Dr. Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah Kakakhel thinks that there are no Afghans (Pashtuns) settled on the Sulieman mountains range

 Dr. Sayed Wiqar Ali Shah Kakakhel of Qaid-i-Azam University who has PhD in history from the University of Oxford, thinks that there are no Afghans (Pashtuns) settled on the Sulieman mountains range ! 

The snippet is from his article "Origin of the Afghans : Myths and reality", published in 'Journal of Asian civilizations'. 

The learned historian should be informed that the highest peak of the Sulieman mountain range is located in the region inhabited by the Sherani tribe of Pashtuns [1].

Ibn-i-Batuta ( 1304 – 1368) associates the Suliman mountain range with Afghans (Pashtuns). He writes :

"Their (Afghans') principal mountain is called Koh Suleiman. It is related that the Prophet of God Suleiman (peace be upon him) climbed this mountain and looked out over the land of India, which was [then] covered with darkness, but returned without entering it, so the mountain was named after him. It is in this mountain that the king of Afghan resides". 

The distance between Ziarat Kaka Sahib in Nowshera district (Wiqar Ali Shah's place of origin) and Takht-i-Sulaiman peak is 314 km. He could have reached the Suleiman mountains in a day by car to see for himself if there are any Pashtuns dwelling there.

He also believes that Panini (Indian grammarian) was a Pakhtun !

Kakakhel also erroneously believes that Sher Shah Sur did not know Pashto. 

Sher Shah actually did know Pashto. Kakakhel should check Tarikh-i-Shershahi (written in circa 1580 AD). [Tarikh-SherShahi, English translation by H.M.Elliot, p-135].

A Turkoman who killed more than one thousand Pashtuns by boiling them alive in large cauldrons

In 1610s, the Mughal governor of Siwi fort (i.e. Sibi fort in modern Baluchistan, Pakistan) killed more than one thousand Pashtuns by boiling them alive in large cauldrons to create awe and terror in the hearts of the unruly population.

The name of that Mughal officer was Quje Ali and and he was a Turkoman by race. He kept two big cauldrons of boiling water perpetually ready and would throw those people into it who he would deem as malefactors. 

However, he could not subdue the Panni tribe of Pashtuns through terror. He was perpetually engaged in wars with Panni Pashtuns until he was recalled to India. His successor, Shaikh Bol, was killed by Panni Pashtuns in 1617. 

References: 
 
1-'Zakhiratul Khawanin' by Shaikh Farid Bukhari 
2- Tarikh i Mazhar Shahjahani

Saint Eulampia and her brother are boiled alive in oil and the torture of Saint Rufina of Rome. Origin: Amsterdam. Date: 1700. Creator: Jan Luyken

 Ruins of Siwi or Sibi fort (erroneously referred to as Mir Chakar fort) :

Sibi district

Khwaja Hasan Afghan (1206–1290 A.D)

According to Akhbar al-Akhyar, a Pashtun by name of Khwaja Hasan (1206–1290 A.D) was a famous disciple of Shaikh Baha-uddin Zakariya of Multan. Shaikh Nizamuddin Auliya is reported to have praised him for his piety. 

 

The author of Akhbar al-akhyar, Shaikh Abdul Haq Muhadith of Delhi, was born in 1551 AD during the reign of Islam Shah Sur.

Mohmand tribesmen, 1890 (c)

Mohmand tribesmen, 1890 (c). From "The tribes on our frontier" series of photos by Bourne & Shepherd.

Source

A ziarat (shrine) in Bust, Helmand, Afghanistan, 1959-61

A ziyarat (shrine) in Bust, Helmand, Afghanistan, 1959-61. Photos by Josephine Powell.

Source

Kabuli drummers, Afghanistan. Postcard photo

 

Wazir leaders and fighters, Waziristan, 1891

 

Pashtun nomads, NWFP, 1930 (c)

 

Muhammad Akram Khan: the third son of the Amir Dost Muhammad Khan Barakzai, 1842

Muhammad Akram Khan: the third son of the Amir Dost Muhammad Khan Barakzai, 1842.

He commanded the Commanded the Afghan Cavalry at the Battle of Gujrat in the Second Anglo-Sikh War. 

Inscription content: MUHUMMUD UKRUM KHAN: Third Son of the UMEER DOST MUHUMMUD KHAN Afghan Commanded the Afghan Cavalry at the Battle of Goojarat when (?) (Dost Muhummud - the present Umeer or Ruler of Caubul) is I believe of the Barakzye family, allied to the Persians C.G. Inscription note: Printed and handwritten in pencil.

 Source: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_As2006-Prt-334

Modern Afghanistan is Not a 'Graveyard of Empires'

The moniker “Graveyard of Empires” for Afghanistan was lazily coined by the Americans in the 1990s, in the context of the Soviet Union’s collapse. Neither did the Afghans hold such grandiose notions about themselves before the 1980s, nor did others believe that the modern Afganistan had never been conquered. The Mongol invaders in early 13th century not only wiped out native settlements in what is now northern, western, and central Afghanistan, but also permanently Mongolized central Afghanistan, ruling and dominating the region for the next five centuries. As late as 1970s, Mongol langauge was spoken in some villages of Herat province of Afghanistan.

