The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a

Pashtun tribe The Pashtun tribes ( ps, پښتانه قبايل), historically also known as Afghan tribes, are the tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who use the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali code of conduct. They ar ...

present in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The Afridis are most dominant in the

Spin Ghar Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally ...

range west of

Peshawar Peshawar (; ps, پېښور ; hnd, ; ; ur, ) is the sixth most populous city in Pakistan, with a population of over 2.3 million. It is situated in the north-west of the country, close to the International border with Afghanistan. It is ...

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ps, خېبر پښتونخوا; Urdu, Hindko: خیبر پختونخوا) commonly abbreviated as KP or KPK, is one of the Administrative units of Pakistan, four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, ...

, covering most of the

Khyber Pass The Khyber Pass (خیبر درہ) is a mountain pass in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, on the border with the Nangarhar Province of Afghanistan. It connects the town of Landi Kotal to the Valley of Peshawar at Jamrud by traversing pa ...

and

Maidan Maidan is an originally Persian word for a town square or public gathering place, adopted by various other languages: Urdu (''maidān''); Arabic (''maydān''); Turkish ; Bangla ময়দান, meaning field, and Crimean Tatar, from which ...

Tirah The Tirah also spelled Terah ( ps, تیراہ) also called the Tirah Valley (), is a mountainous tract located in the Khyber district, lying between the Khyber Pass and the Khanki Valley in Pakistan. Society Lying close to the Pak-Afghan bord ...

. Afridi migrants are also found in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, mostly in the states of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

and in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir.Study of the Pathan Communities in Four States of India
''Khyber.org'' (retrieved 30 January 2008)

Etymology and origins

Etymology

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...

, in his Histories, mentions a tribe named Aparytai (Ἀπαρύται) inhabiting the

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire (; peo, wikt:𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎶, 𐎧𐏁𐏂, , ), also called the First Persian Empire, was an History of Iran#Classical antiquity, ancient Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great in 550 BC. Bas ...

satrapy of

Arachosia Arachosia () is the Hellenized name of an ancient satrapy situated in the eastern parts of the Achaemenid empire. It was centred around the valley of the Arghandab River in modern-day southern Afghanistan, and extended as far east as the ...

Thomas Holdich Colonel Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich (13 February 1843 – 2 November 1929) was an English geographer and president of the Royal Geographical Society. He is best known as Superintendent of Frontier Surveys in British India, arbiter in the Cord ...

and

Olaf Caroe Sir Olaf Kirkpatrick Kruuse Caroe, (15 November 1892 – 23 November 1981) was an administrator in British India, working for the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Political Service. He served as the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India ...

have linked them with the Afridi tribe:

Origins

Aurel Stein Sir Marc Aurel Stein, ( hu, Stein Márk Aurél; 26 November 1862 – 26 October 1943) was a Hungarian-born British archaeologist, primarily known for his explorations and archaeological discoveries in Central Asia. He was also a professor at ...

described Afridis with lighter and fair features, similar to their Dardic neighbours, in contrast to the Afghans living on the other side of the

, whom he described as darker and swarthier. This supports the Dardic origins of Afridis.

History

Resistance against the Mughals

The

Afridis The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...

and their allies

Khalils The Khalil ( ps, خليل) is the 1st son of Ghoryakhel settled between 1530 and 1535 in Peshawar west Pakistan. The Khalil ( ps, خليل) is a Pashtun Ghoryakhel subtribe primarily living in the Peshawar Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, wi ...

were first mentioned in the

memoirs A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

of Mughal Emperor

Babar Babar ( ur, ), also variously spelled as Baber, Babur, and Babor is a male given name of Pashto, and Persian language, Persian origin, and a popular male given name in Pakistan. It is generally taken in reference to the Persian language, Persian ...

as violent tribes in need of subduing. The Afridi tribes controlled the Khyber Pass, which has served as a corridor connecting the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

with

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

and Central Asia. Its strategic value was not lost on the Mughals to whom the Afridis were implacably hostile.''History of Khyber Agency: Gateway to the Subcontinent''
, Office of the Political Agent, Khyber Agency Over the course of Mughal rule, Emperors

Akbar Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar (25 October 1542 – 27 October 1605), popularly known as Akbar the Great ( fa, ), and also as Akbar I (), was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Hum ...

and

Jahangir Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim (30 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was the fourth Mughal Emperor, who ruled from 1605 until he died in 1627. He was named after the Indian Sufi saint, Salim Chishti. Ear ...

both dispatched punitive expeditions to suppress the Afridis, with little success. Under the leadership of Darya Khan Afridi, they engaged in protracted warfare against the

Mughal army The Army of the Mughal Empire was the force by which the Mughal emperors established their empire in the 15th century and expanded it to its greatest extent at the beginning of the 18th century. Although its origins, like the Mughals themselves, ...

in the 1670s. The Afridis once destroyed two large Mughal armies of Emperor

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

: in 1672, in a surprise attack between

and

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

, and in the winter of 1673, in an ambush in the mountain passes. The emperor sent his Rajpoot general Rai Tulsidas with reinforcements into the mountains to suffocate the revolt and liberate the mountain. Allegedly, only five Mughal soldiers made it out of the battle alive the rest of the Mughals were brutally slaughtered.

