Sheikh Malee was a great Pashtoon Geographer. He lived about 500 years ago and was one of the reliable friends of Sardar Malak Ahmad, a famous Yousafzai leader. In those days Mardan, Buner, Swat and other Pashtoon areas were collectively known as Swat. He was a sincere and an honest man. But he is famous because of the land allocation programme called “Veish” which he introduced in Peshawar, Mardan, Buner, Swat and other areas. He introduced the Unit of the land. He classified Pashtoons into nine major subgroups and the region into nine districts. He wrote a book in nine volumes about his land reforms. This is called ‘Daftar e Sheikh Malee’ and has been mentioned in the poems of the great poet, Khushal Khan Khattak.
په سوات کښې دی دوه څیزه
یو مخزن د درویزه دې بل دفتر د شیخ ملی
Pa Swat ke dee dwa seeza
Yo Makhzan da Darweza de bal Daftar da Sheikh Malee
(There are two good things in Swat.One is the book of Darweza and the other is the book of Sheikh Malee ).
This great reformer is buried in Shah Dand Baba Cemetery, Hoti Mardan.The exact location of the grave is yet to be identified.
The work of Sheikh Malee was highlighted about 25 years ago when the Provincial government named the new housing project in Mardan as Sheikh