Pashtun nationalism

[citation needed] During the early 18th century, Pashtun tribes led by Mirwais Hotak successfully revolted against the Safavids in the city of Kandahar.

[citation needed] By 1738 the Mughal Empire had been defeated and their capital sacked and looted by forces of a new Iranian ruler Nader Shah Afshar.

Besides Persian, Turkmen, and Caucasian forces, Nader was also accompanied by the young Ahmad Shah Durrani and 4,000 well-trained Pashtun troops.

[9] In 1979 under General Secretary Nur Muhammad Taraki the Khalqists regime in Afghanistan changed the official map to include NWFP and Balochistan as new "frontier provinces" of the DRA.

[10] The Khalqist regime also sought to make Pashto the main language of the Afghan government, as it represented the clear majority, and the lingua franca.

Flag of Pashtunistan
Painting by Abdul Ghafoor Breshna depicting the 1747 coronation of Ahmad Shah Durrani , who is regarded as the founding father of Afghanistan ( Father of the Nation ).
Manzoor Pashteen , Chairman of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement ("Pashtun Protection Movement"), a social movement based in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan .