Ustarana is a Pashtun tribe inhabiting the outer hills opposite the extreme south portion of the Dera Ismail Khan district of North West Frontier Province, Pakistan. They live today on the eastern side of Suleiman Mountains (south of the Gomal River near the tribes Kakar and Sherani). Their chief village is Khoi Bahara. To the north they march with Sherani tribe, to the east with the Gandapurs, to the west with Musa Khel and zamarais while Bozdar (a balouch tribe) on the south.[1]
Until about a 18th century the Ustaranas were entirely a pastoral and trading tribe; They were venturesome traders, carrying goods from Kandahar as far as Bengal, but the feud with their neighbors the Musa Khel and the Bozdar put a stop to their annual westward immigration, and they were forced to take to agriculture and subsequently acquired a good deal of the country below the hills. Their territory includes the eastern slopes of the Suleiman Mountains, the crest of the range being held by the Musa Khel, and Zamarais.[2]
A descendant of Ustarana tribe settled among and married into the Sherani tribe. Ustaranas are descendants of Sarban[3] (Son of Qais Abdur Rashid).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.