The Afrīdī ( Aprīdai, plur. Aprīdī; ) are a Pashtun tribe present in Pakistan, with substantial numbers in Afghanistan. The Afridis are most dominant in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, inhabiting about 100p mi2 (8000 km2) of rough hilly area in the Zarlash eastern Spin Ghar range west of Peshawar, covering most of Khyber Agency, FR Peshawar and FR Kohat. Their territory includes the Khyber Pass and Maidan in Tirah. Afridi migrants are also found in India, mostly in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and in the Kupwara district of Jammu and Kashmir. Historically, the Afridi have been known for the strategic location they inhabit in South Asia and their belligerence against foreign forces. Under the leadership of Darya Khan Afridi, they engaged in protracted warfare against the Mughal army in the 1670s. During the First, Second, and Third Anglo-Afghan Wars, Afridis fought against the British on the Afghan side; these skirmishes comprised some of the fiercest fighting of the Anglo-Afghan Wars. Ajab Khan Afridi was a well-known Pashtun independence activist against the British Raj. The British colonial administration frequently classified the peoples of Colonial Indian with fixed personality or "racial" traits and regarded the Pashtun Afridi tribesmen "martial" under the martial races theory. Different Afridi clans also cooperated with the British in exchange for subsidies, and some even served with the Khyber Rifles, an auxiliary force of the British Indian Army. Shortly after the Partition of India and creation of Pakistan, Afridi tribesmen were among the ranks of the Pashtun militias that invaded the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir in October 1947, sparking the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947–1948 and the ongoing Kashmir conflict. Today, Afridis make use of their dominant positions along the Durand Line in areas of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province by controlling transport and various businesses, including trade in armaments, munitions and goods. Etymology and origins The Afridis, classically called the Abaörteans (; ), have their original homeland in Tirah, Khyber Agency. A tribe of ancient Pashtuns Herodotus mentions a tribe of Aryans as Aparytai (Ἀπαρύται). Scholars Grierson, Stein and Olaf Caroe equate these with modern Afridis on the basis of linguistic and geographic analysis. Aurel Stein described Afridis with more lighter/fair features, similar to their Dardic neighbors, in contrast to Afghan Pashtuns living on the other side of the KhyberPass, whom he described as darker/swarthier. Theory of Afridi descent from Israelites The Afridis, Yusufzais