Hinduism is a minority religion in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province followed by 0.02% of the population of the province as per 2023 Census.

Though having a small population, the Hindu culture has had a very significant element in the history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In the final census conducted prior to partition in 1941, Hindus constituted approximately 5.9 percent of the population in North-West Frontier Province, which later amalgamated with the Federally Administered Tribal Areas to become Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. With violence and religious cleansing accompanying the partition of India in 1947, the vast majority departed the region en masse, primarily migrating eastward to states that ultimately fell on the eastern side of the Radcliffe Line including Delhi, East Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan.

History

Ancient era The Gandharan civilization features prominently in the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharatha, The Vedic texts refer to the area as the province of Pushkalavati. The area was once known to be a great center of learning.

Medieval era

In the first millennium CE, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region was ruled by Hindu-Buddhist Turk Shahi and Hindu Shahi dynasties. During the rule of the Shahis, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region was a center of trade. Textiles, gems, and perfumes, as well as other goods had been exported west and into central Asia.

The Shahis were known for their many Hindu temples. These temples were mostly looted and destroyed by later invaders. The ruins of these temples can be found at Nandana, Malot, Siv Ganga, Katas, or Amb, as well as across the west bank of the Indus river at the foothills of the Sulaiman and Hindu Kush mountain ranges, such as at Kafir Kot, Bilot Sharif, or Gumbat. At the height of Shahi rule under king Jayapala, the kingdom had extended to Kabul and Bajaur to the northwest, Multan to the south, and the plains of Punjab to the east. Jayapala, threatened from the consolidation of power by the Ghaznavid dynasty, invaded their capital city of Ghazni. This had initiated the Muslim Ghaznavid and Hindu Shahi struggles.

Over time, Mahmud of Ghazni had pushed further into the subcontinent, as far as east as modern day Agra. During his campaigns, many Hindu temples and Buddhist monasteries had been looted and destroyed, as well as many people being forcibly converted into Islam. Local Pashtun and Dardic tribes converted to Islam, while retaining some of the pre-Islamic Hindu-Buddhist and Animist local traditions such as Pashtunwali and the Attan.

Colonial era During the colonial era, census reports detailed that much of the indigenous Hindu population in the North-West Frontier Province chiefly belonged to castes and tribes involved in trade such as the Arora, Bhatia, Bhatiara, or Khatri, while others formed part of tribes primarily engaged in agriculture or the military including the Gurjar and Mohyal Brahmin; many of whom form portions of contemporary ethnolinguistic groups such as the Hindkowans, Hazarewals, Kohistanis, or Saraikis.

In a similar manner to the Baloch Hindus to the south, Hindus belonging to the various castes and tribes who were indigenous to the frontier regions had considerable Islamic influence, owing to their status as a religious minority in the region for centuries, and thus formed religious syncretism that incorporated aspects from both faiths into their cultures and traditions. Furthermore, caste differentiation amongst the Hindus of the region was often greatly diminished, in contrast with the Hindus of regions further to the east in the Gangetic plain such as eastern Punjab or the United Provinces.

Traditionally, Hindu members of the castes and tribes who were indigenous to the frontier regions of the Indian subcontinent (between the Indus River, Sulaiman range, and the Hindu Kush mountains) had longstanding trading relationships with Afghanistan along with other regions of western and central Asia, which they linked with the Indo-Gangetic Plain of India. Conversely, most of the Hindu migrants in the North-West Frontier Province were involved with the military, primarily concentrated in town cantonments.

Immediately prior to 1947 Partition of India, the British held a referendum in the NWFP to allow voters to choose between joining India or Pakistan and 99.02% votes were cast in favor of Pakistan. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, most of the Hindus left for India.

Demographics Hinduism in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1855–2023)Census yearHindu PopulationHindu PercentageTotal ResponsesTotal PopulationSource(s)1855 Census (Punjab Province)110,6021,209,7361,209,7361868 Census (Punjab Province)141,4411,718,2001,718,2001881 Census in British India154,0811,955,5151,955,5151891 Census in British India166,9842,281,7082,281,7081901 Census in British India129,3062,050,7242,125,4801911 Census in British India119,9422,196,9333,819,0271921 Census in British India149,8812,251,3405,076,4761931 Census in British India142,9772,425,0764,684,3641941 Census in British India180,3213,038,0675,415,6661951 Pakistani Census2,4325,864,5505,899,9051961 Pakistani Census1,4747,578,1867,599,6271972 Pakistani Census5,0148,032,32410,879,7811981 Pakistani Census5,25313,259,87513,259,8751998 Pakistani Census7,01120,919,97620,919,9762017 Pakistani census6,37335,501,96435,501,9642023 Pakistani census6,10240,641,12040,856,097

Colonial era

During the colonial era (British India), prior to the partition in 1947, decadal censuses enumerated religion in North-West Frontier Province, and not in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. Both administrative divisions later amalgamated to become Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

According to the 1881 census, the Hindu population in North-West Frontier Province (part of the region that composes contemporary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) was approximately 154,081, or 7.9 percent of the total population. The census conducted in 1921 indicated the Hindu population stood at 149,881 persons, or 6.7 percent of the total population of the province. According to the 1941 census, the Hindu population in North-West Frontier Province (part of the region that composes contemporary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) was approximately 180,321, or 5.9 percent of the total population.

At the district level in North-West Frontier Province, as per the 1881 census, the largest Hindu concentrations existed in Dera Ismail Khan District (Hindus formed 12.33 percent of the total population and numbered 54,446 persons), Bannu District (9.21 percent or 30,643 persons), and Peshawar District (6.63 percent or 39,321 persons).

As per the 1921 census, at the district level in North-West Frontier Province, the largest Hindu concentrations existed in Dera Ismail Khan District (Hindus formed 15.08 percent of the total population and numbered 39,311 persons), Bannu District (9.53 percent or 23,509 persons), and Kohat District (6.01 percent or 12,879 persons).

According to the 1941 census, at the district level in North-West Frontier Province, the largest Hindu concentrations existed in Dera Ismail Khan District (Hindus formed 13.14 percent of the total population and numbered 39,167 persons), Bannu District (10.63 percent or 31,471 persons), and Kohat District (6.06 percent or 17,527 persons). + Hindus in the districts of North–West Frontier Province (1881–1941)District1881192119311941 Dera Ismail Khan District 54,446 39,311 35,822 39,167 Peshawar District 39,321 48,144 42,321 51,212 Bannu District 30,643 23,509 26,181 31,471 Hazara District 19,843 26,038 25,260 30,267 Kohat District 9,828 12,879 13,393 17,527 Mardan District 10,677 Total Hindus 154,081 149,881 142,977 180,321 Total Population 1,955,515 2,251,340 2,425,076 3,038,067

At the tehsil level in North-West Frontier Province, as per the 1921 census, the largest Hindu concentrations existed in Tank Tehsil (Hindus formed 17.14 percent of the total population and numbered 10,224 persons) Dera Ismail Khan Tehsil (15.82 percent or 24,685 persons), Bannu Tehsil (11.32 percent or 16,130 persons), Kulachi Tehsil (9.76 percent or 4,402 persons), and Peshawar Tehsil (9.65 percent or 25,414 persons).

According to the 1941 census, at the tehsil level in North-West Frontier Province, the largest Hindu concentrations existed in Dera Ismail Khan Tehsil (Hindus formed 16.03 percent of the total population and numbered 30,065 persons), Bannu Tehsil (13.07 percent or 24,517 persons), Hangu Tehsil (9.52 percent or 5,909 persons), Tank Tehsil (9.48 percent or 5,279 persons), and Peshawar Tehsil (8.62 percent or 33,551 persons). + Hindus in the tehsils of North–West Frontier Province (1921–1941)Tehsil192119311941 Peshawar Tehsil 25,414 23,538 33,551 Dera Ismail Khan Tehsil 24,685 25,982 30,065 Bannu Tehsil 16,130 17,789 24,517 Abbottabad Tehsil 13,580 13,378 17,558 Nowshera Tehsil 10,638 9,271 15,128 Tank Tehsil 10,224 5,109 5,279 Marwat Tehsil 7,379 8,392 6,954 Haripur Tehsil 7,362 7,016 7,278 Mardan Tehsil 6,846 5,941 8,709 Kohat Tehsil 6,415 7,615 9,156 Mansehra Tehsil 4,592 4,308 4,910 Kulachi Tehsil 4,402 4,731 3,823 Hangu Tehsil 4,225 2,990 5,909 Swabi Tehsil 3,063 1,426 1,968 Teri Tehsil 2,239 2,788 2,462 Charsadda Tehsil 2,183 2,145 2,533 Amb Tehsil 440 509 433 Phulra Tehsil 64 49 88 Total Hindus 149,881 142,977 180,321 Total Population 2,251,340 2,425,076 3,038,067

According to the 1921 census, the Hindu population in urban portions of North-West Frontier Province numbered 94,662 persons, or 28.2 percent of the total urban population. Cities/urban areas in North-West Frontier Province with the largest Hindu concentrations included Bannu (Hindus formed 59.4 percent of the total population and numbered 13,222 persons), Abbottabad (53.94 percent or 7,346 persons), Jamrud (50.82 percent or 3,114 persons), Haripur (44.76 percent or 2,636 persons), and Dera Ismail Khan (43.41 percent or 17,077 persons).

The Hindu population in urban portions of North-West Frontier Province as per the 1941 census was 134,382 persons, or 24.3 percent of the total urban population. Cities/urban areas in North-West Frontier Province with the largest Hindu concentrations included Bannu (Hindus formed 57.59 percent of the total population and numbered 22,175 persons), Dera Ismail Khan (44.47 percent or 22,815 persons), Risalpur (43.71 percent or 3,937 persons), Abbottabad (43.34 percent or 11,886 persons), and Lakki (36.58 percent or 3,710 persons). + Hindus in the cities of North-West Frontier Province (1921–1941)City/Urban Area192119311941 Peshawar 20,981 21,973 31,630 Dera Ismail Khan 17,077 16,761 22,815 Bannu 13,222 15,036 22,175 Abbottabad 7,346 7,753 11,886 Nowshera 6,192 4,675 9,831 Kohat 5,796 6,709 8,250 Tank 4,197 2,244 3,296 Risalpur 3,369 2,900 3,937 Mardan 3,220 3,605 5,851 Jamrud 3,114 Haripur 2,636 2,693 3,113 Lakki 2,543 2,805 3,710 Kulachi 2,162 2,182 2,092 Nawan Shehr 1,052 883 1,030 Baffa 861 762 735 Charsadda 484 519 745 Tangi 314 362 444 Cherat 80 158 30 Parang 16 16 2 Mansehra 1,091 1,699 Kot Najibullah 929 Utmanzai 182 Total Urban Hindu Population 94,662 93,127 134,382 Total Urban Population 335,849 386,177 552,193

Modern era According to the 1998 Census, there are 5,090 Hindus (including the Scheduled Castes) constituting 0.029% of the population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In the 2017 Census, there were 5,392 Hindus constitutes 0.015% of the population. In 2023 Census, the absolute number of Hindus increased slightly to 6102, which constitute 0.015% of the population. However, Pakistan Hindu Council estimates that there are 21,033 Hindus in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.