Sher Ali Khan, Risaldar-Major, was born in July 1886 in Dehri Zardad Khan. He was educated at the Government High School, Peshawar, and belongs to a well-known Popalzai Durrani family. His descendant, Zardad Khan, was the Governor of Peshawar during the reign of Taimur Shah. However, Zardad Khan was awarded 8 villages and Rs. 30,000 as remunerations by Taimur Shah and constructed a canal, which is known as “Joi Zardad.” In 1208, Zardad Khan bought the village’s property from the Zamindar of Prang, Charsadda.
Moreover, one of his family members, Fateh Mohammad Khan, was appointed Governor of Kashmir; his great-grandfather, Momin Khan, once migrated to Kabul during British rule but returned. and settled in his own village, Dehri Zardad Khan; his grandfather, Risaldar-Major Muhammad Sharif Khan, enlisted in the Cavalry and died in Lahore; his father, Khan Bahadur Muhammad Yusuf Khan, served as a police officer; Risaldar-Major Sher Ali Khan joined the Indian Army as a Jemadar in the 25th Cavalry; F/F Intelligence Officer, G.O.G. 3rd Brigade, Shabqadar, 1908; and he saw active service with L.E.F.B., 25th Cavalry, East Africa, 1917.
Further, he saw active service with Baluchistan Forces in the Afghan War in 1919; saw active service in Kohat Operations in 1919; was appointed H.M. Consul, Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in 1935; was appointed O/C Recruit Reception Camp, Peshawar, in 1941; was released after 4 years and 5 months of service in 1946; was mentioned in dispatchers in East Africa in 1918; and was awarded the Gold Medal in 1930–31. Also, Sher Ali Khan was awarded a certificate appreciating his services in an air crash in the tribal territory; the Coronation Medal, 1937; the O.B.I., 1941; Sanad from the Commander-in-Chief for recruitments; eleven medals and four clasps I.D.S.M.; also awarded Sanad by Pakistan Government for his work in recruitment; is a respectable landlord of this area.