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Afridi

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The Afrīdī (Pashto: اپريدی Aprīdai, plur. اپريدي Aprīdī; Urdu: آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present mostly in tribal areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Afridi
افریدی‎
Afridi tribesmen firing behind a rock, 1880
Languages
Pashto (Afridi), Urdu
Religion
Islam
Related ethnic groups
Khattak · Orakzai · Wazir · Banuchi
and other Karlani Pashtun tribes

The Afridis are most dominant in the Safed Koh range west of Peshawar in tribal areas of modern-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, covering most of the Khyber Pass and Maidan in Tirah.[1] They are the closest to Orakzai in their language, culture and geographic areas.

Etymology

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Herodotus, in his Histories, mentions an Indian tribe[2] named Aparytai (Ἀπαρύται) inhabiting the Achaemenid satrapy of Arachosia.[3] Thomas Holdich and Olaf Caroe have linked them with the Afridi tribe:[4][5][6][7]

The Sattagydae, Gandarii, Dadicae, and Aparytae (Ἀπαρύται) paid together a hundred and seventy talents; this was the seventh province

— Herodotus, The Histories, Book III, Chapter 91, Section 4

Origin and clans

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The origin of the Afridis is uncertain.[8][9] Among the Afridi six Ḵaybar clans are generally distinguished: the Kūkī Ḵēl, Kambar Ḵēl, Kamar Ḵēl, Malek-dīn Ḵēl, Sepāh, and Zakkā Ḵēl (or Zəḵā Ḵēl), in the Khyber pass region. In addition, there are two "assimilated clans" not recognized by the first six, the Akā Ḵēl, settled south of the Bārā river in contact with the Ōrakzī, and the Ādam Ḵēl, occupying a mountainous region between Peshawar and Kohat. This complex clan structure,  perhaps reflects the diversity of the origins of the different ethnic groups forming this great tribe.[10]

History

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Resistance against the Mughals

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The Afridis and their allies Khalils were first mentioned in the memoirs of Mughal Emperor Babar as violent tribes in need of subduing.[11] The Afridi tribes controlled the Khyber Pass, which has served as a corridor connecting the Indian subcontinent with Afghanistan and Central Asia. Its strategic value was not lost on the Mughals to whom the Afridis were implacably hostile.[12]

Over the course of Mughal rule, Emperors Akbar and Jahangir both dispatched punitive expeditions to suppress the Afridis, with little success.[9]

Under the leadership of Darya Khan Afridi, they engaged in protracted warfare against the Mughal army in the 1670s.[13] The Afridis once destroyed two large Mughal armies of Emperor Aurangzeb: in 1672, in a surprise attack between Peshawar and Kabul, and in the winter of 1673, in an ambush in the mountain passes.[14] The emperor sent his Rajput general Rai Tulsidas with reinforcements into the mountains to suffocate the revolt and liberate the mountain.[14][15] Allegedly, only five Mughal soldiers made it out of the battle alive and the rest of the Mughals were brutally slaughtered.[16][17][18]

British Raj

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During the First, Second, and Third Anglo-Afghan Wars, Afridis fought against the British; these skirmishes comprised some of the fiercest fighting of the Anglo-Afghan Wars.[19] Ajab Khan Afridi was a well-known independence activist against the British Raj.

The British colonial administration regarded the Pashtun Afridi tribesmen as "martial tribe" under the martial races theory.[20] Different Afridi clans also cooperated with the British in exchange for subsidies, and some even served with the Khyber Rifles, an auxiliary force of the British Indian Army.[20][21]

First Kashmir War

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Shortly after the Partition of India and the creation of Pakistan, Afridi tribesmen were among the ranks of the Pashtun militias that invaded the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in October 1947, sparking the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 and the ongoing Kashmir conflict.[22]

Current times

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Today, Afridis make use of their dominant positions along the Durand Line in areas of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by controlling transport and various businesses, including trade in armaments, munitions and goods.[23] Beside commercial activities, the Afridis also occupy substantial representation among Pakistan Armed Forces and paramilitary forces such as Khyber Rifles.

In India, the Afridis of Farrukhabad and Malihabad (in the Lucknow district of Uttar Pradesh) are descendants of the Ali Khel branch. They played significant military, political, and literary roles during the 18th and 19th centuries in the region.

