Pashto, sometimes spelt
Pashtu, is one of the primary languages spoken in
Afghanistan. The other is
Dari, also known as
Afghan Persian. Pashto is the
first language of only about 35% of Afghans.
Pashto is a member of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European group of languages, and is closely related to Dari, Farsi, and Kurdish. It is typically written with the Arabic alphabet.
Khushhal Khan Khatak, sometimes called the national poet of Afghanistan, is the best known writer of Pashto literature.