aba – affectionate Pashto term, ‘father’
ANP – Awami National Party, Pashtun nationalist political party
baba – affectionate term for grandfather or old man
badal – revenge
bhabi – affectionate Urdu term, literally ‘my brother’s wife’
bhai – affectionate Urdu term, literally ‘my brother’
chapati – unleavened flatbread made from flour and water
dyna – open-backed van or truck
FATA – Federally Administered Tribal Areas, region of Pakistan bordering Afghanistan governed under a system of indirect rule started in British times
Hadith – saying or sayings of the Prophet, peace be upon him
Haj – the pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam (along with the confession of faith, daily prayer, fasting during Ramadan and alms-giving), which every Muslim who can afford to should perform once in their lifetime
haram – prohibited in Islam
hujra – traditional Pashtun meeting place for men
imam – local preacher
IDP – internally displaced person
ISI – Inter Services Intelligence, Pakistan’s biggest intelligence agency
Jamaat-e-Islami – Party of Islam, Pakistan conservative party
JUI – Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, Assembly of Islamic clergy, Pakistan conservative political party closely linked to the Afghan Taliban which advocates strict enforcement of Islamic law
jani – dear one
jani mun – soulmate
jihad – holy war or internal struggle
jirga – tribal assembly
khaista – handsome one
khan – local lord
KPK – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, literally ‘Area of Pashtuns’, until 2010 called North-West Frontier Province, one of the four provinces of Pakistan
lashkar – local militia
LeT – Lashkar-e-Taiba, literally ‘Army of the Pure’, one of Pakistan’s oldest and most powerful militant groups, active in Kashmir and with close links to the ISI
madrasa – school for Islamic instruction
maulana, mufti – Islamic scholar
mohalla – district
MQM – Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Karachi-based party representing Muslims who fled India at Partition (1947)
nang – honour
PML – Pakistan Muslim League, conservative political party founded in 1962 as successor to the Muslim League, the only major party in Pakistan at Partition, which was banned in 1958 along with all other parties
PPP – Pakistan People’s Party, centre-left party founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1967, later led by his daughter Benazir and currently co-chaired by her husband Asif Zardari and their son Bilawal
Pashtunwali – traditional behavioural code of Pashtuns
pir – hereditary saint
pisho – cat
purdah – (of women) segregation or seclusion, wearing the veil
qaumi – national
sabar – patience
shalwar kamiz/salwar kamiz – traditional outfit of loose tunic and trousers worn by both men and women
surah – chapter of the Holy Quran
swara – practice of resolving a tribal feud by handing over a woman or young girl
talib – religious student, but has come to mean member of Taliban militant group
tapa/tapey (plural) – genre of Pashto folk poetry having two lines, the first line with nine syllables, the second with thirteen.
tarbur – literally ‘cousin’, but also ‘enemy’
TNSM – Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Sharia-e-Mohammadi, Movement for the Enforcement of Islamic Law, founded in 1992 by Sufi Mohammad, later taken over by his son-in-law Maulana Fazlullah, also known as as the Swat Taliban
TTP – Tehrik-i-Taliban-Pakistan, Pakistan Taliban
Umrah – lesser pilgrimage to Mecca which can be made at any time during the year