Dhund

Dhund tradition traces their origin to Arab ancestors said to have arrived in the region with the armies of Muhammad ibn al-Qasim, linking the lineage to an uncle of the prophet Muhammad. British colonial records, however, also associated them with local Rajput groups, suggesting that the Arab identity may have been adopted later, alongside the islamization of the region.

Over the centuries, the Dhund settled in the hills near the Jhelum River, organizing life around councils of elders known as jirgas, without recognizing a single central ruler. Under Sikh and later British rule, some Dhund leaders took on administrative and military posts, while others rose up in armed resistance, marking the people as key players in the disputes over these mountainous lands.

Dhund life is shaped by the geography of the hills: agricultural terraces, orchards, and livestock raising sustain many families, while the region’s mild climate also favors summer tourism, today an important source of income for those living near the trails and villages of Galyat.

The clan structure remains central: important decisions, disputes, and marriage alliances usually pass through respected elders, and traditional titles such as khan, sardar, and raja still carry social weight in the hill communities. Hospitality toward visitors and respect for family hierarchies continue to mark daily life, as does attachment to the land of the ancestors and to the trails linking neighboring villages to one another.

The Dhund are predominantly Sunni Muslims, and Islam organizes both the spiritual life and the social customs of the community: daily prayers, fasting, pilgrimage, and the authority of local religious leaders are part of the common fabric of the villages scattered across the hills.

As with other mountain peoples of the northwestern subcontinent, the Islamic faith is intertwined with clan honor and with the memory of the Arab lineage claimed by the people, so that belonging to the Dhund family and being Muslim are, in practice, almost the same thing. This fusion between family belonging and religion crosses generations and shapes decisions about marriage, education, and community leadership.

Most of the Dhund live in Pakistan speaking varieties of Hindko, a language that already has a published New Testament, though it is little distributed among speakers in the hill areas of Murree and Hazara. The small portion of the people living in Indian administered Kashmir has access to the Kashmiri language, into which the complete Bible has already been translated, but the actual reach of these Scriptures among Dhund families is still practically nil.

Among the Dhund, belonging to the clan and professing Islam are one and the same: abandoning the faith is seen as breaking with the family and with the honor inherited from generations of Muslim leaders. Added to this are the isolation of the mountain communities, the near total absence of churches or Christians in the region, and the weight of an identity built on a proud religious lineage, all of which make any first contact with the gospel rare.

Many Dhund families depend on the land and on seasonal tourism in the hills, which leaves the economy vulnerable to poor harvests and weak visitor seasons. There is a need for better opportunities for steady work year round and for wider access to education in the communities farthest from the mountain trails.

In the spiritual realm, the need is even greater: there are practically no Dhund Christians or faith communities able to walk alongside someone drawing near to Jesus, which makes it urgent to pray for workers willing to walk with this people and for Scriptures that truly reach their hands.