History of the Pashtun people
Inayatullah, a native of Baramulla and eyewitness to the Pashtun invasion of Kashmir in 1947, was interviewed by Andrew Whitehead in 1997. 1-He dismissed the claim of 3,000 people being killed by raiders in Baramulla as false and revealed that few people (non-Muslims) were killed by them. 2- Baramulla was largely empty of people when … Read more
Pashto was spoken in Rampur region of Uttar Pradesh as late as 1815 AD. This was reported by Mountsuart Elphinstone in his book “the account of kingdom of Cabul” which was published in 1815. Elphinstone had visited Afghanistan in 1808 as ambassdor of British East India Company and met Shah Shuja Durrani in Peshawar. He … Read more
The district and town of Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is named after a 16th century Mughal fort built by Mughal general Zain Khan Koka (1) for the purpose of subduing Yousafzais. Mughal emperor Jahangir in his diary writes : “On the other side of the river Kama (2) there is a fort which Zain Khan … Read more
When Yousafzais were being exterminated everywhere by the Mughals, a band of resolute men among them under Muhammad Khan decided to force their way through to Kashkar (Chitral) through Panjkora and settling therein. Akhund Darweza himself was part of that band. They at first drove before them the Kafiris (Spin Kafiris) who held the banks … Read more
Nowshera was founded by Zain Khan Koka. Emperor Jahangir in his “Tuzuk” while crossing Indus in 1016-H (1607-8 AD) writes that Zain Khan Koka built a fort on the southern side of Kamah (River Kabul) and named it as Noh-shahrah ‘. “On the other side of the river Kama (river Kabul) there is a fort … Read more
“Akbar Khan was an educated person and was known for his polished manners. He is the first ‘Khan’ of Hoti Family who started his career in Imperial Cadet Corps and escorted Lord Curzon. then Viceroy of India, during the Coronation Durbar at Delhi in 1902-03, and was awarded Delhi Coronation Durbar 1903 Medal. In 1904, … Read more
Bayazid Ansari (Pir Roshan) died in 1572 AD. Bayazid was followed by his eldest son, Shaikh Umar. Akhund Darweza , along with his followers, continued his opposition, even after the death of Bayazid. He instigated the Gujjars (The Yousafzai’s ‘hamsaya’) against Shaikh Umar. The Gujjars dug out the dead body of Bayazid. Shaikh Umar got timely information and … Read more
The Swatis were the former inhabitants of Swat valley. Yousfzais drove out them of Swat in the early 16th century. Swatis are numerous people, mostly settled in the districts of Mansehra, Battagram, Torghar and to some extent in Kohistan. They have settlements in Agror valley, Konsh and Bhogarmang glens of Mansehra District. Majority of them … Read more
After Panipat war of 1761, Najib Khan Yousafzai, entitled Najib ad-Dawlah, became the regent of Delhi. Najib’s Baloch proteges formed a line of defence along the south-western frontier of his domain. The Baloch settlements were in the modern Rohtak district, — such as Jhajhar, Bahadurgarh, Farrukhnagar and Tauru — the petty Barons of which clung … Read more
The earliest reliable set of illustrations of Afghans of all ranks, albeit men only, dates to the early nineteenth century and was published by a British diplomat, Mountstuart Elphinstone. Yousafzai Elphinstone describe the dress of Yousafzais as, “The ordinary dress of the men is a cotton tunic, made to fit the body down to … Read more