History of the Pashtun people
On 7 January 1915 a Khostwal lashkar (comprising of Zadrans, Tanis and Gurbaz) entered Waziristan to attack British posts in the Tochi valley (North Waziristan). They were attacking British posts in Waziristan because Britain had declared war against Ottoman caliphate on 5 November 1914. The British officer who got killed by the Khostwals at Spina … Read more
Sardar Abdullah Khan Alkozai (or Alakozai) served as the governor of Kashmir for the Durrani Empire from 1796 to 1800. He then ruled Kashmir independently from 1802 to 1807. In 1798 he commissioned a richly illustrated manuscript of Pashto diwan of Rahman Baba. It is dated to 14th October 1798 and has 47 illustrations. One … Read more
Sher Khan Sur’s capture of Rohtasgarh fort in 1539 A.D. Ascribed to the artists La’l, Dhanu and Khem Karan, leaf from the ‘third’ Akbarnama, Mughal India, circa 1595-1600 A.D. This skillfully designed painting illustrates part of the Sher Khan Afghan’s campaign against the Sultan of Bengal and against Humayun when he attempted to interfere. Sher … Read more
Daud Shah Khan, a six feet tall Ghilzai Pashtun, joined the army of Amir Dost Muhammad Khan at the age of 20 and became Akbar Khan’s orderly officer. He served as a captain, then as a general and finally as Commander-in-Chief under Amir Sher Ali. He also served as Yakub Khan’s Commander-in-Chief. On December 18, … Read more
Original caption: “Shahzada Sultan Jan of Kurram valley and Nawabs”. Shahzada Sultan Jan Saddozai was sixth in descent from Ahmad Shah Durrani. Shahzada Hassad, grandson of Timur Shah Durrani, fled to Peshawar around 1830 AD and sought the protection of Ranjit Singh. His son Shahzada Jumhoor (father of Shahzada Sultan Jan) took the side … Read more
Darya Khan Daudzai was a horse trader from a village near Peshawar who later joined Mughal service and became a high ranking Mughal mansabdar. In 1630 he joined the rebellion of Khan Jahan Lodi for the restoration of Pashtun rule in India. Their efforts did not meet with success and they suffered defeats at the … Read more
The rulers of Maler Kotla (now in Punjab state of India) were descendants of a Pashtun saint belonging to Sarwani tribe who migrated to and settled in India during the times of Sultan Bahlul Lodi. Shaikh Sadruddin is said to have received a gift of 68 villages near Ludhiana in 1454 AD when he married … Read more
A 1911 Census report described Pashtun or Afghan traders in Sri lanka as follows: “They are well-known figures in the streets of Colombo and Kandy and in estate bazaars. They are tall and well formed. Their strongly marked features and heavy eyebrows usually give their faces a somewhat savage expression. Their complexion is ruddy; the … Read more
The Mian Khel is a Pashtun tribe of the Dera Ismail Khan district. They hold a plain area between the Gundapur and Babar tribes.
Sardar Muhammad Aslam Khan (a Kamran Khel Saddozai) was the first Muslim Commandant of Khyber Rifles. Aslam Khan’s father Usman Khan, who had served as Grand Wazir of Shah Shuja Durrani in 1840-1842, fled to Peshawar after the Anglo-Afghan war and joined the British.