Khowar-English Dictionary: A Dictionary of the Predominant Language of Chitral, Also Known as Chitrali Zaban, or as Qashqari

Khowar is spoken in Northern Pakistan and is the predominant language of Chitral. It is also spoken in Gilgit and Upper Swat. There are reports of Khowar speakers in Tajikistan. The total estimated number of Khowar speakers is 300,000. Chitral has been in the news lately because of the reports that Osama bin Laden is hiding here. We do not believe that he is here, but as long as you think so, it is great for business. Many of us will hire ourselves out as guides, to help you search for Osama, for a good price of course. This dictionary was originally published in the Tribal Area of NWFP Pakistan in 1981. It received a tremendous amount of publicity, of the negative kind, because of the explicit terms that were not commonly found in the dictionaries of Pakistan at that time. At least that made it probably the best known dictionary of a minority language ever published.