Sibi (Urdu and ) is a district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.Tehsils & Unions in the District of Sibi - Government of Pakistan The climate and topography of Sibi District are quite varied compared to the other districts of Balochistan. It is also known as the "hotspot" of Pakistan, where the temperatures in the summer exceeded 52.6 °C (126.7 °F). Until 2002, the district had two subdivisions, Sibi and Harnai, further organized into Tehsils and sub-tehsils: Sibi, Kutmandi and Sangan. Lehri was joined with Sibi district in 2002 and Harnai was made a separate district. Sibi tehsil is predominantly inhabited by Baloch tribes (Silachi, Rind, Marri, Magsi) and Pashtun tribes of Panni (Barozai, Luni, Khajjak Nodhani, etc.). The town of Sibi is chiefly built upon lands of Marghazani and Dehpal.
History The early recorded history of Sibi District begins with the Hindu Sewa dynasty. The Hindu Sewa dynasty ruled much of Baluchistan up until the 7th century AD. The Sibi division carved out of Quetta division still derives its name from Rani Sewi, the queen of the Hindu Sewa dynasty.The tribal Baluchistan by Syed Abdul Quddus page 49
Mir Chakar Rind ruled Sibi for about thirty years. During his rule, Sibi became the main center of Baloch power. His leadership made Sibi the political and cultural heart of the Rind confederation.
Until the end of the 15th century the district had been a dependency of Multan and had been part of Ghaznavid Empire ruled by a petty chief named Nasiruddin Kabacha. Around 1500 it was taken by Shah Beg of the Arghun dynasty from Samma dynasty of Sindh and so came under the control of Kandahar. The remainder of Arghuns in Sibi were defeated by Panni (Pashtun tribe) of Sangan and kut mundai, thus the Pannis conquered Sibi and Dhadar plains. Pannis of Sibi and Dhadar under their chiefs Malik Yahya Mizri & Jangi Khan Panni defeated the Mughal forces twice but surrendered the Sibi Fort after a third valiant resistance. Thus the territory came under Mughal rule.
During the rule of Aurangzeb, Junaid khan Barozai, head of Panni (Pashtun tribe) of Sibi was granted authority over Sibi & Kachhi area and was titled 'Bakhtiar Khan', he was succeeded by his son Mirza khan, who was officially declared a Nawab by Aurangzeb and also given administration over Shikarpur, Sindh. Nawab Mirza khan Barozai lead the Pannis successfully in initial 16 out of 18 battles fought against Khan of Kalat of Mir Ahmad Khan, during the 17th engagement at a spot called Pir Lekhan, neither sides emerged victorious but Mir Ahmad himself, and his Minister, Akhund Mohammad Saleh, were both wounded and Mir Shawaz and Mir Ibrahim, the latter an ancestor of the Nausherwani Sardar Mir Azad Khan, lost their lives. The Brahuis left the battlefield; the Pannis collected the booty, consisting of silken belts and horses of Turki and Tazi breed. Mir Ahmad Qambrani's sister named Bibo gallantly attacked the Pannis attired in male garments. She fought valiantly and was killed at the hands of Jalal Khan Panni. In 1695, the Khan of Kalat received the intelligence about the absence of Mirza Khan from Sibi. He planned a well-thought-out attack on Sibi. Skirting Sibi and Dhadar he reached unnoticed above the Silachi village of Talli, and thus caught Rahim Khan Pirani (commander of Pannis of Sibi) unprepared. The latter, shocked and surprised, faced the Qambranis on the Luni irrigation channel. For lack of initiative and timely decision on the part of Rahim Khan, Pannis lost the battle. Nawab Mirza Khan learnt about this debacle in Shikarpur. He rushed to Sibi, organized the disheartened Pannis into a fighting contingent and headed for Kalat. The Khan of Kalat gathered his forces in the fort of Kalat. After a few skirmishes both sides thought it prudent to negotiate terms. Peace prevailed between the two confederacies, which was sealed by a happy marriage of Princess Mahnaz the daughter of Mir Ahmad Qambrani with Saeed Khan Barozai Panni, brother of Mirza Khan Barozai. It was agreed upon that Brahvis of Kalat would be allowed to graze their flocks in Kachhi plains.
