Sher Ahmad Khan, known as Khan of Makhad, was the Chief of the Sagri
Khattaks. He was also a Jagirdar of Shakardara in
Kohat District
Kohat District (, ) is a district in the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Kohat city is its district capital.
History Mughal era
From the early sixteenth century, the history of Kohat revolves around three ma ...
. The Dynasty was started by Ghazi Khan in the early 16th century during the reign of the Mughal Emperor Akbar. Ghazi Khan moved from Kohat to
Makhad after conquering the area. According to
Attock
Attock ( Punjabi, ), formerly known as Campbellpur (Punjabi, ), is a city in Punjab, Pakistan, not far from the country's capital Islamabad. It is the headquarters of the Attock District and is 36th largest city in the Punjab and 61st largest c ...
District Gazetteer, the Sagri Khattaks conquered the area up to East of
Jehlum during Emperor Akbar's rein however this account is unsubstantiated. Khan of Makhad flourished under the rule of
Ahmed Shah Durrani due to his alliance with the ruler. Since Makhad lies in bank of
Indus River
The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...
, its location was of great importance for the rulers.
Khans had a considerable Jagir and their income came from gold washings in River Indus, salt mines and agriculture. Ghulam Mustafa Khan, the great-grandfather of Sher Ahmed Khan was a man of great prominence. He resisted all
Sikh
Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...
and
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 ...
attempts to win him over. He not only held Makhad and Shakardara but also succeeded in an attack on fort of Jabi, garrisoned by Sikhs. Khan died in 1861 handing over the chieftainship to his eldest son Ghulam Mohammed Khan. He was one of three landed holders of
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...
who were exempt from most of the provisions of Arms Act as "''Great Sardars and Jagirdars of Punjab''" (The Gazetteer of Attock District 1895). Sher Ahmed Khan was maternal uncle of Chief of
Gakhars, Sultan
Raja Erij Zaman Khan.
Sher Ahmad Khan married an Irish lady who became known as Elsi Makhad. The couple had no children of their own and hence, the khan of Makhad adopted his sister's daughter Anjuman Ara who is the sister of the chief of Ghakhars Sultan Raja Erij Zaman. Anjuman married Arif Khanzada and the couple had five children, Ambreen Khanzada, Sher Afghan Khanzada, Nasira Khanzada, Sher Ahemed Khanzada and Nadia Khanzada who were also brought up by the Khan of Makhad and his wife.Anjuman Ara begum is also aunt of Present Ghakhars chief Sultan Raja Sheraz Haider zaman.
References
*Chiefs and Families of note in Punjab. By Sir
Lepel Griffin
*The Gazetteer of Attock District 1895. The last khan of Makhad was Shazi Khan who died in 2014. He studied in Cadet College, Abbottabad. He hunted in Bad-iwan.
1861 deaths
Year of birth unknown
19th-century Indian people
{{Pakistan-bio-stub