Niazi is from Niazai tribe, i donot doubt that fact. But Punjabis definition is people belonging to the land of Punjab, near five rivers, can speak Punjabi and generally all types of tribes including living in Punjab are called Punjabis...even am very fair skin Punjabi from Lahore, and my true roots are from Arabia, Siddique...but I love to be Punjabi by definition and my ancestors primarily grand fathers and parents living in Punjab arounf five rivers.
If you start picking to deep, not even Pashtuns are Pasthoons, simple cuz they are either Aryan tribes (Iranian peoples, Indo-Aryans), Medes, Persians, Mauryas, Scythians, Hephthalites, Greeks, Arabs, Turks, and Mongols.
Read the correct defintion here
Pathans of Punjab - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pathans of Punjab also called
Punjabi Pathans or
Punjabi Pashtuns depending upon region of Punjab. These Pashtun communities are scattered throughout the Punjab and have over time and centuries assimilated into the
Punjabi identity, both culturally and linguistically...can speak Punjabi and have Punjabi ethnicity.
Defining PUNJABIS is very important:
Punjabi people (
پنجابی (
Shahmukhi)), Punjab literally means the
land of five waters (
Persian:پنج آب panj ("five") āb.
The coalescence of the various tribes, castes and the inhabitants of the
Punjab into a broader common "Punjabi" identity initiated from the onset of the 18th century CE. Prior to that the sense and perception of a common "Punjabi" ethno-cultural identity and community did not exist, even though the majority of the various communities of the
Punjab had long shared linguistic, cultural and racial commonalities.
Traditionally, Punjabi identity is primarily linguistic, geographical and cultural. Its identity is independent of race, color, creed or religion, and refers to those for whom the Punjabi language(s) is the first language or recognizable language and those who reside in the Punjab region and associate with its population. Integration and assimilation are important parts of Punjabi culture, since Punjabi identity is not based tribal connections or race. More or less all Punjabis share the same cultural background.
raditionally, the Punjabi people was a heterogeneous group and was subdivided into a number of clans called
biradari (literally meaning "brotherhood") or
tribes, with each person bound to a clan. However, Punjabi identity also included those who did not belong to any of the historical tribes. With the passage of time tribal structures are coming to an end and are being replaced with more cohesive and holistic society. That is why community building and group cohesiveness form the new pillars of Punjabi society.
So anyone with grand parents and parents living in Punjab and know Punjabi culture and speak Punjabi language are called PUNJABI.