We carried U‐Pb‐Hf geochronology of the clastic sequence covering upper Mesozoic‐Cenozoic period. The upper Mesozoic sequence is overlain unconformably by the Cenozoic strata, marking regional K‐T boundary, which is mapped as angular unconformity. This angular relationship may strongly indicate a compressional orogenic event that occurred during the Late Cretaceous. Late Cretaceous Kohistan‐Karakoram collision and ophiolite emplacement may account for the development of this compression along the northern Indian margin. The U‐Pb‐Hf isotopic analyses of the upper Mesozoic and lower Cenozoic sequence (Hangu Formation and Lower Patala Formation) are similar to the Tethyan and Lesser Himalayan signatures, which indicate the Indian‐plate provenance. The two younger Cretaceous grains recorded in the Hangu Formation might be derived from the Indian‐plate volcanic rocks and/or Tethyan Himalayan volcanic rocks. The absence of ophiolitic age component in the precollision sequence may indicate that these ophiolites are not exposed until final India‐Eurasia collision. The major shift in provenance is recorded in the upper part of the Patala Formation, where the presence of disconformity and the appearance of <100 Ma detrital zircons indicate the contribution of Eurasian source (i.e., Kohistan‐Ladakh arc; KLA), which is further supported by the ɛHf(t) signatures. Upsection, the contribution from Eurasian source increased in the Early Middle Eocene Kuldana Formation. Therefore, we suggest that the provenance mixing close to Paleocene‐Eocene boundary indicates that the India‐Eurasia collision in the north Pakistan occurred at ∼56–55 Ma and subsequent exhumation increased the contribution of the northern (Eurasian) provenance in the upsection.

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This paper presents the first ever detrital zircon U–Pb–Hf isotopic study for the Late Neoproterozoic–Early Palaeozoic stratigraphic succession exposed in the Hazara Basin, Western Himalaya, North Pakistan. This time span represents the break‐up of the supercontinent Rodinia and final assembly of Gondwana. The detrital record of the Late Neoproterozoic succession indicates well‐mixed detritus shed from within the Indian Craton, especially the Central Indian provenance (including the Delhi Fold Belt, Aravalli Orogen, and Bundlekhand Craton). The εHf(t) values are mostly negative, and Hf TDMC ages are clustered at 2.0–2.4 Ga, which indicates the derivation from an ancient reworked crustal source. In addition, the presence of a few positive εHf(t) values in the Late Neoproterozoic sequence indicates addition of the juvenile crust that corresponds to the period of the Rodinia break‐up. However, dissimilarities with detrital signatures from the Australian continent may indicate break‐up of the Rodinia supercontinent and detachment of Australia from India prior to ~754 Ma, which is the depositional age of the Hazara Formation. In addition, the angular unconformity at the base of the Abbottabad Formation represents the compressional tectonics that might be associated with the Pan‐African (Indo‐Antarctic Craton collision with the East African Orogen during 800–700 Ma) orogeny. The presence of the metamorphism and deformation in the rocks below the unconformity supports such an event prior to deposition of the Early Palaeozoic Abbottabad Formation. Similarly, the appearance of the Pan‐African detritus in the Early Palaeozoic Abbottabad Formation could be due to closure of the ocean basin between Eastern and Western Gondwana along the Mozambique Suture. This provenance change may indicate the final assembly of supercontinent Gondwana.

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