Safi (tribe)

Sāpī (Pashto: ساپی Sāpai; plur. ساپي Sāpī) is a Pashtun tribe situated mostly in Afghanistan. Many former Pashayi speakers have also adopted the ethnonym Safi in Afghanistan.^[1]

According to a work published by Jeffrey H.P Evans-von Krbek at the Department of Anthropology at the University of Durham in 1977, the origins of the Sapi lies in the region of ancient Gandhara.^[2]

The exact population number of this clan is not known; however, it is estimated to be around 2.5 million in Afghanistan. Sapis have played an important role in Afghanistan.^[3] The Sapi tribe is well known for its resistance to the Taliban regime, and many fierce clashes have broken out between the two.^[4]

People

• Amanul Mulk, leader of the tribal revolts under rebel King Salemai
• Amanat Lewana, rebel Prime Minister of Afghanistan's Eastern Provinces
• Jamil al-Rahman, Afghan Salafist and Amir of the Islamic Emirate of Kunar
• Amanullah Sailaab Sapi, Afghan poet and writer
• Turabaz Khan, Royal Afghan Army General and served as Kabul’s Police Commander
• Mohammed Asif Safi, Afghan army serviceman during the Monarchy and Republic