The Shinwari (Pashto: شينواري) is an ethnic Pashtun tribe of Afghanistan. Among the greatest poets of the Pashto language in the 20th century was the late Ameer Hamza Shinwari, also known as "Hamza Baba".

Shinwari

شينواری‎
Illustration of a Shinwari Pashtun tribal chief, Azad Khan, 1878
Languages
Pashto
Religion
Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Mohmand, Durrani, Yusufzai

The Shinwari tribe are descended from the Kasi Pashtun tribe settled in the southern districts of Nangarhar Province, in Haska Meyna, Achin, Rodat, Bati Kot, Kot, Chaprahar, Shinwar, Dor Baba and Nazian districts. A major portion of the tribe is centered in Jalalabad and Parwan province of Afghanistan. These Shinwaris are mostly traders and businessmen. There are more than 3,000 Shinwaris settled in the Alizai village, 15 km away from Kohat. Mirdad Khel, a sub-tribe of the Shinwaris, migrated to Swat Valley during the 1750s and settled there. Among them one of the notable Shinwaris is Senator Abdul Rahim Mirdad Khel. In Afghanistan, the Shinwari are also located in Kunar. Reporting from 2010 states that there are around 400,000 Shinwari in Afghanistan.^[1]

Location

The Shinwari tribe is settled in the southern districts of Nangarhar Province, in Haska Meyna, Achin, Rodat, Bati Kot, Kot, Chaprahar, Shinwar, Dor Baba and Nazian districts. A major portion of this tribe is also settled between Landi Kotal (Pakistan) and Jalalabad (Afghanistan), as well as in Parwan province of Afghanistan where they are concentrated in Shinwari, Ghorband, and Jabalussaraj districts. These Shinwaris are mostly traders and businessmen. There is also a significant minority of the tribe settled in Kohat and Hangu (Jangal Khel, Haji Abad, Mohallah Sangirh), Pakistan, a settlement 60 km south of Peshawar. In Afghanistan, the Shinwari are also located in Kunar, Bajaur Agency and Lower Dir. At Lower Dir, Munjai village contains a huge population of the Shinwari tribe, which had migrated from Afghanistan to Chamrakand (Mohmand Agency and Bajaur Agency) in the 1890s, and settled in the fertile land of Munjai village in Lower Dir. Reporting from 2010 states that there are around 400,000 Shinwari in Afghanistan.^[1] The Shinwaris reside in hilly areas with narrow valleys such as in the Khyber Agency where mountain ranges meet there: Lacha Gar, Karagah Ghar, Surghar, Tor Ghar Morgah, and Kalauch. The famous Khyber Pass, at 1,180 meters (3,870 ft.) ASL, is the gateway to Afghanistan through the Kuh-e Sefid range.^[2]

The Khyber Agency has two major rivers. The Bara River in the southern Khajuri Plain provides for relatively arable farm land. The Kabul River forms the northern boundary, separating Khyber from Mohmand Agency. Another river in the agency is the Chora, which flows east-northeast on the north side of the Surghar range. Valleys: Maidan, Rujgal, Bara, Bazaar, Choora, Wachpal and Tirah.^[3][4][5]

Khyber Agency experiences hot temperatures during the summer season, May through August. Maximum temperatures may reach 104 degrees, while the lower average 79 degrees. During the cooler months of November through April, however, average high temperatures reach 64 degrees and lows dip to around 39 degrees. Average annual rainfall over the Khyber Agency is 15 to 16 inches^[6]

The elders of the Shinwari tribe in Nangarhar signed a pact, uniting against the Taliban. They promised that anyone supporting the Taliban, would be punished with fines and expulsion. This pact, which per The Times "appears to be the first" incident of an entire tribe declaring war against the Taliban, has invited comparison with the Sunni Awakening of 2006, which tipped the balance of power in Iraq against the Sunni insurgency. The pact also had economic implications that America offered over in development funding. Further, reports suggested the Shinwari were against Taliban interference with their traditional smuggling routes across the Pakistani border.^[7]

