The Achakzai or Achekzai (; ) are a

Durrani The Durrānī (, ), formerly known as Abdālī (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes, tribal confederation of Pashtuns. Their traditional homeland is in southern Afghanistan (Loy Kandahar region), straddling into Toba Achakzai in Balochistan, ...

Pashtun tribe The Pashtun tribes (), are tribes of the Pashtun people, a large Eastern Iranian ethnic group who speak the Pashto language and follow Pashtunwali, the social code of conduct for Pashtuns. They are found primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan ...

that resides on both sides of the

Durand Line The Durand Line (; ; ), also known as the Afghanistan–Pakistan border, is a international border between Afghanistan and Pakistan in South Asia. The western end runs to the border with Iran and the eastern end to the border with China. The D ...

, centered on

Killa Abdullah District Kila Abdullah District or Qilla Abdullah ( ) is a district in the northwestern part of Balochistan province of Pakistan. Kila Abdullah was separated from Pishin District and made a new district in June 1993. The district is located within the h ...

in Pakistan with some clans as far away as Afghanistan's Kandahar Province as well as

Firuzkuh Firuzkuh () is a city in the Central District of Firuzkuh County, Tehran province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Demographics Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the city's population was 15 ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

.Encyclopædia Iranica Foundatio
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''

Identity

The Achakzai is a section of the larger Zirak

tribe. Their name comes from the fact that they trace

agnatic Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

(

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

) descent from Achak Khan - the paternal grandson of Barak Khan, from whom are descended the

Barakzai Bārakzai (, plur. , ) is the name of a Pashtun tribe from present-day Kandahar, Afghanistan. '"Barakzai" is a common name among the Pashtuns and it means "son of Barak" in Pashto. According to the Encyclopædia Iranica, "In the detailed Pash ...

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:Talebi, Abdul Latif Yaad. ''Pashtanay Qabeelay''. 2nd ed. Peshawar: Danish, 2007. Print. p.10-12 * 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 Mahmud Khan Achakzai (; born 14 December 1948) is a Pakistani Pashtun regionalist politician who is the Chairman of Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party. Achakzai completed his Engineering degree from the Peshawar University of Engineering and Technol ...

(born 1948), Pashtun nationalist politician and chairman of

Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party The Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (; ), abbreviated as PMAP or PKMAP, is a political party in Pakistan's Balochistan province. It was founded by Mahmood Khan Achakzai, who was elected as the chairman, and Sher Ali Bacha, who served as the General ...

Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai Abdul Samad Khan Achakzai (7 July 1907 – 2 December 1973) (), commonly known as Khan Shaheed () (This title or name was given by the great Baba-e-Afghan Abdul Rahim Khan Mandokhail) was a Pashtun nationalist and political leader from the ...

, Pashtun nationalist revolutionary and resistance leader *

Abdul Raziq Achakzai Abdul Raziq Achakzai, also known as General Raziq, (; Persian/; 1979 – October 18, 2018) was the chief of police for Kandahar Province. Many Afghans regarded him as a national hero while others viewed him simply as a warlord. In late 2001, Ach ...

(1979–2018), Afghan police chief who joined anti-

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

forces in the

2001 Afghan War 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

* Abdullah Khan Achakzai, Afghan leader who fought against the British Raj, During the

First Anglo-Afghan War The First Anglo-Afghan War () was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad Khan ( Bara ...

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

's city Qila Abdullah is named after him. * Prof. Dr. Naqib Ullah Achakzai, the first ever FCPS qualified doctor from Achakzai tribe. He was awarded Gold Medal in MBBS. He is a renowned highly qualified and experienced Neurosurgeon of Pakistan. He was the founding Vice Chancellor of Bolan University of Medical and Health Sciences Quetta Pakistan. He remained Vice President of College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan, CPSP Regional Director Quetta and Council Member of College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan for eight years (2011 - 2019). He also remained Dean of Faculty of Neurosurgery of CPSP and President of Pakistan Society of Neurosurgeons. Prof. Achakzai remained AOSpine Switzerland's Education Officer- Neuro for Pakistan. He has trained more than 200 surgeons and specialists of Balochistan. CPSP has started awarding "PROF. NAQIB ULLAH ACHAKZAI MEDAL" since 2016 in the discipline of Neurosurgery in Final FCPS Neurosurgery Examination. *

Ismatullah Muslim Ismatullah Muslim (died 1991), also called Ismatullah Achakzai or just Ismat, was an Afghan militia leader, who in 1979 joined the mujahideen opposed to the communist PDPA and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, before coming over to the side o ...

, 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 The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 according to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined t ...

coalition forces during the

battle of Marjah Operation Moshtarak (Dari for ''Together'' or ''Joint''), also known as the Battle of Marjah, was an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) pacification offensive in the town of Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It involved a co ...

. *

Mohammad Abbas Akhund Mullah Mohammad Abbas Akhund () is an Afghan Taliban politician who is serving as Acting Minister of Disaster Management of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan since 23 November 2021. Abbas has also served as Minister of Public Health in the Tal ...

, Afghan-Taliban politician serving as of 2021 as Acting Minister of Disaster Management. *

Muhammad Essa Muhammad Essa Khan (Urdu, Pashto: ; born 20 November 1983) is a Pakistani football manager and former footballer who played as a forward. He is the current head coach of Khan Research Laboratories. A former captain of the Pakistan national te ...

, Pakistani footballer * Kaleemullah Khan, Pakistani footballer

References

External links

Encyclopedia Iranica: ACƎKZĪ

tribalanalysiscenter.com
(PDF) {{Pashtun tribes Durrani Pashtun tribes Ethnic groups in Kandahar Province Ethnic groups in Balochistan

Identity

Notable people

See also

References

External links