The Wakhi people, also locally referred to as the Wokhik, are an Iranian ethnic group native to Central and South Asia. They are found in Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and China—primarily situated in and around Afghanistan's Wakhan Corridor, the northernmost part of Pakistan's Gilgit−Baltistan and Chitral, Tajikistan's Gorno−Badakhshan Autonomous Region and the southwestern areas of China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. The Wakhi people are native speakers of the Wakhi language, an Eastern Iranian language.
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In this Dossier
Wakhi people in the context of Ethnic groups in Pakistan
Pakistan is an ethnically and linguistically diverse country. The major Pakistani ethnolinguistic groups include Punjabis, Pashtuns, Sindhis, Saraikis, Muhajirs, Balochs, Hindkowans/Hazarewals, Brahuis, and Kohistanis as well as Shina, Baltis, Kashmiris, Paharis, Chitralis, Torwalis, Hazaras, Burusho, Wakhis, Kalash, Siddis, Uzbeks, Nuristanis, Pamiris and various other smaller minorities.
Wakhi people in the context of Wakhan National Park
Wakhan National Park is a national park in northeastern Afghanistan. Established in 2014, the park encompasses the entire Wakhan District of Badakhshan Province, extending along the Wakhan Corridor between the Pamir Mountains and the Hindu Kush, bordering the Gorno-Badakhshan autonomous region of Tajikistan to the north, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan in Pakistan to the south, and the Xinjiang autonomous region of China to the east.
Flora and fauna in the Wakhan National Park include some 600 plant species, the snow leopard, lynx, wolf, brown bear, stone marten, red fox, Pallas's cat, ibex, Marco Polo sheep, and urial. Remote and largely above the tree line, poaching and overgrazing, rather than mining and logging, currently pose the main threats. Around 15,000 Afghans of ethnic Wakhi and Kyrgyz background reside in the area. Foreigners must have an Afghan visa to tour the area.
Wakhi people in the context of Tajiks of Xinjiang
In China, the terms "Tajik" and "Tajik nationality" (Chinese: 塔吉克族; pinyin: Tǎjíkèzú) encompass three distinct ethnic subgroups: the Sarikolis, Wakhis, and Tor Tajiks. The Sarikolis and Wakhis are ethnic Pamiris who live in the Pamir Mountains of Tashkurgan Tajik Autonomous County, in Kashgar Prefecture, Xinjiang. The Tor Tajiks are ethnic Tajiks who reside in the village of Tor, also in Kashgar Prefecture. The Tajik nationality is one of 56 nationalities or ethnicities officially recognized by the Chinese government.
Wakhi people in the context of Gojal
Gojal (Wakhi: وادی گوجال, Kyrgyz: گۉجال ۅرۅنۇ,), also called Upper Hunza, is situated in northwestern Pakistan. It borders China at the Khunjerab Pass and the Shimshal valley, and Afghanistan at the Chapursan valley. In 2019, Gojal Valley became the second Karachukar sub-division within the Hunza District. It is geographically the largest subdivision of Gilgit-Baltistan.
Gojal or Upper Hunza is composed of a number of large and small valleys sharing borders with Central Hunza to the south, China in the northeast, and Afghanistan in the northwest. Ainabad is the first village of Gojal. Except for the Shimshal, Misgar, and Chapursan valleys, all the villages of Gojal can be seen from the Karakoram Highway (KKH), which passes through the tehsil and enters China at the Khunjerab Pass. The Gojal region has 20,000 Ismaili residents. Gojal is predominantly populated by the Wakhi people.
Wakhi people in the context of Pamir corridor
The Wakhan Corridor (Dari: دالان واخان, romanized: Dālān-i Wāxān; Pashto: واخان دهلېز, romanized: Wāxān dahlez) is a narrow strip of territory in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. This corridor stretches eastward, connecting Afghanistan to Xinjiang, China. It also separates the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan in the north from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan regions in Pakistan in the south. This high mountain valley, which rises to a maximum altitude of 4,923 m (16,152 ft), serves as the source of both the Panj and Pamir rivers, which converge to form the larger Amu Darya River. For countless centuries, a vital trade route has traversed this valley, facilitating the movement of travelers to and from East, South, and Central Asia.
The corridor was formed in 1893 out of British territory from now Pakistan after an agreement between Mortimer Durand of the British Raj and Emir Abdur Rahman Khan of Afghanistan, so that the Russian Turkestan dominion, now Tajikistan, would not touch British dominion, now Pakistan. This agreement also created the Durand Line which today forms the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It was last conquered by the Durrani Empire in 1763.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). The northern part of the Wakhan, populated by the Wakhi, Pamiri and Kyrgyz peoples, is also referred to as the Pamir. The closest major airport for the residents to use is Fayzabad Airport in the city of Fayzabad to the west, which is accessible by the road network.