The name Saleh Khana derives from Arabic and roughly translates to "Weapon Depot", "Armour Depot" originating from the Arabic Word "Silah" and "Khana" a Persian word for home, place.
The village is inhabited by Pashtuns, of the Afridi tribe and Pashto is the main language spoken throughout the village.
Like other parts of Pakistan, many people live overseas for work, the people of this village are spread throughout the world, with 60% living abroad. Among the countries where one can find residents of this village are, to name a few, the UK, USA, UAE, Canada, Australia, and Malaysia.
The majority can be found in the United Kingdom, mainly in Birmingham, Manchester, and Aylesbury. This has earned the village the name of "little England" due to most of its residents having dual citizenship in the UK. Originally, the residents moved aboard during the early 1960s to earn and send income back home. However, as time passed, many decided to stay abroad settling with dual citizenship and regularly travelling back and forth occasionally.[citation needed]. There is also a small sizeable community in Canada.
The village is surrounded by the Cherat mountains range. Within the mountains range, just above the village, is a former British Hill station or cantonment that was used in 1861 and is currently occupied by the Pakistani army. It mainly consists of a training ground for the Pakistani SSG. It is off limits to the public and hosts the world's largest zipline in South Asia [1] which covers ranges of 1.6 km located at the Khattak mountain ranges.
It is the only village in Pakistan with multiple banks.[2]
People & History
The people of this village are primarily Pashtuns, an ethnic group located in both North West Pakistan & Afghanistan.
The people of Saleh Khana, belong to the Khattak Pashtun Tribe.
In 1984, there was a tribal dispute between the people of Saleh Khana and the neighbouring village of Kotli Kalan due to a disagreement over the water flow which connected to both villages. This dispute was settled with firearms being used and one person from neighbouring village Kotli Kalan was killed. The dispute was eventually solved when a Loy Jirga (Pashtun Grand Council) took place, the local police, politicians and Mashars (Leaders) from the Afridi Tribe and Mashars from both Saleh Khana and Kotli Kalan all sat down in a 'Hujra' and the outcome of the meeting were both villages were split up (Hence the name Saleh Khana and Kotli Kalan, though it was one village as a whole at the time, named Saleh Khana) The two villages were then divided upon agreement.
The Mashar for Saleh Khana at the time when the dispute happened and was solved was Haji Abdul Matheen, who was also the 'Mashar' (Leader) of Mohallah Qurban Khel, Mund Khel and Meis Khel and was well connected with the Pakistani Taliban and the KPK District Council.
The Mashar for Kotli Kalan at the time when the dispute happened and was solved was known as the "chairman" who was also a high ranking politician and had close ties with the prime minister of Pakistan and governing bodies.[citation needed]
Pashtuns of this village originally migrated from their homeland in the Tirah valley in present day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, to their current village during the mid 17th century.
After brutal tribal wars in the 17th century the Oriya Khel tribe migrated east and settled in Jalozai in Khattak tribe territories. Great hostility from surrounding clans lead to a major blood feud between the Oriya Khel and Khattak clans.[citation needed]
The feud was so big that a Loy Jirga (Pashtun grand council) took place in order to end the bloodshed; as a result of this jirga to end the tribal feuds, the Oriya Khel were given the current lands that they now reside in today, hence they moved up into and inhabited the mountainous region of Cherat.[citation needed]
Today 60% of the inhabitants of Saleh Khana have migrated to developed countries around the world, primarily to Europe, United States of America, Canada and the United Kingdom in the Birmingham and Ayelsbury regions; during the 19th and 20th century in order to seek work and send money back home to the village.[citation needed]
However, as time has gone by a lot of families have decided to stay and reside in the UK, US, and European countries and now view themselves with a dual identity. However, Pashto and Pashtunwali always takes precedence over all other identities.[citation needed]
Language
The language predominantly spoken in Saleh Khana is Pashto.
Slight differences occur however since Saleh Khana is relatively close to Peshawar, a lot of the inhabitants can understand the Northern Dialects which is considered standard Pashto used in books, letters, also called "Kitaabi Pashto." Therefore, the Pashto spoken in Saleh Khana is unique on its own terms.
Tribes and Clans
Saleh Khana is inhabited by the Khattak tribe of the Pashtuns. The tribe is then divided into clans (khels). These are:[citation needed]
Duran Khel
Shatar Khel
Gunr Khel
Qurban Khel
Mund Khel
Mais Khel
Amirjan Khel
Amin Khel (non pashtuns / julaha)
Tattar Khel
Namawar Khel
Tarkan khel
Each clan has its own Mashar (Leader) which is their clan's representative in a Pashtun council called the jirga, to settle village disputes and promote progress.
Every clan has its own Mohallah and every Mohalla has its own Masjid and own representatives for a tribal/clan meeting which is called a Jirga in Pashto.[3]
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