The origin of the Sarbani may be connected with Hephthalites,[1] who had a large nomadic confederation that included present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan in the 5th-6th centuries AD, as well as with Scythians,[2] who are known to have settled where most of Pashtuns live today.

The Durrani Empire that existed in the 18th-19th centuries and that was centered in the territory of present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan was founded by the Ahmad Shah Durrani, a Pashtun military commander under Nader Shah of Persia and chief of the Abdali Sarban tribe.

In Pakistan, Sarbanis are living throughout the city of Peshawar, northern and eastern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas regions.

Additional large settlements are found in Multan, Quetta, KPK, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Haripur and in the northern parts of Balochistan.

[3] Abubakar Siddique writes that "Under the prevailing classifications, Pashtuns are divided into four main tribal groupings: the Sarbani, Bettani, Ghurghust and Karlani.