Early Life
Khushal Khan was born in or about 1613 into the Khattak gens of the Pashtun people. He was the son of Malik Shahbaz Khan Khattak from Akora, in the Mughal Empire (now in Nowshera District). His grandfather, Malik Akoray, was the first Khattak to enjoy widespread fame during the reign of the Mughal King Jalal-ud-din Akbar. Akoray moved from Teri (a village in Karak District) to Sarai Akora, the town which Akoray founded and built. Akoray cooperated with the Mughals to safeguard the trunk route and was generously rewarded for his assistance. The Akor Khels, a clan named after Akoray, still hold a prominent position in the Khattak tribe. The Khattak tribe of Khushal Khan now mostly lives in areas of Karak, Kohat, Nowshera, Akora Khattak, Cherat, Peshawar, Mardan and in other parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Khushal Khan’s life can be divided into two important parts — during his adult life he was mostly engaged in the service of the Mughal king, and during his old age he was preoccupied with the idea of the unification of the Pashtuns.
He was an intelligent and bold person from childhood. His first involvement in war occurred when he was just 13 years old. Apart from the fact that he was a scholar, thinker, philosopher and boisterous poet he was a prince and leaders of his tribe simultaneously. His forefathers were since the 16th century officers of the Mughal Empire. After the death of his father Shahbaz Khan Emperor Shah Jehan appointed him as the tribal chief and Mansabdar in 1641 at the age of 28 The Mughal king shah Jahan appreciated his principality. After the death of shah Jahan His Tensions created with Aurangzeb. Aurangzeb arrested Khushal Khan Khattak . In 1658, Aurangzeb, Shah Jehan's successor, threw him away as a prisoner in the Gwalior fortress. There he had as a prisoner or later and-Delhi-spent under detention in the mountains prison. When he returned, he dissociated himself from the Mughal Empire slowly and started with his resistance later. He took contact to other Pashtoon tribes and with support of his people he started a systematic resistance against the Mughals.
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