The Yusufzai or Yousafzai, also referred to as the Esapzai, or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to which they migrated from Kabul during the 16th century, but they are also present in parts of Afghanistan, including Kunar, Kabul, Kandahar and Farah. Outside of these countries, they can be found in Ghoriwala District Bannu, Balochistan Sibi (Akazai), Chagai (Hassanzai) and Rohilkandh.
Khošāl Khān Khaṭak the renowned King of Kings(Pashto: خوشال خان خټک; Urdu, Persian: خوشحال خان خٹک; 1613 – 20 February 1689), also known as Khushal Baba, was a 17th-century Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them from Pashtun warriors over most of his lifespan. After being expelled from his tribal chiefdom and replaced with his son by his Mughal superiors, Khushal Khan turned against the Mughals. Afterwards, Khushal preached the union of all Pashtuns, and encouraged revolt against the Mughal Empire, promoting Pashtun nationalism in the last years of his life through poetry. Much of Khushal's poetry is in Pashto but some is also in Persian. Khushal is considered the "father of Pashto literature" and the national poet of Afghanistan.
Rohillas are a community of Pashtun heritage, historically found in Rohilkhand, a region in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It forms the largest Pashtun diaspora community in India, and has given its name to the Rohilkhand region. The Rohilla military chiefs settled in this region of northern India in the 1720s, the first of whom was Ali Mohammed Khan.
Akhūnd Abdul Ghaffūr was a prominent religious saint and founder of the State of Swat. The city of Saidu Sharif, that serves as the administrative capital of Swat District, is named after him. His descendants ruled over Swat between 1876 and 1969 with the title of Wāli of Swāt.
Shaidu is a town located in the Nowshera District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. With a population of approximately 75,000 the town is situated on the fertile alluvial plains of the Indus River. Shaidu serves as a key agricultural hub for the surrounding region. Positioned along the historic Grand Trunk Road, it has been influenced by various ruling forces throughout its history. The town is home to the Khattak tribe and is located on N-5 National Highway, connecting Jehangira to Adamzai and Chashmai to Mian Essa.
Bāyazīd Khān Ansārī, commonly known as Pīr Rōshān or Pīr Rōkhān, was an Ormur warrior, Sufi poet and revolutionary leader. He wrote mostly in Pashto, but also in Persian, Urdu and Arabic. His mother tongue was Ormuri. He is known for founding the Roshani movement, which gained many followers in present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, and produced numerous Pashto poets and writers.
Hari Singh Nalwa was the commander-in-chief of the Sikh Khalsa Fauj, the army of the Sikh Empire. He is known for his role in the conquests of Kasur, Sialkot, Attock, Multan, Kashmir, Peshawar and Jamrud. Hari Singh Nalwa was responsible for expanding the frontier of Sikh Empire to beyond the Indus River right up to the mouth of the Khyber Pass. At the time of his death, Jamrud constituted the western boundary of the Empire.
Syed Ahmad Barelvi, also known as Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, (1786–1831) was an Islamic revivalist, scholar, and military commander from Indian subcontinent (Raebareli), a part of the historical United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. He launched the Indian jihad movement that waged a decades-long Islamic revolt against colonial rule across various provinces of British India. Sayyid Ahmad is revered as a major scholarly authority in the Ahl-i Hadith and Deobandi movements. The epithet 'Barelvi' is derived from Raebareli, his place of origin.
Akora Khattak 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 River about 15 kilometres downstream. Neighbouring places are Nowshera Cantonment to the west and Jahangira town to the east.
The History of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa refers to the history of the modern-day Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Shah Ismail Dehlvi was an Indian Islamic scholar and Salafi-oriented Sufi and theologian. He was an active member in the jihad proclaimed by Sayyid Ahmad of Raebareli with the support of Pashtun tribes against the Sikh Empire, which ruled northwest India with their base in Punjab in the early half of the 19th century. He is considered as an important influence on the Ahl-i Hadith and the Deobandi movement.
The Battle of Nowshera was fought in Nowshera in March 1823 collectively by the Yusufzai Afghans, supported by the Peshawar sardars, alongside Azim Khan Barakzai, the Afghan governor of Peshawar, where they would face the Sikh armies led by Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Azim Khan was a half-brother of Dost Mohammad Khan, the future ruler of Kabul, and later Afghanistan. The battle was a victory for the Sikhs over Azim Khan's armies, a result which allowed the Sikhs to begin their occupation of the Peshawar Valley.
The Battle of Balakot was fought between the forces of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Syed Ahmad Barelvi in Balakot on 6 May 1831. Barelvi had declared jihad against the Sikhs and established a camp in Balakot along with Shah Ismail Dehlvi and his tribesmen. Kanwar Sher Singh besieged the valley and attacked his camp at night. The battle lasted all day. The Sikh soldiers eventually killed Syed Ahmad Barelvi, along with hundreds of his followers.
Yaghistan was a key frontier region between Afghanistan and British India.
The Battle of Shaidu, also known as the Battle of Pirpai, was fought in March 1827 between the Sikh forces led by Hari Singh Nalwa and the Mujahideen troops, mainly Khattak and Yousafzai tribesmen, led by Syed Ahmad Barelvi. The Sikhs were victorious.
Aimal Khan Mohmand, also known as Aimal Shah, was a prominent 17th century Afghan ruler, military commander, and chief, who proclaimed himself king and declared the holy war (Jihad) against the Mughal empire. He was considered a prominent warrior in the Mughal–Afghan Wars. Khan spent most of his life Against Aurangzeb. He was well known for Greatest Afghan Revolt in 1670s in which numerous Mughal Military commanders including Shujaat Khan were killed. Darya Khan Afridi was a close ally of Khan in the military campaign against Aurangzib Alamgir. After this campaign, Aurangzib Alamgir marched towards Peshawar and restored peace with the help of some Afghan chiefs.
The Battle of Panjtar was fought in November 1836 by the Sikh forces led by Hari Singh Nalwa and the Pashtuns of Panjtar led by Fateh Khan.
The Battle of Haidru, also called Battle of Attock, was fought in 1828 by the Sikh forces led by Hari Singh Nalwa and the Mujahideen forces led by Syed Ahmad Barelvi.
The Battle of Taragarh was fought in 1822 by the Sikh forces led by Amar Singh Majithia and the Afghan tribesmen led by Mohammad Khan Tarain.
Malik Akorai, also known as Ako, was the first Chief of the Khattak tribe in the 16th century. Originally from Karbogha, he later moved to Khwarra due to a quarrel with his Karbogha relatives. Ako, with his tribe, engaged in conflicts with the neighboring Bangashes of Darsamand. Notably, Ako resisted Mughal Empire's forces and secured favorable terms, including a transit duty on cattle along the Peshawar-Attock road. He established Akora, which became the tribe's capital.
Mujahideen 
Sikh Empire