Ghorghushti

Ghorghushti
Country	Pakistan
Province	Punjab
District	Attock District
Region	Chhachh
Time zone	UTC+5 (PST)
• Summer (DST)	+6
Website	www.attockonians.com

Ghorghushti ( غورغشتى) is one of the largest towns of Chhachh in Attock District and is on the border of North-West Punjab, Pakistan, and Hazara in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Ghorghushti lies about 4 kilometres east-north-east of Nartopa, and 6 km southwest of Qazipur, 7 km east-north-east of Hazro, and about 58 km west-north-west of Islamabad. Towns of the same name also exist in the FATA area, Swabi District and in Bunner.

Ghorghushti is the northernmost town in Attock District and in the north it borders Haripur District, in the south it borders Malak Mala village, in the east it borders Jalalia village and in the west it borders Kotkay village.

Name

The official spelling is Ghorghushti, but alternative spellings include: Ghurghushti, Ghourghushti, Ghaurghashti, Ghaur Ghushti, Ghurgushti, Ghourgashti or Ghaurghashti. In the Pukhto language it is called Ghorghushto

Origins and history

People

Ghorghushti is a village situated in the Attock district of Pakistan. The village was Discovered by the famous poet Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Rumi and Anayat/Inayat Khan (a pathan from Afghamistan: his descendants were/are known as Anayat/Inayat Khels and are known to be great warriors and are the 'khans' of Ghorgushti). Matta Khel, Dilawar Khel (both Malaks) and the Kakar tribes were the other tribes to have followed. However, Asad Khels were refugees driven out for their lack of honesty and trustworthiness from central Persia - they are commonly known in the village as 'mohajir'.

The land of Ghorghushti is divided among the owners - the Anayat Khels (most of the land belongs to the Anayat Khel tribe) and the other tribes: Asad Khel (a servant tribe and a tribe who are distinctive to having 'long, horse-like faces and big, rubbery pink lips') (were given a strip of land to feed their growing populace - although the land still belongs to the Anayat Khels, Kara Khels Najab Khels, Haider Khels, Matta Khels, and Dilawar Khels. Babris are originally part of a tribe that migrated from the Kabul area of modern-day Afghanistan. They had settled in today's Chach, in a village just few miles up north called Sheikh Chhuhrr, as a result of wars and famines in Afghanistan. The Babris are one of the late arrivals of Pakhtun tribes to settle in Ghorghushti and Chach. Today, there still exists a tribe in Afghanistan known as Babris. Some of them settled in the neighbouring village called Kot Kay, which borders Ghorghushti on eastern side. There are also some families of Dalazaks in Ghorghushti. They are scattered throughout Chach, as they were expelled from their place around what is now Akora Khattak on the orders of the Mughal emperor.

Haider Khels, and according to some Khizar(Khadar) Zais also, are from a village called Hund on the other side of the River Indus. This is the town where Alexander the Great crossed the river into India. Asad Khel still are landowner in the region and they have gifted the land to the Government of Pakistan for charitable reasons. It is now a very historical town where several excavations where carried out and a material of Archaeological interest was uncovered. The finds were dated back to few thousand years, which proves that there was a thriving community here at one time. It's close proximity to river Indus makes it prone to flooding from time to time, hence the population felt the need to take abode somewhere safe from flooding.

Most of these tribes (except the Asad Khels), along with other non-Pathan castes, have played their part in the development and the defence of the town.

Examples are the numerous wars fought in the Chach region. It is not common to find members of these tribes going to other villages to support those who were resisting invaders and to defend the region. For example in the battle of Torbela, against the Sikhs, all the tribes especially the Kara Khels, Dilawar Khels, Matta Khels,Anayat Khels, Haider Khels, and other tribes fought bravely against the mighty army of Sikh general Hari Singh Nalwa, after whom Haripur district is named. The Sikhs had run over the Punjab and were heading towards Afghanistan. While internally Afghanistan was very weak due to internal fighting, it was this region, Attock and Chach, which first resisted the invading army. The control of Sikhs in this region was nominal, and their war annals clearly show this. Many people were killed in these wars, some were fought within the town. During these wars those who were killed were buried quickly and as result there are many graves without names. One such example is two graves in the Asad Khel Masjid, at the bottom of Bazaar, in Mohallah Asad(Sadoo) Khel. These two graves are of two people, one from Sadoo Khel and one from Anayat khel who were assigned the task of protecting the Mohallah Sadoo Khel and Bazaar from the invaders coming from the main road from Maskeen Abad. Their "Lashkar" (small army) fought well against the invaders but eventually the Lashkar lost to a more numerous invading army. As a result these Mujahideen were buried in the graveyard, opposite Qatta Baaz Baba Masjid, in Maskeen Abad. The Lashkar commanders were buried in the Sadoo Khel Masjid.

Most of the tribes prefer to marry amongst themselves or from other Pathan tribes of other villages. Pathans generally marry within their own tribe or other Pathan tribes. However, a Pathan female rarely is married into a non-Pathan caste. When it comes to marriage, "khels" are very exclusive as to what tribe the marriage will take place with. Sadoo Khel females are usually not married to fellow Haider Khels or vice versa (reportedly) because of their historical enmity with each other. However with the passage of time and intermingling with other tribes, various tribes now inter-marry without any hesitation. Just as the various Malak tribes are intertwined in the eastern part of Ghorghushti, three tribes, namely Kara Khels and Haider Khels are intertwined in the western and southern part of the town. Of course various other tribes like Najab Khels, Khadarzais, Suleiman Khels and other smaller tribes (Asad/Sadoo Khel) find their ways to be attached to the various tribes as well. Ghorghushti's non-pathan castes marry amongst themselves. There are a myriad of other castes that populated over the years in the past. Because of varying circumstances and events, each caste arrived at its own respected timeframe. There are also Kashmiris who probably have descended from people from Kashmir long ago. Some Afghan refugees and people from Kohistanis have also settled in Ghorghushti in the recent times after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Development

Regions of the town are referred to as Mohallas, each of which is three or four streets and/or alleys; there are now 20 to 25 Mohallas in the town.

There are two villages on the outskirts of the town, Qibla Bandi and Qutb Bandi. These were remote Mohallas of Ghorghushti but over time, as the population grew, these Mohallas became separate villages. About 95% of the land of the town belongs to Sado Khel tribe. Many settlers of the United Kingdom and the United States who had migrated from Ghorghushti many years earlier are the ones who are purchasing much of the land today. Because of this foreign investment, prices of the land of Ghorghushti have skyrocketed. These purchases are not limited to the descendants of the founding tribes, but include members of the other castes of Ghorghushti. Because of the high prices, many low and middle class families of Ghorghushti are not able to purchase land. The prices of the developing capital city of Islamabad and the prices of land in Ghorghushti are at par or are overshadowed by Ghorghusthi's high prices.

Ghorghushti today

The population of Ghorghushti is about 30,000 to 40,000. The total town area is just under 9,100 acres (37 km²), and the town is split into two parts: Tahalqa 5,809 acres (24 km²), and Daftar 3,290 acres (13 km²). Tahalqa starts from the soil embankment called Pull (meaning bridge) to the Gandgar mountains.

There are currently about 20 to 25 Mohallas (regions) in the town, and 50 to 60 Masajid (Mosques), but the number of mosques increases as the population grows. There is one boys high school, one girls high school, a hospital and five banks. The town has gas, electricity and telephone, and a Police station.

The famous Ghazi-Barotha hydroelectric canal runs through an area of Ghorghushti called Bareetian. A large area of Ghorghushti was used up in constructing the Ghazi-Barotha Canal and many families were affected. These families were compensated and alloted some land on the other side of the pul towards the mountain in a new Mohallah called Feroz Banda.

A large number of people from Ghorghushti are now living in Arab countries, UK, USA and other countries of Europe. The majority of UK Ghorghushti people now live in Moseley and Sparkbrook in Birmingham, primarily around Masjid Hamza. The populace has significantly grown from the early '70s and from Woodstock road mosque.

The largest Ghorghushti population in the United States is in Stockton, California a city in Northern California. The agriculture of the Stockton-Sacramento Valleys is much like that of Ghorghushti. Many of the early pioneers were men who left their families back in Ghorghushti. Many of these men worked as laborers in the fields. After some time, especially during the 1940s and 1950s, whole families began arriving. There are second, third, fourth and even fifth generation Ghorghushti-wals growing up in Stockton. Many Ghorghushti-wals had arrived prior to the creation of Pakistan and even today many consider themselves Afghan, a term synonymous to Pushtun, Pukhtun or Pathan, rather than Pakistani. Like all newly arrived immigrants, Ghorghushti-wals faced many dilemmas while trying to assimilate into the American mainstream, yet at the same time trying to maintain their Ghorghushti-wal culture and Islamic faith. However, the several generation of children that have been born here have been educated at colleges and universities and today hold various positions in all fields, including medicine, teaching, lawyers, banking, and running businesses. While many newly arrived immigrants and their children face difficulties in assimilating, as well as a few younger Ghorghushti-wals getting involved in various street gangs, drugs, and arrests, overall, the Ghorghushti-wals tend to be hard workers and are on their way to be successful within a few years of their arrival. The United States, unlike Great Britain, is a nation where almost everyone in the household works, attends school or even both. A small number of Ghorghushti people are also residing in a small village called Landi Arbab or Landi Yarghajo. This village is in neighbourhood with Bahadur Kalay where great pashtun poet Rehman Baba was born in 17th century and is at a walking distance from Peshawar Saddar baazar. A notable name who gave recognition to Ghorghushti people residing in the village Landi Arbab, is Hajji Abdul Khalil (1947-2009). Hajji Abdul Khalil gained power in the Govt. establishment and is widely known for his community and religious work and ghorghushti people are known mainly by his name in the said village. He has six sons named Anas Khalil, Yasir Khalil, Nasir Khalil, Adnan Khalil, Salik Khalil and the youngest Saran Khalil.

Notable religious scholars

There have been many prominent religious scholars emanating from Ghorghushti. The most famous of them are Shaykh-ul Hadith, Hadrat Maulana Shaykh Naseerud Din (Alayhi Rahmah) and his nephew Shaykh-ul Qur'an wal Hadith, Hadhrat Maulana Shaykh Qutbuddin (Alayhi Rahmah), both belonging to the Kakar tribe. Another religious family is of Hazrat Sayyed Ahmad (RA) and his nephew Hazrat Abdul Haq (RA). They have been appointed in places like Delhi, Lucknow and South Africa. Their students have come from as far as Isfahan in Iran, Multan, Qandahar, Kabul Ghor and Ghazni in Afghanistan. Their graves are in their own private graveyard.

Other pious and famous scholars:

• Hazrat Gharhi Baba (RA), who came from Sarhad, and whose grave is in Mochi Banda ("Mochi" is a caste who make and mend shoes i.e. cobblers)
• Hazrat Akbar Shah Ghazi Baba (RA), whose grave is in Mohallah Ishaq Zai
• Hazrat Mian Haleem Baba (RA), who came from district Swabi Sarhad, and whose grave is behind the Boys High school in Mohallah Walidad Banda
• Hazrat Mian Bagga Baba (RA), who came from Multan, and whose grave is in Mohallah Shera Banda
• Hazrat Akhunn Baba (RA), who came from Sarhad, and whose grave is in Choti Mandi near Zeeshan Center