British Raj

During the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Second The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

, and

Third Anglo-Afghan War The Third Anglo-Afghan War; fa, جنگ سوم افغان-انگلیس), also known as the Third Afghan War, the British-Afghan War of 1919, or in Afghanistan as the War of Independence, began on 6 May 1919 when the Emirate of Afghanistan inv ...

s, Afridis fought against the British; these skirmishes comprised some of the fiercest fighting of the Anglo-Afghan Wars.

Ajab Khan Afridi Ajab Khan Afridi ( ps}) was an Afghan guerrilla fighter from Darra Adam Khel belonging to the Afridi tribe of Pashtuns. Following a raid on his house by a British Indian Army (BIA) detachment in 1923, Afridi declared it a personal affront to his h ...

was a well-known independence activist against the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

. The British colonial administration regarded the Pashtun Afridi tribesmen as "martial tribe" under the

martial races theory Martial race was a designation which was created by army officials in British India after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, in which they classified each caste as belonging to one of two categories, the 'martial' caste and the 'non-martial' caste. ...

. Different Afridi clans also cooperated with the British in exchange for subsidies, and some even served with the

Khyber Rifles The Khyber Rifles are a paramilitary regiment, forming part of the Pakistani Frontier Corps Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (North). The Rifles are tasked with defending the border with Afghanistan and assisting with law enforcement in the districts adjace ...

, an auxiliary force of the

British Indian Army The British Indian Army, commonly referred to as the Indian Army, was the main military of the British Raj before its dissolution in 1947. It was responsible for the defence of the British Indian Empire, including the princely states, which co ...

First Kashmir War

Shortly after the

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

and the

creation of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

, Afridi tribesmen were among the ranks of the Pashtun militias that invaded the

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

of Jammu and Kashmir in October 1947, sparking the

Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948, or the First Kashmir War, was a war fought between India and Pakistan over the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from 1947 to 1948. It was the first of four Indo-Pakistani wars that was fought between t ...

and the ongoing

Kashmir conflict The Kashmir conflict is a territorial conflict over the Kashmir region, primarily between India and Pakistan, with China playing a third-party role. The conflict started after the partition of India in 1947 as both India and Pakistan claim ...

. Today, Afridis make use of their dominant positions along the

Durand Line The Durand Line ( ps, د ډیورنډ کرښه; ur, ), forms the Pakistan–Afghanistan border, a international land border between Pakistan and Afghanistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to th ...

in areas of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by controlling transport and various businesses, including trade in armaments, munitions and goods.Afridi demographics in Pakistan and Afghanistan
The excessive figure sometimes mentioned in Afghanistan reflects in a particular way the Afghan claim to

Pashtunistan Pashtunistan ( ps, پښتونستان, lit=land of the Pashtuns) is a historical region in Central Asia and South Asia, inhabited by the indigenous Pashtuns, Pashtun people of Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Wherein Pashtun culture, the Pashto ...

and actually represents an estimate of the whole of the Afridi tribe on both sides of the frontier.

Clans

The Afridi Tribe is subclassified into eight sub-tribes ( khels): *Kuki Khel *Qambar Khel *

Zakha Khel The Afrīdī ( ps, اپريدی ''Aprīdai'', plur. ''Aprīdī''; ur, آفریدی) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal ...

*Kamar Khel *Malikdin Khel *

Aka Khel Aka Khel or Akakhel is an area of Landi Kotal Tehsil, Khyber Agency, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan located in the Tirah Valley. Census Information As of 2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War A ...

*Sepah *

Adam Khel Afridi Adam Khel ( ps, آدم خېل) is one of the 8 clans of the Afridi tribe that originated in the Pashtun region of modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. Afridi Adam Khel origin is Tirah valley like other Afridi clans, Adam Khel area in Tirah ...

Religion

All Afridis follow the Sunni sect of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. Their conversion to Islam is attributed to Sultan (Emperor)

Mahmud of Ghazni Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...

