The Turkic people in Afghanistan are Turkic people from modern day Afghanistan. The major Turkic tribes are the Qizilbashs, Uzbeks, Kyrgyzs, Turkmens, and Hazaras. The Qizilbashs came to Afghanistan during the Afsharid and Durrani rule in Afghanistan and since they worked at high government jobs, but also made up parts of the army, especially when Timur Shah Durrani wanted to get rid of the dependency on Pashtun tribes and expanded his army by 12.000 Qizilbash soldiers. Zaman Shah Durranis cavalry consisted of 100.000 men, who were mostly Qizilbashs.[1] Today they live in big cities like Kabul, Mazar e Sharif, and Kandahar. Currently they speak mainly Persian as their language, however in some regions, as in Kandahar, they also speak Pashto.[citation needed] They speak the same language as their ethnic equivalents in Central Asia. Kyrgyz people settle the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan and are also really isolated there. The number of them was 1,130 in 2003, all from eastern Wakhan District[2] in the Badakhshan Province of northeastern Afghanistan.[3] They still lead a nomadic lifestyle and are led by a khan or tekin.[citation needed]
1 Central Asian (i.e. Turkmeni, Afghani and Iranian) Turkmens, distinct from Levantine (i.e. Iraqi and Syrian) Turkmen/Turkoman minorities, who mostly adhere to an Ottoman-Turkish heritage and identity.
2 In traditional areas of Turkish settlement (i.e. former Ottoman territories).
