Pakistani languages (Pashto)

Pashto (Naskh: پښتو - [paʂˈto]; also transliterated Pakhto, Pushto, Pukhto,Pashtu, or Pushtu), also known as Afghani, is an Indo-European language spoken primarily in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. Pashto belongs to theEastern Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian language family. There are nearly 40 million Pashtuns. As defined in the Constitution of Afghanistan, Pashto is a national and official language, and it is spoken in N.W.F.P, Pakistan

Afghanistan

No exact numbers are available for Afghanistan, but the CIA World Factbook 2009 estimates that 35% of the population speak Pashto as their first language. According to an older, but scholarly, estimate by the Encyclopaedia Iranica, Pashto is the mother tongue of 50 to 55 percent of the population (or eight million, at the time of approach), primarily spoken in the south, east, southwest and some northern parts of Afghanistan. According to "A survey of the Afghan people - Afghanistan in 2006", Pashto is the first language of 40% of the population, while additional 27% know the language (combined 67%). According to the recent survey "Afghanistan: Where Things Stand" by BBC/ABC/ARD(avarege numbers from 2005-2009) Pashto is spoken by 31%.

Pakistan:

In Pakistan, Pashto is spoken by about 27 million people (15% of the total population) in the North-West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and Balochistan. Modern "transplant" communities are also found in Sindh(Karachi and Hyderabad).

Elsewhere:

Other communities of Pashto-speakers are found in northeastern Iran, primarily in South Khorasan Province to the east of Qaen, near the Afghan border. There are also Pashtun communities in western parts of Jammu and Kashmir in India.

Official Status:

In Afghanistan, Pashto is promoted as the first state language, and article 20 of the Constitution of Afghanistan states that the Afghan National Anthem "shall be in Pashto..." Pashto is one of the two official languages of Afghanistan that are used for the administration of the government throughout the country. Pashto is also used in education, literature, office and court business, media, and in religious institutions, etc. It is a repository of the cultural and social heritage of the country. In Pakistan, Pashto is not official language, but it is one of the provincial languages in NWFP, FATA and Balochistan.