The first known ancestor to settle in India was Jahan Khan Afridi, who migrated from Khyber along with his tribe and settled in Farrukhabad. He served as commander-in-chief under Muhammad Khan Bangash, the nawab of Farrukhabad. Jahan Khan Afridi had eight sons, whose descendants remain in Farrukhabad. One of them, Muhammad Khan Afridi, became the deputy and prime minister of the Farrukhabad. The ruler Qaim Khan later entrusted the administration of the state to him and retired from governance to focus on religious devotion.

Jahan Khan’s cousin, Yar Beg Khan Afridi, was invited to India along with his five brothers. Initially, they settled in Farrukhabad, but due to political disputes, they later joined Safdar Jang of Awadh. These brothers became known across North India as the "Paanch Bhaiye" (Five Brothers), each commanding his own military regiment (risala). Eventually, the family settled in Qawalhar, a locality of Malihabad, which was inhabited by the Amanzai Pashtuns. Some members later returned to Farrukhabad and the Khyber region, while others remained in Malihabad, where their descendants became prominent figures in culture, administration, and literature. Zakir Husain (1897–1969), the third president of India, was a descendant of the Afridi family of Farrukhabad. He was an eminent educationist, co-founder of Jamia Millia Islamia, and the first Muslim to hold the office of president.

Religion

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Afridis follow the Sunni sect of Islam. Their conversion to Islam is attributed to Sultan (Emperor) Mahmud of Ghazni by Denzil Ibbetson[24] and Haroon Rashid.[25]

List of notable Afridis

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Zakir Husain, first Muslim president of India
Josh Malihabadi, Urdu poet
Shahid Afridi, cricketer

Activists

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Businessman

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Combatants

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Politicians

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Sports

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Writers

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  • Khatir Afridi, Pashto poet from Pakistanm
  • Josh Malihabadi, Indian and Pakistani Urdu poet, known as "Shaer-e-Inqilaab" (Poet of the Revolution).

