What is "harifal"

The Harifal (Urdu حریفال حریف ال) is a Pashtun tribe inhabiting the Sherani District, Balochistan province, Pakistan, and, to a lesser extent, surrounding districts (Arghandab of Kandahar, Mezana and Sharisafa of Zabul, Qarabagh and Shelgar of Ghazni, Chack and Narkh of Maidan Wardak, Poli Alam of Logar, Poli Kumri and Nahrin of Baghlan, Aybak and Sancharak district of Sariful) of Afghanistan. The tribe mostly populates the western slopes of Shinghar, a mountain in the Suleiman Range, though a considerable number resides in Zhob District (Harifal Abad) and there is also a scattered population in Duki subdivision of Loralai District, Sanjavi subdivision of Ziarat District, a few families in Quetta, and Zarkanai Daraban of Dera Ismail Khan district. The word Harifal is also transliterated as Airf Aal, Haripal, and Hurreepaul.

The two union councils of Sherani district, Shinghar Harifal south with 23 villages (13,883 people) and Shinghar Harifal north with 31 villages (12,228 people), are altogether occupied by the Harifal tribe. The main bulk of the tribe lives in the clusters of villages in the central block of Mt. Shinghar. The Harifal tribe is a relatively small and tractable one. In earlier times it was scarcely known to the historians in its own right.

The total voters of the Harifal tribe is numbered at 8,728, and gender-wise breakup is as follow: male: 4,797 and female: 3,931.

There is an ancestral link between the Harifal and the Shirani tribe, but the Harifal is still considered separate.