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 as well as Firuzkuh in Iran.
Identity
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The Achakzai is a section of the larger Zirak Durrani tribe. 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.
They are divided into two sub-tribes, namely:
- Gujanzai (whose branches are Hameedzai, Khawajazai, Ashezai, Nusratzai, Malezai, Usmanzai)
- Badinzai (whose branches are Yonus, Ghabizai, Kakozai, Shamshozai, Panizai, Piralizai Shabozai, Badizai)
Notable People
- 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
References
- Adamec, Ludwig W., ed. (1980). "Achakzai" (PDF). Historical and Political Gazetteer of Afghanistan. Vol. 5. p. 16.
- Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation AYMĀQ
The traditional chiefs of the northern Fīrūzkūhī, Zay Ḥākem, claim descent from Ačakzay Pashtun ancestors, whereas the tribe takes its name from Fīrūzkūh, the capital of the Ghurid dynasty - 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
External links
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