The Karlal (Urdu: کڑلال), also known as ''Karral'', ''Kiraal'', and '' Sardar'' is a

Hindko Hindko (, romanized: , ) is a cover term for a diverse group of Lahnda dialects spoken by several million people of various ethnic backgrounds in several areas in northwestern Pakistan, primarily in the provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Pun ...

and Pahari speaking tribe dwelling mostly in the

Abbottabad District Abbottabad District () is a district of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is part of Hazara Division and covers an area of 1,969 km2, with the city of Abbottabad being the principal town. Neighbouring districts are Mansehra to ...

of the

Hazara Division Hazara Division is an administrative division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. It is located along the Indus River and comprises eight districts: Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur, Battagram, Upper Kohistan, Kolai-Palas, Lower ...

region of

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

, Pakistan.

Etymology and origins

The Karlal oral tradition states that the tribe is descended from a man named Kallar Shah who had migrated to present-day

Abbottabad Abbottabad (; Urdu, Punjabi language(HINDKO dialect) آباد, translit=aibṭabād, ) is the capital city of Abbottabad District in the Hazara region of eastern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. It is the 40th largest city in Pakistan and fourth ...

district from present day Afghanistan.

After Pakistan's independence

In 1957,

Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi Akhundzada Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi ( ur, اخوندزادہ محمد عبدالغفور ہزاروی چشتی) (1 January 1909 – 9 October 1970) was a Muslim theologian, jurist, and scholar of ahadith in Pakistan (''South Asia' ...

, a Karlal, became the first recipient of the highest civilian award of Pakistan, the

Nishan-e-Imtiaz The Nishan-e-Imtiaz (; ) is one of the state organized Civil decorations of Pakistan, civil decorations of Pakistan. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the awa ...

. Most Karlals today are still living in their ancestral villages in the Galiyat and the Nilan Valley of the Abbottabad District. More recently, the Karlals, lead by Baba

Haider Zaman Khan Baba Haider Zaman (1934 – 24 October 2018) was a political personality of Hazara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. He was known for Hazara Province Movement, a protest campaign against changing the name of Sarhad Province. Baba joined Hazara Q ...

along with some other tribesmen of Hazara, have engaged in a political struggle to separate the Hazara Division from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in order to form a Hazara Province.

References

{{reflist Hindkowan tribes Social groups of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa