[4] The history of this region (the Salt Range) from the thirteenth century onward had been a sickening record of wars between Janjua and Gakhars for political ascendancy.

[5][6]In the 16th century, the Mughal Emperor Humayun was usurped by the Pashtun king Sher Shah Suri, who constructed the Rohtas Fort in Punjab to check Humayun's entry into Hindustan, and also to keep a check on the local tribes including Gakhars as well as Janjuas.

A six-month siege of Kusuk Fort in Watli followed[9] and this was ended when the inhabitants ran short of water.

[10] The Kala Khan branch of Rawalpindi Janjuas fortunes were also eclipsed by the rise of the Sikh Empire.

Tan Tai Yong says that "Besides being impressed with their track record, the British saw in them, with their traditional and historical enmity against the Sikhs, an effective counterpoise against the latter.