Others

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  • Ahmad Kamal Faridi (Colonel Fareedi, Colonel Faridi), a character created by Ibn-e-Safi. Ibn-e-Safi showed in the novels number 52 and 117 (out of 125 novels) of Jasoosi Dunya (The Spy World) that Colonel Fareedi belongs to the Afridi tribe.
  • Ayub Afridi, a drug smuggler from Pakistan.
  • Shakeel Afridi, Pakistani physician who allegedly helped the CIA locate Osama bin Laden.
  • Yahya Afridi, a Pakistani jurist who is currently serving as the chief justice of Pakistan since 26 October 2024. He previously served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan since 28 June 2018. Prior to his elevation to the Supreme Court, Afridi served as chief justice of the Peshawar High Court from 2016 to 2018, and as a justice of the PHC from 2010 to 2016.
  • Zeek Afridi, a Pashto singer from Peshawar
  • Malik Muhammad Akbar Afridi Sepah, 1946–1998, former chieftain of the Bara of Khyber Agency, met Princess Diana and former British Prime Minister John Major during their visits to Peshawar, Pakistan.
  • Malik Sher Muhammad Khan Afridi, chief of Sepah. He along with the Maliks of the Khyber Agency visited Kolkata by train from Peshawar along with Political Agent, Colonel Robert Warburton.[29] He also was a key figure in the relations between the Pashtuns especially the Afridis and the British government during the 19th century, also mentioned in Warburton's book Eighteen Years in the Khyber.[30]
  • Pir Atta Muhammad Afridi, chief of Akhorwal clan in Dara Adam Khel and chairman of Akhorwal coal company famous for his strong leadership across the region of Dara Adam Khel to stabilize political and tribal instability.[31]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Ramachandran (26 January 2023). Red Jihad: Islamic Communism in India 1920-1950. Indus Scrolls Press. p. 280. ISBN 978-93-90981-33-5.
  2. ↑ Rashid, Haroon (2002). History of the Pathans: The Sarabani Pathans. Haroon Rashid. p. 10.
  3. ↑ "The History of Herodotus Chapter 3, Verse 91; Written 440 B.C.E, Translated by G. C. Macaulay". sacred-texts.com. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  4. ↑ "Herodotus, The Histories, Book 3, chapter 91, section 4". www.perseus.tufts.edu. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  5. ↑ Dani, Ahmad Hasan (2007). History of Pakistan: Pakistan through ages. Sang-e Meel Publications. p. 77. ISBN 978-969-35-2020-0.
  6. ↑ Holdich, Thomas (12 March 2019). The Gates of India, Being an Historical Narrative. Creative Media Partners, LLC. pp. 28, 31. ISBN 978-0-530-94119-6.
  7. ↑ Caroe, Olaf (1957). The Pathans, 550 B.C.-A.D. 1957. Oxford University Press. p. 37. ISBN 0-19-577221-0. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  8. ↑ "Afrīdī warriors | Pashtun Tribe, Tribal Clans, Afghanistan | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  9. 1 2 "AFRĪDĪ". Encyclopaedia Iranica.
  10. ↑ Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  11. ↑ A. S. Beveridge, Babor-nama London, 1922 [repr. 1969], p. 412
  12. ↑ History of Khyber Agency: Gateway to the Subcontinent Archived 13 January 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Office of the Political Agent, Khyber Agency
  13. ↑ Momand, Ahmad Gul. The Bare Language of Khoshal's Poetry. Nangarhar University. p. 13.[permanent dead link]
  14. 1 2 Richards, John F. (1996), "Imperial expansion under Aurangzeb 1658–1869. Testing the limits of the empire: the Northwest.", The Mughal Empire, New Cambridge history of India: The Mughals and their contemporaries, vol. 5 (illustrated, reprint ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 170–171, ISBN 978-0-521-56603-2
  15. ↑ Khyber Agency Khyber.org, 3 July 2005
  16. ↑ Geoffrey Powell; J. S. W. Powell (1983), Famous regiments (illustrated ed.), Secker & Warburg, p. 69, ISBN 978-0-436-37910-9
  17. ↑ Robert E. L. Masters; Eduard Lea (1963). Perverse crimes in history: evolving concepts of sadism, lust-murder, and necrophilia from ancient to modern times. Julian Press. p. 211. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  18. ↑ Robert E. L. Masters; Eduard Lea (1963). Sex crimes in history: evolving concepts of sadism, lust-murder, and necrophilia, from ancient to modern times. Julian Press. p. 211. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  19. ↑ L. Thomas, Beyond Khyber Pass, London, n.d. (ca. 1925)
  20. 1 2 Clarke, Alexander (30 October 2020). Tribals, Battles & Darings: The Genesis of the Modern Destroyer. Seaforth Publishing. p. 40. ISBN 978-1-5267-7291-6.
  21. ↑ Stewart, Dr Jules (22 June 2006). The Khyber Rifles: From the British Raj to Al Qaeda. The History Press. p. 167. ISBN 978-0-7524-9558-3.
  22. ↑ M.K. Teng (2001) Kashmir: The Bitter Truth Archived 26 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine Kashmir Information Network
  23. ↑ Afridi demographics in Pakistan and Afghanistan The excessive figure sometimes mentioned in Afghanistan reflects in a particular way the Afghan claim to Pashtunistan and actually represents an estimate of the whole of the Afridi tribe on both sides of the frontier.
  24. ↑ Denzil Ibbetson, Edward MacLagan, H. A. Rose "A Glossary of The Tribes & Castes of The Punjab & North-West Frontier Province", 1911 AD, Page 217, Vol. III, Published by Asian Educational Services
  25. ↑ History of the Pathans by Haroon Rashid Published by Haroon Rashid, 2002 Item notes: v. 1 Page 45 Original from the University of Michigan
  26. ↑ M. Fahim Jemadar Mir Mast Khan Afridi: An Unsung Afridi Pashtun Hero Who Refused to Fight against Ottoman Army and Deserted the British Raj (2020) Pakistan Info
  27. ↑ History of Pashtuns - Pashtunistan & Malik Wali Kuki Khel
  28. ↑ Pakistan Old Memories (2022) Leader of the Kuki Khel Afridis
  29. ↑ "Eighteen Years in the Khyber, 1879-1898 — Viewer — World Digital Library".
  30. ↑ "Review of Eighteen Years in the Khyber, 1879–1898 by Col. Sir Robert Warburton"
  31. ↑ "Rs28m compensation distributed over Kohat boat tragedy". DAWN.COM. 19 February 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2025.
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