History of the Pashtun people
The Hindus were much equally scattered throughout all parts of the district except the Waziri tracts, in which there were very few. Of the 30,000 in the district in 1877-78, fully two-thirds were engaged in trade, the rest gained a living as agriculturists in different villages. The majority had been Aroras (Kirars), the rest being … Read more
In 1897 there was a great uprising of Pashtuns against the British occupiers in which an outpost called Saragarhi (in Orakzai district), manned by 21 Sikh soldiers of the British-Indian army, was attacked by a lashkar of local Pashtun freedom fighters. The latter bravely climbed the ascent despite of being fired upon from the top … Read more
Qasur is plural of Qasr (قصر) which means fortress or castle in Arabic. The place was named so because of the twelve forts built by Pashtuns settlers in 16th century, majority whom belonged to the Khweshgi (also spelled as Kheshgi) tribe of Pashtuns. The twelve forts were named after the heads of the twelve clans … 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
In 1672 some soldiers of Hussain Beg Khan, the Mughal faujdar of Kunar, insulted a Parachi women affiliated to Safi tribe, which infuriated the Safi tribe who killed the culprit Mughal soldiers. Hussain Beg Khan retaliated by attacking and plundering the Safi territory. This incident led to a great Pashtun revolt against Mughals. Mughal force … Read more
Thomas Edward Lawrence, byname Lawrence of Arabia was a British archaeological scholar, military strategist, and author best known for his legendary war activities in the Middle East during World War I and for his account of those activities in ‘The Seven Pillars of Wisdom’ (1926). Lawrence arrived at Miranshah, an outpost in Waziristan near the … Read more
Sher Ali Afridi, remembered in history as the murderer of Lord Mayo, the British Viceroy of India (literally one of the most powerful figures in the British Empire after Queen Victoria and the Prime Minister), was a Kuki-Khel from a village near Jamrud. Initially he served in the army of British East India Company and … Read more
A forgotten Pashtun hero is Jemadar Mir Mast Khan Afridi who defected the British-Indian army and joined the cause of Ottoman Caliphate in First World War. He was a Qambar-Khel Afridi from Tirah. In 1914 his unit 58th Frontier Force (Vaughan’s Rifles) was shipped to France as part of the Indian Infantry Corps, which played … Read more
More than one million soldiers from India fought in the British Empire army ranks during the First World War. Some of them were combat troops and some were support units. Among South Asian troops, the Pashtuns were not eager to fight Ottoman Turkey. The members of Pashtun tribes from NWFP voiced strong objections to the … Read more
Ahmad Shah Abdali, ca.1840 (made). Place of origin : Punjab. Inscribed in Persian : “Picture of Ahmad Shah King of Turan”. Victoria and Albert Museum Ahmad Shah Durrani was attempting to form alliance of Muslim Central Asian Khanates and Kazaks in order to mount military campaign against the Qing expansion into Central Asia. The powerful … Read more