Pashtunization in the context of "Ethnic groups in Afghanistan"

Swat District (Pashto: سوات اولسوالۍ, Urdu: ضلع سوات), also known as the Swat Valley, is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Known for its natural sites, the district is a popular tourist destination. With a population of 2,687,384 per the 2023 national census, Swat is the 15th-largest district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Swat District is centred on the Valley of Swat, usually referred to simply as Swat, which is a natural geographic region surrounding the Swat River. The valley was a major centre of early Buddhism of the ancient civilisation of Gandhara, mainly Gandharan Buddhism, with pockets of Buddhism persisting in the valley until the 16th century conquest of Swat by the Yousafzais, after which the area became largely Muslim, along with the Pashtunization of Swat and its neighbouring regions.In the early 19th century, Swat emerged as an independent state under Saidu Baba. The State of Swat became a princely state under British suzerainty as part of the British Raj in 1918.

The Sultanate of Swat was a medieval kingdom of Dardic origin centred around the city of Manglawar between the 12th and 16th centuries. It was strongest of the several Dardic-speaking states in the region, encompassing the present-day Malakand, Buner, Swat and Dir valleys, as well as the Kohistan region.

During the most of 15th century, the kingdom bordered Kashmir Sultanate to the east, Delhi Sultanate to the south, Timurid Empire to the west and the kingdom of Chitral to the north. The last notable ruler was Sultan Awes Jahangiri, during whose reign Swat was ultimately conquered between 1510 and 1518 after a series of battles by Yousafza'i Pashtuns under the leadership of Malik Ahmad Baba. This led to the Pashtunization of the Swat and Dir regions. Some accounts trace the origins of Shah Mir dynasty of Kashmir from these rulers of Swat.

The Khalaj (Bactrian: χαλασσ, romanized: Xalass; Persian: خلج‌ها, romanized: Xalajhâ) are a Turkic ethnic group who mainly reside in Iran. In Iran they still speak the Khalaj language, although most of them are Persianized.

Historically, the Khalaj who lived among Pashtuns were slowly Pashtunized. Due to this, the Khaljis of Delhi, originating from Khalaj migrants from Afghanistan into India, were often considered to be Pashtuns by other Turkic nobles. The Ghiljis, one of the largest Pashtun tribes, also derive their name from the Khalaj, and it is likely that the Khalaj initially formed the core of this tribe.