The Karlal (

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

: کڑلال), also known as ''Karral'', ''Kiraal'', and ''Sardar'' are a

Hindko Hindko (, , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and northern Pun ...

- and/or Pahari-speaking

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

, dwelling mostly in the

Abbottabad District Abbottabad District (Hindko, ) is a district in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is part of the Hazara Division and covers an area of 1,969 km2, with the city of Abbottabad being the principal town. Neighbouring districts incl ...

of the

Hazara Division Hazara Division is an administrative Divisions of Pakistan, division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located along the Indus River and comprises eight districts: Abbottabad District, Abbottabad, Mansehra District, Mansehr ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Etymology and origins

The Karlal

oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication in which knowledge, art, ideas and culture are received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Tradition as History'' (19 ...

states that the tribe descended from Kallar Shah, who had migrated to present-day Abbottabad District from present-day

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

After Pakistan's independence

In 1957,

Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi Akhundzada Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi () (1 January 1909 – 9 October 1970) was a Muslim theology, Muslim theologian, jurist, and scholar of ahadith in Pakistan (''South Asia'').Zebiri, Kate. Review of ''Maududi and the making of Isl ...

, a Karlal, became the first recipient of the highest civilian award of Pakistan, the

Nishan-e-Imtiaz The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil decorations of Pakistan. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the awa ...

. Most Karlals today are still living in their ancestral villages in the Galiyat and the Nilan Valley of the Abbottabad District. More recently, the Karlals, led by Baba Haider Zaman Khan along with some other tribesmen of Hazara, have engaged in a political struggle to separate the Hazara Division from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in order to form the Hazara Province.

References

{{reflist Hindkowan tribes Social groups of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa