ABSTRACT
The proud Afghan people, who have never had to face real colonialisation of their country, constitute the world’s largest groups of refugees. On one important point, the situation of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan differs from most refugee contexts, at least as far as the Pashto-speaking refugees are concerned. The Pashto-speaking Afghan refugees and the local population in the host country share three elements fundamental to their society: language, religion, and the Pashtun cultural system, sometimes termed by themselves Pashtunwali. The all-dominating experience shared by Afghan refugees and local Pakistanis is religion. The common cause of defending Afghanistan against the invasion forces and the ‘marionette regime’ in Kabul is perceived as the ultimate obligation of honour, an extension of the obligations of defending the land and house of the agnatic family and lineage, for all Afghans including non-Pashtun ethnic groups.