Denzil Ibbetson Sir Denzil Charles Jelf Ibbetson (30 August 1847 – 21 February 1908)Talbot (2012). was an administrator in British India and an author. He served as Chief-Commissioner of the Central Provinces and Berar from 1898 to 1899 and Lie ...

and Haroon Rashid.(The majority are Sunnis, but there are also Shias who live in Gilgit Nagar, Hunza, North Pakistan)

List of notable Afridis

Shahid Afridi at the County Ground, Taunton, during Pakistan's 2010 tour of England - 20100902

In Sports

* Shahid Afridi, Pakistani

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

and former national captain *

Shaheen Afridi Shaheen Shah Afridi ( Urdu, Pashto: ; born 6 April 2000) is a Pakistani professional cricketer who plays as a fast bowler for the Pakistan national cricket team. Early life and career Afridi belongs to the Zakhakhel Afridi tribe of the Pasht ...

, Pakistani cricketer *

Umar Gul Umar Gul (Urdu: , ps, عمر گل) (born 15 October 1982 ) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who is the current bowling coach of Quetta Gladiators. He played all three formats of the game as a right arm fast medium bowler for ...

, of the Malak Din Khel; Pakistani International

* Abbas Afridi , Pakistani Cricketer. *

Riaz Afridi Riaz Afridi ( ur, ; born 21 January 1985) is a Pakistani cricket coach and cricketer. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-fast bowler. In December 2017, his youngest brother Shaheen Afridi was named in Pakistan's squad for t ...

, Pakistani cricketer coach and Cricketer. * Ashfaq Afridi, Pakistani Cricketer. *

Ahmed Shehzad Ahmed Shehzad ( Punjabi:احمد شہزاد; born 23 November 1991) is a Pakistani international cricketer. He is an opening batsman who made his One Day International and Twenty20 International debut for Pakistan in April 2009 against Australi ...

, Pakistani Cricketer. *

Sameen Gul Sameen Gul Afridi (born 4 February 1999) is a Pakistani cricketer who plays for United Bank Limited. He made his first-class debut on 30 November 2015 in the 2015–16 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. In December 2015 he was named in Pakistan's squad for t ...

, Pakistani cricketer, * Yasir Afridi, Pakistani Footballer.

Politicians

* Abbas Khan Afridi, Pakistani politician who has been a member of senate, federal minister and state minister. He is also a reputable trader and businessman in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. *

Zakir Husain Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the third president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969. Born in Hyderabad in a Afridi Pashtun family, Husain ...

, third

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

, from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969 * Malik Mehrun Nisa Afridi, twice member of the

National Assembly of Pakistan The National Assembly ( ur, , translit=Aiwān-e-Zairīñ, , or ur, قومی اسمبلی, Romanization, romanized: ''Qaumi Assembly'') is the lower house, lower legislative house of the bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Pakistan, which al ...

from

Pakistan Peoples Party The Pakistan People's Party ( ur, , ; PPP) is a centre-left, social-democratic political party in Pakistan. It is currently the third largest party in the National Assembly and second largest in the Senate of Pakistan. The party was founded ...

Asghar Khan Air Marshal Muhammad Asghar Khan (Retd.) ( ur, 17 January 1921 – 5 January 2018), was a Pakistani politician and an autobiographer, later a dissident serving the cause of pacifism, peace, and human rights. Born into a military famil ...

, Pakistani Air Marshal who built up the

Pakistan Air Force , "Be it deserts or seas; all lie under our wings" (traditional) , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = ...

as its first Native Commander-in-Chief, served as President of

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines ( ur, ; abbreviated PIA, ur, ) is an international airline that serves as the national flag carrier of Pakistan under the administrative control of the Secretary to the Government of Pakistan for Aviation. It ...

and a

Pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

Human Rights Activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

Politician serving as Chairman of the

Solidarity movement Solidarity ( pl, „Solidarność”, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (, abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”'' ), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subseq ...

Mirza Muhammad Afridi Mirza Mohammad Afridi is a Pakistani politician who has been a Member of the Senate of Pakistan, since March 2018 and Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan since 12 March 2021. Overview Mirza Mohammad Afridi's name first emerged in the poli ...

, Pakistani politician and senator,

Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan The Deputy Chairman of the Senate of Pakistan (Urdu: ڈپٹی چیئرمین سینیٹ) is the Deputy Chair of the Senate of Pakistan.

and a member of

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI; ur, , ) is a political party in Pakistan. It was founded in 1996 by Pakistani cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The PTI is one of the thre ...

Combatants

, Pashtun Independence Fighter against

who carried out a revenge attack against a British Raid on his home through Guerilla Warfare, sparking the Afridi Redshirts Rebellion *

Darya Khan Afridi Darya Khan Afridi (Pashtun language, Pashto: دریا خان افريدي), was an Afghans, Afghan Warrior and chief. Darya Khan Fought against Mughal Empire along with Mohmand tribal chief, Aimal Khan Mohmand. In 1672, Khan closed the Khyber pass ...

