Pashto attracted 1,221 candidates in CSS 2025 and allocated 14 of them, with nearly all the written passers going on to seats. The paper is a high-scoring one, with a mean of 59% well above the passing line, so clearing it is straightforward for genuine speakers. As with the other regional languages, the subject is shaped less by the difficulty of the exam than by its strong geographic concentration.
Of the 1,221 who appeared, 16 passed the written stage and 14 of those were allocated, an unusually high conversion at the merit stage. With a mean of 59% sitting far above the 33% threshold, the paper is no obstacle, so the limiting factor is the small number reaching a passing standard rather than any difficulty in the exam. For those who clear it, the route to allocation is among the most direct of any subject.
At 59% the mean clears the passing line by 26 points, and with the median higher at 62% the distribution leans firmly to the left, carried by strong scripts. A standard deviation of 16 points places a candidate one deviation below the mean at 43%, well above the threshold, which makes this a low-risk paper to score in. Everyone with genuine command passes comfortably, so the score separates few candidates. The real selection is in who has the linguistic foundation to attempt the subject credibly. Statistically the three-point gap between median and mean is a left skew, with a few weak scripts dragging the average down, so the typical candidate scores closer to 62% than the 59% mean implies.
KPK took 10 of the 14 seats, with Balochistan and Ex-FATA sharing the rest, which is exactly what the language's geographic base would predict. The concentration confirms that Pashto is, in practice, a route available almost entirely to candidates from the Pashto-speaking regions.
Women took 4 of the 14 seats, a 29% share that sits below the CSS-wide rate of 50.7%. The under-representation is notable, indicating that male candidates converted at a higher rate in this subject, consistent with the demographics of the regions where the language is strongest.
Pashto's mean of 59% sits a substantial 15.5 points above the CSS optional-subject average of 43.5%, among the stronger positive margins in the examination. For a candidate with native command of the language, the combination of a high-scoring paper and near-complete conversion of written passers is genuinely attractive. The favourable numbers, however, are available only to those rooted in the Pashto-speaking regions, as the geographic concentration makes plain.
Pashto is an excellent option for candidates from the Pashto-speaking regions with native fluency, pairing a high mean with one of the most direct conversions to allocation in the examination. For candidates from elsewhere it is effectively closed, given both the linguistic demands and the heavy geographic concentration. Chosen from genuine command, it is among the safer scoring choices available.