Burki
Encyclopedia
The Burki are a Pushtun tribe of South Waziristan, Pakistan, whose homeland is Kaniguram
. The first Pushtun warrior/intellectual Pir Roshan
, whose given name was Bayazid Khan, was a Baraki/Urmur/Burki who is popularly known by his admirers as Pir Roshan (the enlightened one) and as Pir Tarik (the one of darkness) by his detractors. In the 16th century, he wrote the first book in the language of the Pashtuns. He was fluent in Ormuri (his mother tongue), Pushtu, Arabic and Persian.
is the first language of the people in Kaniguram
; today, all are bilingual in the local Pashto dialect of Wazirwola. Most also can converse in Urdu and some in English. Burki are still found in Baraki Barak
in Logar and outside Ghazni Afghanistan
, however Pashto and Dari has replaced Ormuri language there.
(or Dari), the languages of the Taujik and Farsiwan, except a few who were members of the Amir's court. The Baraki/Burki "homeland" of Kaniguram in the heart of the Pushtun core (i.e. where the Mahsud and Waziri tribes "do Pukhtunkhwa") only confirms their lineage. It is important to note that Elphinstone in his "travels" West to the land of the Afghauns and towards Caubul (Kabul) never made it past Peshawar and is unlikely to have come across any Baraki/Barak.
Elphinstone in his "account" on page 315 writes: "The next class of Taujiks are the Burrukees who inhabit Logur and part of Boot Khauk... they differ from the other Taujiks in as much as they form a tribe under chiefs of their own, and have a high reputation as soldiers. They have separate lands and castles of their own and furnish a good many troops to the government, closely resemble the Afghauns in their manners and are more respected than any other Taujiks... their lands were once extensive; but their origin is uncertain; they pretend to be sprung from the Arabs, but others say they are descended from the Kurds or Coords."
Captain Leech is the first person who has given some detailed notes on the Barki Barak (Logar) dialect of the Ormuri language. He collected quite a few words and sentences and published them in "The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal" under the name of "A Vocabulary of the Baraki language". While introducing the tribe and its language, he says: "The Barkis are included in the general term of Parsiwan, or Tajak; they are original inhabitants of Yemen whence they were brought by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni; they accompanied him in his invasion of India, and were pre-eminently instrumental in the abstraction of the gates of the temple of Somnath
. There are two divisions of the tribe. The Barkis of Rajan in the province of Lohgad, who speak Persian, and the Barakis of Barak, a city near the former, who speak the language called Barki; at Kaniguram under Shah Malak who are independent. The Barakis of this place and of Barak alone speak the Baraki language. It is clear from Capt. Leech's "assessmnet" that he is mixing the Barakis up with the Baluchis, whose lineage does suggest a possible peninsula connection of some who came to the Baluchistan region in Mahmud of Ghaznavi's time. But the Baraki have been in the greater Afghanistan region much longer/prior to the 10th century.
Henry Walter Bellew
's book (1891) "An Enquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan", Bayazid's people — currently referred to as "Burki" but who until the early twentieth century were known as Barak or Baraki—were found in large numbers during the Greek period in their present environs (p. 62). On page 8 of this seminal work, Bellew refers to the Baraki's origins as "mysterious" but not of Arab/Ansari descent. On page 62, he writes of the Baraki: "After the time of the Greek dominion, the Baraki increased greatly in numbers and influence, and acquired extensive possessions towards the Hindu Kush in the north and the Suleman range in the south, and eastward as far as the Indus. During the reign of Mahmud Ghaznavi (2 November 971 - 30 April 1030), the Baraki were an important tribe, and largely aided the Sultan in his military expeditions. The reputation then acquired as soldiers they still retain, and the Afghan monarchs always entertain a bodyguard composed exclusively of Baraki. . . . In Afghanistan though their true origin is not suspected, the Baraki are a distinct people. The Baraki pretend descent from the Arab invaders, but this is a conceit of their conversion to Islam. They are a fine, tall and active people, with fairer complexions than the generality of Afghans, and are held in consideration as a respectable people. They have no place in the Afghan genealogies by that name, being generally reckoned along with the Tajik population. Yet it is not altogether improbable that the present ruling tribe (Barakzai) of the Durrani/Abdali in Afghanistan is originally derived from the Baraki."
George Grierson has given a detailed account of the language in the "Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal" 1918 [9], along with history of the tribe and the language. This work has been revised by including more information on the subject and published in his well-Known "Linguistic Survey of India Vol. X" in 1921. According to him:
"Ormuri is a West Iranian language, and its nearest relatives are the dialects of western Persia and Kurdish. Another interesting point is that Ormuri, although a West Iranian language, contains manifest evidence of contact with the Dardic languages whose present habitat is the hill country south of the Hindu Kush. At the present day these languages are being gradually superseded by Pashto, and are dying out in the face of their more powerful neighbour. Those of the Swat and Indus Kohistans are disappearing before our eyes. There is reason to believe that this has been going on for several centuries. In historic times they were once spoken as far south as the Tirah valley, where now the only language heard is Pashto, and the fact that Ormuri shows traces of them leads to the supposition that there were once speakers of a Dardic languages still further south in Waziristan and, perhaps, the Logar country before they were occupied by the Afghans."
Even today there are still two opinions regarding the Burki's roots, one is that the Urmar/Burkis origins are Kurdish from Uromiyeh on Lake Urmia
the capital city of Irans West Azerbaijan Province on the foot of the Caucasus
. The name Urmai is supposed to be derived from Syriac, Ur, meaning "cradle," and mia, meaning "water" Hence, the name Urmia. Around the 10th Century this area was ruled by Daisam Al-Kurdi, who had a number of skirmishes with the Ghuz Tribes and eventually fell to the Ghaznavid Empire
. Lake Urmia
's second largest island, Kaboudi, is the burial place of Hulagu Khan
, the grandson of Genghis Khan and the sacker of Baghdad.
Today the Burkis speak Ormuri, but are also bilingual in the Waziri dialect of Pashto. Burki are still found in Baraki Barak
in Logar
and outside Ghazni Afghanistan. Today, the Baraki/Urmar all go by the nomenclature of "Burki." The Burki today are all Sunni (Hanafi
fiqh) Muslims.
, the most populous settlement in South Waziristan, at around 6700 feet above sea level. This has been their tribe's focal point for over 800 years. Kaniguram has historically been off limits to outsiders except for the Burki and, more recently, the Mahsuds. Common store fronts signs are "Burki knives" or "Burki pharmacy" and are indicative of their dominant position in Kaniguram despite being significantly outnumbered by Mahsuds. Relations between the Burki/Urmar and the Mahsud are as complex as they are intimate: they are generally on good terms except for occasional skirmishes/war between the two from time to time. Despite being an enclave within what has become Mahsud territory, the Urmar/Baraki/Burki have stubbornly retained their mother tongue/identity/traditions in Kaniguram. Kaniguram's layout is distinctive from other hamlets/settlements in the FATA in that the homes are adjacent or interconnected. Land in and around Kaniguram is exclusively in Burki, and to a lesser degree, Mahsud, ownership or control. They are considered as the armory of the Mahsuds due to their small arms
cottage industry which, however, does not rival Darra Adam Khel
's. Kaniguram's daggers once rivaled those of Damascus
. In Kanigurram the Burkis are divided into two categories one Upper Kanigurram and the second is lowwer kanigurrnam. The khails of Lahore Burkis resemble the ones in upper kanigurram.
Kaniguram is accessible from the north via the Razmak road and south from Wana on a narrow metalled road that is one of the few roads in South Waziristan. Access from this main "road" is limited to a suspension foot bridge across a wide ravine that separates Kaniguram from the main road and is easy to guard as behind it are mountains (Preghal and Jullundur) which limit access from the north. This foot bridge has, more often than not, been unusable due to sabotage, damage etc. The people of this settlement often have to climb down the steep ravine from the road during harsh winter months and then climb back up to the Kaniguram side. They have been appealing to both the GONWFP's FATA-DC to fund a permanent structure linking this road to Kaniguram for decades to no avail. The elders have appealed in the past via the extended tribal members—the Punjabi branch—for provision of electricity including approaching Gen Zahid Ali Akbar Khan (a Punjabi born Burki), when he was the head of WAPDA and was close to the late dictator General/President Zia-ul-Haq, but their requests fell on deaf ears. Their perceptions of their extended Burki kin provide a valuable insight into their views on those who—fail to provide support—have the arrogance to call their Burki brethren of Kaniguram "the hillbillies." Yet, the Burki of Kaniguram have tenaciously held onto their core (traditions/language) and to the Pukhtunkhwa values of nang (honor), melmastia (hospitality) and badal (revenge). Bayazid Khan (Pir Roshan) would be proud of them for this.
Many of Kaniguram's Burki spend winters in second homes in Dera Ismail Khan
and Tank, Pakistan, where some work at the airport, or as traders. They are very involved in Pakistan's trucking and construction industries based primarily out of Karachi and are enterprising businessmen and traders. The Burki Group of Companies and SK BURKI Bros are such companies.
provinces of Afghanistan. Some "khels" of the Burki settled in Jullundar, Punjab
during the 17th and 18th centuries and some were famous horse breeders who traded Afghan horses down in the South Asian plains and returned home with vital goods. Those who settled in the Punjab did so in "bastis," essentially two or three close hamlets—like Basti Baba Khel, Basti Sheikh Darwish which were protected like fortresses with high walls and gun turrets within which tribal members exclusively resided. They purchased, and were also gifted by the Royal Court for martial services rendered, large tracts of lands outside of their hamlets which they farmed as they became sedentary. In 1947, the bastis were abandoned and the Burkis migrated en masse to Pakistan, some to their native region of Kuniguram with the majority, however, settling in Lahore and Rawalpindi.
Like neighboring tribes in the FATA, the Baraki/Urmar/Burki continued to adhere to the belief that cohesion of the tribe required that marriage should be within the tribe only. Thus the Burki diaspora (in Punjab and elsewhere) also maintained ties to Kaniguram until 1947. Although many of the Burki of Punjab adopted Punjabi
much to the disappointment of their Kanigruam brethren, some continued to speak Pushto at home (but not Urmari).
Today, the Burki are also found in the Western countries, and are well educated and involved in professional fields like medicine, engineering and economics. Shahid Javed Burki
a Rhodes Scholar — vice president at the World Bank
and a former Finance Minister
of Pakistan.
trained General Wajid Ali Khan Burki
(1900–1988) who was President Ayub Khan's right hand man in the late 1950s. His eldest son Jamshed Burki—a career civil servant—was a political agent in the Khyber Agency and also was a NWFP Home Secretary in the GONWFP's Home and Tribal Affairs Department, General Burki's sister-in-law, Shaukat Khanum (Burki), was the mother of Imran Khan
, the current founder/leader of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) political party.
Many Burki have served, and serve, in Pakistan's military at senior, even flag, levels. The Burki are known in the sports world (cricket, field hockey, wrestling, squash and swimming). Arshad Iqbal Burki is a top three ranked squash player in Pakistan. The cricketer Imran Khan and his Burki cousins (sons of his mother's sisters) Majid Khan and Javed Burki spent their careers playing cricket at Oxford and professionally representing Pakistan at international cricket events. Hamidullah Khan Burki (1920–2003) was a field hockey player on Pakistan's first hockey team at the 1948 Summer Olympics
in London. In 1950, he captained Pakistan's hockey team when it won Pakistan its first gold medal (in any sport) at the World Cup in Barcelona. He was also a former naval officer in the British Royal Indian Navy 1942–1946 (Royal Indian Army 1941-1942) and was a commanding officer of an LCM (Landing Craft Mechanized
) flotilla in the Arakan campaign (Burma)
as being hot tempered, yet intelligent and as being excellent negotiators/peace makers by other Pashtun tribes in the FATA.
Unlike the other tribes of South Waziristan, the Burki have traditionally placed a high premium on learning/education/knowledge. The Burki have the highest literacy rates in the FATA. Pir Roshan
, born Bayazid Khan (1525-1581 or 1585), the first warrior/insurgent/intellectual to unite various Pushtun quams to rebel against the tyranny of Emperor Akbar, wrote the first book in Pashto in the 16th century. Girls of the tribe are encouraged to obtain an education when available and marriage was generally at a later age than was the norm amongst other tribes. Unlike the other tribes, the Baraki/Burki have never embraced the tradition of selling their daughters in marriage to other Pashtun tribes. Marriage generally for the Burki of both Kaniguram and elsewhere was only within the tribe. Marriage was generally between cousins, often first cousins. When the Baraki/Burki dispersed from Kaniguram, they continued to seek brides from the tribe and, until fairly recently, marrying a non-Burki was not an option. Marriage with another Pushtun was acceptable but not encouraged. This was related to inheritance and keeping the blood line pure.
In terms of music and dance, the Attan is performed by the Burkis as in many of the different Pashtun tribes. Some styles of Attan portray themes of war while others portray celebration, especially for events such as marriage, engagements, family gatherings and also as a prelude to the arrival of spring.
(literal translation: old man/saint/elder of light) (Bayazid Khan) 1525-1581 Pushtun Warrior/Intellectual, founder Roshaniyya (Enlightenment) movement. Inaccurately referred to Bayazid ANSARI as well as founder of the Afghan illuminati. Descendants comprise the "Baba Khel" branch of the Burki Qaum (tribe)
has covered the Burki and Kaniguram
in his book "Warrior Race" and "Pakistan: A Personal History. The invading armies in Afghanistan seem to have paid significant attention from a historical perspective . During the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, Saint Petersburg State University
Institute of Oriental Studies schlor Sergei Andreyev was the institution tasked to study the Roshaniyya movement, in order to understand their foe (see reference section below). The Soviets were not far off the mark as it so happens that Waziristan was the focal point for some of the toughest fighters against the Soviets.
Following the 2002 invasion, the West also sent their scholar into the field to study and understand this movement. Dr. Sergei Andreyev,(Chief Joint Mission Analysis Center, United Nations), an Oxford academic was sent on UN assignment to Afghanistan, while at the same time he was funded by the Institute of Ismaili Studies to research and write a book on the movement. There have been multiple editions of this book; however its sale and distribution remains restricted 10 years on.
Kaniguram
Kaniguram is a town in South Waziristan, Pakistan. It is the principal place associated with the Burki tribe and was the home of the sixteenth century scholar Pir Roshan.-Demographics:...
. The first Pushtun warrior/intellectual Pir Roshan
Pir Roshan
Bayazid Khan known as Pir Roshan or Pir Rokhan was a Pashtun warrior poet and intellectual of the Barak/Urmar tribe who wrote in Pashto, Persian and Arabic. His mother tongue was Ormuri and he also spoke Pashto...
, whose given name was Bayazid Khan, was a Baraki/Urmur/Burki who is popularly known by his admirers as Pir Roshan (the enlightened one) and as Pir Tarik (the one of darkness) by his detractors. In the 16th century, he wrote the first book in the language of the Pashtuns. He was fluent in Ormuri (his mother tongue), Pushtu, Arabic and Persian.
Language and demographics
OrmuriOrmuri language
Ormuri is a member of the Southeastern branch of the Eastern Iranian languages, but attempts to classify Ormuri in the Northwestern Iranian languages have also been made. It is spoken in the city of Kaniguram in South Waziristan, Pakistan by the Burki people. It may also be spoken by a few people...
is the first language of the people in Kaniguram
Kaniguram
Kaniguram is a town in South Waziristan, Pakistan. It is the principal place associated with the Burki tribe and was the home of the sixteenth century scholar Pir Roshan.-Demographics:...
; today, all are bilingual in the local Pashto dialect of Wazirwola. Most also can converse in Urdu and some in English. Burki are still found in Baraki Barak
Baraki Barak
Baraki Barak is a town and the center of Baraki Barak District, Logar Province, Afghanistan. It was also the former capital of Logar Province. The town is in a mountainous area in the valley of the Logar River...
in Logar and outside Ghazni Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, however Pashto and Dari has replaced Ormuri language there.
History
According to Montstuart Elphinstone in 1815 he incorrectly describes the "Baraki" as a class of "Taujiks" in his seminal work "An Account of the Kingdom of Caubul," based on his travels in the early nineteenth century. The scholarly tendency of the day was to label anyone who spoke "Urmar" as Taujik, despite the fact that the Baraki also spoke Pashto and one of their kin, Bayazid Khan, wrote the first book in Pashto. Taujiks then and now do not speak/learn Pashto or practice "Pashtunwali" as they—the Barak/Urmar (anglicized to "Burki")—do. Furthermore, the Baraki/Urmar could not / did not speak PersianPersian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
(or Dari), the languages of the Taujik and Farsiwan, except a few who were members of the Amir's court. The Baraki/Burki "homeland" of Kaniguram in the heart of the Pushtun core (i.e. where the Mahsud and Waziri tribes "do Pukhtunkhwa") only confirms their lineage. It is important to note that Elphinstone in his "travels" West to the land of the Afghauns and towards Caubul (Kabul) never made it past Peshawar and is unlikely to have come across any Baraki/Barak.
Elphinstone in his "account" on page 315 writes: "The next class of Taujiks are the Burrukees who inhabit Logur and part of Boot Khauk... they differ from the other Taujiks in as much as they form a tribe under chiefs of their own, and have a high reputation as soldiers. They have separate lands and castles of their own and furnish a good many troops to the government, closely resemble the Afghauns in their manners and are more respected than any other Taujiks... their lands were once extensive; but their origin is uncertain; they pretend to be sprung from the Arabs, but others say they are descended from the Kurds or Coords."
Captain Leech is the first person who has given some detailed notes on the Barki Barak (Logar) dialect of the Ormuri language. He collected quite a few words and sentences and published them in "The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal" under the name of "A Vocabulary of the Baraki language". While introducing the tribe and its language, he says: "The Barkis are included in the general term of Parsiwan, or Tajak; they are original inhabitants of Yemen whence they were brought by Sultan Mahmud of Ghazni; they accompanied him in his invasion of India, and were pre-eminently instrumental in the abstraction of the gates of the temple of Somnath
Somnath
The Somnath Temple located in the Prabhas Kshetra near Veraval in Saurashtra, on the western coast of Gujarat, India, is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of the God Shiva. Somnath means "The Protector of Moon God". The Somnath Temple is known as "the Shrine Eternal", having been destroyed...
. There are two divisions of the tribe. The Barkis of Rajan in the province of Lohgad, who speak Persian, and the Barakis of Barak, a city near the former, who speak the language called Barki; at Kaniguram under Shah Malak who are independent. The Barakis of this place and of Barak alone speak the Baraki language. It is clear from Capt. Leech's "assessmnet" that he is mixing the Barakis up with the Baluchis, whose lineage does suggest a possible peninsula connection of some who came to the Baluchistan region in Mahmud of Ghaznavi's time. But the Baraki have been in the greater Afghanistan region much longer/prior to the 10th century.
Henry Walter Bellew
Henry Walter Bellew
Henry Walter Bellew MRCP was an Indian-born British medical officer and author. He studied at St. George's Hospital, London.He was with the Bengal Army, assistant surgeon in the Bengal Medical Service, and went with Harry Burnett Lumsden on the 1857 mission to Afghanistan. He was in Mardan with...
's book (1891) "An Enquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan", Bayazid's people — currently referred to as "Burki" but who until the early twentieth century were known as Barak or Baraki—were found in large numbers during the Greek period in their present environs (p. 62). On page 8 of this seminal work, Bellew refers to the Baraki's origins as "mysterious" but not of Arab/Ansari descent. On page 62, he writes of the Baraki: "After the time of the Greek dominion, the Baraki increased greatly in numbers and influence, and acquired extensive possessions towards the Hindu Kush in the north and the Suleman range in the south, and eastward as far as the Indus. During the reign of Mahmud Ghaznavi (2 November 971 - 30 April 1030), the Baraki were an important tribe, and largely aided the Sultan in his military expeditions. The reputation then acquired as soldiers they still retain, and the Afghan monarchs always entertain a bodyguard composed exclusively of Baraki. . . . In Afghanistan though their true origin is not suspected, the Baraki are a distinct people. The Baraki pretend descent from the Arab invaders, but this is a conceit of their conversion to Islam. They are a fine, tall and active people, with fairer complexions than the generality of Afghans, and are held in consideration as a respectable people. They have no place in the Afghan genealogies by that name, being generally reckoned along with the Tajik population. Yet it is not altogether improbable that the present ruling tribe (Barakzai) of the Durrani/Abdali in Afghanistan is originally derived from the Baraki."
George Grierson has given a detailed account of the language in the "Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal" 1918 [9], along with history of the tribe and the language. This work has been revised by including more information on the subject and published in his well-Known "Linguistic Survey of India Vol. X" in 1921. According to him:
"Ormuri is a West Iranian language, and its nearest relatives are the dialects of western Persia and Kurdish. Another interesting point is that Ormuri, although a West Iranian language, contains manifest evidence of contact with the Dardic languages whose present habitat is the hill country south of the Hindu Kush. At the present day these languages are being gradually superseded by Pashto, and are dying out in the face of their more powerful neighbour. Those of the Swat and Indus Kohistans are disappearing before our eyes. There is reason to believe that this has been going on for several centuries. In historic times they were once spoken as far south as the Tirah valley, where now the only language heard is Pashto, and the fact that Ormuri shows traces of them leads to the supposition that there were once speakers of a Dardic languages still further south in Waziristan and, perhaps, the Logar country before they were occupied by the Afghans."
Even today there are still two opinions regarding the Burki's roots, one is that the Urmar/Burkis origins are Kurdish from Uromiyeh on Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia , ancient name: Lake Matiene) is a salt lake in northwestern Iran, near Iran's border with Turkey. The lake is between the Iranian provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea...
the capital city of Irans West Azerbaijan Province on the foot of the Caucasus
Caucasus
The Caucasus, also Caucas or Caucasia , is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia, and situated between the Black and the Caspian sea...
. The name Urmai is supposed to be derived from Syriac, Ur, meaning "cradle," and mia, meaning "water" Hence, the name Urmia. Around the 10th Century this area was ruled by Daisam Al-Kurdi, who had a number of skirmishes with the Ghuz Tribes and eventually fell to the Ghaznavid Empire
Ghaznavid Empire
The Ghaznavids were a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic slave origin which existed from 975 to 1187 and ruled much of Persia, Transoxania, and the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. The Ghaznavid state was centered in Ghazni, a city in modern-day Afghanistan...
. Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia
Lake Urmia , ancient name: Lake Matiene) is a salt lake in northwestern Iran, near Iran's border with Turkey. The lake is between the Iranian provinces of East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, west of the southern portion of the similarly shaped Caspian Sea...
's second largest island, Kaboudi, is the burial place of Hulagu Khan
Hulagu Khan
Hulagu Khan, also known as Hülegü, Hulegu , was a Mongol ruler who conquered much of Southwest Asia...
, the grandson of Genghis Khan and the sacker of Baghdad.
Today the Burkis speak Ormuri, but are also bilingual in the Waziri dialect of Pashto. Burki are still found in Baraki Barak
Baraki Barak
Baraki Barak is a town and the center of Baraki Barak District, Logar Province, Afghanistan. It was also the former capital of Logar Province. The town is in a mountainous area in the valley of the Logar River...
in Logar
Logar
Logar may refer to:* Logar Province, Afghanistan* Logar River in Afghanistan* Logar Valley, Slovenia-People:* Eva Logar , Slovenian ski jumper* Lojze Logar, Slovenian artist* Tine Logar, Slovenian linguist...
and outside Ghazni Afghanistan. Today, the Baraki/Urmar all go by the nomenclature of "Burki." The Burki today are all Sunni (Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
fiqh) Muslims.
Settlement in Kaniguram
The Burki primarily inhabit KaniguramKaniguram
Kaniguram is a town in South Waziristan, Pakistan. It is the principal place associated with the Burki tribe and was the home of the sixteenth century scholar Pir Roshan.-Demographics:...
, the most populous settlement in South Waziristan, at around 6700 feet above sea level. This has been their tribe's focal point for over 800 years. Kaniguram has historically been off limits to outsiders except for the Burki and, more recently, the Mahsuds. Common store fronts signs are "Burki knives" or "Burki pharmacy" and are indicative of their dominant position in Kaniguram despite being significantly outnumbered by Mahsuds. Relations between the Burki/Urmar and the Mahsud are as complex as they are intimate: they are generally on good terms except for occasional skirmishes/war between the two from time to time. Despite being an enclave within what has become Mahsud territory, the Urmar/Baraki/Burki have stubbornly retained their mother tongue/identity/traditions in Kaniguram. Kaniguram's layout is distinctive from other hamlets/settlements in the FATA in that the homes are adjacent or interconnected. Land in and around Kaniguram is exclusively in Burki, and to a lesser degree, Mahsud, ownership or control. They are considered as the armory of the Mahsuds due to their small arms
Small arms
Small arms is a term of art used by armed forces to denote infantry weapons an individual soldier may carry. The description is usually limited to revolvers, pistols, submachine guns, carbines, assault rifles, battle rifles, multiple barrel firearms, sniper rifles, squad automatic weapons, light...
cottage industry which, however, does not rival Darra Adam Khel
Darra Adam Khel
Darra Adam Khel is a town in the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan, located between Peshawar and Kohat, very close to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. It is inhabited by Pashtuns of the Afridi clan, the Adam Khel. The town consists of one main street lined with shops, with some...
's. Kaniguram's daggers once rivaled those of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
. In Kanigurram the Burkis are divided into two categories one Upper Kanigurram and the second is lowwer kanigurrnam. The khails of Lahore Burkis resemble the ones in upper kanigurram.
Kaniguram is accessible from the north via the Razmak road and south from Wana on a narrow metalled road that is one of the few roads in South Waziristan. Access from this main "road" is limited to a suspension foot bridge across a wide ravine that separates Kaniguram from the main road and is easy to guard as behind it are mountains (Preghal and Jullundur) which limit access from the north. This foot bridge has, more often than not, been unusable due to sabotage, damage etc. The people of this settlement often have to climb down the steep ravine from the road during harsh winter months and then climb back up to the Kaniguram side. They have been appealing to both the GONWFP's FATA-DC to fund a permanent structure linking this road to Kaniguram for decades to no avail. The elders have appealed in the past via the extended tribal members—the Punjabi branch—for provision of electricity including approaching Gen Zahid Ali Akbar Khan (a Punjabi born Burki), when he was the head of WAPDA and was close to the late dictator General/President Zia-ul-Haq, but their requests fell on deaf ears. Their perceptions of their extended Burki kin provide a valuable insight into their views on those who—fail to provide support—have the arrogance to call their Burki brethren of Kaniguram "the hillbillies." Yet, the Burki of Kaniguram have tenaciously held onto their core (traditions/language) and to the Pukhtunkhwa values of nang (honor), melmastia (hospitality) and badal (revenge). Bayazid Khan (Pir Roshan) would be proud of them for this.
Many of Kaniguram's Burki spend winters in second homes in Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan
Dera Ismail Khan is a city in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Province, Pakistan. It is situated on the west bank of the Indus River, west of Lahore and northwest of Multan. The city is the capital of the district and tehsil of the same name. In Pakistan, its name is often abbreviated to D. I...
and Tank, Pakistan, where some work at the airport, or as traders. They are very involved in Pakistan's trucking and construction industries based primarily out of Karachi and are enterprising businessmen and traders. The Burki Group of Companies and SK BURKI Bros are such companies.
The Burki Diaspora
The Burki also live in other parts of Pakistan and there are pockets in Logar and GhazniGhazni Province
Ghazni is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. Babur records in his Babur-Nama that Ghazni is also known as Zabulistan It is in the east of the country. Its capital is Ghazni City...
provinces of Afghanistan. Some "khels" of the Burki settled in Jullundar, Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
during the 17th and 18th centuries and some were famous horse breeders who traded Afghan horses down in the South Asian plains and returned home with vital goods. Those who settled in the Punjab did so in "bastis," essentially two or three close hamlets—like Basti Baba Khel, Basti Sheikh Darwish which were protected like fortresses with high walls and gun turrets within which tribal members exclusively resided. They purchased, and were also gifted by the Royal Court for martial services rendered, large tracts of lands outside of their hamlets which they farmed as they became sedentary. In 1947, the bastis were abandoned and the Burkis migrated en masse to Pakistan, some to their native region of Kuniguram with the majority, however, settling in Lahore and Rawalpindi.
Like neighboring tribes in the FATA, the Baraki/Urmar/Burki continued to adhere to the belief that cohesion of the tribe required that marriage should be within the tribe only. Thus the Burki diaspora (in Punjab and elsewhere) also maintained ties to Kaniguram until 1947. Although many of the Burki of Punjab adopted Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
much to the disappointment of their Kanigruam brethren, some continued to speak Pushto at home (but not Urmari).
Today, the Burki are also found in the Western countries, and are well educated and involved in professional fields like medicine, engineering and economics. Shahid Javed Burki
Shahid Javed Burki
Shahid Javed Burki is a professional economist who has served as a Vice President of the World Bank and as a caretaker Finance Minister of Pakistan...
a Rhodes Scholar — vice president at the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
and a former Finance Minister
Finance minister
The finance minister is a cabinet position in a government.A minister of finance has many different jobs in a government. He or she helps form the government budget, stimulate the economy, and control finances...
of Pakistan.
Military, political and sports
Since the foundation of Pakistan in 1947, many members of the Burki quam have played a public role in country's civilian, military and sports arenas. SandhurstSandhurst
Sandhurst is a small town and civil parish in England of 7,966 homes and 20,803 inhabitants , primarily domiciliary in nature with a few light industries...
trained General Wajid Ali Khan Burki
Wajid Ali Khan Burki
Lieutenant-General Wajid Ali Khan Burki MBE , was a high-profile military official who served as Minister-in-Charge of the Ministry of Health under the military government of Field Marshal Ayub Khan...
(1900–1988) who was President Ayub Khan's right hand man in the late 1950s. His eldest son Jamshed Burki—a career civil servant—was a political agent in the Khyber Agency and also was a NWFP Home Secretary in the GONWFP's Home and Tribal Affairs Department, General Burki's sister-in-law, Shaukat Khanum (Burki), was the mother of Imran Khan
Imran Khan
Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
, the current founder/leader of the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) political party.
Many Burki have served, and serve, in Pakistan's military at senior, even flag, levels. The Burki are known in the sports world (cricket, field hockey, wrestling, squash and swimming). Arshad Iqbal Burki is a top three ranked squash player in Pakistan. The cricketer Imran Khan and his Burki cousins (sons of his mother's sisters) Majid Khan and Javed Burki spent their careers playing cricket at Oxford and professionally representing Pakistan at international cricket events. Hamidullah Khan Burki (1920–2003) was a field hockey player on Pakistan's first hockey team at the 1948 Summer Olympics
1948 Summer Olympics
The 1948 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XIV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was held in London, England, United Kingdom. After a 12-year hiatus because of World War II, these were the first Summer Olympics since the 1936 Games in Berlin...
in London. In 1950, he captained Pakistan's hockey team when it won Pakistan its first gold medal (in any sport) at the World Cup in Barcelona. He was also a former naval officer in the British Royal Indian Navy 1942–1946 (Royal Indian Army 1941-1942) and was a commanding officer of an LCM (Landing Craft Mechanized
Landing Craft Mechanized
The Landing Craft Mechanized or Landing Craft Mechanical was a landing craft designed for carrying vehicles. They came to prominence during the Second World War when they were used to land troops or tanks during Allied amphibious assaults....
) flotilla in the Arakan campaign (Burma)
Social characteristics of the Burki/Baraki
The Burki are known in the FATAFederally Administered Tribal Areas
The Federally Administered Tribal Areas are a semi-autonomous tribal region in the northwest of Pakistan, lying between the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, and the neighboring country of Afghanistan. The FATA comprise seven Agencies and six FRs...
as being hot tempered, yet intelligent and as being excellent negotiators/peace makers by other Pashtun tribes in the FATA.
Unlike the other tribes of South Waziristan, the Burki have traditionally placed a high premium on learning/education/knowledge. The Burki have the highest literacy rates in the FATA. Pir Roshan
Pir Roshan
Bayazid Khan known as Pir Roshan or Pir Rokhan was a Pashtun warrior poet and intellectual of the Barak/Urmar tribe who wrote in Pashto, Persian and Arabic. His mother tongue was Ormuri and he also spoke Pashto...
, born Bayazid Khan (1525-1581 or 1585), the first warrior/insurgent/intellectual to unite various Pushtun quams to rebel against the tyranny of Emperor Akbar, wrote the first book in Pashto in the 16th century. Girls of the tribe are encouraged to obtain an education when available and marriage was generally at a later age than was the norm amongst other tribes. Unlike the other tribes, the Baraki/Burki have never embraced the tradition of selling their daughters in marriage to other Pashtun tribes. Marriage generally for the Burki of both Kaniguram and elsewhere was only within the tribe. Marriage was generally between cousins, often first cousins. When the Baraki/Burki dispersed from Kaniguram, they continued to seek brides from the tribe and, until fairly recently, marrying a non-Burki was not an option. Marriage with another Pushtun was acceptable but not encouraged. This was related to inheritance and keeping the blood line pure.
In terms of music and dance, the Attan is performed by the Burkis as in many of the different Pashtun tribes. Some styles of Attan portray themes of war while others portray celebration, especially for events such as marriage, engagements, family gatherings and also as a prelude to the arrival of spring.
Religion
Pir RoshanPir Roshan
Bayazid Khan known as Pir Roshan or Pir Rokhan was a Pashtun warrior poet and intellectual of the Barak/Urmar tribe who wrote in Pashto, Persian and Arabic. His mother tongue was Ormuri and he also spoke Pashto...
(literal translation: old man/saint/elder of light) (Bayazid Khan) 1525-1581 Pushtun Warrior/Intellectual, founder Roshaniyya (Enlightenment) movement. Inaccurately referred to Bayazid ANSARI as well as founder of the Afghan illuminati. Descendants comprise the "Baba Khel" branch of the Burki Qaum (tribe)
Military
- Lt. General Wajid Ali Khan BurkiWajid Ali Khan BurkiLieutenant-General Wajid Ali Khan Burki MBE , was a high-profile military official who served as Minister-in-Charge of the Ministry of Health under the military government of Field Marshal Ayub Khan...
MBEMBEMBE can stand for:* Mail Boxes Etc.* Management by exception* Master of Bioethics* Master of Bioscience Enterprise* Master of Business Engineering* Master of Business Economics* Mean Biased Error...
1900-1988 (Baba Khel) - Former Minister of Health, Gov of Pakistan. Knighted (Order of the British Empire) by King George VI for military (medical) services during WWII. - Major General Muhammad Amin Khan Burki (Baba Khel)
- Lt. General Bilal Omar Khan (Burki/Baba Khel) (Shaheed, GHQ Attack 2009) son of Colonel Omar Khan (Baba Khel), Maternal Uncle of Rohail HyattRohail HyattRohail Hyatt is a Pakistani musician, producer, and a rock music artist known for his work with the popular 1990s pop band Vital Signs. He is one of the finest music producers in Pakistan. He is the man behind Coke Studio, from Pakistan.-Vital Signs:...
- Lt. General Zahid Ali Akbar Khan (Burki) - Command Project-706Project-706Project-706, also known as Project-726 or as the Kahuta Project, was a science effort codename of a project conducted during the Cold War and Russo-Afghan War whose objective was to develop Pakistan' first atomic weapon. The mainstream goal of the project was the development of an atomic bomb using...
and Former Minister of Water & Power (WAPDA) - Lt. General Khwaja Mohammad Azhar KhanKhwaja Mohammad Azhar KhanLieutenant General Khwaja Mohammad Azhar Khan was the chairman of the high-powered committee of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan and a former governor of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.-Early life:...
(Burki) - Former Governor General of the frontier (NWFP) & Chairman Jamiat Ulema-e-PakistanJamiat Ulema-e-PakistanThe Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan is a political party in Pakistan. It is part of the Islamic Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal, that won at the last legislative elections, 20 October 2002, 11.3 of the popular vote and 53 out of 272 elected members.This party belongs to the Sunni current, which in... - Brig. General Faiz-ul-Karim Khan Burki (Kaniguram) Frontier Force
- Maj. General Masud Burki (Baba Khel) - Former CEO Saindak Metals Limited (SML)- Copper-Gold Project
- Brig. General Umar Farooq Burki (Baba Khel)
- Lt. General Farhat Ali Burki (Baba Khel)
- Lt. General Abdur Rauf Burki (Baba Khel) - chief organizer of the All Burki Qaumi Movement (ABQM)
- Lt. General Faruq Ahmad Khan (Burki) (Baba Khel) - Chairman Prime Minister's Inspection Committee and National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
- Squadron Leader Amir Talha Khan Burki
- Air Chief MarshalAir Chief MarshalAir chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force...
Farooq Feroze KhanFarooq Feroze KhanAir Chief Marshal Farooq Feroze Khan, NI, SBt, , is a retired four-star air force officer in the Pakistan Air Force who was the 13th Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force from 1991 to 1994. Air Chief Marshal Farooq Feroze Khan was the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee from...
(Danishmand)- Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee and Chairman of the Pakistan International AirlinesPakistan International AirlinesPakistan International Airlines Corporation commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan. The airline has its head office on the grounds of Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. and operates scheduled services to 24 domestic destinations and 38 international destinations in 27...
.
Sports
- Feroze Khan (field hockey) September 1904-April 2005 (Burki) (Danishmand)- 1928 Amsterdam Olympics Gold Medal - British India Hockey Team
- Dr. Mohammad Jahangir KhanJahangir Khan (cricketer)Dr. Mohammad Jahangir Khan played cricket for India during British rule and after the partition of India served as a cricket administrator in Pakistan afterwards. He graduated from Islamia College, Lahore.Jahangir was a big man who stood six feet and bowled medium pace...
, cricketer, played for Cambridge Blue, (Baba Khel) (Majid Khan's Father) - British India (IND) Cricket Team (1930s) - Hamidullah Khan Burki(Baba Khel)Pakistan's Olympic Team 1948 Olympics (London)), Captain Pakistan Hockey Team, World Cup Joint Winners Barcelona, Spain (1950).
- Javed BurkiJaved BurkiJaved Burki is a former Pakistani cricketer who played in 25 Tests from 1960 to 1969 to eventually become an ICC match referee. Burki received his early education from St. Mary's Academy, Rawalpindi and Aitchison College, Lahore...
(Baba Khel) - Pakistan Cricket Captain (1960s) Former Secretary Ministry of Water and Power & Commerce. Former CEO of Pakistan Automobile Corporation (PACO), son of General Wajid Ali Burki - Imran KhanImran KhanImran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
Niazi (mother a Burki- Baba Khel) - Cricketer, Pakistan Cricket Captain (1992) - Majid Khan - Played for Cambridge Blue and later Pakistan's Cricket Captain
- Bazid KhanBazid KhanBazid Khan is a Pakistani cricketer. He comes from a famous cricketing family, with his grandfather Jahangir Khan having represented British India before the partition of India and his father Majid , and uncles Imran Khan and Javed Burki having all captained Pakistan.With a combination of an...
(Majid Khan's Son) Test Cricketer - Arshad Iqbal BurkiArshad Iqbal BurkiArshad Iqbal Burki is a Pakistani squash player. Burki was born and lives in Peshawar, Pakistan. As of 12 April 2010 his world squash ranking is 106 and his highest world ranking was 52, in January 2004.-References:...
- Current Internationally ranked Squash Player - Niaz Khan (Baba Khel), Pakistan Hockey Team 1948 and 1952 Olympics
Government service
- Shahid Javed BurkiShahid Javed BurkiShahid Javed Burki is a professional economist who has served as a Vice President of the World Bank and as a caretaker Finance Minister of Pakistan...
- VP World Bank and Pakistan's Former Finance Minister - Jamshed BurkiJamshed BurkiJamshed Burki was a popular Political Agent in the Khyber Agency and North-West Frontier Province Home Secretary in the Home and Tribal Affairs Department. He started his career in the Civil Service after retiring from the Pakistan Army as a Captain...
(Baba Khel) - Interior Secretary - Governor of Pakistan - Jehanzaib Burki (Baba Khel)- Former Inspector General Police, Islamabad, Punjab, Sindh. Advisor Law and Order to PML-N Chairman Nawaz SharifNawaz SharifMian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif is a Pakistani conservative politician and steel magnate who served as 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan in two non-consecutive terms from November 1990 to July 1993, and from February 1997 to October 12, 1999...
. - Raza Khan (Burki) (Baba Khel) - Former Inspector General Police and Head of ZA BhuttoBhuttoBhutto is a Sindhi, Rajput tribe settled in Sindh, Pakistan.-Bhutto tribe:The Bhutto tribe is a Rajput tribe that has been settled in Sindh for over two centuries, occupying part of Balochistan in Kachhi, Sibi, Dera Murad Jamali, Bhag and Mithri, having migrated to Sindh from Jaiselmere in India...
s Security detail. - Muhammad Qarib Khan Burki - KaniguramKaniguramKaniguram is a town in South Waziristan, Pakistan. It is the principal place associated with the Burki tribe and was the home of the sixteenth century scholar Pir Roshan.-Demographics:...
Malik. - Rozi Khan Burki (KaniguramKaniguramKaniguram is a town in South Waziristan, Pakistan. It is the principal place associated with the Burki tribe and was the home of the sixteenth century scholar Pir Roshan.-Demographics:...
) - Pakistan Customs - Chief Export. Well known linguist (Ormuri). - Nawabzada Jahanzeb JogezaiJogezaiJogezai is a Pashtun tribe settled in Pakistan .It is A sub Tribe Of Kakar Jalalzai Sanzarkhail. The majority of the Jogezai live in the valley of Zhob in Pakistan. Their current Nawab is Nawab Mohammad Ayaz Khan Jogezai who is also prominent leader of Pashtunkhwa Party who are against the...
(mother a Burki) - Inspector General Police and Head of President Leghari's Security detail.
Commerce
- Mr. Jahanzeb Khan Burki (Kaniguram) Chairman Burki Group
- Mr. Sher Khan Burki (Kaniguram) Chairman SK BURKI & BROS
Medicine
- Dr. Nausherwan K. Burki son of Lt. General Wajid Ali Khan BurkiWajid Ali Khan BurkiLieutenant-General Wajid Ali Khan Burki MBE , was a high-profile military official who served as Minister-in-Charge of the Ministry of Health under the military government of Field Marshal Ayub Khan...
founding board member of Imran KhanImran KhanImran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
's Charitable Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research CentreShaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research CentreShaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre is a state-of-the-art cancer centre located in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. It is a project of the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Trust, which is a charitable organization established under the Societies Registration Act XXI of 1860 of Pakistan....
Recent books and research
Imran KhanImran Khan
Imran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
has covered the Burki and Kaniguram
Kaniguram
Kaniguram is a town in South Waziristan, Pakistan. It is the principal place associated with the Burki tribe and was the home of the sixteenth century scholar Pir Roshan.-Demographics:...
in his book "Warrior Race" and "Pakistan: A Personal History. The invading armies in Afghanistan seem to have paid significant attention from a historical perspective . During the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan, Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University
Saint Petersburg State University is a Russian federal state-owned higher education institution based in Saint Petersburg and one of the oldest and largest universities in Russia....
Institute of Oriental Studies schlor Sergei Andreyev was the institution tasked to study the Roshaniyya movement, in order to understand their foe (see reference section below). The Soviets were not far off the mark as it so happens that Waziristan was the focal point for some of the toughest fighters against the Soviets.
Following the 2002 invasion, the West also sent their scholar into the field to study and understand this movement. Dr. Sergei Andreyev,(Chief Joint Mission Analysis Center, United Nations), an Oxford academic was sent on UN assignment to Afghanistan, while at the same time he was funded by the Institute of Ismaili Studies to research and write a book on the movement. There have been multiple editions of this book; however its sale and distribution remains restricted 10 years on.
Sources
- Sufi Illuminati: The Rawshani Movement in Muslim Mysticism, Society and Politics by Sergei Andreyev Publisher: Routledge ISBN 9780700706686
- The Rawshaniyya: Sufi movement in the Mughal tribal periphery, in Late Classical Sufism. (Curzon Persian Art & Culture) (Hardcover) Sergei Andreyev
- Warrior Race - Imran KhanImran KhanImran Khan Niazi is a Pakistani politician and former Pakistani cricketer, playing international cricket for two decades in the late twentieth century. After retiring, he entered politics...
- Butler & Tanner Ltd ISBN 0701138904
- Babur-Nama By Mughal Emperor BaburBaburBabur was a Muslim conqueror from Central Asia who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty of South Asia. He was a direct descendant of Timur through his father, and a descendant also of Genghis Khan through his mother...
Translated by Annette Beveridge: Pg 527, 530, 544, 589, 594, 598-601, 638, 673, 679, 692, 681; Birki, Barak, Barakistan, Birkistan
- Olaf CaroeOlaf CaroeSir Olaf Kirkpatrick Kruuse Caroe KCSI KCIE was an administrator in British India. He later became a writer on the Middle East and Asia.-Life:...
, The Pathans
- Roshaniya movement and the Khan Rebellion - Author: Yury V. Bosin
- Henry Walter BellewHenry Walter BellewHenry Walter Bellew MRCP was an Indian-born British medical officer and author. He studied at St. George's Hospital, London.He was with the Bengal Army, assistant surgeon in the Bengal Medical Service, and went with Harry Burnett Lumsden on the 1857 mission to Afghanistan. He was in Mardan with...
, "An Enquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan," 1891
- Punjab Notes and Queries Volume II, Page 160 (History of Bayezid) Desiples of Sheikh Bazid – Pathans of Mastwi – Tirah (FYI)
- Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall - Geschichte der Assassinen
- Dabistan of Mohsani Fani (Translated by Leyden, 11th Volume of the Asiatic Researches (Pages 406, 407, 420 (Ala Dad))
- Captain Leech - The Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengalâ{(Vol. VII-1838), Part-I January to June 1838}, About five pages from 727 to 731
- Memoirs of the Saints, translated by Dr. Bankley Behari
- Dr. Bellew on Barik/Baraki Pathans - An Inquiry into the Ethnography of Afghanistan/H.W. Bellew
- Tribes of Central Asia: From the Black Mountain to Waziristan/H.C. Wylly
- Rawshaniyya movement ... Reprinted from Abr-Nahrain, by Saiyid Athar Abbas Rizvi (Author) ASIN: B0017UJT6S
- The beginning of Pashtun written culture and the Rawshaniyyah movement, in Proceedings of the Third European Conference of Iranian Studies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, to be published in 1999
- Religious factor in the traditional Pashtun warfare, in Proceedings of the International Conference on Weaponry and Warfare in Historical and Social Perspective, Hermitage Press, St Petersburg, 1998, pp. 55–59
- Uwaysi Aspects in the Rawshani Doctrine, in Central Asia and the Eastern Hindukush. Countries and Peoples of the East journal, vol. XXXII, St Petersburg, 1998, pp. 137–148
- The Rawshaniyya; Millenarian Sufi Movement in the Mughal Tribal Periphery, in Persianate Sufism in the Safavid and Mughal Period. An International Conference on Late Classical Sufism, London 19–21 May 1997, Abstracts, pp. 7–8
- British Indian Views of the Later Followers of the Rawshaniyya, Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, in Iran, vol. XXII, London, 1994, pp. 135–138
- Turmoil on the Roof of the World, in Central Asia and the Caucuses in World Affairs, Hastings, 1993, pp. 1–5
- Notes on the Ormur People, in St Petersburg Journal of Oriental Studies, vol. IV, St Petersburg, 1993, pp. 230–238
- On a Little-Known Rawshani Source, in: Man, Culture, Philosophy, The Urals University Press, Yekaterinburg, 1992, pp. 335–349 (In Russian)
- Two Rawshani Sources on Five Pillars of Islam, in: St Petersburg Journal of Oriental Studies, vol. I, St Petersburg, 1992, pp. 380–384 (in Russian)
- Aminullah Gandapur, "Tarikh-e-Sar Zamin-e-Gomal" (Urdu) History of the Gomal Land; National Book Foundation, Islamababd, 2008, P- 58-60; Quoting from sources like "Tuzk-e-jahangiri" (Emperor Jahangir) Notes [Raverty] 'Glossary of Tribes' [Sir Danzil Ibbeston, Edward Maclagan and H.A.Rose] and Imperial Gazetteer of India NWFP 1901