Since the Taliban recaptured Afghanistan in August 2021, the Afghan diaspora in the Global North has been under general suspicion. This is particularly true in Germany, which currently hosts the largest Afghan diaspora community numbering over a quarter of a million people. Like Afghanistan itself, the diaspora is a heterogeneous group with more than fifty ethnic groups. While exact statistics are hard to come by, it is widely believed that Pashtuns constitute the largest sub-ethnicity within the larger Afghan diaspora. In addition to racism toward Afghans in general, Pashtuns have been cast as suspicious even by other non-Pashtuns within the diaspora. Growing up in Germany, I still remember being mocked as “Tora Bora” by a German acquaintance during the Taliban's earlier period of rule (1996-2001) due to my Pashtun ethnicity. It was a common jeer leveled at second- generation Pashtuns in Germany like myself, eliciting feelings about being associated with the Taliban because of our Pashtun ethnicity. My dissertation explores such feelings, and the cultural identity of Pashto kewel/Pashtun in two European cities: London and Hamburg. Here I engage with a set of six interviews 1 from Hamburg to better understand the contours of intra-diaspora tensions. I want to answer the ways in which Pashtuns have come to be cast as suspicious by the non-Pashtun diaspora and what kinds of affective burdens this places on an already vulnerable group. Milad (m, 26) finds himself constantly defending Pashtuns with his friends, particularly in the face of media coverage that portrays the Taliban as purely Pashtun, although members of other ethnic   groups   are   affiliated   with   them   as   well. “Just because the Taliban are Pashtuns does not mean that all Pashtuns equal Taliban,” says Milad. In addition, the Taliban are “not a Pashtun problem.” Milad feels he is obligated to “constantly defend the Pashtuns.” Lina (f, 25) most often experienced personal attribution to the Taliban from non-Pasthun Afghans in the diaspora. An acquaintance once asked Lina who in her family was a Talib or a Taliban supporter, assuming there were Taliban sympathizers in her family. Such attributions, of course, do not always come from one’s own community. Lina remarked that she recently met a Palestinian who referred to her as “Taliban” when discovering she was a Pashtun woman from Kandahar. She boldly replied that he then probably belongs to Hamas. Mina (f, 30) observes increasing subliminal racism toward Pashtuns due to the current situation in Afghanistan. “It starts with Pashtuns being expected to speak Dari,” says Mina. In Afghanistan, both Pashto and Dari are official languages. She stated: “I grew up in Germany and here I am confronted with inner-ethnic conflicts from Afghanistan.” Hamid (m, 28) made a similar statement: “I'm on the social network [sites] a lot and there's always a mud fight, especially by the Dari-Zaban [Dari speakers]...They say that the Pashtuns are Taliban and every Pashtun is a Talib. My core family is in Germany, the rest of the family lives in Afghanistan. When I hear things like that, I always have to think of the people who died through the hands of the Taliban, who were also Pashtuns.” Laima (f, 26), on the other hand, grew up speaking Dari, so she was not immediately recognized as a Pashtun. Her friends believe that she sympathizes with the Taliban and supports them. Consequently, Laima develops a sense of guilt and a feeling of being responsible for something that she didn't cause. She believes that these prejudices can be overcome through education and dialogue. Nooriya (f, 26) did not know that the Taliban leadership consists mostly of Pashtuns, until a friend sent her an article where the origins and actions of the Taliban were discussed. During our interview, Nooriya wondered if her friend gave her the article because she is Pashtun. Since 9/11, the Afghan diaspora has faced a cloud of suspicion in the West for even questioning war. This blanket distrust imposes a burden on Pashtuns due to their perceived ties with the Taliban. As my research demonstrates, Pashtuns confront distrust from Westerners and fellow Afghans alike. My interviewees voiced concern about emerging rifts within the Afghan community, underscoring that disagreement must not fracture unity. Solidarity and nuanced understanding of Pashtun identities is key to supporting Afghans overseas and at home. The media's consistent Taliban-Pashtun conflation perpetuates oversimplification, binding a diverse community to an extremist group. 2 This reductive framing breeds unwarranted suspicion toward Pashtuns. My interviewees underscored the need for nuance - Pashtun identity varies, with no inherent linkage to extremism. Some Pashtuns’ ambivalence toward Western intervention in their country, arising from complex histories, has caused tension and skepticism within the Afghan community. However, accounts demonstrate Pashtuns’ skepticism often gets misconstrued as extremism, engendering isolation. This flattened media narrative requires urgent correction through thoughtful Pashtun engagement. Building on these tensions, the Taliban's return triggered an eruption of divisions, as seen at rally in Hamburg in August 2021. Chants against Pakistan by supporters of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance outraged many Pashtuns, exposing ethnic rifts festering since 9/11. My interviewees reiterated that Afghans must unite as a community against stereotypes despite differing perspectives. Mutual understanding is key to healing divides and supporting Afghanistan. Two decades after 9/11, the Afghan diaspora remains haunted by its legacy. Suspicion, scapegoating, and stereotyping have warped Western and intra-community perceptions of Pashtun identity. But another path exists. By unlearning reductive tropes, embracing solidarity despite disagreement, and above all uplifting Pashtun voices, a new future emerges.