Economically motivated migration of Pashto speakers from their original areas of settlement – situated on both sides of the present Pakistani- Afghan border (Durand Line) – to other regions of the Indian Subcontinent is an age-old phenomenon. Its historical roots can be traced back to
pre-Mughal times, when the loyal services of Pathan warriors were inhigh demand with the rulers in Delhi and the kingdoms further to the
south. Nowadays larger Pakistani cities like Lahore, Quetta and especially Karachi pay host to hundreds of thousands of Pashtuns, working in all conceivable professions and trades. The majority of Pashto speakers came to these places over the last 20 to 30 years, some of them settling
with their families, others migrating on a purely temporary basis. But Pashtun migration is far from limited to the big cities alone.