c



   








 




THE district administration has declared 2010 a year for the completion of hundred years of

establishment of new Dera Ghazi Khan and announced holding of ceremonies through out the year. In

this regard, the first ceremony held on Feb 23 was presided over by the senior adviser to Punjab chief

minister and the tribal elder of the Khosa tribe, Sardar Zulfiqar Ali Khan Khosa.

Speaking on the occasion, á






 

 

 

















   


á 







 


 






 






 
 


 



 




! 

 

His claim, which has initiated a debate in the intellectual circles of Dera Ghazi Khan, needs to be

thoroughly investigated by researchers and historians.
"






 






 





 

 
 



 





 
  

 





 

#


 
á 
!

















$%

 

It was because of the keen interest of the Meerani rulers in the development of agriculture that

farmers of suburban areas of the old city would grow flowers which gave the city the name of ³Dera

Phulein Da Sehra´.

Major Herbert B. Edwards, in the official record compiled in ³^








 ³, had written to his resident on May 2, 1848, that


 
 









 




 




 



! 

, and in that battle at least 70

Legharis, who were defending the city, were killed.

"




 
 



! 

 





 

 




 
& 
 




á
 #




 


 







"

 

 





'(
)*.

&






 
#

+$,,,



 





- 






 

 




 



+$.,,




 





It is vital to mention that 



&
 


)





#


! 

 

By the end of the 19th century, the mighty River Indus had gradually started eroding surroundings of

the city and 


! 

  
 




 



, some 16kms

in the west of the old city near a tomb of Ghazi Khan Meerani, who died in 1497. The designer-cum-

planner of the city was district engineer Bhagwandas Ahuja who was later rewarded by the British

government.

The construction work of the new city had probably been initiated in 1885 because the first Christian

cemetery was established in that year as part of the new Dera Ghazi Khan city.

The old city was completely inundated in 1909 while the construction work started in the last decade

of the 19th century was almost completed in 1914. The district jail and the Baloch Levy Lines were

built in 1910.

The district administration should constitute a committee comprising historians and researchers to

compile an authentic and comprehensive history of Dera Ghazi Khan which would be a great service to

the young generation of the area.

/




 


















 






 

c
!
"#
$

%

&  !
#

 '
"


!!
%

"(
)$!

*"#

"$+

Reading these and ALL other historical accounts of the period, you will see that in fact this account is

correct and puts to shame Mr ZK¶s claim ³




 
 


 



 





! 

 * In fact, at another time 

  

 



! 






0 

because he had no control over the Khosa tribesmen and they wanted

him to get more power so he could control his tribe *


c
%$

#
c




""

)!

,
 !

c


!!

$+.

[Ah...Found it! It is on page 152 of '"
-)


!
-$"
"

%


./

0
!' (1876). It states:

Thirdly. ² Under the peculiar circumstances of the case, the Lieutenant Govenor was willing that the

Tumandars ( excepting the Kasrani Tumandar ) should be empowered to collect all or a portion of

their assignments in kind, provided ²

(1). That no power of collecting in kind be wanted in any village wherein the custom of taking in kind

is not now in existence, -












!

 


 


  






 



 

 

 

 




 








   
 














 



 


.]
For completeness, below are scans of pages 22, 30, 66, 67, 151 and 152. Page 22 once again

confirms how Khosas helped British capture DG Khan; Page 30 tells us how Kaura Khan Khosa lost his

wife; Page 66 gives us an interesting description of Khosas; Page 151 also lists the regular payments

each Tumandar received from the British.

"





 about his great-grandfather having founded the New Dera Ghazi Khan 


  




 


. British rule was in full swing and they were in full

control of the area at the time of the founding of the New Dera Ghazi Khan so the authors conclusions

about who built it can only be challenged by a deranged mind. It should also be noted that by this

time 

!

0  
1
 


 
&
 
















! 

1
 







! 

1




 

2

#3
 

 


.
 Baloch Sardars with MASA

As to how much the British were in control can be gauged from 





 
 
"

&
 
4











5 
&
 6





5 
á  after General Munro and 




 



& after M. Longworth

Dames. On the highest peak you will find houses (including the DC House) 

 






! 
(and of course a Christian cemetery from those days, little of which is left as all marble

from the graves has been plundered. The houses there too were in excellent, original condition till

Farooq Leghari thought ³development´)

"







á




 



 
 




. I had planned to do a post but never got to it. I had put up a comment elsewhere and it is

quoted below verbatim:

I found Zulfiqar Khosa¶s protestations a bit funny:

7
8







Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also phoned the British high commissioner and his secretary wrote a

letter to the UK HC in this regard. Zulfiqar Khosa also sent a letter to the British high commissioner

and expressed his surprise over the UK official¶s refusal to issue him a visa.
He said: '/















*






! 











/





  











.$




!

 







 

 
9,,,
 











  

 
  

 





5 
á 
'/

 












  



:#*


 
'á




 






:#







  
 





0 









;
(
/

 



 




:#


 *

He informed the British high commissioner that he had also provided 








  





 and information about his

host in the UK. However, he said, ³I fail to understand what evidence I should submit for proving my

social and economic status in Pakistan.´

Ñ
 

P.S. I wish I could get a hand on ³vast agriculture and commercial properties´, ³bank statement,

monthly income´ that he provided to the British HC. I would like to compare it to what he listed as his

assets with the election commission«

What a joker!