Azim Khan

Sardar Mohammad Azim Khan Barakzai (Pashto: عظیم خان) was a Pashtun noble who served as Afghan governor of Kashmir (1812–1819).

He successfully defeated Shah Shuja's armies and was subsequently involved in the 1812-13 joint Afghan-Sikh capture of Kashmir from its rebellious governor Atta Khan Bamzai.

All former Durrani empire provinces except Herat came under Barakzai control and he set himself up as Governor of Kabul having left Kashmir in the hands of his half-brother Jabbar Khan Navab.

In March 1823, Azim Khan alongside other Pashtuns faced off against the Sikh Khalsa Army of Ranjit Singh at the Battle of Nowshera near Peshawar.

He was reputed to have acquired great wealth through war plunder and excessive taxation, especially during his time as governor of Kashmir.