The Sulaiman Mountains, also known as Kōh-e Sulaymān or Da Kasē Ghrūna, are a north–south extension of the southern Hindu Kush mountain system in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They are also known as Aparanchal Range, or Western Mountains ; as they mark the westernmost boundary of the Indian Subcontinent. They rise to form the eastern edge of the Iranian plateau. They are located in the Kandahar, Zabul and Paktia provinces of Afghanistan, and in Pakistan they extend over the northern part of Balochistan and Waziristan as well as Kurram of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In southwestern Punjab, the mountains extend into the two districts of Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur, which are located west of the Indus River on the boundary with Balochistan. Bordering the mountains to the east are the plains of the Indus River valley, and to the north are the arid highlands of the Central Hindu Kush whose heights extend up to 3,383 metres (11,099 ft). The total area on which this range spans around 6475 sq. km. Together with the Kirthar Mountains on the border between Balochistan and Sindh, the Sulaiman Mountains form what is known as the Sulaiman-Kirthar geologic province.
Waziristan is a mountainous region of Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Waziristan region administratively splits among three districts: North Waziristan, Lower South Waziristan District, and Upper South Waziristan District. Waziristan region, consisted of three districts, covers around 11,585 square kilometres (4,500 sq mi) and is mainly populated by the Mehsud, The Wolves, & Wazir Pashtun tribe, who speak the Waziri dialect of the Pashto language.
Dera Ismail Khan, abbreviated as D.I. Khan, is a city and capital of Dera Ismail Khan District, located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 10th largest city of Pakistan and third or fourth largest in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population. Dera Ismail Khan is situated on the west bank of the Indus River, at its junction with the Gomal River.
Dera Ismail Khan District, often abbreviated as D.I. Khan is a district in the Dera Ismail Khan division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The capital of the district is the town of Dera Ismail Khan. The district has an area of 9,334 km2 (3,604 sq mi) and a population of 1,822,916 as of the 2023 Census. After the Second Anglo-Sikh war in 1849 the district was annexed by the British as part of the Punjab and remained so until 1901 when NWFP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was created.
North Waziristan District is a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. It is the northern part of Waziristan, a mountainous region of northwest Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan and covering 4,707 square kilometres (1,817 sq mi). The capital city of North Waziristan is Miranshah.
Lodi is a Pashtun tribe from the Ghilji group of Pashtuns. In mythical genealogy, they have also been considered as being part of the Bettani tribal confederacy. The Lodi tribe consists of many sub-tribes, most of whom are now settled in the Tank, Frontier Region Tank, Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of modern-day Pakistan. These tribes were nomadic for most of their existence and migrated to their present-day locations by crossing the Gomal Pass throughout different times in history.
Sir Robert Groves Sandeman, KCSI (1835–1892) was a British Indian Army officer and colonial administrator. He was known for his activities in Balochistan, where he introduced a system of "tribal pacification" that endured until the partition of India in 1947.
Gomal Pass is a mountain pass on the Durand Line border between Afghanistan and the southeastern portion of South Waziristan in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas. It takes its name from the Gomal River and is midway between the legendary Khyber Pass and the Bolan Pass. It connects Ghazni in Afghanistan with Tank and Dera Ismail Khan in Pakistan. Gomal Pass, for a long time, has been a trading route for nomadic Powindahs.
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.
The Storyani, also called Ustrani or Ustarana, are a Pashtun tribe of Sayyid origin inhabiting the Frontier Region in the outer hills opposite the extreme south of Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. They have occupied the eastern slope of Suleiman Mountains. To their north lies Gomal River, which separates South Waziristan Agency from this region. To their south west across Baluchistan border is Zhob and Dukki, to the east towards Daman plains with the Gandapurs of Kulachi, to the west with Musa Khel and Zmaryani while Qaisrani on the south.
