History of the Pashtun people
“The most significant aspect of the Afghan-Bukharan treaty of 1768, namely the surrender by Shah Murad of the khirqa , or mantle, of the Prophet to Ahmad Shah Durrani, was completely missed by European historians in the last century. In order to avoid a confrontation with the Afghans, the Manghit ruler of Bukhara agreed to … Read more
Majority of the Tanolis (or Tanaolis) insist on being of Pashtun origin but their rulers have accounted themselves to be of Barlas Mughal origin. Tanoli or Tanawali is actually an adjective denoting their abode Tanawal. They are divided into two divisions, Pul-Al and Hando-Al, the former occupies Lower Tunawal, and the latter occupy Upper Tunawal … Read more
Origin legend According to the legends prevalent amongst the Orakzai elders, Tirah was formerly occupied by the Hindu non-Pashtun race, called the Tirahis whose descendants are, to this day, found in some villages as ‘Hamsaya‘ (dependents) of the Orakzai. Tirahis were ruled by different rajas whose names can still be traced in several places in … Read more
Jadunath Sarkar’s statement about the marriage of Princess Hazrat Mahal with Ahmad Shah Durrani In any confrontation, a hero of one side is often the villain of another. Renowned Indian historian Jadunath Nath Sarkar while mentioning Ahmad Shah’s marriage with Princess Hazrat Mahal in 1756, casts aspersion on the former as under: “This tender lamb … Read more
Army of Ahmad Shah Durrani: Ahmad Shah Durrani had served so long under Nadir Shah that it should be of no surprise that he organized his army on similar lines as the Persian one. Hence, the backbone of the Durrani army consisted of an elite corps of about 10,000 royal slaves (ghulam-shahis), one-third being former … Read more
Kasi is a tribe of Pashtuns which is primarily concentrated in and around Quetta city. It is also spelled as Kansi. They belong to the Saraban division of Pashtuns. It is numerically a very small tribe, they only numbered 1064 souls in 1901 AD (“Quetta-Pishin Gazetteer, 1901, p-73). They were once very numerous and held … Read more
(Najib Khan Yousafzai was born about the year 1708 A.D in the village of Maneri in Swabi, about 25 kos from Peshawar. He belonged to the Umar Khel clan of the Sadozi, Utmanzi, Mandanrs) After the Mughals lost their grip over their empire and before British came on the scene, the only serious attempt to … Read more
Pir Sabir Shah placing a cluster of wheat on Ahmad Shah Abdali’s turban, proclaiming him as a king. Painting by Ustad Abdul Ghafur Breshna (1907-1974). Pir Sabir Shah was a dervish and Ahmad Shah Abdali’s spiritual pir. Bayan-i-Waqai mentions Pir Sabir Shah as a son of a farrier of Lahore and mentions Lahore as … Read more