town dwellers engaged in trade and business - by the rurally oriented Pathans, is no longer the same today. The Pathans, or rather the Afghans, have made Peshawar as their own city. The Hindko language, which was the common lingua franca of the Peshawaris, as it was the language of the business class, has almost lost its place. Pashto has now become more dominant and so has increased the number of Pathans in the city.

[:5-4] Nadiem, Ihsan H. (2007). Peshawar: Heritage, History, Monuments. Sang-e-Meel Publications. p. 15. ISBN 978-969-35-1971-6. ...the Hindko or Peshawari-speaking populace (also known as Khaari–urban) in the city.

[:1-5] 1 2 Alimia, Sanaa (2022). Refugee Cities: How Afghans Changed Urban Pakistan. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 85. ISBN 978-1-5128-2279-3. Its most "authentic" dwellers are assumed to be the Hindko population, which has lived there since 539 BCE, as well as other regional traders including Pashtuns, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and others.

[6] Shackle, Christopher (1980). "Hindko in Kohat and Peshawar". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 43 (3): 482–510. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00137401. ISSN 0041-977X. S2CID 129436200.

[:7-7] 1 2 Hussain, Dr. Sayed Amjad (9 August 2024). "Story of a Map of Peshawar". The Friday Times. Retrieved 21 August 2025.

[8] "Languages". Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Official Web Portal. Retrieved 21 August 2025. Hindko, (a Punjabi dialect) is spoken in the majority in Hazara Division and also in the central old city areas of Nowshera, Kohat, and Peshawar city.

[9] Appadurai, Arjun; Korom, Frank J.; Mills, Margaret Ann (1994). Gender, Genre, and Power in South Asian Expressive Traditions. Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House. p. 307. ISBN 978-81-208-1178-2.

[:2-10] 1 2 3 Ali, Furqan; Ali, Fammaz (1 March 2025). "Indigenous Peshawaris And The Code Of Peshoritop". The Friday Times. Retrieved 21 August 2025.

[11] "Language Shift and Maintenance: The Case Study of Hindko Community in Peshawar, Pakistan". ResearchGate.

[2023censuslanguage-12] "7th Population and Housing Census - Detailed Results: Table 11" (PDF). Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

[13] Anil Kapoor says he's from Peshawar.BBC Urdu. YouTube. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2025.

[14] "Commencement Speaker 2020". The University of Toledo. Retrieved 3 September 2025.

[15] "Prof. Dr. Muhammad Rehman". RMI. Retrieved 28 December 2025.

[16] Ambassador Abdul Basit: Pakistan has not developed expertise in any field. YouTube. 10 August 2022. Retrieved 28 December 2025.

[17] Maimuna Raza Naqvi (3 December 2016). "Syed Shafaat Ali mimics Pakistan's most famous politicians (and gets threats for it too)". Images (Dawn Group of Newspapers). Retrieved 21 November 2025.

[18] "Peshawar loses last preserver of pottery art". Dawn. 17 November 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2025.

[19] "Ahmad, Khalid (1999). The House Of Patras".

[20] "Ahmad Ali Saaien". Gandhara Hindko Academy Peshawar. Retrieved 11 September 2025.

[21] "Yousufzai, Rahimullah (2016). Haji Adeel was a gentleman with strong political convictions". 20 November 2016.

[22] "Amir, Intikhab (2013). A fortress under assault". 26 April 2013.

[23] "Iqbal Zafar Jhagra". Dawn. 25 April 2013. Retrieved 30 December 2025.

[24] "Senior lawyer Qazi Anwar dissociates from PTI". Business Recorder. 15 December 2025. Retrieved 28 December 2025.

[25] "Independent candidate Malik Tariq Awan wins PK-82 election". APP. 9 February 2025. Retrieved 11 September 2025.

[26] "PTI activist in Peshawar served notice for contesting polls against party nominee". Dawn. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 11 September 2025.

[:16-27] 1 2 Sardar, Ziauddin; Yassin-Kassab, Robin (2012). Pakistan?. Oxford University Press. p. 71. ISBN 9781849042239.

[28] Parekh, Rauf (6 July 2015). "Literary Notes: Khatir Ghaznavi — a jewel in the crown of literature". Dawn. Retrieved 25 August 2025.

[29] Baruah, Ayushman (26 November 2020). "FC Kohli, doyen of Indian IT, dies". Mint (newspaper). Retrieved 31 August 2025.

[30] "Tributes paid to Maulana Popalzai". Dawn. 11 June 2005. Retrieved 31 August 2025.

[EERI2021-31] Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. (2021). Oral History Series: Anil K. Chopra. https://eeri.org/images/oralhistory/EERI-OH-Chopra-2021-ebook-edition.pdf

[32] Yusufzai, Rahimullah (18 November 2016). "Erdogan revives memory of Abdur Rehman Peshawari". The News. Retrieved 31 August 2025.

[33] Kassim, Husain (2006). "Yahya Khan, Aga Muhammad". In Leonard, Thomas M. (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Developing World. Vol. 3. Routledge. p. 1745. ISBN 978-0-4159-7664-0. Retrieved 31 August 2025.

[34] Raza, Syed Irfan (9 May 2024). "Rubina Khalid appointed BISP chairperson". Dawn. Retrieved 31 August 2025.

[35] "Worldly Marxism: Rethinking Revolution from Pakistan's Peripheries". Pakistan Monthly Review. 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.

[36] "Profile". Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Archived from the original on 12 July 2024.

[37] Sirajuddin (17 January 2022). "Veteran actor Rashid Naz passes away at 73". Images (Dawn Group of Newspapers). Retrieved 11 September 2025.

[38] Ahmad, Aftab. "Peshawar's contribution to subcontinent's cinema highlighted". The News International. Archived from the original on 26 December 2013.

[39] Shinwari, Sher Alam (19 November 2006). "Hot Seat". Dawn Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 July 2007.

[40] "Famous TV actor Iftikhar Qaisar passes away". Archived from the original on 17 September 2017. Retrieved 28 December 2025.

[41] "Vinod Khanna had roots in Peshawar". Dawn. 28 April 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2025.

[42] "Judge Khalida Rachid Khan". ICTR Basic Documents and Case Law. ICTR. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2025.

[43] "Singer Mahjabeen Qazalbash passes away". Business Recorder. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2025.

[44] "Partition brought Moti Mahal, a landmark in India's culinary history, to central Delhi". Sunday Guardian Live. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2025.

[45] "Partition brought Moti Mahal, a landmark in India's culinary history, to central Delhi". Sunday Guardian Live. 15 August 2015. Retrieved 30 December 2025.

[46] "Senior writer's work termed source of inspiration for budding literati". Dawn. 16 September 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2025.

[47] "Death of Umar Daraz termed another loss to art & culture". The News. 19 December 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2025.

[48] Who's who, Vol 13. Lok Sabha. 1962. p. 237.

[49] "First woman to read news bulletin in Hindi on BBC passes away". The Telegraph. 2 September 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2025.

[50] "The Story of Bhagat Ram Talwar, The Indian Spy Who Fooled The Nazis During World War II". The Better India. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2025.

Peshawari people

Culture

Notable people

References