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 (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. Khushal wrote many works in Pashto but also a few in Persian. Khushal is considered the "father of Pashto literature" and the national poet of Afghanistan.
The Jadoon, also known as Gadun or Jadun are a Pashtun tribe residing mostly in the Hazara and Kohistan regions as well as in the Swabi district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Some members of the tribe also live in Nangarhar and Kunar in Afghanistan.
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 (شيدو) is a town in the Nowshera District of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The population is approximately 75,000. Shaidu lies on the alluvial silt of the Indus River. It is a centre of the surrounding agricultural lands. Shaidu lies on the Grand Trunk Road at a strategic point. It has fallen to various ruling forces through recorded history. Shaidu is the village of Khattak tribe, and it lies on Grand Trunk Highway N-5 from Jehangira to Adamzai Village and Chashmai to Mian Essa.
The Durrani dynasty was founded in 1747 by Ahmad Shah Durrani at Kandahar, Afghanistan. He united the different Pashtun tribes and created the Durrani Empire. which at its peak included the modern-day Afghanistan, Pakistan, as well as some parts of northeastern Iran, eastern Turkmenistan, and northwestern India including the Kashmir Valley.
Syed Ahmad Barelvi, also known as Sayyid Ahmad Shahid, (1786–1831) was an Indian Islamic revivalist, scholar, and military commander from 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 reformer. He was an active member in the jihad proclaimed by Sayyid Ahmad of Raebareilly 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 reform movements.
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.
Kalu Khan Yusufzai was an Afghan warrior and military leader in 16th century who inflicted one of the greatest defeat of the Mughal Empire. He is known for leading the Yusufzai Rebellion against Mughals at the Karakar Pass in which Prominent Mughal commanders including Raja Birbal was killed by Yousafzai tribesman in 1586 during the Afghan-Mughal Wars
The Military campaigns of Hari Singh Nalwa were a series of conquests and battles in which the Sikh Empire commander Hari Singh Nalwa fought from 1807 to 1837. His first battle was fought against the Durrani Empire. With his help, the Sikh Empire managed to expand over a large land area, spanning from Jamrud to Tibet. He was killed in the battle of Jamrud at Khyber Pass in 1837.
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.
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 Emperor Akbar'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