The Achakzai or Achekzai (Pashto: اڅکزی; Persian: اچکزایی) are a Durrani Pashtun tribe that resides on both sides of the Durand Line, centered on Killa Abdullah District in Pakistan with some clans as far away as Afghanistan's Kandahar Province. [citation needed]
Identity
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The Achakzai is a section of the larger Zirak Durrani tribe.[1] Their name comes from the fact that they trace agnatic (patrilineal) descent from Achak Khan - the paternal grandson of Barak Khan, from whom are descended the Barakzai tribe of Pashtuns; thus, the Achakzai are a branch or sept of the Barakzai, who are themselves a branch of the Zirak Durrani tribe. [citation needed]
They are divided into two sub-tribes, namely:[2]
- Gujanzai (whose branches are Hameedzai, Khawajazai, Ashezai, Nusratzai, Malezai, Usmanzai)
- Badinzai (whose branches are Yonus, Ghabizai, Kakozai, Shamshozai, Panizai, Piralizai Shabozai, Badizai)
Notable People
edit- Mahmood Khan Achakzai (born 1948), Pashtun nationalist politician and chairman of Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party
- Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai, Pashtun nationalist revolutionary and resistance leader
- Abdul Raziq Achakzai (1979–2018), Afghan police chief who joined anti-Taliban forces in the 2001 Afghan War
- Abdullah Khan Achakzai, Afghan leader who fought against the British Raj, During the First Anglo-Afghan War. Balochistan's city Qila Abdullah is named after him.
- Ismatullah Muslim, A general who participated during the Soviet-Afghan War. First at the side of the Mujahideen, but later defected to the DRA.
- Mullah Abdur Razzaq Achakzai, a Taliban commander who partook in the fight against ISAF coalition forces during the battle of Marjah.
- Mohammad Abbas Akhund, Afghan-Taliban politician serving as of 2021 as Acting Minister of Disaster Management.
See also
editReferences
edit- Adamec, Ludwig W., ed. (1980). "Achakzai" (PDF). Historical and Political Gazetteer of Afghanistan. Vol. 5. p. 16.
- ^ Giustozzi, Antonio (2012). Decoding the New Taliban: Insights from the Afghan Field (Reprinted ed.). Hurst Publishers. p. 197. ISBN 978-1-84904-226-0.
- ^ Talebi, Abdul Latif Yaad. Pashtanay Qabeelay. 2nd ed. Peshawar: Danish, 2007. Print. p.10-12