Original sentence: In this geographic location they would have often been in close contact with the Persians, with most Pashtuns being Pagan with sizeable minorities of Buddhists, Hindus, Zoroastrians and Jews prior to the arrival of Muslim Arabs in the 8th century
Edited sentence: In this geographic location they would have often been in close contact with the Iranic and Indic people, probably being Buddhists, Hindus, Zoroastrians and Jews prior to the arrival of Muslim Arabs in the 8th century