Nawab Mirza khan Barozai was succeeded by his son Nawab Bakhtiar khan (2nd), titled 'Bakht Buland khan' by the Mughals, he fought the famous Mughal-Afghan battle of Uch in January 1702, against the Mughal forces led by Prince Muhammad Muizudin the Subahdar of Multan. Nawab Bakhtiar khan, along with 400-500 of his men, was killed.
The government over Sibi and Dhadar territory was handed over to Kalhoras of Sindh by the Mughals. During this period, Rahim Parang and Doulat Khan Barozai revolted, but the insurrection was crushed. Again Rahim, Yusuf and other Afghans revolted and succeeded in recapturing Sibi and Dhadar from Kalhoras on 25 February 1708. Kalhoras once again attacked SIWI and Dhadar and fought a battle with Pannis who were then being led by one Sardar Paniu Khan (his particulars are not known). In this battle, Panju Khan, along with many Afghans, was killed, whereas his colleagues Sabzal Khan and Doulat Khan Barozai sued for peace. Thus, Sibi and Dhadar were again, in the months of March and April 1708, restored to Kalhora rule. Pannis lost about 1000 men in the course of the 37-day-long Kalhora-Panni battle for SIWI and Dhadar. Mir Abdul Jalil Bilgrami has recorded this famous and prolonged battle in the form of a poem. All this information has been obtained from Kalhora sources like Manshurul-Wassiat & Guldasta-e-Nouras Bähär.
In 1714, Yar Muhammad Kalhoro with the title of Khuda Yar Khan acquired SIWI and Dhadar from Mughals. He was succeeded by Noor Mohammad Kalhoro also known as Khuda Yar Khan who in 1730 A.D. fought Battle of Kachhi and killed Abdullah Khan Brahvi the then Khan of Kalat somewhere near Lehri village. After Nader Shah's invasion of India, Dhadar and Kachhi (excluding Sibi plains & Sangan) were handed over to the refugee sons of Khan Kalat by Nadir Shah as compensation for the blood of Khan Abdullah Khan. During the rule of the Ahmad Shah Durrani, Panni chief Nawab Ismail Khan Barozai was handed the administration of Sibi and adjoining areas. On the death in 1753 of Mir Nur Mohammad Kalhora, Ahmad Shah Abdali made the Panni Nawab a royal representative in the newly acquired Sind Province. To quell the running dispute between Kalhoras and Daudpotras about the possession of the town of Shikarpur, it was also, once again, handed over to the Afghans of Siwi. But unfortunately, Panni Afghan forces of Nawwab Ismail Khan indulged in unworthy conduct of plundering the local populace in Sindh. As a result of this, differences arose between the Panni Nawwab and Mohammad Beg Shamlu- the royal ambassador in Sindh. This confrontation resulted in Sind province again reverting to the rule of Kalhoras. The town of Shikarpur, however, continued under the rule of the Pannis of Siwi for some more time. The town, as well as the whole area, benefited from this arrangement greatly because a brisk trade between Sindh and Siwi-Ouetta-Pishin Region on the one hand and Afghanistan and Central Asian cities on the other sprang up. This trade was, afterwards, interrupted partly because of the poor law and order situation in the then southern Afghanistan during the twenty year's rule of Taimur Shah, son of Ahmad Shah Abdali, which lasted from 1772 to 1793 A.D.
