The Shinwari (Pashto: شينواري) are an ethnic Pashtun tribe of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Among the greatest poets of the Pashto language in the 20th century was the late Ameer Hamza Shinwari, also known as "Hamza Baba".
شينواری | |
|---|---|
 Illustration of a Shinwari Pashtun tribal chief, Azad Khan, 1878 | |
| Languages | |
| Pashto | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Mohmand, Durrani, Yusufzai |
The Shinwari tribe are descended from the Kasi Pashtun tribe settled in the southern districts of Nangarhar Province, in Haska Meyna, Achin, Rodat, Bati Kot, Kot, Chaprahar, Shinwar, Dor Baba and Nazian districts. A major portion of the tribe is centered in Jalalabad and Parwan province of Afghanistan, and Khyber Pass, Pakistan. These Shinwaris are mostly traders and businessmen. There are more than 3,000 Shinwaris settled in the Alizai village, 15 km away from Kohat, Pakistan. Mirdad Khel, a sub-tribe of the Shinwaris, migrated to Swat Valley during the 1750s and settled there. Among them one of the notable Shinwaris is Senator Abdul Rahim Mirdad Khel. In Afghanistan, the Shinwari are also located in the Kunar Valley. Reporting from 2010 states that there are around 400,000 Shinwari in Afghanistan.[1]
- ^ "Afghan Shinwari elders vow to support Hamid Karzai in exchange for US cash". The Times (UK). January 29, 2010.[dead link]