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Zakariya Khan (d. 1 July 1745) was the Mughal governor of Lahore from 1726 onwards when he replaced his father 'Abd us-Samad Khan' as governor of this famous historic city and province now located in Pakistan.
He had earlier acted as the governor of Jammu from 1713 to 1720 and of Kashmir from 1720 to 1726. He had also taken part in Lahore government's operations against the Sikh leader Banda Singh Bahadur.
After the capture of Banda Singh and his companions in December 1715 at Gurdas Nangal, he escorted the prisoners to Delhi, rounding up Sikhs that he could find in villages along the route. As he reached the Mughal capital, the caravan comprised seven hundred bullock carts full of severed heads and over seven hundred captives.
After becoming the governor of the province in 1726, Khan Bahadur Zakariya Khan, shortened to "Khanu" by Sikhs, launched a still severer policy against the Sikhs and let loose terror upon them. His moving military columns forced the Sikhs to seek shelter in remote hills and forests. .....More
