Qanungoh Shaikh

Qanungoh Shaikh

Qanungoh Shaikhs (Persian: قانون گوہ شيخ‎) are a clan of Muslim Shaikhs in Punjab, other parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran (modern-day Persia).

The Qanungoh(Variation of Spellings as Qanungo,Kanungoh,Kanungo,Canungo,Canungoh) have tribal and marital affinities with varied regional groups such as the Kukhran, Muslim Rajputs, Mohyal Brahmins, Awan, and Khattar as well as Rohillas, Rind, Gardezi and also Kakkezai in the Jullunder area. Some people known as Shiekhkhel are also said to have been the Qanungoh in North Waziristan. A small number of Qanungoh Shaikh also live in India and Bangladesh.

Qanungoh Shaikhs belong to all the districts of the Punjab as well as some districts in the Sarhad and Balochistan provinces, although can be found in small numbers in Seistan, Paktika and Khost provinces in Iran and Afghanistan where they are sometimes referred to as Hindki. A minority of Qanungoh Shaikhs adhere to the Shia Islam whilst others hailing from lower Punjab and Baluchistan are Sunni belonging to various Sufi orders. Some Qanungo Shaikhs have also been known to be of the Zikri denomination.

Many well-known political figures and other great academics have arisen from the Qanungo Shaikhs in the past, contemporary examples being Manzoor Qadir who drafted the first constitution of Pakistan, Sheikh Anwarul Haq, Wasim Sajjad and also Shaikh Aftab Ahmed (MNA-Attock) who currently works alongside Nawaz Sharif.