The theory

Contrary to the theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites

Theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites

The theory that the Pashtun people originate from the exiled Lost Tribes of Israel was first debated by Western historians after the 19th century...

, the British

British people

The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...

 doctor and authority on oriental languages, Henry Walter Bellew

Henry Walter Bellew

Henry Walter Bellew MRCP was an Indian-born British medical officer and author. He studied at St. George's Hospital, London.He was with the Bengal Army, assistant surgeon in the Bengal Medical Service, and went with Harry Burnett Lumsden on the 1857 mission to Afghanistan. He was in Mardan with...

, accredited for writing the first Pushtu dictionary, suggested that the Pashtuns

Pashtun people

Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...

 (Pathans) are actually a mixture of the Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

 and Indian Rajput

Rajput

A Rajput is a member of one of the patrilineal clans of western, central, northern India and in some parts of Pakistan. Rajputs are descendants of one of the major ruling warrior classes in the Indian subcontinent, particularly North India...

 peoples. Bellew’s theory was that all Pashtun tribal names could be traced to Greek and Rajput names, which posits the further possibility of a great Greek mixing with the ancient border tribes of India

Maurya Empire

The Maurya Empire was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power in ancient India, ruled by the Mauryan dynasty from 321 to 185 BC...

. In addition, the renowned Arab historian Masudi wrote that Kandahar

Kandahar

Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...

, the city in which most Pashtuns were concentrated at the time, "is a country of Rajputs" and was a separate kingdom with a non-Muslim ruler.

The actual genetics

Research into human DNA

Genealogical DNA test

A genealogical DNA test examines the nucleotides at specific locations on a person's DNA for genetic genealogy purposes. The test results are not meant to have any informative medical value and do not determine specific genetic diseases or disorders ; they are intended only to give genealogical...

 is a new way to explore historical movements of populations by studying their genetic make-up.

Various Genetic studies have been carried out by different sources. The latest studies indicate a multi match for certain haplotypes that include in particular haplogroups J, G1, G2c and subtypes.

The Gs include G1, G2c (Y-STR haplotype 731),2,3,5 from various studies:

• :Table 3 in the study by Sengupta et al. (2006) Pakistani (n=176), Y chromosome lineages. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?Db=PubMed&Cmd=ShowDetailView&TermToSearch=17047675&ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum

• Firasat et al. and Sengupta et al. (2006)

• The YHRD European forensic database has several haplotypes from Pakistan that are very likely to be G2c

Population and Location	n	Status	DYS393	DYS390	DYS19	DYS391	DYS385	DYS426	DYS388	DYS439	DYS392	DYS389	DYS438	DYS461 = add 2 to DYSA7.2
Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany... Poland-Lithuania Western Germany Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... Sicilians	300	confirmed	12 13	22 23 24	15 16	9 10 11	13,15 13,16 14,16	11	12	11 12	11	13,30 13,31 13,32 13,33 14,31 14,32 14,33 15,33	10	12
Pathans	1	confirmed	13	23	16	11	13,16	11	12	11	11	13,30
Pathans	6	confirmed	13	23	17	10		11	12	11	11	13,30

Some genetic genealogy

Genetic genealogy

Genetic genealogy is the application of genetics to traditional genealogy. Genetic genealogy involves the use of genealogical DNA testing to determine the level of genetic relationship between individuals.-History:...

 studies also indicate a minor contribution to the Pashtun DNA from Iranian, Arab, Turkish and Greek peoples.

The theory of Pashtun descent from Israelites is currently being studied by Navras Aafreedi and Shahnaz Ali of India. Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 is planning to fund this rare genetic study to determine whether there is a link between the lost tribes of Israel and the Pashtuns.

The theory of Pashtun descent from Scythians when subjected to DNA studies have proven it to be unfounded. Mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...

 analysis from skeletal remains (from excavated Scythian kurgans) show an HV1 sequence at the Kizil site in the Altai Republic

Altai Republic

Altai Republic is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the town of Gorno-Altaysk. The area of the republic is . Population: -Geography:...

, therefore an N1a maternal lineage. This haplogroup mtDNA N1a is found at a relatively high frequency in the southern fringes of the Eurasian steppe

Eurasian Steppe

The Eurasian Steppe is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands Biome. It stretches from Hungary to Mongolia...

, Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

 (8.3%), and within the Indian Havik

Havyaka Brahmin

Havyaka Brahmins are a Hindu Pancha Dravida Brahmin subsect primarily from the Indian state of Karnataka and Northern Kerala. Havyakas profess the Advaita philosophy propounded by Adi Shankaracharya.-Etymology:...

 group (8.3%), an upper Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

caste. Additionally:

• mitochondrial DNA extracted from two Scytho-Siberian skeletons (Altai Republic (Russia) dating back 2,500 years) show characteristics "of mixed Euro-Mongoloid origin". ("European" in this context means Western Eurasian). One of the individuals was found to carry the F2a maternal lineage, and the other the D lineage, both of which are characteristic of East Eurasian populations.

• Maternal genetic analysis (of Saka period male and female skeletal remains, Beral site Kazakhstan) determined an HV1 mitochondrial sequence in the male (most frequent in European populations) and the HV1 sequence of the female to be of an Asian origin. It was suggested that the female may have derived from either mtDNA X or D.

• Y-Chromosome DNA testing (ancient Scythian skeletons dated to the 5th century BCE, Sebÿstei site) exhibited the R1a1 haplogroup. A search in the YHRD database as well as the researching scientists' own database revealed close matches were found for a haplotype found at high frequency in Altaians & among eastern Europeans and Central Anatolia. Other haplotype matches closely matched types in Poland, Germany, Anatolia, Armenia, Nepal and India.

From these and many other studies it is thus conclusive that genetic makeup of Scythians and Scythian hybrids does not match Pasthun DNA.