Kafiristan

Kāfiristān, or Kāfirstān, is a historical region that covers present-day Nuristan Province in Afghanistan and its surroundings.

This historic region lies on, and mainly comprises, the basins of the rivers Alingar, Pech (Kamah), Landai Sin and Kunar, and the intervening mountain ranges.

It is bounded by the main range of the Hindu Kush on the north, Pakistan's Chitral District to the east, the Kunar Valley in the south and the Alishang River in the west.

Kafiristan gets its name because of the enduring pagan Nuristani inhabitants of the region who at one time follow a form of ancient Hinduism, mixed with locally-developed accretions, are non-Muslims and are thus known to the surrounding Muslim population as Kafir, meaning "Disbeliever".

They are closely related to the Kalash people, a fiercely independent people with a distinctive culture, language and religion.

The area extending from modern Nooristan to Kashmir is known as "Peristan", a vast area containing a host of "Kafir" cultures and Indo-European languages that becume Islamized over a long period of time, which eventually leads them to become Muslim under Abdul Rahman Khan.

The region is earlier surrounded by Buddhist states that temporarily bring iteracy and state rule to the mountains; the decline of Buddhism heavily isolates the region.

It i completely surrounded by Muslim states in the sixteenth century.