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The FATA region in history

The authority of the various empires which claimed in the past to rule the Frontier actually only extended control over the plains and one or two of the passages through the mountains. Only the greater Mughals [1526-1707] seem to have thought it worthwhile to make a serious attempt to bring the hill tribes under domination as subjects, and … they failed. Even passage by

a main route through the mountains had often to be asserted by force and with difficulty against the refractory tribes, which held the road in use at the time. An understanding of this fact explains the exclusion of this tribal belt as a whole from subjection to any external power – a freedom symbolized by the failure to impose on it any taxation. This, too, is the reason why a tribal form of society has persisted in a country which lay across the passage of countless invaders, including Alexander [356 BC –310/309] Chingiz Khan [1162-1227] and Tamerlane (Amir Taimur) [1336-1405)], the most famous conquerors in all history. Successive invaders have passed through this area or incorporated it within their empire, i.e., the Aryans (before 500 BC), thereafter the Achaemenians (i.e. Persians), Graeco-Scythian invasions (324-320 BC), Maurians (313-232 BC), Graeco-Bactrians (185-90 BC), and Sakas (i.e., Central Asians) invasion started from 97 BC. During the first millennium AD, Parthians, Yue-chi (i.e. Kushans), Sassanians, White Huns and Turks followed in succession. They have the admixture of various warriors who passed through this area. For instance, the Afridis have “an admixture of Greek blood.” Khurasani culture is visible in Pakistan west of Indus besides Central Asia and Afghanistan. During five hundred years before the birth of the Christ and for about two centuries, Gandhara [i.e., the general area from Islamabad to Kabul] was Iranianized by the Achaemenians, for a century it was Indianised by the Maurians, and for another century it had been Hellenized by Graeco-Bactrians, thereafter Saka nomadic invaders entered Gandhara. Pushto is probably a Saka dialect introduced from the north. The period of over one thousand years after Alexander’s death till the spread of Islam in these parts is one of many invasions by swarm after swarm from the north, a period during which the mastery over the frontier between India and Iran changed hands in a continual see-saw, in which sometimes the Iranian power and sometimes the ruler of the Indus valley prevailed. The region which includes “Afghanistan and the North-West Frontier of Pakistan have seen perhaps more invasions in the course of history than any other country in Asia, or indeed in the world.” During all this period the plains had been dominated by great powers, the hill tracts and tribes continued to value and protect their independence. Turko-Pathan Supremacy
The era of spread of Islam in the tribal belt dates back to the rise of the Turkish dynasty in Ghazni about 960 AD. Mahmud of Ghazni conquered and incorporated areas of the subcontinent up to Lahore. Ghorid Sultan Muizzuddin Muhammad with his headquarters in Ghor subdued the north part of the subcontinent and was the founder of Muslim supremacy in Delhi in1206. The fall of Ghorids was followed by successive incursions of various forces from Central Asia. The most notable of these were those of world conquerors Chingiz or Ghengis Khan In1221 and of Taimur or Tamerlane in 1398. The tribesmen formed the “spearhead of the Muslim pe*******on and conquest of India, first as soldiers of fortune and later as powerful kings, even as sultans and emperors.” “The Turks were a small band of chosen favourites; the soldiers, and later the rulers, were Ghaljis or Pathans.” Apart from the Turks, i.e. Ghaznavids (1001-1186), Ghorids (1186-1290), and Tughlaqs (1321-1451), three Pathan dynasties, i.e., Khaljis (1290-1321), Lodis (1451-1526) and Suris (1539-55), had sat on the throne of Delhi. But their authority did not extend over the tribal belt. Babur, the conqueror of India and founder of the Mughal dynasty, tells us about the empire of Lodis that “its writ did not run effectively west of the Indus, and it had no control over the Afghan or Pathan homelands from which its rulers had originally come.”

The Pathan dynasties who ruled in India “attracted many frontiersmen to their banners.” According to the firman [royal edict] of Bahlol Lodhi (1451-1489), the ruler of Delhi, encouraging frontier tribes of the northwest to take service in Delhi stated:

Hindustan can best be held by somebody who rules over a nation with tribes. Let every Afghan tribesman bring his relatives leading a life of indigence, let them come and take up estates in Hind, relieving themselves from straitened circumstances, and supporting the State against powerful enemies. The declining flow of Pathan warriors from the tribal belt may be one of the important causes of their downfall. The lack of support became obvious after the death of Sher Shah in 1555. This incidentally reveals the political behaviour of these tribes. A leader arises, great enough to gather men around him and make them forget their personal factiousness for one crowded hour of glory. He dies, and with him dies his inspiration. In the absence of the man who commanded trust, tribal jealousies are reasserted, everything that was gained falls away. Mughal Supremacy
Babur (1526-1530), a descendent of Taimur, came down from Central Asia to Kabul in 1504. He is the founder of the Mughal dynasty (1526-1857) in the subcontinent. The support of the tribesmen helped him in his conquest of India. “In all these expeditions there is no doubt that Babur’s armies were greatly strengthened by tribal contingents supplied by the Yusufzais and other tribes”. Not only Babur, but also the remaining Mughal rulers greatly “depended on Afghan mercenaries”. At the same time Babur’s main adversaries were the tribesmen on their own home ground. These stood on the lines of communication which a prospective conqueror of Hindustan, who starts from Central Asia, must secure and maintain through the hill country intervening between Kabul and the Jihlam [Jhelum] River. Many years were to elapse before Babur could do this, and reading between the lines of his story, we can see very clearly that he was in a continual state of anxiety and annoyance over difficulties that in fact he was never able entirely to resolve. Later emperors of his line were no more successful in achieving enduring solutions.”

It was in Babur’s time that “the darkness has broken and the light is flooding in” on the tribal belt. For the first time there “appear the familiar names of tribes”. The prominent ones mentioned by Babur are Yusufzais (and Babur married Yusufzai girl), Afridis, Orakzais, Bangash, Turis, Dilazaks, Mohmands, Gigianis, Muhammadzais, Lohanis, Niazis, Isa Khels, Ghaljis and Wazirs. The Afridis live in Khybar, the Yusufzais in Swat and the Samah, the Muhammadzis in Hashtnagar, the Bangashes around Hangu, the Lohanis in the Daman, the Ghaljis around Ghazni. The Khattaks, who are not mentioned by Babur with this name, live in the neighbourhood of Bannu. Babur could not master the territory bounded on the north by the Koh-i-Sufaid down as far as Bannu, where Bangash, Turis, Wazirs live, as is clear from his comments:
The tribes of Bangash lie out of the way, and do not willingly pay taxes. Being occupied by many affairs of superior importance, such as the conquest of Kandahar, Balkh, Badakhshan and Hindustan, I never found leisure to apply myself to the settlement of Bangash. But if Almighty God prosper my wishes, my first moment of leisure shall be devoted to the settlement of that district, and of its plundering neighbours.”

He writes in a similar tone about Wazirs, but his hope of dominating them was never fulfilled. Similarly, the mighty Akbar the Great (1556-1605) could not prevail “in any decisive fashion against any of the tribes except those who found it to their interest, in return for consideration, to guard the King’s highway.” Thereafter “no serious endeavour was made by any of his successors, or indeed by the Durranis who followed to bring … any of the … mountain regions under administrative subjection…”

During the reign of Jehangir (1608-1627) and Shah Jahan (1628-1658), the wars against the Yousufzais and hillmen continued. The Mughal rulers were also fighting for the possession of Kandhar. The struggle for Kandhar did not absolve the Mughals from the troubles in the tribal area. Jehangir in the third year of his reign, in 1607, visited Kabul. The most successful Mughal General Shah Beg who had taken possession of Kandhar some twelve years back was given governance over “the whole and troublous Sarkar of Kabul, Tirah, Bangash, Swat and Bajaur, with entire control over the Afghans of these regions, an assignment of their territories in jagir, and the title of Khan-i-Dauran (Chief of the Age)”. Shah Jahan appointed one brave General Said Khan from Kohat as Governor of Kabul and raised him to the rank of commander of 5000 horse. The NWFP in general, especially Khattaks along with a number of other tribes, were under revolt against the last powerful Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (1658-1707). Thereafter the Mughal emperors were too weak to think of an adventurous course of controlling the tribes. Durrani Supremacy
When Nadir Shah, the King of Persia, invaded India in 1739, the Afghan/Pathan contingent became the corps d’elite of his army. The Afghan/Pashtun corps of horse numbering between 4000 and 16000 was commanded by Nur Muhammad Khan, an Abdali of Alizai clan. They accompanied the king to India and “participated in all the dangers and successes of that campaign.”

Ahmad Khan was the Commander of the Abdali contingent from Afghanistan. He was the bodyguard of King Nadir Shah of Iran. When Nadir Shah, after his successful invasion of India, was returning to Persia, the tribes had closed the defiles and besieged him. His forces could not win against them in spite of loyal support of Afghan Abdalis, and “had paid a heavy toll in cash to the mountaineers” to get a passage. Nadir’s support to Abdalis led to the jealousies of other ethnic groups in Persia and he was murdered in 1747 by Muhammad Khan Qajar, the founder of Qajar dynasty who succeeded him on the throne of Persia. The commander of Abdali contingent Ahmed Khan, aged 24, forced his way to the royal tent only to find Nadir dead. Ahmed Khan finding his patron dead made his way to Kandhar and then to Kabul along with his Abdali contingent. He is the founder of the independent kingdom of Afghanistan in that year. He was a “born leader … he had himself crowned as Ahmad Shah in Kandhar. He assumed the title Durr-i-Durran, Pearl of Pearls… From that time his tribe, the Abdalis [which is a branch of Saddozai clan] have been known as the Durranis.” Later he conquered and incorporated West Punjab and Kashmir in his empire and thus under him Afghanistan and most of the present day Pakistan were formed as one state. Ahmad Shah Abdali (1747-1773) is the hero of the most important battle of Panipat north of Delhi in 1761, which he obviously fought with the help of Pathan tribesmen. He defeated the great army of Maratha confederacy. It was “one of the decisive battles of the world”, for it eliminated the prospects of Maratha domination over north India, it hastened the disintegration of the Mughal Empire, facilitated the rise of Sikhs in the Punjab, and finally paved the way for “the gradual extension of British authority to Delhi and later to the Panjab.”

However, the tribal belt “remained a welter of warlike tribes … it was the inexhaustible spring from which mercenary armies could be drawn”. Throughout history they have enjoyed independence or a semi-independent status. The powerful rulers tried to subdue them but eventually they had to compromise to give them a semi-independent status. Even the Pathan dynasties ruling over India depended on manpower from the tribal territories but their writ did not extend to these territories. Sikh Supremacy
The Durrani ruler of Lahore, Shah Zaman (1793-1800), the grandson of Ahmad Shah under compulsion of infighting at Kabul withdrew from Lahore in 1799 and appointed a Sikh leader, Ranjit Singh as his Viceroy. Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1799-1839) was an ambitious and capable ruler. He established Sikh rule in the Punjab. When he could not expand his empire towards east and south due to the presence of English, he decided to move towards the west. He was able to overrun the trans-Indus plains including Peshawar and Bannu. When he decided to pass through the tribal belt and establish his rule in Jalalabad and Kabul, several battles were fought. Finally, the Sikhs were stopped in the hills around Jamrud where the tribes gave them fierce battle. The Sikhs were defeated and retreated in 1837. It was here that they lost their renowned General Hari Singh Nalwa, who had earlier captured Balahissar (the citadel of Peshawar) in 1834. The Sikhs’ rule around Peshawar was not stable. They “possessed but little influence in the trans-Indus tracts, and what influence they had was confined to the plains. Even here they were obeyed only in the immediate vicinity of their forts which studded the country”. The tribesmen checked the advance of Sikhs and safeguarded their independence as always in the past. British Supremacy
During early 19th century, the British had established their supremacy over the subcontinent except Balochistan, Sindh and the northwest tribal belt. All of these areas are now part of Pakistan. These were practically independent but theoretically under Kabul. The NWFP west of the tribal belt and the Punjab had become independent of Kabul under Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh. It was the period when Russia was advancing southwards in Central Asia. The British Government in England was perturbed and thought it an “imminent peril to the security and tranquility” of the Indian Empire and asked the Government of India to checkmate them. Thus began British involvement with NWFP, its tribal belt and Afghanistan. First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-42). It was understood both in London and Calcutta, which was then the headquarters of the East India Company, that the Amir of Afghanistan was entering into secret negotiations with Russia. Accordingly, in 1838, the Government of India declared war against Afghanistan. Since Ranjit Singh, the ruler of the Punjab would not give passage to the English army through his territory, Auckland, the British Governor-General of India (1838-42), decided to dispatch his forces through Sindh. Earlier, Governor-General Lord Minto (1807-13), as a precaution against the threat of French invasion, had concluded a treaty of “eternal friendship” with the Amir of Sindh in 1809. Now, Auckland forced the Amir to agree to give passage to the English army and to contribute money towards the Afghan war and threatened him with “power to crush and annihilate them,” and that they “will not hesitate to call it into action, should it appear requisite, however remotely, for either the integrity or safety” of the British empire. In 1839, the British-led Indian Army passed through Sindh and Balochistan and conquered Kandhar and Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan. The Army of occupation decided to stay back in Kabul. During the winter of 1841-42, there was a mass uprising against foreign forces and the Indian army comprising twelve thousand soldiers left the city of Kabul along with their followers and marched eastward in the direction of Jalalabad for safety. The tribesmen gradually destroyed the entire Indian forces while on retreat. By January 1842, only one Dr. Brydon was able to reach Jalalabad to narrate the tragic story of the massacre of their comrades. “A large British-led army had not been wiped out so completely in living memory.”

Annexation of Sindh and the Punjab (1843-49). As a consequence of the defeat in Afghanistan, to rehabilitate their prestige, the English unjustly forced a war on Sindh, defeated the Baloch forces at the battles of Miani and Dabo and annexed the province of Sindh in 1843. After the death of Ranjit Singh, there were a series of revolutions in the Punjab. The English fought two wars in the Punjab against Sikhs in 1846 and 1848-49 and after successively defeating them annexed the province of the Punjab in 1849. Beyond the plains of Sindh and the Punjab which the English forces had conquered, there lived the Pathan and Baloch tribes in the hills. The British faced a serious problem in dealing with Pathan tribes. These tribes had no central authority and each tribe had its own jirga (assembly of elders) to manage its affairs. Before the arrival of the British, they were engaged in a continuous fight against the Sikhs. Although the Amir of Afghanistan claimed jurisdiction over them, they would not allow his forces to enter their territory. Sandeman system could not be repeated successfully in NWFP especially in Waziristan. For Britain, these tribes were “much too hard a nut to crack.”

Policy of Masterly Inactivity or Close Border Policy. The Punjab Government under the overall direction of the British Government in India followed a policy that required guarding the frontier to minimize the tribal raids and, in case of raids, send military expeditions for reprisals. “Non-aggression on tribal territory and non-interference in tribal affairs” were the objectives of this policy. Owing to their terrible defeat in the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838-42) the British had realized that the task of ruling over the tribal territory in NWFP and Afghanistan was beyond their resources in India. Thus they followed the policy of “masterly inactivity” or “close door policy” and their interest in the affairs of the tribal area in NWFP and Afghanistan remained minimal. For purposes of defence, a paramilitary force under the Government of the Punjab called the Punjab Frontier Force was raised and later it was merged with the regular Indian Army in 1886. The defence was organized by creating a line of forts along the administrative boundary. Roads were built to connect these forts and facilitate inter-communication. Simultaneously conciliatory measures were adopted. Agreements were concluded with the tribes to maintain peace and order for which they were paid monetary benefits in the shape of subsidies and allowances. The tribesmen were allowed to enter British administered territory for purposes of trade and commerce, but British officers were not allowed to enter the tribal territory. According to British sources the tribesmen broke the agreements very often. As a consequence the government had to stop allowances, impose fines, enforce blockades and if these did not work they had to resort to military operations. “Between 1849 and 1899, the Punjab Government undertook as many as sixty-two expeditions.”

From the annexation of the Punjab in 1849 till the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1878 the British followed the “so-called close-border policy” but abandoned it thereafter. Forward Policy and Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-79). There was a change in British policy after 1876. The encouragement due to increase of British resources owing to the conquest of Sindh (1843) and the Punjab (1849) as well as the concern among British strategists in England due to the advance of the Russian armies in Turkestan close to the borders of Afghanistan made them to review their policy. The policy of Disraeli who became the Prime Minister in U.K. in 1874 was to build a strategic line of defence against Russian advance in Central Asia. It was felt that sooner or later the British and the Russian forces would confront each other in Central Asia. This thinking led the British to increase their sphere of influence in Afghanistan. In 1876 Lord Lytton, the Viceroy of India wrote to the Secretary of State for India that:
The more I think over the geographical facts of our position the stronger becomes my impression that the real key to it is at Kabul…from Herat to the north-east extremity of Cashmere [Kashmir] one great continuous watershed [of Hindu Kush mountain] seems to indicate the natural defensive bulwark of India. I am inclined to think that, if we took our stand along this line, with a sufficient margin north of it to leave us in command of the passes on both sides, our position would be a sufficiently strong one for all defensive purposes. In 1878, when Amir Sher Ali of Afghanistan refused to allow an English envoy at Kabul, Lord Lytton declared war on 20th November 1878 and British troops invaded Afghanistan and Sher Ali ran away and later died. His son Yakub concluded the Treaty of Gandamak on 26 May 1879 agreeing to British terms including ceding of Pishin and Sibi (now part of Balochistan), besides Khyber and Kurram, The war had encouraged the British to formally occupy most of the tribal belt. It included a permanent advance and control of the famous Khyber Pass but Kurram valley was occupied some years later. Scientific Frontier and Durand Line (1893). Lord Lytton (1876-80) put forward the idea of a scientific frontier. Military experts came to be divided into two groups – the forward and the backward. The backward group advocated that Indus should be the frontier line because the tribesmen were troublesome and fanatic and would not tolerate interference; it was difficult to fight in the mountains; and it was very expensive to have British Cantonments in the tribal territory. The forward group advocated that the frontier should be from Kabul through Ghazni to Kandhar because unless the tribal country was occupied tribesmen would continue to give trouble; river frontier was not a frontier at all; tribal area could pay the expenses of military occupation if its mineral resources were developed; and even if the policy was expensive it must be adopted for the sake of India’s security. For sometime the British policy oscillated between the backward and the forward schools. In the time of Lord Lansdowne (1888-94) a compromise was arrived at. The boundary between Afghanistan and India was drawn on scientific lines keeping in view the requirements of defence. The dividing line came to be known as the Durand Line. Accordingly, in 1893, Sir Mortimer Durand concluded an agreement with Amir Abdul Rehman of Afghanistan fixing the boundary line from Wakhan in the north to the Iranian border in the south (i.e. the junction of Iran, Afghanistan and Balochistan). There was also some adjustment of territories. For instance, the British Government agreed to Amir of Afghanistan retaining Asmar and the Amir in turn agreed that “he will at no time exercise interference in Swat, Bajaur and Chitral”. Similarly, the British Government agreed to leave to the Amir a portion of Waziristan (i.e. Birmal) and Amir relinquished his claim to the rest of the Waziristan. A clause in the agreement stated:
The Government of India will at no time exercise interference in the territories lying beyond this line on the side of Afghanistan, and His Highness the Amir will at no time exercise interference in the territories lying beyond this line on the side of India. Hit and Run Policy and War with Tribes 1897-98. In the beginning the English had adopted an attitude of conciliation. Frontier duties were abolished, free trade was established, medical facilities were provided and tribesmen were recruited in the army and the police. Since this policy could not remove the basic cause of the trouble—the economic needs of the area–it failed. The tribesmen continued to plunder the British territory. To check this, the policy of reprisals—fines, blockades and expeditions—was adopted. These methods were used to force the tribesmen to come to terms. This was called the “Hit and Run Policy”. It also did not succeed, as it was unjust because the whole tribe suffered for the mischief of some individuals. The unjust policies and the intrusion of British forces, especially in Waziristan was seen by tribesmen as a “menace” to their independence. When in June 1897, the Political Agent had gone with a military es**rt to select a site for a levy post in Maizar, a Waziri village, in North Waziristan, they were “at first hospitably received, but suddenly attacked. All their officers [who were British] were killed or wounded…” This was followed by an attack by tribes of Malakand against the garrisons in the pass and in Chakdara. By August, Mohmands attacked at Shabqadr, and later Afridi and Orakzai attacked at Tirah and the Khybar post was lost by the British. The Samana forts were attacked and “the garrison in one case wiped out to a man.” Later Khyber was reoccupied and Khyber Rifles were re-established and new roads and more forts were built. This uprising involved bulk of the tribes, i.e., Darwesh Khel Waziris, the Swatis, the Mohmands, the Afridis and the Orakzais. But fortunately for the British the Mohmands “the most formidable of all the tribes” did not rise in 1897. Withdrawal and Concentration Policy. After the 1897-98 war with tribes, the controversy between the backward and the forward schools assumed a new meaning. Now the controversy was whether the tribal territory up to the Durand Line should be occupied or should the British fall back upon Indus. The tribes who had neither been consulted nor considered did not like this change and interference in their affairs. They resented the loss of their independence and uprisings continued. To meet the situation Lord Curzon (1899-1905) adopted a policy of “withdrawal and concentration”–withdrawal from the advanced posts, employment of the tribal forces for the defence of the tribal country, concentrations of British forces in British territory as the second line of defence and the improvement of the means of transport and communication. This policy continued up to 1919. By January 1899, about 10,000 British troops had been stationed on the northwest frontier. Lord Curzon gradually withdrew large number of troops from certain areas including the Khyber Pass (except Jamrud) and the Kurram valley (except Thal) and Waziristan but concentrated troops in British lines and also deployed in lieu levies commanded by British officers and retained troops at Chakdara, Malakand and Dargai.