, ''"National Hero of Afghanistan"'' who closed the gates of Khyber and ambushed the Mughal Invaders of

raining down their firepower onto the confused mass, reconquering the lands of the

, famed warrior of the Afghan-Mughal Wars *

Sher Ali Afridi Sher Ali Afridi, also called Shere Ali, is known for killing Lord Mayo, the Viceroy of India, on 8 February 1872. He was a prisoner on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands at the time, sentenced for murder. Early life Sher Ali worked for the colonia ...

, former policeman from

who assassinated

Lord Mayo Richard Southwell Bourke, 6th Earl of Mayo, (; ; 21 February 1822 – 8 February 1872) styled Lord Naas (; ) from 1842 to 1867 and Lord Mayo in India, was a British statesman and prominent member of the British Conservative Party who se ...

, the

Viceroy of British India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

, in 1872 * Jemadar Mir Mast Khan Afridi, Defected from the British Army during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and recruited fellow Pashtun soldiers of the Tribal Belt for the Ottoman cause operating from

* Malik Wali Khan Kuki Khel Afridi, Kashmir Jihad Veteran and Activist of the Pashtunistan Movement in Independent Pakistan.

Businessman

Javed Afridi Muhammad Javed Afridi (Urdu, ps, محمد جاويد افريدی ; born 14 August 1985) is a Pakistani business executive and entrepreneur. Business Interests He is best known as the CEO of Haier Pakistan and owner of MG Motors Pakistan. ...

, owner of PSL team

Peshawar Zalmi Peshawar Zalmi ( ur, ; ps, پېښور زلمي; literally meaning "Peshawar's youth") is a Pakistani franchise T20 cricket team which plays in the Pakistan Super League and represents Peshawar, the capital city of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa pro ...

and owner of

Haier Haier Group Corporation () is a Chinese multinational home appliances and consumer electronics company headquartered in Qingdao, Shandong. It designs, develops, manufactures and sells products including refrigerators, air conditioners, washin ...

Pakistan * Abbas Khan Afridi, a politician and Businessman, He is the founder and CEO of ''Afridi Traders'' and holds shares in other projects.

Others

* Monawar Khan Afridi, Brigadier in the British Indian Army, notably a Doctor during the Burma Campaign working against

Malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

and later served as the third Vice-Chancellor for the

University of Peshawar The University of Peshawar ( ps, د پېښور پوهنتون; hnd, پشور یونیورسٹی; ur, ; abbreviated UoP; known more popularly as Peshawar University) is a Public university, public research university located in Peshawar, Khy ...

* Khatir Afridi, Pashto poet * Shakeel Afridi, physician * Ayub Afridi, large scale heroin producer and dealer. * Ahmad Kamal Faridi (Colonel Fareedi, Colonel Faridi), internationally famous character of

Ibn-e-Safi Ibn-e-Safi (26 July 1928 – 26 July 1980) (also spelled as Ibne Safi) ( ur, ) was the pen name of Asrar Ahmad ( ur, ), a fiction writer, novelist and poet of Urdu from Pakistan. The word Ibn-e-Safi is an Persian expression which litera ...

, world renowned mystery writer/novelist of Pakistan.

showed in his two novels (out of 125 novels) of

Jasoosi Dunya Jasoosi Dunya (Urdu: جاسوسى دنيا) is a popular series of Urdu detective stories created by Ibne-Safi. Its first novel, ''Dilaer Mujrim'' (دلير مجرم) was published in March 1952. In the following 27 years, Ibn-e-Safi wrote 127 bo ...

(The Spy World) novel number 52 and novel number 117 that Colonel Fareedi belongs to Afridi tribe. * Malik Sher Muhammad Khan Afridi, Chief of

Sepah The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...

. He along with the Maliks of

Khyber Agency Khyber District ( ps, خېبر ولسوالۍ, ur, ) is a district in Peshawar Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Until 2018, it was an agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas; with the merger of FATA with Khyber Pak ...

visited

Kolkatta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

on train from

along with Political Agent, Colonel

Robert Warburton Colonel Sir Robert Warburton (11 July 1842 – 22 April 1899) was an Anglo-Afghan soldier and administrator. Half-Afghan and proficient in Pashtu, he served for many years as British political officer in charge of the Khyber Pass, a region of s ...

. He also was a key figure in the relations between the Pathans especially the

and the British Government during the 19th century, also mentioned in the book Eighteen Years in the Khyber."Review of Eighteen Years in the Khyber, 1879–1898 by Col. Sir Robert Warburton" Sher Muhammad Khan Afridi Sipah

*Malik Muhammad Akbar Afridi Sepah, 1946-1998, former Chieftain of the Bara of

, met

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...

and former British Prime Minister

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament ...

during their visits to

References

External links

Encyclopædia Iranica: AFRĪDĪ
{{Authority control Social groups of Pakistan Karlani Pashtun tribes Pashto-language surnames Pakistani names