Afghan Control
The area formed part of the Durrani Empire founded by Ahmad Shah Durrani in 1747. Ahmed Shah Durrani was born in Kabul which was at that time part of Afghanistan. The empire included Bahwalpur, Kashmir, Gilgit, Hazara with its main city Haripur. Under Ahmed Shah Durrani and later his son Timur Shah, who ruled from Lahore and Multan, but later shifted it back to Kandahar.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was an important iranian borderland that was often contested by the Mughals and Safavids who considered it part of their land. During the reign of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa required formidable military forces to control and the emergence of Pashtun nationalism, who opposed Mughals who were trying to infiltrate it from India across the Indus River. A leading force in inspiring Pashtun miltancy was the local warrier poet Khushal Khan Khattak who united some of the tribes against the various empires around the region.
As the Mughal had lost control by 1757, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa came under the control of the Amir of Afghanistan Ahmad Shah Abdali.
Read more about this topic: History Of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Geography
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