The security situation in Haska Mena district is getting worse daily due to the increased number of Taliban insurgents operating in Naria Aubo Village, Papen Village, Dara Village, Aughuz Village and other remote villages in the district, In December 2014, Most of the Taliban insurgents have changed from Taliban to ISIL-KP carrying out insurgent activities under the direct order of Abdul Khaliq, Who is the head of Taliban in Haska Mena. Several people were killed and injured during the insurgency in Haska Mena district, The most common are:^[8]

• Killing of General Kafee in Haska Mena due to his work with Ministry of Defence of Afghanistan in Jalalabad city.
• Killing of Masjid Mullah in Kutawal village, Haska Mena at night.
• Kidnapping of Deputy District Governor of Nangarhar Province, Mr. Nazifullah, but later released due to the intervention within district elders.
• Kidnapping and persecution of USAID contract driver, Mr. Baitullah in Haska Mena district due to working with the US government agencies, he was beaten, injured and wounded by cutting his right hand three fingers so that he can be not able to drive any more for USAID missions in Haska Mena. Later on he was also released on the intervention of the elder by the promise that he will not work anymore for any USAID or other government agencies. The district government was also unable to provide protection and help to this kind of peoples.
• Some Sub tribes of Shinwaris such as Mirdad Khel migrated to the Swat Valley in 1935 and then settled there.

History

British assessment (1885)

In 1885, a British author described the Shinwari ("Shanwari" in his text):

The Shanwari inhabit a portion of the Khaibar mountains, some of the eastern valleys of the Safed Koh, and are also found on the borders of Bajaur. They have five sections - Mandizai/Manduzai, Abdul Rahim, Sangu, Sipai, and Ali Sher. They have been continuously predatory since the British approached their borders. They are the most industrious carriers between Peshawur and the other marts on the way to Kabul, using mules and camels for carriage. They are brave, hospitable, stalwart and hardworking. They are well-educated people^[9]

Feuds and alliances

The Shinwari tribe has been known to form alliances with the Mohmands, the Safis, and the Afridis. ^[10]

However, some sources indicate that the Mohmand tribe is frequently in a state of conflict with the Shinwari tribe.^[11]

The Shinwari tribe has historically feuded with the Khogyani tribe, which is a Karlani sub-tribe. There are some historical inter-tribal feuds over land.^[12]

Role in the Khost Rebellion

During the Khost rebellion, the Shinwari aligned themselves with the Afghan Government and helped quell the revolt.

Role in 1929 Afghan Civil War

During the late 1928 riots, the Shinwari tribe were the first to openly rebel against king Amanullah Khan's imposition of various new laws, including the requirement to wear European dress, the rule that required them to send a quota of their daughters to Kabul for education and the impositions of taxes (they had never previously paid tax). The Shinwaris attacked Jalalabad, cutting off its water supply and closing the Kabul–Peshawar road. Amanullah responded by using his fledgling Air Force, including Soviet pilots, to bomb the Shinwaris. The use of foreign "infidels" to subjugate Muslims roused other tribes to revolt and the country descended into what would become the 1929 Afghan Civil War.

Tribe

The Shinwaris are derived from the Kasi tribe, and are further distributed into sub-tribes:^[13]

Notable Shinwari

• Ghalib Hassan, leader in the anti-Taliban resistance under Abdul Haq,^{[citation needed]} appointed District Commander of Shinwar, Afghanistan by Hamid Karzai,^[14] held in extrajudicial detention in the United States' Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba^[14]
• Rashid Khan Arman, sportsman, member of the Afghanistan national cricket team from Nangarhar
• Abdul Qayum Sher, Pakistan Army war hero
• Amir Hamza Shinwari, poet
• Faisal Ahmad Shinwari, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Afghanistan 2001–2006
• Malalai Shinwari, advocate
• Rafiq Shinwari, singer
• Samiullah Shinwari, sportsman, member of the Afghanistan national cricket team
• Usman Khan Shinwari, sportsman, member of the Pakistan national cricket team.^[15][16]
• Prof. Dr. Zabta Khan Shinwari, Pakistani botanist and researcher.
• Baseerat Khan Shinwari, Becomes The First Woman To Be a Member of Provissional Assembly (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) 2019 to 2023.