In 1748 he obtained a
sanad from the
Durrani Padishāh
Ahmad Shah Abdali, who was then in the height of his power in
Northern India, granting him a "hereditary
jagir" of 149 villages. The villages were declared to be
inam, or revenue-free, and he was to enjoy thenceforth the revenue payable to the Imperial Government, subject to the obligation of maintaining order in his
ilaqa or possessions. These villages were in
Karnal district, and it was from this base that he fought more battles against the
Rajput Hill Rajas. In 1729 he founded
Kunjpura and built a fort there. The fort was renowned for its strength and strategic position. He became a
nawab after winning the respect of the Imperial leadership in
Delhi. In the early to mid 18th century, the
Maratha Empire became the primary power in the
Indian subcontinent. Afghan conqueror
Ahmad Shah Abdali invaded north and northwestern India. Small regional powers asked for help from Abdali against the armies of Marathas, who occupied Mughal areas following the death of
Aurangzeb. Nawāb Najābat Khān joined the army of
Ahmad Shah Durrani and was killed before the
Third Battle of Panipat in the
Battle of Kunjpura, in which the
Marathas stormed and defeated the Afghan garrison commanded by Najabat Khan who fell valiantly. The garrison at Kunjpura was separated on a different bank from the main Afghan force swollen by rainy conditions. Ahmad Shāh Abdāli was enraged by this and ordered an immediate crossing of the
river at all costs beginning the
Third Battle of Panipat resulting in the defeat and annihilation of 100,000 Marathas and the subsequent decline of Maratha power in northern India. His son Dater Khan was a faithful chief of
Ahmad Shah Durrani. He received a grant of 150 villages from the Shah in the
parganahs of
Bidauli,
Indri,
Karnal,
Shahabad and
Thanesar. He died in 1773 and was succeeded by his next son Gulsher Khan. His direct descendants had embroiled in very costly legal disputes over inheritance issues - these were ultimately settled by the British colonial judiciary during the period of
Crown control in India. After the
partition of India, the last Nawab of Kunjpura, Nawab Ibrahim Ali Khan, migrated to
Lahore in
Pakistan, and died in 1953. The Salarkhēl tribe claim to be descended from Nawab Najabat Khan through his elder brother Zabita Khan. It is stated in
Tareekh-e-Kunjpura he was of the Jadoon or
Kakar tribe. Nawab Najabat Khan's elder brother Zabita Khan returned to
Ghorghushti without claim to any of endowment from the land in
Kunjpura. Zabita Khan's descendants now live in the town of Ghorghushti. The ancestral home in Mohalla Ishaq Zai is still owned by the descendants of Nawab Najabat Khan's brother, which has attracted well-wishers from Kunjpura, Lahore, Karachi. There is a mention of Nawab Najabat Khan in the Imperial Gazetteer of India V.16 that his community in India were considered Ghorghushti Pathans, who in
Karnal, were assimilated in all their social observances with their neighbouring Hindustani Pathans, and are generally classed as "Hindustanis" although they are of Salarkhel
Pashtun origin. ==References==