Every Kethwal family history leads back, sooner or later, to Charhan. In 1881 it was the largest of the tribe’s five villages, and the Rawalpindi Gazetteer called it the largest village in Murree Tehsil.
Charhan (also written Charihan) is today a union council in the east of Murree Tehsil, now part of Murree District. It borders Mussiari and Ghel to the north, Murree city to the north-west, Ban to the south, and Kotli Sattian to the south and east. The 1998 census counted 11,414 people in the union council.
Gulehra Gali and the Patriata chair lift
The main market of the union council is Gulehra Gali, which is also the starting point of the Patriata chair lift, one of the most visited attractions in the Murree Hills. Visitors who ride up to Patriata pass through the old Kethwal heartland, often without knowing it.
The Kethwal villages around Charhan
Within Murree Tehsil, Kethwal families live in Sanj, Charhan, Ghel and Ban. Just across the tehsil boundary lies Kotli Sattian, with Dheer Kot Kethwalan and eighteen more Kethwal villages.
Are you from Charhan or its villages? Share your family’s story so it can be added to the archive.