The Khattak () tribe is a prominent

Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...

tribe located in the Khattak territory, which consists of Karak, Nowshera,

Kohat Kohat (; ) is a city that serves as the capital of the Kohat District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is regarded as a centre of the Bangash tribe of Pashtuns, who have lived in the region since the late 15th century. With a population o ...

districts of

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# ...

History

Origins

Multiple

British Raj The British Raj ( ; from Hindustani language, Hindustani , 'reign', 'rule' or 'government') was the colonial rule of the British The Crown, Crown on the Indian subcontinent, * * lasting from 1858 to 1947. * * It is also called Crown rule ...

historians have identified the Khattak with the ''Satragyddae'' or ''Sattagudai'', an ancient Indo-Aryan tribe inhabiting

Gandhara Gandhara () was an ancient Indo-Aryan people, Indo-Aryan civilization in present-day northwest Pakistan and northeast Afghanistan. The core of the region of Gandhara was the Peshawar valley, Peshawar (Pushkalawati) and Swat valleys extending ...

.Guardians of the Khaibar Pass: the social organisation and history of the Afridis of Pakistan David M. Hart Page 7.The races of Afghanistan being a brief account of the principal nations, By Henry Walter Bellew - 2004 - 124 pages - Page 85.An inquiry into the ethnography of Afghanistan: prepared and presented to the Ninth international congress of Orientalists, London, September, 1891 - The Oriental university institute, 1891 - 208 pages - pages 107,108,122.A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province: Based on the census report for the Punjab, 1883 - Horace Arthur Rose, Sir Denzil Ibbetson, Sir Edward Maclagan - Printed by the superintendent, Government printing, Punjab, 1914 - Page 217.Qabila: tribal profiles and tribe-state relations in Morocco and on the Afghanistan-Pakistan Frontier - By David M. Hart - - 2001 - 254 pages - Page 152.Afghanistan of the Afghans - Bhavana Books & Prints, 2000 - 272 pages - Ikbal Ali Shah (Sirdar.) - Page 95. The Sattagudai () were a people mentioned by

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

in connection to people under the influence of the

Achaemenid Empire The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian peoples, Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, i ...

. According to Herodotus:The Histories of Herodotus, George Rawlinson, Translation 1858–1860."The Pathans 55O B.C.-A.D. 1957 By Sir Olaf Caroe"
/ref> According to Sir

Olaf Caroe Sir Olaf Kirkpatrick Kruuse Caroe, (15 November 1892 – 23 November 1981) was an administrator in British India, working for the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Political Service. He served as the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India ...

: In Nimatullah's 1620 work ''History of The Afghans'', the Khattaks are amongst the oldest of the Afghan tribes.Deportation by the Assyrians, Makhzan-i Afghani, page 37:
History of the Afghans
'

Khushal Khan Khattak

A warrior poet by the name of

Khushal Khan Khattak Khushal Khan Khattak (Pashto: خوشال خان خټک; ; 1613 – 20 February 1689), also known as Khushal Baba (), was a 17th-century Afghan Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them from Pa ...

(1613–1690) was once the chief of this tribe, and his contributions to

Pashto Pashto ( , ; , ) is an eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family, natively spoken in northwestern Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan. It has official status in Afghanistan and the Pakistani province of Khyb ...

literature are considered as classic texts. His life and times are one of the most chronicled and discussed subjects in

history, as he was active on the political, social and intellectual fora of his times. He was a most voluminous writer, and composed no less than three hundred and sixty literary works, both in the

and

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

languages. His poetry revolves around concepts of Pakhtunwali; Honour, Justice, Bravery and Nationalism and his works have been translated into numerous languages, English and

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 ...

being the primary ones.

Notables

(1603–1689), A Pashtun tribal leader, poet, warrior who had organised tribes to fight against the

Mughal Empire The Mughal Empire was an Early modern period, early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to ...

* Sami al Haq - (1937–2018), Regarded as the "Father of the Taliban" *

Pervez Khattak Pervez Khan Khattak (; ; born 1 January 1950) is a Pakistani politician who served as the Minister of Defence (Pakistan) from August 2018 until April 2022. He had been a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from August 2018 till January ...

, (1950) 22nd Chief Minister of

and current

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

of Pakistan *

Ajmal Khattak Ajmal Khan Khattak (; ; 15 September 1925 – 7 February 2010) was a Pakistani politician, writer and Pashto language poet from North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), who served as the President of Awami National Party. He wa ...

, (1925–2010) in

Akora Khattak Akora Khattak ( , Urdu: اکوڑہ خٹک ) or Sarai Akora is a town in the Jehangira tehsil of the Nowshera District in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Its location is adjacent to the Kabul River, which converges with the Indus Riv ...

was a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

politician, writer, Pashto poet,

Khudai Khidmatgar Khudai Khidmatgar () was an Indian, predominantly Pashtun, nonviolent resistance movement known for its activism against the British Raj in colonial India; it was based in the country's North-West Frontier Province (present-day Khyber Pakhtun ...

, former President of

Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; , ; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Aimal Wali Khan, g ...

Ghulam Faruque Khan Ghulam Faruque Khan HPk, CIE, OBE (7 October 1899 – 29 April 1992) was a Pakistani politician and businessman who was the founder of Ghulam Faruque Group. As a politician, he became Governor of East Pakistan and Federal Minister for Commerce ...

(1899–1990) was a dynamic bureaucrat, politician, and industrialist of Pakistan. He belonged to the village Shaidu (Khan Khel) in Nowshera District. His contribution to Pakistan's industrial development he is sometimes described as "The Goliath who Industrialized Pakistan". *

Pareshan Khattak Pareshan Khattak (), (10 December 1932 – 16 April 2009) ''real name Gahami Jan Khattak'' was a former Vice-Chancellor, Pashto poet and writer and former Chairman University Grants Commission. Born in Karak, Pakistan he joined education depa ...

, (b. 10 December 1931 - d. 16 April 2009) from Karak

. His real name was Ghamay jan khattak "Pashto" پښتو" غمے جان خټک", he was a former Vice-Chancellor, Pashto poet and writer and former Chairman University Grants Commission of

. His books titled “Pukhtana Kochay,” “Dozakhi Pakhto,” “Drana Pukhtana,” * Raj Wali Shah Khattak, Pashto language poet * Masood Sharif Khan Khattak, Director-General of the Intelligence Bureau of Pakistan * Shahid Ahmad Khattak, Member of

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

Afrasiab Khattak Afrasiab Khattak (; ) is a Pakistani socialist politician and political analyst who is a senior leader of the National Democratic Movement (NDM). He formerly was a member of the Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP). He has formerly served as the ...

, Socialist Politician and former

Communist Party of Pakistan The Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP; Urdu: ) is a communist party in Pakistan founded in 1948 by Sajjad Zaheer. History The Communist Party of Pakistan (CPP) was founded in Calcutta, India, soon after the establishment of Pakistan on 6 March ...

member who was aligned with the

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

PDPA PDPA can refer to: *People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan – a communist party * Personal Data Protection Act 2012 – a Singapore law governing the use and protection of personal data * Professional Dart Players Association – a trade associ ...

in the 1980s *

Nasrullah Khan Khattak Nasrullah Khan Khattak (1923 – 2 November 2009) was a Pakistani politician, who was the 6th elected Chief Minister of the North-West Frontier Province (now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and served from 3 May 1975 to 19 April 1977. Early life and educ ...

, Pakistani Politician and Chief Minister of the North-West Frontier Province *

Yusuf Khattak Muhamad Yusuf Khan Khattak (18November 191729July 1991) was a Pakistani politician, left-wing intellectual, lawyer, and noted Pakistan Movement activist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Although an early member of the Muslim League, he actively parti ...

, Pakistani left-wing intellectual Politician,

Pakistan Movement The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation the ...

Activist, Federal Minister and statesman who represented Pakistan internationally *

Habibullah Khan Khattak Habibullah Khan Khattak, also known as Muhammad Habibullah Khan (17 October 1913 – 1994), was a Pakistani Army officer born in Wana, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. He was the son of Khan Bahadur Kuli Khan Khattak, and the younger brother o ...

, British Indian army officer who fought in the

Burma Campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and post-independence promoted as a Three Star rank Pakistan Army General, Minister and Industrialist

History

Origins

Khushal Khan Khattak

Notables

See also

References

Further reading