Mohmand

The Mohmand (Pashto: مومند - also spelled as Momand) are a clan of Sarban Pashtuns, living primarily in northeastern Afghanistan and in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan.

Demographics

In Pakistan, the Mohmands live in the Mohmand Agency and down to the plains of Peshawar, Charsadda, and Mardan. Mohmands are also scattered throughout Pakistan in urban areas including Karachi, Lahore, and Quetta.

In Afghanistan they are mainly found in Nangarhar and Kunar provinces.

History

Pāṇini the great Sanskrit grammarian who himself hailed from Shalatur, a village located near the confluence of the Kabul and Indus river, has also mentioned the names of some of the northwestern tribes like the Madhumants (Mohmands) and Aprits (Afridis) in his Ashtadhayayi (5th century BC)

Mohmand, a Pashtun tribe who inhabit the hilly country to the north-west of Peshawar, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan and the eastern parts of Nangarhar in Afghanistan. They are one of the strongest tribes on the border after the Afridis and Waziris, and have fought many times againest the British,India and Pakistan. The country of the Mohmands may be defined roughly as bounded on the E. by British districts from near Jamrud to Fort Abazai, and thence by the lJtman Khel country; on the N. by Bajour; on the W. by Kunar; and on the S. by the territories of the Shinwari and Afridi; area, about 1200 sq. m. The Indo-Afghan boundary line now runs through the Mohmand country; but the Emir of Afghanistan formerly claimed allegiance from all the Mohmands, and only handed over the greater part of this tract to the British by the Durand Agreement of 1893. The government has given assurances to the Burhan Khel, Dawezai, Halimzai, Isa Khel, Tarakzai and Utmanzai sections of the Mohmands that they will not suffer by the severance of their ancient connection with Afghanistan; and these are known as the Assured Clans. The tribe are Afghans by descent, and are more akin to the Yusafzais than any of their neighbors.

Clans

• Halimzai
• Utmanzai
• Moosa Khel
• Bayezai
• Kudaa Khel,
• Kaachi
• Atmar Khel
• Turkzai
• Khwajazai
• Nazar Khel
• Essa Khel
• Burhan Khel
• Bara Khel
• Khuga Khel
• Hashem khel
• Mairo Khel
• Hassan Khel
• Malikyar
• Baburzai.

Notable Mohmand

• Abdul Ahad Mohmand, the first Afghan to reach space
• Rahman Baba, a Pashto Sufi poet
• Aimal khan Mohmand, a Freedom Fighter during British rule

External links

• Mohmand Information
• Mohmand Agency