The Pothohar Plateau is a plateau and historical sub-region in northern part of the Punjab region, present-day Punjab, Pakistan. Ethnic Punjabis are the native people of the area and are subdivided into many tribes and clans (Baradari).
During the medieval era in Punjab, most of the tribes in northern Punjab converted to Islam. Various Punjabi tribes, as well as foreign powers, fought for control over the region.
The major baradaris in the area (tribes or clans) include Dhund Abbasi, Awan, Rajput, Janjua, Jodhra, Jatt, Arain, Gujjar, Gakhars, Kharal, and Khokhars. Prior to the partition of India, other biradaris including the Khatris, Mohyal Brahmins, and Aroras were also present in large numbers throughout the region.
The anthropologist Pnina Werbner has confirmed the continuing strength of tribal feelings among emigrants from Punjab in the United Kingdom. This area was and still is an important source of recruitment into the old British Indian Army, under the martial race designation of the Punjabis in the British Raj era, and its successor, the Pakistan Army. Official recruitment policies have also encouraged a sense of tribal belonging amongst Punjabis.