Re: Caste in pakistan : Khan
Im no expert on this subject, but Khan itself isnt a caste. But alot of castes use khan as a surname among pathans/pakhtuns. My surname is Khan. My caste, if you get into specifics, is Umerzai Khankhel. Various other people with surname of Khan might be from different castes/tribes. Imran Khan is Niazi I think... Shahid Afridi is infact Shahid Khan Afridi. In general, Khans are considered to be what you call a Pathan, which are people from the NWFP mainly.
Like, if you hear someones last name to be Khan, you would most likely assume hes a pathan and from NWFP. Its a very widely used surname and has been used among non pathans as a title of respect as well in the past during the times of moghuls and central asia etc. And you will find alot of khans that dont have a pakhtun background these days. So you cant pinpoint it as one particular caste.Hope that helps.
I dont think Khan is a caste, but maybe a group of tribes/sub castes all bundled into one generic word.