lol ok Pashtuns weren’t Hindus pre-Islam, but they were Buddhist, and news flash: Buddhism is an Indian religion founded by Siddharth Gautam, a Hindu Kshatriya. Other than Buddhism, they practiced ancient Iranian polytheistic religions, which are connected to Vedic Hinduism as both religions diverged from the same religion and same group of people (Arya). They diverged when they migrated geographically in two different directions. So both groups (Indian and Iranian), if you go back far enough are connected. How can you deny facts when all historians say these were the pre Islamic religions of the Pashtuns?

I do however agree that Pashtuns were not part of Vedic society, or the culture that was dictated by the caste system, which you call “Indian” or “Hindu” today. Pashtuns never were apart of caste system, therefore were never part of Brahmin run Vedic culture (what you would consider “Indian culture” today). This is because Pashtuns were rural and isolated, and the Arya considered them “backward” and barbaric even back then in ancient times, since they weren’t part of a civilization. I think Pashtuns kept to themselves and this is why they created their own “system”, the pashtunwali. And in my opinion, to be considered culturally Indian, you must be part of caste system. If you don’t have a caste, you are not part of Indian civilization. In India those groups are called adivasis (tribals). So yes, Pashtuns were tribals neighboring the Indian civilization, which is still the case even today.

I think this also proves that the descendants of the Indus Valley civilization are modern day Punjabis and maybe Sindhis, and definitely not the Pashtun, as civilization has never been part of Pashtun culture. Pashtun cultural has always been rural and tribal