Orakzai Agency

Orakzai Agency

Orakzai Agency has an area of almost 700 square miles.

The Orakzai Tribes take their name, which literally means the lost son (Orak Zoi) from a romantic legend about their ancestor, Sikandar shah, a prince from Iran. The prince was exiled or lost and after many adventures married and ruled over the Tirah.

The four major non Orakzai tribes, the Ali Khel, Mullah Khel, Mishti, and Sheikhan are now for all purposes like the other Orakzai tribes. Certain Orakzai tribes, like the Masozai and half the Lashkarzai (the other half, the Mamozai, inhabit the Khanki river valley in the Orakzai Agency) find themselves in Kurram agency for historical and administrative reasons. A small Bangash tribe, the Biland Khel, is attached to the Orakzai agency also for administrative and historical reasons, although they lie at some distance from the agency between Thal and North Waziristan (by the entrance to the Spin Wam - Mir Ali Road). Over one tenth of the entire population of the agency is of the Shia sect. The Shia areas in Tirah receive heavy rainfall and especially along the Mastura River (which divides them from the Sunni Daulatzai Tribes) where fine wheat, maize and rice crops are grown.

Creation of the agency had been announced at a grand tribal Jirga at Samana and it began functioning on 1 December 1973. Before this date, the Orakzai tribes were part of Kohat and Hangu Frontier regions. The valley is flanked by mountain ranges between 6000 to 7000 feet high. To the north is the Khyber Agency and to the south is the Kohat District accessible via the Kotal Pass.

The Main town of the Orakzai Agency is Darra Adam Khel. It is not too difficult to come to Orakzai Agency. From Kohat, a flying coach can be boarded from the Teerah Bazar Adda, from Hangu via Ghazi Sarai, and from Aka Khel Adda in Bara Agency. The bazaars which exist in Orakzai agency are few in number. These bazaars are locally known as Mela. Some of these Melas are Daboori Mela, Mishtee Mela, Feroze Khel Mela, Kalaya Mela, Ghiljo Mela, Sama Mamozai Mela, Anjani Bazar, Kadda Bazar, and Kurez Mela. The most beautiful places of Orakzai are Qalaya/Kalaya, Feroze Khel, and Samana. Samana is one of the oldest tour resort in Orakzai agency. An ancient fort of British Government is also located here. People visit these spots throughout the year.

Darra Adam Khel

Dara Adam Khel is a land of rugged mountains rising in some cases to an elevation of 6500 feet. The hills are sparsely wooded with growth of shrubs and stunted trees, chiefly the ilex oak, wild olive, palosin (Kikar) and thorny bushes known as the gorgoora. In good seasons there is also an abundance of grass in these hills which is mostly cut and stacked fore sale. The land is dependent for its cultivation entirely on the rainfall. Wheat and maize are its common crops. The produce of these fields is as a rule kept for home consumption and is rarely sold in the market. The climatic conditions of Dara Adam Khel varies from extreme cold in winter to sultry hot in summer.

Sectional Responsibility on the Road

The responsibility for the safety of the road was divided as follows:

Sherakki and Bosti Khel sections were responsible from the Kotal as far as Sanda Basta. The Tor Sapar clan was responsible from Sanda Basta to Shahida Talao. They were origninally responsible upto a point called Gatossai.

Zarghun Khels were responsible from Shahida Talao to Palosin and Akhorwals from Palosin to AAimal Chbutra. The Torsaparis who had no land and villages near the pass used to relegate a share of their responsibility for offences committed on the bit of road to the Zarghun Khels to whom they used to pay Rs. 80 per annum as chaukidari. This chaukidari (protection of the kohat pass road) allowance to the Zarghun Khels carried the condition that if the road for which it was paid was violated, this amount would first be utilized towards the payment of compensation decreed in favour of an injured person. If the amount assessed was in excess of this amount, it came out of the Tor Sapar allowances. In the settlements between themselves which followed the acceptance by the Afridis of the construction of a good military road, the Zarghun Khels agreed in the future to forego this chaukidari allowance of Rs. 80 per annum.

The following is a brief account of the different sections responsibilities of the Kohat pass road.

Bosti Khel:

This section lives at the western head of the valley. In all matters Bosti Khel had an equal share with Sherakkis, the two sections being the descendants of two brothers. The Bosti Khels received a total subsidy of Rs. 1215 per annum in 1901 including the amount added on account of the construction of a good military road through the Kohat pass.

Sherakki:

The Sherakkis, as mentioned above, are closely connected with the Bosti Khel. They received an annual subsidy of Rs. 1215, which they divided in equal shares between the Mobarak Khel and Bash Khel sub-divisions.

Tor Saparis:

This section which is the off shoot of Gallai's eldest son would have been the strongest if all the sections of unanimity had been its lot in life. This section enjoyed a subsidy of Rs. 1200 per annum, whicyh after paying a small 1/4th share to Kooiwals, they divided it into two equal shares between the Nekzan Khel and Feroz Khel sub-sections, who again further sub-divided it into small shares for each particular "Kandi".