The Punjabis of Afghanistan

The Punjabis of Afghanistan, numbering approximately 8,800 people, are Unengaged and Unreached. They are an ethnolinguistic group characterized by their rich cultural heritage, agricultural prowess, and vibrant traditions, originating from the Punjab region of South Asia, currently divided between Pakistan and India. They are an Diaspora people, in the Punjabi people cluster of the South Asian Peoples affinity bloc. Their primary religion is Sunni Islam. They primarily speak Punjabi, Eastern.

Punjabi Sikhs in Bangladesh photo
Photo courtesy of Joshua Project. Photo Source: Web Flippy - Pixabay

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: South Asian Peoples
Country: Afghanistan
People Cluster: Punjabi
Primary Language(s): Punjabi, Eastern (pan)
Primary Religion(s): Sunni Islam
Population: 8,800
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Unengaged and Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Active CP Activity
People Group ID: PG024006
View on Joshua Project

Pray for the Punjabis of Afghanistan

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Sunni Islam
Religious Affiliation: Islam

%
Sunni Islam Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Punjabi, Eastern
Language Family: Indo-European

%
Punjabi, Eastern Speakers

Bible Resources in Punjabi, Eastern:

Or check out the Punjabi, Eastern bible resources at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

Next steps for the Punjabis

The Punjabis are Unengaged and Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations among which there are no known efforts focused on establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Begin signifcant prayer and fasting for this group
Send cross-cultural teams to discover and research this people group
Begin gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group

Next steps for the Punjabis

The Punjabis are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Next steps for the Punjabis

The Punjabis are No Longer Unreached, which means there are more than 2% evangelical Christian populations and there are churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice. There is still more to be done among them.

Empower local believers to begin praying for their own people
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Encourage local leaders to being leading church planting strategy and looking for Unreached and Unengaged groups nearby

Pray specifically for the Punjabis of Afghanistan

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self- made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
readColossians 2:23

Pray for those without Christ, that they will see the emptiness of human traditions and turn to the truth and grace found in Jesus.

Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength!
readPsalm 96:7

Pray that entire households will come to faith in Jesus and that God will bless their families with faith in Him for generations to come.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
readColossians 2:6-7

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be rooted and built up in Him, abounding in thanksgiving for the grace and mercy He has shown them.

And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, "Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand."
readRomans 15:20-21

Pray that God will send believers to cross cultures and proclaim the gospel where Christ has not been named, so that the nations might glorify God for His mercy.

Punjabi, Eastern (ROP3 - 108182) reported in the following countries:

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Definitions page.

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