History of the Pashtun people
Ahmad Shah Abdali was not a case of dual personality by Brig (R) Haroon Rashid This is with reference to the article entitled “Ahmed Shah Abdali was not a Saint” by Dr Naseer Dashti (Dawn, Encounter Aug 23), which was in response to my previous article on the great Pashtun icon. The Afghan-Baloch relationship is … 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
In the Sultanate period, the army consisted mainly of cavalry, elephant corps and infantry. The cavalry was, however, the main source of strength. Khilji Sultans According to Tarikh-e-Firuz Shahi, Jalauddin Khilji maintained 70,000 horses. Alauddin Khilji was the first Sultan to introduce the principle of Standing Army for the Sultan. That army was recruited, equipped … Read more
Sher Shah Suri (also Sher Khan) realized the need of a strong army and in his fight against the Mughals he relied mostly on the Afghans whom he invited from different parts of the country and employed them to positions suitable to everybody’s ability. He declared he would kill every Afghan who refused to be … Read more
British abandoned their traditional red coats and adopted Khaki uniform for their soldiers because of the dusty hills of Pakhtunkhwa. In 1848 a British officer Sir Harry Lumsden received an order to raise a special regiment to deal with Pashtun tribesmen of the frontier, as part of the Punjab Frontier Force Brigade. Harry Lumsden realized … Read more
Ghoria Khel tribes 1- Khalil 2- Mohmand 3- Daudzai 4- Chamkani 5- Ziranis (extinct) Khalil Khalil was the eldest son of Ghoraey by his first wife . Khalil married Zarkhanda and by her had a so named Umar who was known as Shaikh Umar because of his religious nature. Umar had three sons, Yaqun, Yousaf … Read more
The members of Barozai clan (a sub-tribe of Pannis) of Sibi claim descent from Baru Khan who they say was a 15th century figure. Towards the close of 16th century, Sibi came under the rule of Mughals. The latter introduced Nawabi into the Panni tribe. In the second half of 17th century we see the … Read more
“The Jafars are a small Sarbani Pathan tribe, descended from Miyana, the brother of Tarin, Shirani, and Barech, and thus connected with the Lunis and Zmarais. They own lands in Musa Khel Tehsil of the Loralai district. With the passage of time the Jafars have acquired a number of Baluch and Jatraki traits and now … Read more
Ghyas-ud-din Balban of the Turk-Mamluk dynasty had a large number of Pashtun soldiers in his service. In 1260 Balban, then Vizier, brought areas known as Kohpaya-Bharatpur, Dholpur and parts of what became Jaipur and Lawar, under the sword with the help of a body of Afghans, who penetrated every where in defiles and ravines, a … Read more
Mirza Aziz Koka, foster-brother and childhood playmate of Mughal emperor Akbar, praised Sher Shah Sur in a 1611’s letter written to Emperor Jahangir as follow; “Sher Shah Afghan, who was not a ‘malak’ (angel) but a ‘malik’ (king), established such a stable government that his memory is still alive. He turned Hindustan into a garden … Read more