In the possession of Nawab Ghous Bakhsh Barozai, present de jure head of Siwi Afghans, there is a sunnud/letter of Ahmed Shah Abdali, which is dated 28th Rabiul Awwal 1172 A.H (1758) and reads as recorded below:
" Before this I had, through separate written orders, awarded the government of Sibi territory to Isa Khan Durrani Panni ( Nawab Ismail khans son) and the government of the forts of Barah-Kam(Barkhan) and Khetran and Hasni to Mohammad Khan Durrani Panni (Nawab Ismail khans brother). But now I award the government of the above-mentioned Mahals to be held by Umdatul-Khawanin (the best of the Khans) Ismail Khan Durrani Panni, Isa Khan and Mohammad Khan jointly. All the three will perform social, military and revenue functions in respect of these areas jointly and under the overall supervision of Ismail Khan because he is both aged, knowledgeable and experienced of all of them. To Ismail Khan, I entrust the whole range of matters connected with the punishment, patronage and administration of Panni tribe- so that he attends to his duties with care and gives good performance. Isa Khan, Mohammad Khan, zamindars, nobles and general Panni public should keep within the limits prescribed by me. State functionaries should also enforce above mentioned orders"
Another important fact which these letters bring to light is that, until the winters of 1758 A.D., Marri tribe had not as yet occupied Kahan and Kohlu areas – both of which tracts were still in the possession of the Hasni and Zarkun Afghans. It is sometime after the winter of 1758 that Khetran, Hasni and Zarkun Afghans were attacked and considerably weakened twice by the forces of Mohammad Khan Panni and then(perhaps after the death of Ahmed Shah Abdali) by the Marri tribe encouraged and practically assisted by Mir Nasir Khan I. A story is still current that an emissary belonging to Sumarani Marri subsection had been sent to the Khan of Kalat to ask for help. When in durbar, he killed a dangerous snake and thus earned the good will of the chief. This, among other things, led to Khan furnishing an army for the support of Marris against Hasnis.
"When rebelled against the Shah the news spread like wild-fire. Among other things he instigated Dumar Afghans to attack and plunder the Panni headquarters of Sangan village. For this purpose he tampered with the loyalty of Sardar Haider Khan Dumar regardless of the fact that the latter was one of the most trustworthy friends of the Baruzais. Sardar Haider Khan, one fine morning, appeared before the Sangan fort with a considerable force. At that time Rashid Khan son of Nawwab Ismail Khan Panni happened to be present in the Sangan Fort. He immediately shifted inside, the Afghan nomads, who were camping outside the walls of the fort and ordered the trees, around the Sangan fort to be cut down in order to eliminate the chances of enemy taking shelter behind these trees. Soon after Dumar forces surrounded the Sangan Fort and started firing at the garrison. This continued for quite sometime. Becoming impatient Kahlil Khan shouted at Rashid Khan "why not go out of the fort and fight the enemy in the open". This suggestion was immediately accepted and Pannis rushed out to give battle to Dumar in the open fields. After a severe engagement and lot of massacre Dumars forces broke and ran. It is said that as a result of this battle' Sardar Haider Khan Dumar, having been hit in the leg, became lame and could not walk properly for the rest of his life" Nawab Ismail khan Barozai Panni must have been a famous and popular ruler because the well-known and often quoted saying "Bani to Bani-Nahin to Daud Khan Panni" attributed to Daud Khan Panni of all-India fame is frequently amended by the local Barozais so as to declare that "Bani to Bani-Nahin to Ismail Khan Panni". Nawab Ismail Khan Panni died about 1762 A.D and lies buried in a tomb, still intact, situated about two furlongs southeast of the remote but historic Panni village of Sangan, Pakistan. According to Mulla Fazil, on the death of his father, Isa Khan Panni wrote a letter to Ahmad Shah Abdali informing him of the demise of late Nawab Ismail Khan Panni. Ahmad Shah replied to the letter offering condolences and also conferring the title of Bakhtiar Khan on Isa Khan Panni. Two years after Isa Khan/Bakhtiar Khan Panni(3rd) of Sangan became the ruler of the Confederacy, he, in 1764, was summoned by the Shah and, therefore, took out a force to assist him in a fight against Sikhs in Punjab. On page 60/70 of 'Jang Nama' of Qazi Nur Mohammad Kalhora, we find a heading as follows:
"WHEN BAKHTIAR KHAN PANNI'S FORCES JOINED THAT OF THE KHAN”