The only people of present-day Afghanistan whom the Mongols could not destroy, and who were little affected by the Mongol onslaught, were the Pashtuns and the Siah-Posh "Kafirs" (present-day Nuristanis). The Pashtuns, in fact, emerged as regional rivals of the Turko-Mongols in this region and ultimately surpassed them, founding their own native empires in the early 18th century.

The notion that all ethnic groups of modern Afghanistan have always resisted foreign invaders and fought them together is a recent idea, seemingly inspired by the saga of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The two Anglo-Afghan wars in the 19th century, for instance, were never about the entirety of modern Afghanistan. They were limited to eastern and southern Afghanistan, which is largely populated by Pashtuns. In the First Anglo-Afghan War, the Hazaras, Qizilbash, Shia Tajiks of Qandahar, and the Siah-Posh Kafirs actually welcomed the British invaders, while the Pashtuns and the Kohistani Tajiks (north of Kabul) resisted them.

The only moniker that was in use in connection with the Afghan (Pashtun) people was Yaghistan. The hilly tracts of the Pashtun regions of present-day Pakistan were sometimes referred to as Yaghistan (“the land of rebels”) because their inhabitants did not like to be ruled by any king. For example, Amir Abdur Rahman of Afghanistan refers to it as Yaghistan in his autobiography. It is likely that this term was originally coined by the Mughals, as it would make little sense for the Pashtun hillmen to call themselves “rebels” when they never acknowledged themselves as subjects of the Mughal rulers to begin with. They paid no taxes—neither to the Mughals nor to their own Durrani Afghan kings—and instead received allowances (bribes) from those rulers to keep the mountain passes open. It was against the Mughals that these so-called “rebellions” took place, and it is in Mughal sources that the Pashtuns of these regions are described as “rebels,” even though they were never subjects of the Mughal Empire. This region—Yaghistan—was later heavily targeted by British “punitive expeditions,” which, by the 20th century, even involved the use of tanks and aircraft. During the 19th century, the British initially treated this Yaghistan as a collection of independent territories, but it was later incorporated into British Raj, either as tribal agencies administered through Political Agents or as princely states (in the case of Swat and Dir). In Pakistan, these areas became known as FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and PATA (Provincially Administered Tribal Areas) until recently.

Try searching the phrase “Graveyard of Empires” in Google Books, and you will notice that in the early 20th century and earlier, it was used in the context of archaeology—for regions and countries rich in archaeological sites.

Traders from the no Man's Land, returning to their homes after making their purchases from a North West Frontier town, 1929.

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An Aged Mohmand Pashtun Fighting His British Foes, 1908

Rasul Khan Bangash on a horse with attendants, circa 1770-1780

 

Rasul Khan Bangash on a horse with attendants, circa 1770-1780. Made in Awadh. Source

Burj Hari Singh, Peshawar, January 27, 1903

 

Burj Hari Singh, Peshawar, January 27, 1903. Photo by Gertrude Bell. 

Burj Hari Singh (near Islamic college) marks the place where the Sikh general Hari Singh Nalwa fell fighting against Afghans. It was erected by Paolo Avitabile.

Akbar Khan Orakzai, 1890 (c)

The man in the following photos is Khan Bahadur Muhammad Akbar Khan Orakzai, jagirdar of Bhana Mari (a suburb of Peshawar city). He was assistant Political officer of Khyber from 1879 to 1896. He belonged to Kamal Khel sub-section of Abdul Aziz Khel Orakzais.

Reference: "History of the Pathans" by Haroon Rashid, Volume-4, p-120

Source

Group of Pashtun darbaris in Lahore, December 1880. Akbar Khan Orakzai is sitting on chair on extreme right. Source

An Orakzai chieftain, 1890 (c). From "The tribes on our frontier" series of photos by Bourne & Shepherd. Source

An Orakzai chief and his followers, 1890 (c). Source

A 1905 postcard depicting Akbar Khan and his men, captioned as "Our restless neighbours, the Pathans". Source

"Near Peshawar Court an Indian law Scribe types a veiled woman's tale of woe", 1946

 

"Near Peshawar Court an Indian law Scribe types a veiled woman's tale of woe", 1946. From "The National Geographic Magazine".

Caption: "She is not a divorce seeker but a property litigant. He wears a homespun cap from Swat, and beside him is the ever present tea-tray. Like salesman and barber, the Oriental typist goes outdoor".

A portrait of a Pashtun recruit in the style of Fraser Album, Haryana or Delhi, Northern India, 20th century

 

A portrait of a Pashtun recruit in the style of Fraser Album, Haryana or Delhi, Northern India, 20th century. Source

Prince Hidayatullah Khan of Afghanistan

Prince Hidayatullah Khan with 36 other Afghan students go to Paris school, March 27, 1922. Press Photo. 

Caption: "The son and heir of the king of Afghanistan with other princes and sons of the notables of the court of Afghanistan are now studying in Paris at the Lycee Mich Elet. Our picture shows the crown prince of Afghanistan."

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Prince Hidayatullah, Paris, 1929. Press photo.

Caption : Hidayatullah, the eldest son of ruler of Afghanistan, who is a student in one of leading schools in Paris, where he has proved to be unusually clever in grasping the studies of languages and the fundamentals of the civic government." 

Zakha Khel Afridis, 1890 (c)

 

Zakka Khel Afridis, 1890 (c). From "The tribes on our frontier" series of photos by Bourne & Shepherd..

Source

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