House of Tochi Scouts raised in June 1900 by Captain A. Ferguson Davie at Idak, the fort became the HQs of the corps when power was transferred here in 1904. At the time of its raising, the militia consisted of 50 mounted infantry and 800 infantry.

The inscription on the monument mentions the names of the 20 Sikhs who were killed while garrisoned in a little-known fort named Saragarhi Fort. Saragarhi is a stone blockhouse situated midway along the 5 miles long Samana ridge (which divides the Kurram and the Kankai valleys). The fort served as a signalling station between Fort Lockhart on the eastern edge and Fort Cavagnari (or Gulistan Fort) on the west. All these forts are now under control of the army after Samana had been declared an army cantonment.