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 Punj ...

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 region of 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 fourt ...

district from present day Afghanistan.

After Pakistan's independence

In 1957, Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi, 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. It is awarded for achievements towards world recognition for Pakistan or outstanding service for the country. However, the award is not limited to citizens ...

. 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 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