Pathans of the Latter Day

Book excerpt: Pathans of the Latter Day is a sequel to the author's The Way of the Pathans written more than forty years ago and frequently cited in literature on Pakistan's north-west frontier since. It is a self-contained volume based on return visits to the Frontier in the 1980s and 1990s. A combination of history, personal experience, and interpretation, Pathans of the Latter Day details the origins and structure of the volatile tribesmen living along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, their highly developed code of law, Pukhtunwali, their acceptance of Pakistan, their relations with their Chinese neighbours, and their experiences during the wars in Afghanistan. A quietly humorous anecdotal style provides vivid glimpses of life among today's modernized Pathans, as well as among traditional tribesmen of the Afridi, Wazir, Mahsud, Yusufzai, Mohmand, and Khattak clans.