Pashtun tribesmen on their way to fight in Kashmir, 1947. Photos taken by Margaret Bourke-White

On 7 November 1947 there were about 7,000 Pashtuns involved in the Kashmir fighting in one way or another and on all fronts , of which 2,000 were Mahsuds, 15,00 Afridis and 1,200 Mohmands. (Reference: George Cunningham's Diary)

Margaret Bourke-White, the photographer, reports an encounter with a band of Pashtun tribesmen on the road between Rawalpindi and Baramula. "Are you going into Kashmir?" she asked them. "Why not?" they said. "We are all Muslims. We are going to help our Muslim brothers in Kashmir". ["Half-way to freedom" by Margaret Bourke-White, p-161]. 

Armed Pashtun tribesmen waiting on road between Peshawar and Rawalpindi for their leader Bacha Gul, of the Mohmand tribe, to arrive with trucks and extra ammo, to lead into battle in Kashmir during their struggle for independence. Date: December 1947. Photographer: Margaret Bourke-White.