Sheikh (Arabic and Urdu: شيخ), is an Arabic word meaning elder of a tribe, lord, revered old man, or Islamic scholar. The Shaikh of Sindh are one of the larger communities of the Sindhi Muslims ethnic group. They speak the various dialects of Sindhi, depending on their place of residence. The Shaikh are largely urban community, residing in the towns and cities of Sindh. Shaikhs have different community in them, namely baghdadi, sanjogi, nangani, deewan and chatani.
In South Asia, it is used as an ethnic title generally attributed to Muslim trading families descended from the higher clans and are generally very rich and powerful in the local administration and economy. Shaikh families are descended from Muslim technocrats, bureaucrats, soldiers, traders, scientists, architects, teachers, theologians and Sufis who travelled from the rest of the Muslim world to the Islamic Sultanate in South Asia and settled permanently. In Sindh, the families of the Makhdums of Hala are Siddiqui Shaikhs, who arrived from Central Asia. The shaikhs who migrated from the Arab lands as Sufis conjointly lived with the existing wealthy Shaikh inhabitants of Larkana, Sukkur, Shikarpur and Khairpur while now they have spread throughout Sindh, making a worthy population around 1 Million. [Sindh - Pakistan].
Shaikh Ayaz, Sindhi poet of Pakistan
Marium Mukhtiar, Flying Officer Marium Mukhtiar Shaikh was the first lady pilot of Pakistan, martyred on duty on Nov. 24th 2015, daughter of Col. (R) Mukhtiar Ahmed Shaikh, a retired colonel of Pakistan Army hailing from an honorable family of Pano Aqil, Sindh.
Najmuddin Shaikh, Former Foreign Secretary, Pakistan
Asif Ali Shaikh, Senior Bureaucrat from Sukkur Sindh
Imtiaz Ahmed Shaikh, MPA Shikarpur Pakistan people's party PS 11
Ghulam Shabir Shaikh, Former IGP Sindh, Pakistan
Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Federal Finance Minister, Pakistan
Muhammad Ayub Shaikh, Chairman Employees' Old Age Benefits Institution, Pakistan
Afzal Ahmed sheikh, Former Foreign Secretary, Pakistan
Maqbool Shaikh, Former Provincial Minister for Food and Health, Sindh
Faryaz Nisar Shaikh, Vice Chairman Sindh Naujawan Shaikh Ittehad, Sindh
Imam Bux Shaikh, Former General Secretary Peoples Students Federation Karachi, Former General Secretary Peoples Engineers Forum Sindh, Famous Student Leader of Pakistan.
Aijaz Ali Shaikh, Famous political figure and a landlord from District Qambar-Shahdadkot, Former Chairman of Larkana city.
Dr.Ghulam Ahmed Shaikh, Federal and Sindh Government Pakistan Railways doctor (Radiologist)
Mir Mohammad Shaikh, Advocate Supreme Court- Advocate General Sindh ( Family Lawyer of the Bhutto Family).
Samir Mir Shaikh, A prominent businessman and industrialist, Appointed Justice of Peace Karachi, By Chief Minister Sindh & Chairman Higher Education, Science & Technology FPCCI He is the son of Mir Mohammad Shaikh Former Adcovate general Sindh.
