History of the Pashtun people
Ajab Khan – Amazing outlaw (Excerpt from “And then the Pathan murders” by Muhammad Ali) “Ajab Khan and his brother—Shahzada—sons of Sher Dil of Bosti Khel (sub-section of Afridi tribe) lived alongwith their mother in Jawaki a village in Tribal Area a few miles west of the Kohat-Peshawar Road. His father had died a few … Read more
Adam Khel Afridis, 1890 (c). From “tribes on our frontier series of photos by Bourne and Shepherd.
By Nafees Ur Rehman His gruesome punishments and ruthless ‘justice’ drove half of the population of Peshawar away from the city. Here we look at his career as a Governor of Peshawar. The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 left many war veterans without job assignments, and some of those veterans, … Read more
“Khan Baz, A Kumbhur Khel Afreedi” From “Men of different Afghan tribes: portraits by our special artist”, The Illustrated London News, April 19, 1879. The Kambar Khels, along with the Malikdin Khels, descended from Mir Ahmad, grandson of Oala Khan. They are settled in the Maidan of Tirah, the Bara, and the Khajuri valleys. … Read more
On 12th May 1948, the Mirza Ali Khan alias Faqir of Ipi published and issued an anti-Pakistan poster from his headquarters, at Gurweik. In the poster he claimed that “Pakistan was a creation of the British and Muhammad Ali Jinnah was a British agent”. He further declared that “he would start an operation against the … Read more
(Excerpts from “History of the Pathans, by Haroon Rashid, Vol-4, pp-281-284) At the end of 3rd Anglo-Afghan war due to increasing British influence in the area, small anti-British gangs in the Afridi, Shinwari and Mohmand tribes had cropped up. The Afridi gang, comprising of Bosti Khel Afridis of Kohat pass, indulged in raids and forays … Read more
Afridi or Apridi (singular -ay), designation of a major Pashtun tribe in northwest Pakistan, with a few members in Afghanistan. The Afridi form part of the Karlanri group of tribes. Their eponymous ancestor is supposed to have been a certain Faridun, a descendant of Karlan (whence the Karlani lineage) through Mani (or Manay?) and Koday … Read more
By Barmazid In 1672 AD, a small incident triggered a huge war in Pakhtunkhwa. In that year some Mughal troops stationed in Kunar insulted a Parachi woman who was there to sell and buy. Some Pashtun men belonging to Safi tribe witnessed that and killed those troops for insulting that woman. Hussain Beg Khan, the … Read more
The Tirahis are Dardic people who once populated the whole Tirah valley. They were driven out of Tirah by Bayazid Ansari, the Pir-i-Roshan, in 16th century and their lands were given to Afridis and Orakzais. At the present day the chief seat of the Tirahi is in the Kotrud valley of the Shinwari country in … Read more
Pashtun tribesmen of Kashmir War of 1948: On October 22, 1947, Pashtun tribesmen entered Kashmir from Pakistan, in response to the mass killing of Muslims in Jammu and in support of insurgents of Poonch, with logistical support from the Government of Pakistan. On October 24, the insurgents in Poonch formally declared independence as the state … Read more