PAINDA KHAN

PAINDA KHAN (d. 1844), chief of Darband lying on the eastern bank of the River Indus in a narrow valley, remained in rebellion against the Sikh government from the time Ranjit Singh had occupied Attock in 1813. Unable to expel the Sikh garrisons established at various strategic places, he set himself up on the western bank of the Indus at Amb, and continued making sporadic raids and plundering the people, especially in the areas of Chhachh, Hazara, Muzaffarabad and Naushera. A force was sent against him from Peshawar, and he fled away into the hills. Yet he continued to disturb the peace in the region.

Raja Gulab Singh instigated him to defy the authority of the Lahore Darbar. In September 1844, General Dhaurikal Singh, commanding officer of the Sikh troops in Hazara, had Painda Khan poisoned to death.

References :

1. Chopra, B.R., Kingdom of the Punjab. Hoshiarpur.1968
2. Gupta, H.R., Punjab on the Eve of the First Sikh War. Chandigarh, 1956
3. Hazara Gazetteer, 1907