The predominant language is Pushtu.
Pushtu, however, is the prevailing language, though it does not seem to be spoken in Herat, or, roughly speaking, west of the Helmund.
The chief languages spoken are vernaculars of Baluchistan, Pushtu, Panjabi, Urdu and Sindhi.
It is apparently derived from the Afghan name for their own language, Pushtu or Pukhtu, and may be traced back to the Paktues of Herodotus.
In 1901 the total number of Pathans in all India was nearly 31 millions, but the speakers of Pushtu numbered less than 14 millions.