This study reported the detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology of the Cenozoic sequence exposed in Kotli, northwestern Himalaya, Pakistan, which forms part of the Kashmir foreland basin. The U-Pb detrital age patterns of the Paleocene Patala Formation show a major age cluster between ~130–290 Ma, ~500–1000 Ma and ~1000–1500 Ma, which mainly resembles the lesser and higher Himalayan sequence. However, the younger age pattern (~130–290 Ma) can be matched to the ages of the ophiolites exposed along the Indus–Tsangpo suture zone. In addition, two younger grains with 57 Ma and 55 Ma ages may indicate a contribution from the Kohistan-Ladakh arc. The detrital zircons in the upper Tertiary sequence show the increased input of younger detrital ages <100 Ma, with more pronounced peaks at ~36–58 Ma, ~72–94 Ma and ~102–166 Ma, indicating the strong resemblance to the Asian sources including the Kohistan–Ladakh arc, Karakoram block and Gangdese batholith. This provenance shift, recorded in the upper portion of Patala Formation and becoming more visible in the upper Tertiary clastic sequence (Kuldana and Murree formations), is related to the collision of the Indian and Asian plates in the northwestern Himalayas. Considering the age of the Patala Formation, we suggest that the Indian and Asian plates collided during 57–55 Ma in the northwestern Himalayas, Pakistan.

This study reports on the detrital zircon provenance of the sandstones of Early Paleocene Ranikot Formation exposed in the Fort Munro section, Sulaiman fold-thrust belt, Pakistan. This marks the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary sequence. The detrital zircon U-Pb ages reported are mainly clustered around ~460–1100 Ma, ~1600–1900 Ma and ~2300–2600 Ma. The age cluster ~460–1100 Ma is mainly matched well with the Tethyan Himalaya. However, the age clusters ~1600–1900 Ma and ~2300–2600 Ma matched fairly with the lesser Himalayas and Higher Himalayas. In addition, the sandstone petrography suggests the craton interior provenance. The two younger Cretaceous zircon ages may be derived from the Tethyan Himalaya volcanic rocks as supported by a high (>0.3) Th/U ratio. Furthermore, the absence of the ophiolitic component ~115–178 Ma suggests that the western ophiolite may be emplaced at the same time as Ranikot Formation deposited or later. Moreover, the absence of the Eurasian (zircon with ages <100 Ma) in the Ranikot Formation excludes the possibility of the early collision along the western margin, as reported in earlier studies.

This study presents the first detrital-zircon U–Pb age dataset from the Lower Siwalik equivalent (Uzdha Pasha Formation) in the western Sulaiman Fold Belt and compares it with published records from other parts of the Himalayan foreland basin. Three sandstone samples yield 197 concordant ages. The spectra are multimodal and dominated by Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic ages (~1000–400 Ma), with subordinate older populations and a minor Mesozoic–Cenozoic component (<145 Ma). Probability–density comparisons in DZstats show the strongest correspondence between the Uzdha Pasha Formation and the Murree Formation (cross-correlation = 0.60, similarity = 0.91, likeness = 0.71). Bootstrap resampling yields 95% intervals of 0.710–0.812 for cross-correlation, 0.868–0.920 for similarity, and 0.647–0.726 for likeness. Bootstrap analyses show that the preference for the Murree Formation strengthens with increasing sample size. However, KS and Kuiper tests distinguish the Uzdha Pasha spectrum from all comparison datasets, indicating differences in age-population proportions and distribution shape. Multidimensional scaling further documents variable relationships among the studied and reference datasets. Although the age distributions are compatible with contributions from several Himalayan source regions, overlapping age signatures, variable zircon fertility, sediment recycling, and hydraulic sorting prevent unique estimation of source proportions from U–Pb ages alone. Consistent with this limitation, a four-source mixture model provides a poor fit (R² = 0.26). The minor young zircon population is compatible with sediment connectivity to distal Eurasian or Trans-Himalayan arc-bearing sources, but direct axial transport, recycling of older foreland deposits, reworking of intermediate sedimentary units, and transient drainage capture remain viable alternatives. The dataset therefore provides a new western constraint on along-strike variability in Lower Siwalik provenance and is consistent with previously proposed spatially heterogeneous models of Himalayan foreland-basin development.