Taqin hat
In its own language: کلاه تاقین (Dari), د پښتين خولۍ (Pashto)
A red and black patterned cap from northern Afghanistan, worn today as a political symbol
A red and black patterned cap from northern Afghanistan, linked first with its Hazara and Uzbek wearers and now seen on both sides of the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. After 2018 it became a badge of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement in Pakistan, and since the Taliban takeover of 2021 some of its wearers have come under pressure.
The Taqin hat is a cap with a red and black pattern, from the north of Afghanistan. Hazara and Uzbek families there wear it, and so do Uzbeks across the northern provinces. In Pakistan it took on a new life after 2018, when Manzoor Pashteen of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement began appearing in one. Since then it has stood for a political movement as much as for a region.
What it is
Taqin is a hat patterned in red and black, and it comes from the north of Afghanistan. People also call it the Mazari hat, a name taken from Mazar-i-Sharif, and in Pashto it is the Pashteen hat. Its earliest wearers were the Hazaras and the Uzbeks of that country. Afghan Uzbeks wear it through the northern provinces, and it also took hold among the Tajiks of Badakhshan. In time it crossed the border, and today it is worn in much of Afghanistan and in parts of Pakistan.
Origins and history
Writers place the beginnings of the hat in Mazar-i-Sharif or in Sar-e Pol. Its first wearers were Hazaras and Uzbeks. Among Afghan Uzbeks it stayed a common sight across the northern part of the country. It also found a following among the Tajiks of Badakhshan. Beyond that, the sources do not give a date or a founder for the cap, so how far back it goes is not clear. What is clear is that for a long time it marked a region and a set of communities in the north rather than one political cause.
A political turn
After 2018 the cap took on a political meaning in Pakistan. Manzoor Pashteen leads the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, known as the PTM, and he appeared in a Taqin hat at rallies and other public occasions. Many Pashtuns in Pakistan then took up the hat as well, and it came to stand for the movement. From then on the hat carried two meanings at once: a northern Afghan cap, and a sign worn by supporters of the movement.
Under Taliban rule
The Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, and the Taqin hat became a point of friction. In August 2025 it was reported that Taliban officials had taken the hats from local people and threatened anyone connected with the PTM. In 2026 Neda Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban minister of higher education, faced an accusation that he had struck an Uzbek student because of the cap. He denied the accusation. The claim rests on reports, not on a court ruling.
Related caps
The Taqin is one of a number of caps listed alongside it in accounts of the region. Those lists name the pakol, the tubeteika, the doppa, the taqiyah and the karakul, and also the Peshawari turban, which is wound cloth rather than a sewn cap. The names come from different places and different languages. What they share is that each is worn on the head, in lands where what a person puts on can carry meaning.
How Taqin hat is kept
There is no ceremony around the Taqin hat; wearing it is the whole practice. People in northern Afghanistan put it on as everyday dress, and Uzbeks, Hazaras and Tajiks of Badakhshan do so alongside one another. In Pakistan the habit is tied to politics: supporters of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement wear the cap at rallies, marches and public meetings, where it shows which side they stand on. Nothing about the hat follows a calendar or a rule of ritual. It is worn at home, in the street and at gatherings, and people recognise it first by the red and black pattern.
When and where
The hat is not tied to a season or a festival. It is worn all year, and the dates that matter in its story are political ones: 2018, when Manzoor Pashteen's rise brought it to wider notice in Pakistan; 2021, when the Taliban took power in Afghanistan; August 2025, when reports described hats being taken from people; and 2026, when a Taliban minister faced an accusation over it.
The hat belongs to northern Afghanistan. Mazar-i-Sharif and Sar-e Pol are named as the places it began, and Uzbek, Hazara and Tajik wearers keep it there. It is seen across most of Afghanistan. Across the border in Pakistan it is worn in the Pashtun areas and especially among supporters of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, where it has become a familiar sight at public gatherings.
What Taqin hat means
For Uzbek and Hazara wearers in the north, the Taqin is simply the cap of home, a marker of where they come from. In Pakistan it gathered a second meaning after 2018, when it became a sign of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement and of the cause that movement speaks for. Reports say that under Taliban rule the same cap became riskier to wear. What a piece of clothing means depends on who wears it and where, and the Taqin has carried several meanings at once.
Questions people ask about Taqin hat
What is the Taqin hat?
It is a patterned cap, red and black, that comes from northern Afghanistan. In Dari it is the Taqin hat, and it is also called the Mazari hat and, in Pashto, the Pashteen hat. Hazaras and Uzbeks were its first wearers, and it is still common among Afghan Uzbeks in the north.
Where and when is it worn?
It is worn all year, with no festival or season attached to it. Northern Afghanistan is its home, and it appears through much of the country as well as in parts of Pakistan near the Afghan border. In Pakistan it is especially associated with Pashtuns who back the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement.
Why does it matter to Pashtuns in Pakistan?
Manzoor Pashteen, who leads the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, appeared in the hat at rallies and public meetings from 2018 onwards. Many Pashtuns in Pakistan followed, and the cap became a symbol of the movement. Before that it was mainly a northern Afghan cap rather than a political sign.
Have the authorities in Afghanistan acted against it?
According to reports, Taliban officials took hats from local people in August 2025 and threatened those seen as close to the PTM. In 2026 the Taliban minister of higher education, Neda Mohammad Nadeem, was reported to have struck an Uzbek student over the hat. He denies it.
See also
Shalwar kameezLoose trousers and a long tunic, worn as one outfit across South Asia
TurbanCloth wound around the head, worn for faith, rank, shade and identity
SherwaniA long buttoned coat for men, worn at weddings and state occasions in South Asia
SariAn unstitched length of cloth that women drape around the body, worn across South AsiaGood reading and sources
- Mazari red cap orders increase ahead of PTM meetDawn, Article
- Mazari red cap orders increase ahead of PTM meetDawn, Article
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Taqin hat", written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence, and from its Wikidata record (CC0). EveryParampara rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-12.
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