Re: Are Niazis pashtuns..........?
Firstly, Niazi's are Pakistani and then Pushtun's.
Secondly, if you are going to go around defaming an entire tribe with settlers in Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Turkey and Isreal you might as well do your research.
The Niazi's are listed as one of the Major pashtun tribes in Olafe Caroe's book "The Pathan's", Listed in the grand Shajra "Afghanistan" and in the official correspondence of Amir Afghanistan are the major houses such as Isa Khale/Puno Khale/Zaday Khale etc...
Since i am from the Punu Khale/Zaday Khale houses i can only tell you the history of our house, we were mainly Zoroastrian's "Fire Worshiping Iranian Pagans" also known as Banni Isreal, with strong links to Ashfahan (hence a lot of Punukhale speak Farsi as a language and carry Iranian names from characters from the Shah Nama Firdiousy such as Esfindeyar (Asfandeyar) etc..
We are the decenants of the Barakzai Dynasty our ancestors immigrated from Qalaye Niazi in Afghanistan during Mughal rule, due to the conflict with the then amir of Afghanistan, We were given shelter by the then [FONT='Century Schoolbook']Governor of Dera Ghazi Khan.
Map:
[FONT='Century Schoolbook']The Zaday Khale/Punu Khale were earlier settlers of Mianwali with the exception of the SamandKhale/ Isa Khale and Hatti Khale houses settling around the area, the popular and powerful Rokhri (Sub Tribe) appeared on the scene quite later and rose to power in the late 1980's/90's.
[FONT='Century Schoolbook']Language does not and cannot justify racial profile, I am half Celt but do not speak Gaelic so what does that mean? Do I not have those genes and can I not trace my roots back through the family tree?
Here is a excellent link to some research by a good impartial source:
Niazi (Urdu: نیازی ) is a famous Pashtun tribe with a rich history and culture. The family head of the Niazi tribe was known as Ibrahim. The Niazi tribe belongs to the pashtun Khan tribe. The word Niazi is derived from the word Niazai like the other forms of Pashtun tribes, for example Kakayzai and Baburzai. In the Pashtun tribe hierarchy, the Niazi tribe is on the highest level. Due to that fact, Niazi people only marry people from their own tribe or other “high rated” tribes like Mohmand or Suri. The Mughal emperor Babur wrote in his book about the Niazi tribe being settled in Mianwali near the Indus river, so this confirms that the Niazi tribes started migrating to Mianwali from Afghanistan before Mughal rule. Mahmud of Ghazni is said to have ravaged the upper half of the district together with Bannu, expelling its Hindu inhabitants and reducing the country to a desert. Hence there was no one left capable of opposing the settlement of immigrant tribes from across the border. The series of Afghan immigrations into Bannu took place in the following order: (1) The Bannuchis, who about five hundred years ago displaced two small tribes of Mangals and Hannis, of whom little is known as well as a settlement of Khataks, from the then marshy but fertile country on either bank of the Kurram. (2)The Niazis, who some hundred and fifty years later spread from Tank over the plain now called Marwat, then sparsely inhabited by pastoral Jats. (3)The Marwats, a younger branch of the same tribe, who within one hundred years of the Niazi colonization of Marwat, followed in their wake, and drove them farther eastward into the areas now known as Isa Khel and Mianwali, the former of which the Niazis occupied after expelling the Awans they found there, and reducing the miscellaneous Jat inhabitants to quasi serfdom. Niazi people in Pakistan currently live mainly in the Mianwali and a few in Bhakkar districts of Punjab, Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Kohat (togh sarai) districts of North-West Frontier Province. However, a large minority of the Niazi tribe still lives in many parts of Afghanistan, mainly in Qalaye Niazi, Gardez, Paktia province. Some Niazis have also settled in Karachi and other cities such as Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan and Gujrat. They can be found in nearly every part of the Pakistani Punjab. Niazis also live in Turkey and Indian cities like Bombay and Delhi. Before 1947s partition, thousands of Niazis lived in Amritsar, Jhalandar, Hoshyapur and other cities of the Indian Punjab. Nearly all migrated to the Pakistani Punjab. There are many Niazis in England, Canada and other countries in the western world in the diaspora. In England the members are well integrated and successful in politics and business although in Birmingham, tribe members are well known for organised crime. Niazis living in Afghanistan only speak Pushto, as for the one’s living in Pakistan speak mostly Punjabi or the Mianwali form of Seraiki dialect which is influenced by Pashto and Hindko. Niazis (famous for their bravery and enmities) strictly observe Pashtunwali, the Pashtun code of honour. The Niazi tribe is an influential player in the politics of Pakistan especially Punjab. The Niazi tribe is divided into various sub-tribes and most Niazis have settled in Mianwali which has three tehsils: Mianwali, Isa Khel and Piplan. The major sub-tribes of Niazis are Isa Khel, Watta Khel, Balo Khel, Taja Khel, Bori Khel, Samand Khel, Punnu Khel, Pai Khel, Sherman Khel, Khanki Khel, Kharotha Khel, Zaday Khel, Musa Khel, Abba Khel. Each major sub-tribe has many minor sub tribes named after the famous personalities and elders of the tribe. Each subtribe is seen with the same respect.
[FONT='Century Schoolbook']Rgds,
[FONT='Century Schoolbook']A PAKISTANI PATHAN.
This was an informative article. As a Pakhtun I do not agree. This writer has a very strong bias. In the absence of large scale DNA testing we really cannot be certain of his claims. Having visited Mianwali many times, and knowing people from the region I can say that Niazis of Mianwali are definitely diluted in Pakhtun blood, whether its due to intermarriages with Punjabis, or false claims.
The article is suspect because of words like "high rated" tribes particularly pertaining to Mohmands. I am not aware of ANY social customs where Niazi's are marrying into Mohmands. In fact this article Punjabizes the Pakhtun tribal setup to make it similar to a caste system. The Pakhtun tribal system recognizes tribes as equal (for the most part) with clearly delineated territorial spaces.
I find it ironic that many Pakistanis choose to bash Pakhtuns yet still claim their lineage from them. Rohillas, Pakhtuns in Bengal, Indonesia and other farther scattered communities may be more pure blooded than some of the so-called Pakistani Pakhtuns in the border areas because the likelihood of community cohesion is greater in completely foreign lands compared to across the Abaseen.