Pushto (sometimes called Afgan) belongs to the Indo-European family of languages, Iranian group. It is spoken by approximately 19 million people [c. 8 million in Afghanistan (c. 50% of the population) and almost 11 million in Pakistan (13% of the population)]. It is one of the national languages of Afghanistan (Dari Persian is the other), and the home language of Pushtuns living in the Northwest Frontier Province of Pakistan, and many Pushtuns living in Baluchistan (Iran and Pakistan). In Pakistan, Pushto has no official status. Major Pushto speaking cities include Kandahar/Quandahar and Kabul in Afghanistan; Peshewar in Pakistan.
CLASSIFICATION = Indo-European family, East Iranian group of languages, SCRIPT = the Pushto script is derived from Arabic through Persian; script for "everyday Pushto" is Roman
