Historically, this sentiment has roots in the British colonial era, where Pashtuns were characterised in official accounts as fiercely independent and resistant to state authority.
[1][2] In modern Pakistan, socio-political dynamics have sometimes contributed to perceptions of Pashtun communities as distinct or challenging to state authority.
[7][8][9] The traditional rivalry for power and influence between the Pashtun majority and the other ethnic groups of Afghanistan such as the Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and Turkmen, have often stirred anti-Pashtun sentiments among the latter.
In 1975, a political militant uprising broke out in Panjsher Valley against the rule of Afghan prime minister and Nationalist Daoud Khan, which was allegedly believed by some to have been "sparked by anti-Pashtun frustrations.
[12][13] The Shalleh-ye Javiyd, a Maoist political party founded in the 1960s that predominantly drew support from Shi'a Muslims and Hazaras, was also similarly opposed to Pashtun rule in Afghanistan.
[11] However, Misdaq notes that these anti-Pashtun stances were usually engraved more in a "Shi'a-versus-Sunni Afghan", "Dari-speaking-intellectuals-versus-Pashtun-rulers" and "majority-versus-minority" context rather than resentment on misrule or mistreatment by Pashtun kings and dynasties.