Ajab Khan Afridi was a criminal, murderer

[khushal]

@khushal i dont know what kind of Pashto you people follow........but in our areas abduction of woman or any harm to them , is considered against the traditions and norms of the Pashtuns.......and this was not taught to us by British

So when your state bombs waziristan villages where women and children are present was not taught by brits, this is the paki way? And when those Wazir and Masud come down and attack a military school where women and children were present in response is not the pashtun way?

The pakhto way is when someone shows you "zor," you show it right back otherwise you have accepted slavery. If he killed one woman and kidnapped another, that means some violation had been done to his own women folk. It is no secrete that the Brit officers used to do body searches of women in pashtun villages much like how american soldiers are doing it today in afghanistan. While pakhtunwali teaches to not violate women in any way, the reality is if you violate another mans women folk, you have just paved a path for your own women folk to be violated which is why it is baighyrata in the first place.

Back when you were attacking Toramana by insulting his women folk, I told you to insult him directly instead attacking his woman folk because you are basically paving a way for him to do the same which he did not. The person that does it first is the baighyrata but you didnt understand me. You dont get it.

[khushal]

Stop making excuses for your criminal women-killer notable......Actually British had searched the homes of Afridis , as some of his men attempted to escape in women garb.....the striking of Ajab's mother by British, is a made up story....Afridis actually felt insulted when their houses were searched....

The murder of Mrs.Ellis was not unintentional and accidental......previously Ajab Khan had murdered Mrs.Foulkes.....and when he sought refuge in Tirah , he was not given respect there as he had murdered a woman.......Moreover the Afridi tribesmen agreed with British to track down Ajab Khan, as they accepted that murder of women is lowly and dishonorable act by Ajab Khan. Ajab Khan and his gang had no choice but to escape to Afghanistan.

The notion that Ajab Khan is a chivalrous hero, was propagated by Afghan government........

Your making stuff up.
First he was a suspect in the killing of Col Foulkes and his wife but the brits did not know who did that. The Brits had pissed off many pashtuns in the area so they had many people with motives.
Second, you dont know what happened in the bungalow. Most books written about the subject says Mrs Ellis grabbed the knife and struggled.
Third, when the Brits searched the village, it is a well known fact that women were searched in the village and no man was caught with women garb. Thats a Brits made up story of saying that is how Ajab Khan escaped their operation. If they were searching women, then how did he escape in women garb. They declared their operation a success afterwards to make their superiors happy.

[Samandri]

So when your state bombs waziristan villages where women and children are present was not taught by brits, this is the paki way? And when those Wazir and Masud come down and attack a military school where women and children were present in response is not the pashtun way?
.

You must be under influence of opium. Your beloved TTP ****s are terrorists, and no way their attack on army school can be justified morally. Whatever they are doing, is neither Islam nor Pashto. While Pakistan's bombardments on civilian areas of FATA, is state-terrorism. Dont derail the thread with your stupid emotional rants.

..........Your hero Ajab Khan was a nobody until he committed murders of British women and kidnapped a British girl......his entire anti-British career consist of stealing rifles and these murders......its sad to see that some are trying to bring him to the level of Faqir of IPI and Haji sahib of Turangzai. Its your country Afghanistan and its parsianized monarchy which created a hype around him through propaganda.

[marwat]

those afridi who agreed with british to track down ajab khan must be on payroll of british, their example is like the today aman committee by pro government tribal malik and ANP. they were not able to save their namose and gherat from british occupier but were trying to save a british woman namose. this is the way of gul khan.
we don't say that ajab khan afridi was a freedom fighter but what he did was pure a revenge, a tit for tat. that does not make him criminal

[Samandri]

those afridi who agreed with british to track down ajab khan must be on payroll of british, their example is like the today aman committee by pro government tribal malik and ANP. they were not able to save their namose and gherat from british occupier but were trying to save a british woman namose. this is the way of gul khan.
we don't say that ajab khan afridi was a freedom fighter but what he did was pure a revenge, a tit for tat. that does not make him criminal

I dont believe that Mrs.Mollis struggled and got accidentally stabbed or that she was killed with no other choice as she was creating noise..........she was only a woman and she could have easily been overcome by so many men.....her hands could have been tied and mouth taped.....the fact that Shahzada was pointing dagger instead of gun at her, indicate the intention of murder by the rustam-i-zaman.....previously Ajab had killed Mr. and Mrs.Foulkes......

Revenge would have been exacted if Ajab had attacked and killed those men who searched their houses..........but he murdered an innocent woman , while no woman of his household was killed at all......this make him a layman Pashtun who do commits such murders over the insults.


He did make headlines , as no one had kidnapped an English girl before.........so what could have been a petty crime case, became a huge issue for British as it was was unprecedented that some Pashtun will target their women......many Pashtuns, in their anti-British sentiments, have romanticized his story, even absurdly claiming that teenage Eliss Molly fell in love with that middle-aged Afridi who murdered her mother right before her eyes......just because the middle-aged man did not rape her, does not mean he hid not traumatized her and scarring her mind for good.....

[khushal]

You must be under influence of opium. Your beloved TTP ****s are terrorists, and no way their attack on army school can be justified morally. Whatever they are doing, is neither Islam nor Pashto. While Pakistan's bombardments on civilian areas of FATA, is state-terrorism. Dont derail the thread with your stupid emotional rants.

..........Your hero Ajab Khan was a nobody until he committed murders of British women and kidnapped a British girl......his entire anti-British career consist of stealing rifles and these murders......its sad to see that some are trying to bring him to the level of Faqir of IPI and Haji sahib of Turangzai. Its your country Afghanistan and its parsianized monarchy which created a hype around him through propaganda.

not justified, but it can be explained. Ajab's reactions were a response to british actions just like TTP's striking the military school was a reaction to pak military actions.

Your just mad because Ajab Khan disagrees with you thinking that the Brit woman was more important than Pashtun women.

[Elite Pakhtun]

Samandri, I agree with you on the aspect of making sure our ethics and honor goes above all... but this is colonization we're talking about. All is fair in war of that sort.

If we ignore whether it's a good or bad thing, one has to admit, it was one hell of a prize. The wife of some high ranking Brit killed, and the daughter kidnapped, in one of the (if not THE) biggest empires in the world at the time.

[Samandri]

Samandri, I agree with you on the aspect of making sure our ethics and honor goes above all... but this is colonization we're talking about. All is fair in war of that sort.

If we ignore whether it's a good or bad thing, one has to admit, it was one hell of a prize. The wife of some high ranking Brit killed, and the daughter kidnapped, in one of the (if not THE) biggest empires in the world at the time.

If Ajab Khan had attacked caravans of British army.......led lashkars against British like Faqir of Ipi and Turangzai......and was leader of a movement.....then your were in position to say 'all is fair in war'......the problem is, he did not have illustrious career of a freedom fighter/leader, his only achievement is kidnapping of Molly Ellis, thats it. My criticism is on his status, he doesnt deserve a hero status...his story is interesting and flimsy, thats all about him.

[Samandri]

On 8th November 1923 Ajab and raided the house of Captain Watts of Kurram Militia and killed him along with his wife.............so in his career, three wives of British officers were murdered.......he deserves the title of "Ajab Khan the woman-killer"

[Charsi Malang]

Stop making excuses for your criminal women-killer notable......Actually British had searched the homes of Afridis , as some of his men attempted to escape in women garb.....the striking of Ajab's mother by British, is a made up story....Afridis actually felt insulted when their houses were searched....

The murder of Mrs.Ellis was not unintentional and accidental......previously Ajab Khan had murdered Mrs.Foulkes.....and when he sought refuge in Tirah , he was not given respect there as he had murdered a woman.......Moreover the Afridi tribesmen agreed with British to track down Ajab Khan, as they accepted that murder of women is lowly and dishonorable act by Ajab Khan. Ajab Khan and his gang had no choice but to escape to Afghanistan.

The notion that Ajab Khan is a chivalrous hero, was propagated by Afghan government........

I don`t need to make excuses for anyone. Ajab Khan was and still is a well known and well loved character around Kohat and beyond. Many of the people who appreciate his actions, have far more knowledge, and a better understanding of the whole incident than you do. I doubt very much that the Afghan government needed to propagate any notions about Ajab Khan.

The rumour that Ajabs men were hiding in womens attire is a fabrication. There are no reports of this.

The murder of Mrs. Foulkes was not intentional-they did not enter the house of Mrs. Foulkes with the intention of killing her. On the 15th of November 1920, Ajab and his brother entered the home of Colonel Foulkes with the intention of kidnapping Colonel Thomas Foulkes and his wife and exchanging them for two of Shahzadas friends, Maulana Shaukat Ali and Maulana Mohammad Ali who were Indian Muslim Activists imprisoned for political causes. During the attempted kidnapping, the brothers met with resistance from Col. Foulkes and his wife. Col. Foulkes was shot in bed and his wife died of the wounds she sustained during the fracas-they actually let her go because she was badly injured.

There is some element of truth in your statement that the Afridi did try and track down Ajab. However it seems dubious that it would be solely on the basis that he had committed a dishonourable act. It was more than likely that the other Afridis were offered financial rewards. Indeed an immense amount of pressure was put on the Bosti Khel by the British following the whole Molly Ellis fiasco and some Bosti Khel were against Ajab and his gang as British started making life more difficult for them. There were many ways of manipulating an unruly clan or tribe- these could be in the form of reverse blockades or even the withdrawal of "muwajib", or even an increase of subsidies to well chosen individuals within that section.

Ajab Khan at the time of this whole episode was a well known rifle thief and in effect an arms merchant. He would sell stolen rifles to people on both sides of the border and had many customers amongst, Mangal, Zazi, and Zadran tribes. During the third Afghan war, he was in Khost doing business with a Mangal called Samak Khan. Samak Khan was a friend of the General Nadir Shah who became acquainted with Ajab Khan, and sought help from him in capturing Fort Thal.

Ajab Khans brother Shahzada (who cut the throat of the spouse of Major Ellis) had spent 4 years in prison for his part in the 1915 mutiny of the 130th Baluchi regiment in Rangoon where they refused to fight against fellow Muslims Turks. 200 people were court martialled and the leaders were hanged.

So, no my friend, Ajab and his gang weren`t some crazed lunatics who went round killing people wives. They were a product of their time and circumstances and their names still live on today.

I am utterly intrigued as to how you can post comments with such conviction about what happened at the time and what the brothers intentions were.

[Charsi Malang]

I dont believe that Mrs.Mollis struggled and got accidentally stabbed or that she was killed with no other choice as she was creating noise..........she was only a woman and she could have easily been overcome by so many men.....her hands could have been tied and mouth taped.....the fact that Shahzada was pointing dagger instead of gun at her, indicate the intention of murder by the rustam-i-zaman.....previously Ajab had killed Mr. and Mrs.Foulkes......

Revenge would have been exacted if Ajab had attacked and killed those men who searched their houses..........but he murdered an innocent woman , while no woman of his household was killed at all......this make him a layman Pashtun who do commits such murders over the insults.


He did make headlines , as no one had kidnapped an English girl before.........so what could have been a petty crime case, became a huge issue for British as it was was unprecedented that some Pashtun will target their women......many Pashtuns, in their anti-British sentiments, have romanticized his story, even absurdly claiming that teenage Eliss Molly fell in love with that middle-aged Afridi who murdered her mother right before her eyes......just because the middle-aged man did not rape her, does not mean he hid not traumatized her and scarring her mind for good.....

Brother, it really doesn`t matter what you believe or don`t. Facts are facts-you really don`t know what you are waffling on about. Every report of the incident states clearly that Mrs. Ellis did put up a fierce struggle.

Secondly, it wasn`t Ajab who murdered Ellen Ellis, it was Shahzada, Ajab Khans brother.

".....the fact that Shahzada was pointing dagger instead of gun at her, indicate the intention of murder by the rustam-i-zaman.....previously Ajab had killed Mr. and Mrs.Foulkes......"


It would have been suicide for them to brandish guns and run the risk of shots being fired intentionally or unintentionally within an army cantonement, inside the bungalow of the most senior officer who they intended to kidnap.

Only Ajab and his brother were in the room where the kidnapping and murder took place, two other accomplices, Gul Akbar and Haider Shah were keeping watch at the doors.

"she was only a woman and she could have easily been overcome by so many men.....her hands could have been tied and mouth taped.."

Mrs. Ellis was a large woman making a lot of noise, fighting for her own and her daughters survival-people in those situations can`t easily be controlled- I don`t know if you`ve ever been an violent confrontation, but when someone is struggling for their life, it becomes a little difficult to just tape up ones mouth and tie their hands. Shahzada believed he was struggling with Mr. Ellis, who of course was away at the time unbeknown to the gang.

Perhaps you should have been around at the time to offer advice on how they should have executed badal.

Prior to this plan being carried out, Ajab and his brother had tried to kidnap two officers who used to ride their bikes around the British fort around evening time. This plan failed miserably, and that is when they had to think of an alternative.

"Revenge would have been exacted if Ajab had attacked and killed those men who searched their houses"

I really don`t know how he could have found out the identities of the individual soldiers who entered his home and then exacted revenge. The intention originally was to kidnap the General Officer in Charge of the whole garrison, but he was away and Major Ellis was in charge during his absence.


Ajab Khan Afridi cannot be compared to Faqir Ipi, nor Haji Sahib of Turangzai-he was a different kettle of fish. He did not even have a fraction of the following that Faqir Ipi or Haji Sahib had and it was extremely unlikely that he could drum up a lakhkar from within his clan or tribe to fight the British at that level. Compared to the two latter characters, Ajab Khan indeed was a small fish, and this is what makes this whole incident larger- the fact that a relatively small time "criminal" committed such an outrage and took it right to the end. As far as the kidnapping was concerned, he knew exactly what he was doing.

People value and cherish him not because of the murder that was committed, but because of the fact that he had the girl in his possession-him or any of his men could have done anything to her, yet didn`t. She was returned unmolested and unviolated. He wanted to show the British that if the authorities could enter his home, he could enter their home. The fact that the woman died was unfortunate, and there was conflict between the brothers because of this, but so it was written, and so it happened.

The information I am posting, is not hearsay, nor rumours, or romantic notions, but is gathered from trusted sources from amongst Ajab Khans family and friends of Shahzada.

Allah de Ajab Khan aw Shahzada ta janatoona werka.