Pathans of Punjab

as part of British Indian Army Colonies of Pathans (Pashtun people) arriving in Punjab are accounted for by Sir Densil Ibbetson in the following manner: The Pathans are speculated by some to be descendants of the soldiers of Alexander the Great who invaded the area in 327–323 BC. Archaeological evidence, however, suggests a Greek influence before this invasion. A phylogenetic study investigated the possible genetic relation of Pathans with Greeks and found evidence of a limited contributions of Greek genes in the Pathan population. == Main divisions ==

Malerkotla Pathans In the Indian Punjabi city of Malerkotla, sixty-five percent of the total population is Muslim and out of this population, twenty percent are Punjabi Pathans. These Pathans trace their ancestry to Shaikh Sadruddin-i-Jahān, a pious man of the Sherwani of the Darband area of what is now the North-West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Their main clans were the Alizai, Badozai, Bamzai and Saddozai, all clans of the Durrani tribe. In Muzaffargarh District, the Pathans of the district are related to the Multani Pathans. They settled in Muzaffargarh in the 18th century, as small groups of Multani Pathan expended their control from the city of Multan. There distribution is as follows; the Alizai Durrani are found at Lalpur, and the Popalzai are found in Docharkha, while the Babars are based in Khangarh and Tareen in Kuhawar are other important tribes. == Demographics ==

Pakistan's Punjab In Pakistan's Punjab province, at the time of the 2023 census, 2,3 million individuals spoke Pashto as their mother tongue, but many if not most of the Pashtuns who have settled in Punjab over the centuries don't speak Pashto anymore so aren't counted in such census. == Notable Pathans of Punjab ==

• Imran Khan, 22nd Prime Minister of Pakistan • Ashfaq Ahmed, Pakistani writer, broadcaster and intellectual • Yahya Khan, Third President of Pakistan • Amir Abdullah Khan Niazi, Pakistani army officer and last Governor of East Pakistan • Justice Munir, 2nd Chief Justice of Pakistan • Jehangir Khan, Pakistani businessman, politician and former minister for Industries • Dr. Nazir Ahmed, Pakistani scientist, bureaucrat and founding chairman of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission • Shaukat Tarin, Pakistani politician and former finance minister of Pakistan • Ishaq Khan Khakwani, Pakistani politician and former minister of State for Railways, IT & Telecom • Maulana Kausar Niazi, Pakistani politician, religious leader and former federal minister • Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi, Pakistan movement activist and religious leader • Humair Hayat Khan Rokhri, Pakistani politician and member of the National Assembly of Pakistan • Tariq Masood Niazi, Pakistani field hockey player • Munir Niazi, Pakistani poet of Urdu and Punjabi languages • Sardar Mohammad Khan, Linguistic researcher of Arabic, English, Urdu and Persian • Karamat Rahman Niazi, former Chief of Naval Staff of Pakistan • Shuja Khanzada, Pakistan Army officer who fought in the War of '71 and Siachen, martyred in a suicide blast at Attock • Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer == See also ==