Re: Anatomical Demography of Afghanistan

                           By

                   Dr.Adil Mufti

To understand Afghanistan you have to sudy its demographics. It reveals a nation deeply divided by power. 

Pashtuns, comprising 42% of the population, form the largest group, followed by Tajiks 27% , Hazaras 10% Uzbeks
10% and others like Aimaqs, Turkmens, and Baloch.

Yet, the Taliban are overwhelmingly Pashtun in leadership dominating 95% of senior roles and key ministries has consolidated authority along ethnic lines. Non-Pashtun groups face systemic marginalization: limited cabinet representation, purges in security apparatuses and exclusion from important portfolios. This has fueled perceptions of an occupying force in Tajik, Hazara, and Uzbek heartlands, where local tribal governance offers only partial autonomy.

Afghanistan remains predominantly rural, with about 80% of its people in rural countryside areas reliant on traditional governance structures. The Taliban's rule through coercion and fear echoes patterns seen accross the borders where one dominant ethnicity often exceeding 60% in other nations grips national power, sidelining others and stifling genuine inclusivity.

True stability demands power-sharing that reflects Afghanistan's diversity, not ethnic hegemony. Without it, resentment simmers, risking renewed conflict in a fragile land.

Demography is one factor but there  are other key causes of conflict .pashtuns are sunnis . and hazaras are shias while , tajiks etc are sunni/ shias mix .

There is sectarian sectarian fault line in Afghanistan . Another stark difference is language . Pashtuns speak pushto while others are farsi speaking clans . Then wealthy areas where precious stone mining is ,always with non pashtuns, like panj sheer valley . Afghanistan is conflict prone from centuries.