Fort Phirwal in Potohar region has a historical status as it is the oldest cultural heritage of the Gakkar tribe. Covering an area of four square kilometers, this fort is located 30 kilometers east of Islamabad and at the junction of Tehsil Kahuta.
The distance from Islamabad to the fort is about one and a half hours. It was considered a safe place due to the river Swan on one side and the Himalayas on the other.
However, the fort fell into disrepair due to weather changes, destruction and neglect of governments and the Ministry of Culture and Department of Archeology in different periods. Most of its walls and gates have completely collapsed and only a dilapidated gate and a few walls remain.
The surviving walls are 28 to 30 feet high and 10 feet wide. The ramparts of Qila Phirwala extend far and wide on the high and low mountains, suggesting that this fort would be one of the most impregnable forts due to its location.
According to historians, Kiguhar Khan, the Sultan of Gakhdras, laid the foundation stone of Pharwala Fort in the beginning of the 11th century in view of the defense needs and it also remained the capital of Gakhrads. It had 6 gates, which were called Hati Darwaza, Lashkari Darwaza, Bagh Darwaza, Qila Darwaza, Ziarat Darwaza and Begum Darwaza. Its main military gate was built towards the river, with a height of 26 feet and a width of 14 feet.
Hathi Darwaza opened on the north-east side while Begum Darwaza opened on the south-west side, which had been badly damaged. Check posts were also built to protect the fort. It is said that 500 infantry soldiers, 50 elephants and 100 horses were always present in the fort as a defense strategy.
Inside the fort there is also the tomb of the last sultan of the Gakhar clan, Makrab Khan. Apart from this, there is a banyan tree on the north side of the rear wall of the fort under which there are some old graves. Traces of an ancient mosque are also seen here.
It is said that the Gakhar tribe has been settled in Punjab since 682 AD. In authentic history, there is a mention of the battle fought between Mahmud Ghaznavi and Prithviraj in 1008 AD, which was fought at the place of Chhach in Attock. Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi, on his way back, probably in the joy of victory, handed over the region between the Indus and the Jhelum, which was very important in terms of warfare, to Kegohar Khan.
Besides that? Uddin Khilji made Fort Phirwal the headquarters of his frontier army. Feroze Shah Tughlaq also stayed in Qila Pharwala. When the Mughal emperor Zaheeruddin Babur invaded India in 1519, the area of Potohar was divided into two parts.
One region was ruled by Tatar Khan (his headquarters was Pharwala Fort) and the other part, the Kohistani region, was ruled by his cousin Hati Khan. During Babur’s stay in Bhara, Hathi Khan killed Tatar Khan and usurped his territory. When Babur received information about this incident and Hati Khan’s complaints about robbing travelers, he besieged Fort Phirwala.
After a fierce battle Babur was victorious, Hati Khan escaped from the fort. Later, on Haiti Khan’s request for a peace treaty, Babur pardoned him and honored him with the title of Sultan. This is where the friendship between the Mughals and the Ghakhas began.
After Hathi Khan’s death in 1525, Tatar Khan’s son Sultan Sarang Khan became ruler. After the defeat of Sher Shah Suri, when the Mughal Emperor Humayun re-entered India with the military help of the Shah of Iran, he crossed the Indus River and stayed in the Pharwala Fort. Prince Akbar was also with him here. The Gakhas helped Humayun to regain his lost kingdom.
After that, when Akbar became the king, he gave Sultan Kamal Khan, son of Sultan Sarang Khan, the territory of Potohar and gave him the title of Panj Hazari in the Mughal army. The closeness of the Mughals and the Ghakhar can also be gauged from their intermarriage. Granddaughter of Sultan Sarang Khan was married to Jahangir. Ali Quli Khan’s daughter was married to Prince Akbar, the fourth son of Aurangzeb.
Makrub Khan, the last Sultan of the Gakhdars, defeated the Yusufzai Afghans and the Quli Khan Rais of Khattak in the west and extended his kingdom from Sindh to the Chenab. Later, in 1825, Muqrab Khan could not stand up to the growing power of the Sikhs. During the reign of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, the Sikhs captured the Phirwala fort and reduced it to ruins, ending the 750-year rule of the Gakhas over Potohar.
Pharwala Fort is a witness to the whole history of Potohar. This fort was handed over to the Department of Archeology in 1955. Nowadays, the restoration work of this historical fort is going on with the support of UNESCO.
