The Karlal (also known as Kard'al, Karaal, Karhral,kakar , or Kiraal) are a tribe found in the Abbottabad and Haripur districts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. Karlal territory borders on both Azad Kashmir and Punjab. The tribe trace their descent from Sardar Kallar Shah who is believed to have come from southern Afghanistan, and is believed to have been a descendant of Alexander the Great..In Haripur and Abbottabad, they are known as Sardars because during the time of the Delhi Sultanate (1206–1296) they became the sardar (meaning leaders) of this area.The majority of the people of the Karlal tribe are Sunni Muslims. Although the Sardari-System is now obsolete, the name prevails due to extensive usage by local peoples, including other tribes who prefer to refer Karlals as sardars.The origins of the Karlal are mentioned both in the census reports of Ibbetson and Rose as well as in the district Gazetteer - compiled during British rule.They are extensively distributed in hilly areas of Abbottabad District known as Gillies or Gilyat.
As per Wajab Ul Arz of 1874 compiled by British authorities this tribe through out history tried to retain their independence ,during Mughal era when the Gakkars were trying to extend their authority in the entire lower Hazara the leader of Karlal tribe Morcha Kulli Khan at that time was able to murder the Ghakkar chief and retained his tribes independence.Turks were also never able to extend their authority over this tribe although enjoying suzerainty over large portion of Pakhal Sarkar at that time.In Durrani period no attempt was made by Afghan rulers to subdue their territory .However when the Sikhs Captured lower Hazara they tried to gain contol over entire lower Hazara including Karlal territory. In 1822 Ranjit Singh sent a large force under famous General Amar Singh Majitta which was defeated by karlals with great slaughter. Amar singh was also murdered by karlal .Lepel Griffin writes in his book about this battle of sumandar khata. From 1822 to 1845 Karlal tribe fought many battles with Sikhs and was able to retain its independence throughout Sikh period. In 1844 once again Lahore Dardar sent a large force under Diwan Mulraj and Hari Singh to subdue Karlal country, again taking advantage of their difficult geographical terrain Karlals were able to defeat Sikh army at place called Nah and killed more than 150 Sikh soldiers. During the British period at the time of mutiny in 1857 this tribe tried to revolt against the rule of East India company however britishers were able to imprison Karlal chief Sardar Hassan Ali Khan and many mutineers of this tribe were hanged along with some Dund tribesmen(Mutiny Reports 1857 Hazara District).According to the District Gazetteers of Rawalpindi and Hazara written jointly by the respective Deputy Commissioners of the above areas, the tribe Kharral of Gojra in Punjab, derive their ancestors from the Karlals in Abbottabad, Hazara. The account of the 1857 India's First War of Independence also known as the Indian Mutiny clearly establishes strong cooperation and connectivity between the two tribes linking them to the common ancestor with the assumption that the Kharrals of Gojra and Karlals of Abbottabad are actually the one and the same tribe.British has to establish five cantonments of Bara Gali,Nathia Gali,Dounga Gali ,Changlagali in the small Karlal territory to keep this tribe subdued along with the construction of road which started immediately after war of independence of 1857. During the time of Indian independence movement entire Karral tribe joined the flanks of Muslim League and strive hard for the creation of Pakistan.In the elections of 1946 fought on the single point of division of India, people of this tribe were forerunners in defeating congress candidates who had the backing of more populace tribes like Jadoons and Sawatis. In fact the representative and leader of this tribe at that time Captain Sardar Zain Muhammad khan MLA was not only able to defeat rival congress candidate from Abbottabad,s only constituency at that time but had the honor of representing entire District Hazara in the historic Delhi Muslim League Parliamentarians Convention which under the leadership of Quaid-E- Azam finally voted for division of India and creation of Pakistan.