Shaukat H. Buneri
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, historically known as NWFP, Northwest Frontier Province and so on, is one of the four provinces of Pakistan located in the northwestern part of the country. Geographically, this is the region that connects South Asia with Central Asia. This region was also the only way for the empires to enter India from Central Asia. Whenever Afghan, Persian, Mughal and other foreign invaders wanted to occupy the subcontinent, they would enter the subcontinent from this region. The famous Khyber Pass is still considered the only trade route between Pakistan and other Central Asian countries. Over time, the region became part of various empires.
The region has been invaded by various groups, including Achaemenid, Persian, Greek, Sakhahi, Kishni, Chinese, Arab, Turkish, Mughal and Mongol. When the Aryans entered India, between 2000 and 1500 BC, the Pashtun nation of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Aryans took over the region. And other peoples all over India were pushed south by the Aryans.
The region was also the only way for the former empires to enter India from Central Asia. Afghan, Persian, Mughal and other foreign invaders used to enter the subcontinent from this region whenever they had to occupy the subcontinent.
The region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is also mentioned in the Hindu holy book Mahabharata. In Mahabharata, the region is described in which the Gandhara Empire was established here. Accord-ing to the Mahabharata, this region was part of Bharat Varsha, the country of the Hindu religious figure India. In the modern history of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, it has been ruled by Durranis, Sikhs and Mughals. Before British India, it was part of the Mughal province of Kabul. Then during the British rule it was integrated into the Punjab province for some time. Then the British gave it the status of a new province and it was named North West Frontier Province. This was often the name of the region after Pakistan’s independence.
When Pakistan had two provinces i.e West Pakistan and East Pakistan then this province was merged with West Pakistan. Later when East Pakistan was separated and West Pakistan was divided into provinces, this province was given the status of a separate province.
As mentioned, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has had a number of invading groups since ancient times, including the Persians, the Greeks, the Kishans, the Huns, the Arabs, the Turks, the Mongols, the Mughals, the Sikhs and the British. In the middle of Christ, an Iranian branch of the Aryan nation, represented by the Pashtuns, occupied most of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Peshawar Valley has been the center of the Gandhara kingdom since the turn of the century. The city later became the capital of the Kishan dynasty. Many famous historical figures have set foot in the region, such as Darius II, Alexander the Great, Hyun Sung, Fa Hein, Marco Polo, Montserrat Elphinstone and Winston Churchill. After the Mauryan occupation of the region, Buddhism became the major religion here, especially in urban areas, as evidenced by recent archaeological and interpretive evidence. Rava Kanishka, a great Kishan king, was also one of the great kings of Buddhism.
While the rural areas maintained many shamanistic beliefs such as the Kalash group and others. Pashtunwali, or the traditional code of dignity that the Pashtun nation adheres to, is believed to have its roots in pre-Islamic times. In the early twentieth century, before the advent of Islam, KP was ruled by kings. The first rulers were Turks and they ruled the region until 870 AD. The later rulers probably had connections with the rulers of neighboring Kashmir and Punjab. These last rulers were finally overthrown by their fraternal tribes, which were ruled by Mahmud of Ghazni. During the reign of Mahmud Ghaznavi, the Pashtun tribe had settled in the Dalazak Valley of Peshawar. The Dalazaks built a fort called Khyber which was evicted by the Yousafzai tribe during the reign of Babar.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was also part of the Great Islamic State, the Ghaznavid Kingdom and the Kingdom of Muhammad Ghor. During this period, Muslim businessmen, teachers, scientists, soldiers, poets, doctors and Sufis from other Muslim countries used to come here in droves. In the western parts of the Pashtun tribes, Islam came in the time of the Holy Prophet. This can be gauged from the fact that Hazrat Khalid bin Waleed introduced the Pashtun Companion Qais Abdul Rashid to the Holy Prophet in the Prophet’s Mosque. The foundation of Islam was first laid in the subcontinent when Muhammad bin Qasim came to Sindh by sea and defeated Raja Dahir. Thus only the foundation was laid from Sindh but after that Muhammad bin Qasim left. Thereafter, Afghan, Turkish, Mongol and Arab rulers and traders came to India through Khyber, and through this border province of present-day KP and the tribal areas, Islam spread rapidly throughout India. Pashtun Nationalism The province was an important border area that was often in dispute between the Mughal and Persian Safavids. During the reign of the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, the Pashtun nationalist poet Khushal Khan Khattak, through his poetry, incited many Pashtun tribes against the rulers, which required a great deal of power to control the region. The region was later united through the Durrani government, founded by Ahmad Shah Durrani.