State of Swat was a state established in 1849 by the Muslim saint Saidu Baba, also known as Akhund of Swat, and was ruled by Walis of Swat. It was recognized as a princely state in alliance with the British Raj between 1918 and 1947, after which the Akhwand acceded to the newly independent state of Pakistan. Swat continued to exist as an autonomous region until it was dissolved in 1969, and incorporated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The area it covered is now divided among the present-day districts of Swat, Buner and Shangla.
The Gomal is a 400-kilometre-long (250 mi) river in Afghanistan and Pakistan. It rises in northern Afghanistan's Paktika Province and joins the Indus River 20 miles south of Dera Ismail Khan, in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
South Waziristan District was a district in the Dera Ismail Khan Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, before splitting into the Lower South Waziristan District and the Upper South Waziristan District on 13 April 2022. It covers around 11,585 km2 (4,473 mi2). Waziristan is located in the southwest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is situated between two rivers, the Tochi River to the north and the Gomal River to the south. The region was an independent tribal territory from 1893, separated from both Afghanistan and the British-ruled empire in the subcontinent. Raiding the tribal areas was a constant problem for the British, requiring frequent punitive expeditions between 1860 and 1945. Troops of the British Raj coined a name for this region "Hell's Door Knocker" in recognition of the fearsome reputation of the local fighters and inhospitable terrain. The district headquarter of the South Waziristan district is Wanna. South Waziristan is divided into three administrative subdivisions of Ladha, Sarwakai, and Wanna. These three subdivisions are further divided into eight Tehsils: Ladha, Makin, Sararogha, Sarwakai, Tiarza, Wanna, Barmal, and Toi Khula.
The Mehsud or Maseed is a Karlani Pashtun tribe inhabiting mostly the South Waziristan Agency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.
The Jatoi is a Baloch tribe in Sindh and the Kacchi Plain in the east of Balochistan. Balochi traditional ballads tell of a leader named Mir Jalal Khan who had four sons, Rind, Lashar, Hot, and Korai, and a daughter Jato, who married his nephew Morad. These five are, according to these ballads, the eponymous founders of the five tribes of the Rinds, Lasharis, Hoths, Korais, and Jatois. However, it is also mentioned that Jaoti is from Jaatan (جاتن), who was the fifth son of Mir Jalal Khan.
Sir John Stuart Donald served as the Chief Commissioner of the North West Frontier Province of British India from 1913 till 1915.
The Waziristan campaign 1936–1939 comprised a number of operations conducted in Waziristan by the British Indian Army against the fiercely independent tribesmen that inhabited this region. These operations were conducted in 1936–1939, when operations were undertaken against followers of the Pashtun nationalist Mirzali Khan, also known by the British as the "Faqir of Ipi", a religious and political agitator who was spreading anti-British sentiment in the region and undermining the prestige of the Indian government in Waziristan at the time.
The Waziristan campaign was a road construction effort and military campaign conducted from 21 December 1921 to 31 March 1924 by British and Indian forces in Waziristan. These operations were part of the new Forward Policy, which sought to reduce and eventually eliminate tribal uprisings and tribal raids into settled districts by stationing regular troops inside Waziristan, which would then be capable of swiftly responding to Waziri rebellions. The rebel tribes attempted to harass the British troops, but were unsuccessful in stopping the British road construction efforts. Hugh Beattie provided a detailed account of the conflict in chapter 7 of Empire and Tribe in the Afghan Frontier Region: Custom, Conflict and British Strategy in Waziristan until 1947.
Sir Richard Udny, KCSI was an official in British India, best known for his role in defining the border with the Emirate of Afghanistan. He took part in the border survey for the stretch between the Hindu Kush range in the north-east to Landi Kotal. This demarcation was the first stage in making the Durand Line of 1893 concrete in geographical terms, a process that lasted into the 20th century.
Waziristan rebellion was a rebellion by the Pashtun leader Faqir of Ipi to secede from Pakistan and establish a separate Pashtun state of Pashtunistan.
