Shinwari (Pashtun tribe)

The Shinwari are an ethnic Pashtun tribe of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Among the greatest poets of the Pashto language in the 20th century was the late Ameer Hamza Shinwari, also known as "Hamza Baba". The Shinwari tribe is son of Kasi Pashtun tribe settled in the eastern valleys of Nangarhar province, in Dih Bala, Achin, Rodat, Bati Kot, Kot, Chaprahar, Shinwar, Dor Baba and Nazian districts. A major portion of the tribe is between Landi Kotal (Pakistan) and Jalalabad (Afghanistan), as well as in Parwan province of Afghanistan where they are concentrated in Shinwari, Ghorband, and Jabalussaraj districts. These Shinwaris are mostly traders and businessmen. There is also a significant minority of the tribe settled in Kohat (Jangal Khel), Pakistan, a settlement 60 km south of Peshawar. There are about 2000 to 3000 shinwaris settled in village Ali zai, 15 km away from kohat, Pakistan. These settled shinwaris belong to Fiqa Jaffaria in Islam. In Afghanistan, the Shinwari are also located in Kunar province. Reporting from 2010 states that there are around 400,000 Shinwari in Afghanistan.