Pashtunwali

Pashtunwali () is the traditional lifestyle of the Pashtun people. Scholars widely have interpreted it as being "the way of the Afghans" or "the code of life". Pashtunwali is widely practised by Pashtuns in the Pashtunistan regions of Afghanistan, Khyber Pakhtunkwa and Northern Balochistan. 
Although many scholars have portrayed Pashtunwali as stemming solely from the tenets of Islam, the code dates back to ancient pre-Islamic times. 
Overview.
The native Pashtun tribes, often described as fiercely independent people, have inhabited the Pashtunistan region (eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan) since at least the 1st millennium BC. During that period, much of their mountainous territory has remained outside government rule or control. Pashtun resistance to outside rule and the terrain they reside in is maybe why Indigenous Pashtuns still follow Pashtunwali, which is a fundamental common law of the land or "code of life".
Pashtunwali rules are accepted in Afghanistan and Pakistan (mainly in and around the Pashtunistan region), and also in some Pashtun communities around the world. Some non-Pashtun Afghans and others have also adopted its ideology or practices for their own benefit. Conversely, many urbanized Pashtuns tend to ignore the rules of Pashtunwali. Passed on from generation to generation, Pashtunwali guides both individual and communal conduct. Practiced by the majority of Pashtuns, it helps to promote Pashtunization.
Pashtuns embrace an ancient traditional, spiritual, and communal identity tied to a set of moral codes and rules of behaviour, as well as to a record of history spanning some seventeen hundred years.
Pashtunwali promotes self-respect, independence, justice, hospitality, love, forgiveness, revenge and tolerance toward all (especially to strangers or guests). It is considered to be the personal responsibility of every Pashtun to discover and rediscover Pashtunwali's essence and meaning.
Pashtun institutions.
Pashtuns are organised into tribal or extended family groups often led by a "Khan" (a wealthy and influential leader from the group). 
Disputes within clans are settled by a jirga (traditionally a tribal assembly involving all adult males).
In times of foreign invasion, Pashtuns have been known to unite under a Pashtun religious leaders such as Saidullah Baba in the Siege of Malakand and even under Pashtána female leaders such as Malalai of Maiwand in the Battle of Maiwand.
Main principles.
Although not exclusive, the following thirteen principles form the major components of Pashtunwali. 
They are headed with the words of the Pashto language that signify individual or collective Pashtun tribal functions.
The three primary principles:
The other main principles: