Malik Shahbaz Khan Khattak

Malik Shahbaz Khan Khattak was a prominent soldier in the Mughal army, He was a brave man who fought many wars against his rivals. This brave man is the father of Khushal Khan Khattak. Malik Shahbaz Khan Khattak was killed in a tribal clash against a rival tribe on 4 January 1641.

Malik Shahbaz Khattak belonged to Akora country fallen under the Mughal Empire (now in Nowshera District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan). His grandfather, Malik Akoray, was the first Khattak to enjoy widespread fame during the reign of the Mughal emperor Akbar.

Akoray moved from Teri (a village in Karak District) to Sarai Akora, the town which Akoray founded and built. Akoray cooperated with the Mughals to safeguard the trunk route and was generously rewarded for his assistance. The Akor Khels, a clan named after Akoray, still hold a prominent position in the Khattak tribe.

The Khattak tribe of Khushal Khan now mostly lives in areas of Karak, Kohat, Nowshera, Akora Khattak, Cherat, Peshawar, Mardan, and in other parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.