Behbudi
Behbudi | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Pakistan |
| Province | Punjab |
| District | Attock District |
| Elevation | 1,030 ft (314 m) |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (PST) |
| • Summer (DST) | +6 |
Behbudi or Behboodi also known as Pabuto in Pukhto is a village in the Chachh region of Attock District, Northern Punjab, Pakistan. It is located at 33°55'32N 72°31'44E with an altitude of 314 metres (1033 feet) and lies close to the borders of the North-West Frontier Province.[1]
The people who live here are Pakhtun; all speak Pakhto/Pashto and follow the Pashtunwali code of conduct. The Ismail Khel; Salat Khel and Isab Khel klans of the Pashtun tribes reside in Behboodi.
The city of Hazro lies about 3.8km away, nearby villages are Malak Mala, Nartopa, Shinka. These villages have Pakhtuns also living in them and speak languages such as Hindko.
Behboodians (Behbudi People)
Behboodi has produced renowned religious scholars, political leaders, businesspersons, pehlawans and students. Such as Molana Abdur Rehman; late Molana Abdushakoor; late Molana Ghulam Rabbani; late Molana Fazl ur Rehman; Haji Ghulam Rehmani (Businessperson and Philanthropist); Qari Saeed ur Rehman; Molana Rashid Ahmed and His Son Qari Mohammad Ismail, an Educationalist and Lead Imam of Central Mosque Birmingham UK; DSP Memraz Khan Durrani From Ismail Khail Tribe; Raza Khan; Nisar Khan; Najab Khan; Advocate Said Afzal Khan (Haji Saib Chel Waleh); Tariq Ali Khan journalist and Prof(lec) and Nisar Ahmed are the people whom Behboodi is proud of. Chief operating officer of Pakistan cricket board Shafqat Hussain Naghmi also originates from Behboodi. Shakir is also a person of whom behboodians are proud of.
Behbudi History and Current times
The village of Behboodi is one of the few purely Pushtu-speaking in the immediate area. There are tales of harassment from surrounding non-Pushtu speaking villages when it was first established. The people of Behboodi have always travelled far and wide in search of work. There are records of the village men folk travelling all over the globe since the early twentieth century, including working for the British as policemen in Hong Kong. Men from the village even fought for the Allied powers in the Second World War and it is understood some went to fight against the Soviet Union when it invaded Afghanistan. For this reason approximately 70% of the population is now living outside of the village, with emigrants from Behboodi living in far flung places such as the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Hong Kong and Malaysia. There is a particularly large community in the city of Cardiff in the United Kingdom. There are sizeable communities in other places too such as Sheffield, England and in northern Californian towns such as Stockton and Lodi.
The village has surpassed others around it to become one of the most prosperous in the area, due mainly to financial investment from its large expatriate community. It is also the fastest growing there in terms of physical size and development.
Behboodi was always the smallest and poorest village in the area but this is now not the case. It now has facilities such as an open air swimming pool, gymnasium, leisure park, and car hire depot. There is even a burger bar and shops that sell most Western goods and food. There have also been new mosques built with modern facilities such as hot water. The people are devout Muslims of strong faith.
Its people are renowned for their generosity and are extremely entrepreneurial. They have established themselves successfully in their expatriate communities in occupations such as doctors, lawyers, police officers and millionaire business proprietors. Poorer members of the village are not forgotten as money for their welfare is collected on a regular basis.