Dilazak

The Dilazak (Urdu : دلزاک) is a Pashtun tribe, primarily living in Afghanistan, India and Pakistan.

History

The Dilazak originally dwelled in the Sulaiman Range near Eastern Afghanistan. They were the first of the Pashtun tribes from the region to migrate north-eastwards. They descended to the valley of Peshawar through Khyber Pass during the time of Samanid Dynasty, between 750 and 850 CE. The Dilazak expelled or subdued other tribes of the area such as Swati, Degan and Tirahi tribes. By the time of Mehmood Ghaznavi (around 1000 CE), the Dilazak had reached the Indus River (Then called Abaseen or Neelaab). They participated in the campaigns of Mehmood Ghaznavi in large numbers under their leader Malik Yahya Khan. In the 500 years that followed, they extended up to Hassan Abdal and towards the North up to Abbottabad. According to Aain-i-Akbari (written around 1590 CE), the Dilazak were the only Pashtun tribe that possessed lands in Hazara Qaarlugh at that time.

Around 1520, another Pashtun tribe, the Yousafzai, was expelled from Kabul by Mirza Ulugh Beg (March 22, 1394 in Sultaniyeh (Persia) – October 27, 1449 (Samarkand)), a Timurid ruler and paternal uncle of the Mughal Emperor Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur. The Yousafzai migrated to Peshawar valley where they sought and received help from the Dilazak. Later, the relationships between the two tribes deteriorated and a long war ensued. 20 years later, at the battle of Katlang, the Yousafzai, the Utmanzae (A cousin tribe of the Dilazak) and other tribes pushed the Dilazak east of the Indus River under the leadership of Malik Ahmed Khan.